The end of another semester’s adventures

I know I’d said my last post was the last, but it didn’t seem to be justified, as I’d just had another week in Eurasia. My last day in school was nothing short of delightful (I fell asleep with a smile on my face). I got photos with and love notes from all my students, and after school, I piled into a marshrutka with all the other teachers from my school and we had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant in Kobuleti. There were many toasts and songs devoted to happy roads and good futures—I feel so blessed to have been surrounded by all those teachers during the semester. I think the experience people have in Georgia and in this program depends on a lot, and I feel like it all sorted out so perfectly for me. Anyways, after the huge dinner (and dancing) at the restaurant (as well as some near-tears),  I went back home and started packing for leaving to go to Armenia the following day. There was a really beautiful dinner for me at my house—lots of other teachers and my host family’s family and friends came around and toasted to many good things for me in my life; the tamada, my host mom’s brother, toasted to the family and friends I was leaving behind in Georgia, and also to the people that are waiting for me in America. I’ve grown to understand quite a bit of Georgian, and that has allowed me to understand more of the eloquent, beautiful things that are said in toasts. Packing as much as I could (and now, while I’m sitting in the airport in T’bilisi before checking in, I’m thinking the 2 large bottles of homemade Georgian wine and mandarini from our yard may be a bit too heavy), I think I’m ready to go.

I was able to spend a wonderful 5 days in Yerevan, Armenia for Christmas. I hadn’t been sure what to expect from the place, and I was delighted to learn about the very, very interesting history of the place. Some of the highlights included visiting some incredibly old churches and monasteries. One was built on top of the spot where St. Gregory was imprisoned for 13 years in the dark and left for dead but was miraculously kept alive; because of that, the king at that time in Armenia made Christianity the state religion. Another interesting place was in the hills/mountains outside of Yerevan. There was a monastery carved out of the hills and inside caves; what a fascinating place!

While I wasn’t able to go to Mass at a  Catholic church on Christmas day, I DID go to a Russian Orthodox church to pray for my family and light a candle. The music there was beautiful, and it felt appropriate (of course) to be in a church on Christmas. Many thanks to Ara for making that possible. Yerevan wasn’t in short supply of music and history and interesting sights, and I’m very happy to have spent my time there. Now, however, as I am about to embark on my long, long journey homewards, I am excited to spend the holidays with my family and ring in the new year. Who knows what roads I will walk this year. I’m hoping that, thanks to Georgia, I’ll view things even more positively and enjoy being surrounded by the people I’m around. There’s beauty in that. Dzalian didi madloba for following me on my adventures in Eurasia, and I look forward to seeing you soon!

My last post in Georgia. (insert tear here)

Some photos with Dato and Salome, my constant company and good buddies

My host mom Nargizi, the hostest with the mostest, and me

What can I say? How can I possibly write a final post and actually do justice to how I feel and what things are like? I guess I’d equate it to fitting a camel through the eye of a needle. It’s nearly impossible. I’ve spent the last couple of days trying to really appreciate things for what they are. Today I explored the incredible Batumi Botanical Gardens with plants from all over the world (including kiwi and mandarin trees—delicious treats to accompany our many-kilometer stroll through the gardens). My host cousin had her 18th/Golden birthday last night in Batumi at a restaurant with a lot of her friends and family. We all boogied quite a bit and had a pretty late night. Later in the evening (still at the restaurant), we all crowded into the room where the parents/relatives were eating and had the very distinct pleasure of enjoying a quartet of Georgian men singing traditional Kartuli simrelebi (Georgian songs).

