sarabumsted

Thanksgiving.

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 08:45:48 GMT

Starting last year, PC/Georgia has a Safety and Security Conference that features a Thanksgiving Dinner the evening following the end of the conference. This event takes place the weekend before Thanksgiving in America. Our Country Director orders turkeys that should serve about 100 people. It is a dinner for Peace Corps Volunteers, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (those who have already completed service somewhere in the world) and Peace Corps staff. The Ambassador and his wife are invited to join in the festivities. Last year it went really well. PCVs cook the majority of the food while RPCVs open up their kitchens, mainly their ovens, so that the turkeys can be cooked. Coordinating the PCV cooking effort has fallen to PCVs, which is just a little bit stressful, but they have done a great job of brining it all together. For those of you who do not know, I am a huge fan of corn. I’m glad that I’m returning to America in the summer so that I can eat corn on the cob constantly. I have made sure for the past two years that there has been corn on Thanksgiving.

PCVs have been divided into groups to cook at an assigned RPVC’s house at which to cook. I am friends with a couple of RPVCs and I was actually informed by one that I would be cooking at his house. I pulled together a few other volunteers and we decided what to cook. Two of them wanted to make dessert and the other volunteer wanted only to help and not to take a lead. Naturally, I just wanted to make sure that corn was available. Corn is not difficult so I wanted to do more, but the way things turned out, that was not necessary. Mr. Defer to Others and I helped the dessert makers with cutting up apples for homemade apple pie. One friend made the crust from scratch and the other peeled the apples. Slicing the apples properly is not easy work. One does not want to mess up and have an ugly pie. Fortunately Mr. Defer to Others and I were able to rise to the challenge and three delicious apple pies were made. We received quite a bit of help and advice from our cooking hosts since none of us PCVs had ever made an apple pie before. We also enjoyed mulled wine and avocado, both of which we certainly do not have at our respective sites.

I will briefly describe the conference for you as well. Peace Corps wants to make sure that we are aware of the rules and particularly prepared in the event of some sort of crisis while we are in country. This conference provides us with the opportunity to consider certain scenarios and how we would react to them. There was a lot of drawing, which was the highlight. We had to think about natural disasters, political problems and health catastrophes. The artwork for each of these events was quite amusing. The basic point is that Peace Corps must know where we are at all times, take that for what you will. We all have cell phones to facilitate this safety and security measure. The afternoon sessions are generated by PCVs which range from PCVs turning over national projects to new PCVs to Pilates, Tahitian dancing, classroom activities and PCVs sharing what they have been doing while almost never leaving their sites. It was a good time. I am in the midst of turning over my Finance responsibilities for GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) Camp and expanding & turning over Girls’ Sports Camp. Earlier this year we had a day camp in Kobuleti (on the Black Sea) and next year there will be three regional camps that will comprise three regions each of Georgia. It is a huge expansion in a year, but entirely possible.

Last year I went to Tahitian dancing and improv. Both were fantastic sessions. There was supposed to be a session offering some of the best ways to light a pechi (wood burning stove), but unfortunately it was not on the final schedule. PCVs are asked at some point to submit sessions that they would be willing to lead. They are then contacted later to give a short blurb about their session so that it can be put in the schedule. Two PCVs put the schedule together this year, but that is easier said than done since PCVs were making scheduling requests so that they could attend other sessions that they were interested in. The two sessions that I really wanted to attend were scheduled during the one session that I was leading. Eh. What can you do? I went to the Pilates session, which was fantastic. (I am now doing Pilates every night before bed, which is great for warming up. I strongly recommend it for everyone, it is really easy and results can be seen fairly quickly. My workout lasts for about forty-five minutes.)

This conference is one of the more enjoyable because of the dinner at the end and the volunteer-led sessions. The dinner can be tough to plan, but it has been quite successful both years – this may have something to do with the PCV who has been in charge since it was the same person both years. The food is not necessarily hot when it is time to eat, but it is delicious and some of the best food that we will have all year. I do miss my mother’s stuffing, but I will get to enjoy some of that next year.

This was not as lively as some of my other posts, but that is life. I’m working on more cross-cultural posts so that you can get a better idea of what I experience here on a daily basis. I hope that everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving. I am right now enjoying my wonderful pechi (which I started entirely on my own). Take care.

Sara

A vehicular adventure...

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 08:54:23 GMT

At long last I am going to write about transportation in Georgia. My parents have now had firsthand experience with this. It is quite the harrowing experience. There is a bit of background that you should know before I dive right in. First, Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) are not allowed to drive. Yes, I have not driven since I left my parents house on June 8, 2005. It will be over two years in total that I will not have driven by the time that I return to the United States. Second, there are only three forms of transportation available to PCVs within country: trains, cars and marshutkas. The train system here is not what one would call available to all or terribly convenient to those it is available. I do not have access to a reliable and safe train at my site. Generally there is a day train and a night train, if your site is lucky enough to have a train that is what you can expect. Between certain towns, for instance the capitol, Tbilisi, and the featured city – Batumi – in the West the day train is six hours. However, from the capitol to a small random town about two hours northeast of Batumi it is eight hours. I have been told that good girls do not take the train from my site and