The absolutely perfect harmonies struck a chord in me (pun intended or not) and I felt emotions welling up; I got very sad to be leaving this place that is so jam-packed with culture. I’ve felt like a part of a big, big family here. I’ve eaten with them, drank with them, attempted to speak with them, and as a result have learned some important things. I’ve realized the value of being able to be with people and enjoy their company for what it is, and not be constantly anticipating the next thing. I’ve grown much better at going with the flow and expecting the unexpected, for that is the name of the game in this country. I’ve learned to accept and enjoy awkward moments. And then, of course, there’s the importance of family and friends. All in all, I think I’ve grown from this experience (oh yes, and I’ve been given a picture of what teaching is like—I’m very glad to have seen that because it gives me an idea of what I will or will not do in the future). I’m aware that this may sound like an advertisement for the TLG program, but it is what it is.

Now that I’ve turned in my Georgian telephone and have received my ‘diploma’ as a volunteer English teacher as well as my letter of recommendation from the TLG program, I’ve purchased any last-minute gifts for my host family and fellow teachers and will begin packing my meager belongings and hit the long road to Yerevan, Armenia. After that, it’s home to Minnesota. Ah, the land of long aisles of chips and mini-vans. It’s been a while. I hope we can get along.

Until the next adventures… thanks for following along!

Nargizi and me

Loving the lounging life with my host mom. What a gem of a woman, and one of the greatest hosts with the greatest laughs.

“Georgia just happens.”

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Last weekend, when I was on my way up a ski lift in the mountains of Adjara with my friends, surrounded by snow-covered trees and gliding over the top of 2 meters of snow, I realized that Georgia just happens. What does this phrase mean, exactly? Let me try to explain:

During the whole week, I’d been talking with my friends thinking about where we wanted to go during the weekend. As such things usually go, we didn’t have a definite answer until, well, Friday after school. At this point, I’d been out of credits on my phone, and so I had to wait for a call from anybody telling me where we were going. Within 2 hours of finding out where we decided to go (a friend’s school director knew somebody whose place we could stay at in the mountains in a village called Kadlebi), I was packed up and on my way to Batumi. I made a list of things I needed to do, the first of which was to get some money and the second of which was to find a place to put some money on my phone. During the second task, I happened upon a money exchange place and was invited in for a cup of coffee, out of the blue. I had a little conversation with the people there, during which I may have inadvertently told them I was married (by the time I realized it, I’d said, “No, I don’t have children” and it just seemed like too much trouble to correct it). I then found my friend Anna at a restaurant and we ate and talked and waited for the 3 from Kutaisi to arrive. By  the time they came, we’d missed the last marshrutka to the mountain village, so we haggled for a hotel to stay for 8.5 lari for the night in Batumi. Not bad! (ok, seriously—that’s about 5 dollars or so. Can’t complain!)

The following morning, things worked out just perfectly and we made our way to Kadlebi. The village the marshrutka went to was called Khulo (we would take a car the remaining 5 km up the intensely-snowed roads). We were introduced by who-knows-who to who-knows-who at a “resource center” (something involving the Georgian education system?) and were taken up a cable car across a valley from peak to peak. Apparently it’s the highest cable car in Europe. There is a village on the side of the cable car, and peoples’ only way up is via cable car. Pretty crazy! The views were incredible, to say the least.

We ended up staying the night at the family home of the person my friend’s director knew. They took us skiing on the mountain for free, and our 20-lari expense per-person at the home included 2 large meals and Turkish coffee. Pretty incredible! One of my favorite moments of the whole bit was donning my headlamp and trekking through the snow (every 10 steps, I had to fish my shoe out of the thigh-deep hole my foot made in the snow) to go sledding down a slope in the dark. We had a blast!

Upon my host mom’s return from Tbilisi (she was staying with her dad while he recovered from heart surgery), I was given some incredible gifts; the first is a Georgian ceramic drinking vessel, and it’s one of the most beautiful ones I’ve seen. It’s in the shape of a stag, with the horns reaching back to connect with the bowl that you fill with wine. To drink the wine, you hold the mouth of the stag up to yours and drink through it. Very beautiful! Nargo also gave me a copy of “The Knight in Leopard Skin” by Shot’a Rust’aveli, the 11th century Georgian poet. It’s incredible to have found a copy of this very long and very old poem in English. It’s really, really beautiful to read.

There are so many moments that happen here in Georgia that would be literally impossible to imagine up. Digging cars out of snow, getting photographed for the local village newspaper, eating incredible food the whole time…I don’t know how I got around to deserving anything half as delightful as all this, but it happened and I am incredibly grateful. My stay in Georgia is coming down to the week marker, and I’m fairly astonished. I don’t know how the end has come so quickly! So, instead of just sitting here with a shocked look on my face and my jaw dropped in disbelief at the impending end of my journey through Caucasus glory, I will get off the internet, head back along the cow-poo-infested road under the Georgian moon, and go sing “Jingle Bells” with Salome and Dato. Life is real, and it’s happening right now. I’ve learned to appreciate this, thanks to Georgia.

Winter wonderland

Even before I write this post, I lament that I don’t have many photos to upload so I can share with you exactly what my recent days here have been like. In lieu of that, I will do my best to do justice to how wonderful Georgia can be!

The weeks go by as any others do; school during the day, small gifts of mandarini from 1st graders (as though the 30+ mandarin trees in my yard don’t give me enough , and hearing “Hello!” more than I ever have in my life from all the kids at school. It’s fairly wonderful. I can’t hold a grudge against the squatter-toilet situation at school, nor the lack of heat, because being surrounded by these people who I feel I know without even knowing their language is a pretty incredible thing to experience. Some moments shake me back to the reality that what I get to see and hear and smell and taste every day is pretty unique, so I can’t ever take that for granted. I know I’ve got only a few weeks left in Eurasia (wow.). Therefore, I’m going to soak it all up and make it my goal to actively appreciate everything as if it’s my last time seeing it; this is something that will naturally come in my last week here, but this way I’ll be able to cache even more memories in my world-view bank!

As for this last weekend, I set off before my last class on Friday to catch a slightly earlier marshrutka towards Khashuri, which is along the highway to Tbilisi. The goal was to meet up with my friends Anna, Ally, Jane, and Ara, and then make our way to Borjomi, the town where the famous Borjomi mineral water is bottled. Where I am here near Batumi, there was one day of slight snow flurries, and since then it’s merely been cold. Elsewhere in the country, however, there are loads of snow. The Minnesotan in me was just bursting with excitement to be driving along in the marshrutka through the mountains, past the tiny wooden road-side shops selling bread, and seeing the trees’ branches sinking under the weight of the snow. NOW I know which season it is! The greenery in Tsetskhlauri was throwing me off…

After an unexpected pit-stop along the way to Khashuri (the drive was 4 or 5 hours long, so once it got dark, the driver pulled over and he and 3 of his buddies invited me into this little roadside “restaurant” to drink coffee and eat a meal and drink some cha cha with them), I made it. Anna and I caught up for a bit in a tiny cafe, and then made our way to the train station to meet with Ara, Jane, and Ally. Mind you, this whole experience is full of snow, and I felt very much at home!

We found a decently-priced taxi that would take us the rest of the km to Borjomi, and there we met up with Ally and Anna’s friend Leo who was letting us stay at his family home for a good price. After an evening of eating delicious Georgian food, we hit the hay early and made our way in the morning to Bakuriani, a town relatively nearby, to go skiing. I have never down-hill skiied before, and so this was quite the experience for me! The first couple of runs gave me some bruises and covered me in snow, but once I got the hang of it, I had a blast! With rentals and the ski-lift cost, I spent a grand total of 20 lari on a nice day of skiing…that is to say, about 16 dollars. Not bad, right? Bakuriani was a lovely, lovely little town in the mountains, and although most businesses were closed because it’s not the season yet, it was nice to explore.

That night, the goal was to return to Borjomi and celebrate Ally’s birthday, which was the following day. The last marshrutka from Bakuriani to Borjomi was at 5, and so when it rolled past us positively overflowing with people, we realized that was a bit of an issue. As things go in Georgia, though, everything worked out perfectly: we made a game out of it. Break up into 3 teams of 2 and see who can hitchhike back faster. The others ended up finding an van that was heading back that way and almost won the race, but at the last second, someone offered to pay the driver, so Ara and I won. We made it back with a middle-aged couple in a Mercedes for no cost.

The following day, our goal was to drink some genuine Borjomi mineral water and then make our way to a warm natural springs in the woods. The water was rather sulfurous that day, so one sip was enough for me, and then we made our way into the woods. The mountains on both sides, the creek alongside the path, and the snow covering it all set the scene for one heck of a gorgeous afternoon. After gathering firewood and setting it up for once we got out of the water, in we went. Imagine, if you will, a steaming pool of warm water in the middle of a mountain forest clearing, snow everywhere, and the air temperature absolutely frigid. The water was nice, my braids froze, and the subsequent 5 minutes before getting coats on again were maybe the 5 coldest in my life. So great!

[I have to add this: I'm currently online at the house of a neighbor-one of the teachers at my school- and her son Suhan, a friend of my host sister, just walked into the room and showed me this incredible ship that he had made out of seashells that he got from the Black Sea. I marveled at it and made the motion to hand it back, when I was told that he made it for me. Whoa, so sweet! Seriously, it's quite incredible. The hospitality of Georgians will never ever cease to amaze me!]

Gagimarjos (cheers to you), and I hope you are all enjoying the little moments in life that make you smile!

Suphras and picking mandarini

Things have been very busy around here, despite themselves. The days have passed quickly and have been full of warm moments surrounded by my Georgian family, new friends, and the other teachers at my school. It’s a real community that I’ve been invited into, and I really like it! Despite the challenges of language barriers and how that affects things in the classroom, I’ve been steadily learning how to work with it, stay sane, and enjoy myself all at once.

In my classes, there are the bright kids, the ones that just hang out, and the ones that are out to get me. It’s a good mix. Everything in moderation, right? I really love being in the classroom, helping the kids with their work and trying to keep everyone up to speed. I was left in the classroom today alone, however, during my 4th grade class. They are the ones that like to give me a run for my money and so, in the middle of attempting to keep to class at a noise level lower than shouting while at the same time teaching new material, I learned a lot. I discovered that sometimes, in order to manage a Georgian classroom, you need to raise your voice (shout-out to Hilary Duff) and say things in English that they won’t understand by any means…I’ve learned that sometimes, confusion is a good enough tool for keeping a little peace and quiet. I don’t know if that’s one of those things you’re supposed to learn as a teacher, but since teaching in a classroom in a country where you don’t speak the language very well is a challenge, I should keep it honest.

I’ve included some photos of a birthday party I attended for one of the teachers at my school. Also, I made khinkali with my host mom and cousin (Tsira—she speaks English and stayed with us for a week. Very cool!), and helped with the mandarin harvest. Bevria mandarini, magram bevri khalkhebi arian ka’i! (It’s a lot of mandarins, but many hands make light work!)

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Sakartvelo (Georgia)

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Chemi pirveli Kartuli kortsili (my first Georgian wedding!)

After experiencing a Georgian wedding, you get a whole new view into the culture, and boy is it a trip!

I’ll start by giving you some background: The wedding was of a daughter of one of the other teachers at my school. It was in Batumi on Sunday night (last night), so I got ready and went there with my school director Lili right after I returned by train from Kutaisi.

I may or may not have described already how everyone in any given village is related. Well, I’ll say it again—everyone seems to be related somehow! If you ever come to Georgia, make sure you learn all the words for everyone in a family tree (deda-mother; mama-father; bebia-grandmother; babua-grandfather, etc.). At this wedding, all the people I met were brothers of teachers or sisters-in-law of so-and-so and, well, seeing as I’m still trying to get down the names of the people I see every day (it’s a challenge when all the names are different than American names), I just settled for saying “sasiamovnoa!” (“It’s nice to meet you!”)

Once again, my strategy of “just nod and smile” appeared to have endeared me to the people at this wedding. Of course, I didn’t know the bride and groom, but during the very extensive, multiple toasts made during the evening, there was one made to me (a huge honor!) and the musicians played/sang some Backstreet Boys, just for me! It was pretty funny stuff!

Here is what a Georgian wedding reception looks like: You walk in the doors, and  you see row after row of extremely long table absolutely laden to the brim with foods of all kind, as well as huge pitchers of wine. There is literally no room for anything more on any table, but as the evening wears on (and hearing MANY times, “Clare, tchame”–”Clare, eat!”), somehow more and more food appears as the old plates disappear. Just when you thought there was literally no way they could bring out more food, they somehow do (and sometimes they turn out the lights so you can get the full effect of the presentation of flaming platters of meat) and then you get peer-pressured into eating more. It was unbelievable! I just thank my lucky stars I am a woman and it was therefore OK that I wasn’t drinking excessive amounts of wine.

Let me tell you a little bit about Georgian toasts. As I may have said, I’m fairly sure that Georgians invented the toast. There is a tamada (toastmaster) who has the microphone, and he is in charge of making all the toasts throughout the evening. These are no mere “I propose a toast to the bride and groom. Cheers!” types of charades. No, each toast is a long-winded and surely-beautiful affair, first to the bride and groom, then to peace, then love, then the family of each the bride and groom, etc. etc., and when the person giving the toast is finished, he lifts the animal horn full of wine and downs the whole thing. Yes, an animal horn. And I mean it when I say FULL. And this happens multiple times throughout the evening. It’s incredible, really!

I had decided beforehand that I would try to eat veeeery slowly and also that I would make sure to dance. In a nutshell, Georgian weddings are somewhat like American weddings, except amped up on steroids. The dance floor is always full, and everyone is having a blast! It was so beautiful when 2 boys and 2 girls (family of the bride and groom) came out dressed in Adjaruli costumes (dance outfits for Adjara, my region of Georgia) and danced to traditional Georgian music. Most Georgians know how to do these dances as well, so it’s a really wonderful tradition in this country.

Georgians could also easily be the best there are at giving peer pressure. Usually it involves food, but they don’t hesitate (especially the Georgian women) in trying to marry you off to a Georgian boy. I got asked more than once during the evening if I would stay in Georgia and get married if I found a good Georgian boy. What’s the word again for “no, no, no, but thank you for the offer(s)!”? I’ve been using the excuse of my family being in America. That’s an excuse they understand, since family is so important to them.

Georgian weddings, indeed, are some of the most festive Georgian family-and-friend occasions I’ve yet experienced! Therefore I have to admit I’m pretty darn excited for another one on Thursday! I’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving a little different this year, with more food than an American Thanksgiving feast can even imagine. Gaumarjos!

Side note: I love my job. The kids are awesome, for sure (and they only laugh with me, not at me, when I sing the songs from their English books to them), but that’s not all. Today, my host mom (who is also a teacher at my school) walked in during class and told me to modi (come) because there was baklava (this delicious Georgian pastry that is especially made for weddings) in the ‘cafeteria’ (the little room where they sell snacks and where we teachers always sit and drink coffee). During class. At first I said no because I was in the middle of class, but after my co-teacher insisted, there really wasn’t much else I could do! I didn’t want to be rude, after all. What a culture! While I was enjoying this delicious honey and hazelnut pastry, my host mom told me that she could only make me baklava if I got married here in Georgia and that I wouldn’t get it in America. I just keep laughing off all this marriage talk—seriously, I’m 22 and not really interested in that just now! And unibrows aren’t my style. Sorry, truth’s out. (ok, not all Georgian men have unibrows. Just some. True story.)

At McDonalds in Georgia. Forgive me, please (:

This post finds me in a McDonalds in Kutaisi. I know, it is a moment of uber-Americana, even down to being surrounded by other Americans (this is a popular meeting place for TLG volunteers); I can’t feel too bad about it, though, because sitting here drinking Americano in this country is a nice moment of nostalgia for the place I’ve left behind for a few months. The best part is, though, that I can use the free Wifi and when I’ve finished, walk out the doors and still be in a country where cows and pigs roam freely and the drivers are maniacs.

This week has been very good in school. While the temperatures have insisted on freezing us all to the core, Ineza brought a heater and some plants from home to cozy up our classroom. We had some check-ups in grades 5 and 6 this week, and it appears that the students are really starting to understand things. While fluency is a long way off, I can see that they are really bright kids and have made lots of progress. It is encouraging to see and be a part of. I love being in the classroom and doing walks around the room when they are working on things-it gives me some great opportunities to reach the kids that respond better to one-on-one help.

Highlights are that I am going to enjoy Georgian nature and history around Kut’ais’i this weekend, and then I will be going to a Georgian wedding on Sunday in Batumi and another on Wednesday. It’s going to be awesome to see this huge aspect of Gworgian culture close-up!

Cheers to you all-happy early Thanksgiving! Know that I would love to be celebrating it with you but, alas, I’m previously occupied.

How things go as the temperature drops

I think my time in Georgia can be broken up into 2 portions:
1. “Life before the freeze”, and
2. “Life after the freeze”.

Maybe these names are a bit lame and not very well thought of (which is true…my hands are cold and I don’t want to sit here thinking up better titles while my fingers freeze off), but it describes things here pretty accurately.

Recently, the temperature dropped drastically, and I’ve realized just how different (and cold) things are going to be here from now until the end of my semester in Georgia. First of all, I’ve had to expand my vocabulary to include phrases such as “the snow is coming” (that’s pivotal for me in understanding a lot of the everyday conversations had by the other teachers at my school, with whom I spend a lot of time).

Also with the change in temperature, I’ve had to add “plugging in the electric blanket” to my pre-sleep routine. Without it, I may not wake up in the mornings on account of being an icicle. My host family and I now also spend 95% of our time at home in the kitchen/living/dining room (all one room) because that’s where the stove is. This means I’ve been writing and reading a lot, and my English lessons for Salome happen more frequently. I enjoy these lessons because she is a quick learner and so, to treat her (ha), I included a section in her notebook called “slang”. “Hey, girl?” “What’s up?” “What’s shakin’, bacon?” (my little Georgian/English dictionary doesn’t have “bacon” in it, so we just go with it. ha!), etc., have been added to her vocabulary. She makes me proud!

In the classroom, my wardrobe has adjusted to fit a few essentials:
Leggings under my pants
A long-sleeve shirt
Sweater
Winter coat
Scarf
Winter boots
…and do you want to know the best part? I wear all of that DURING classes, because it’s reeeeeal cold. The rooms aren’t heated. At first, it seemed really bizarre to need to wear all that during school

, but then you get used to it. The kids wear their little hats and Wellies and scarves during class. Since Georgians are fond of high-fashion brand names and looking their best, half the students’ clothes are “Armani Exchange” (or knock-offs, but whatever!). Pretty stylin’!

It’s a weekend here and I’m sticking around in my village, though I hope I can take a marshrutka in to Kobuleti and find another sweater/scarf/wool socks. I had been planning on going to Borjomi, which is where they bottle the famous Georgian natural mineral water, but apparently there is a lot of snow on the road there. Since I’ve been nursing a pretty good cough for a while, I’ve decided to stay here and have the possibility of drinking as much tea as I’d like. C’est la vie!

Below, I’ve added some photos from last weekend’s trip to Imereti, a region to the northeast of where I am.

Marshrutka ride from Kutaisi north to Lake Shaori and the mountains of Imereti

2 for chess

Centuries-old church

Castle ruins in the mountains near Ambrolauri

Our ride through the region near Ambrolauri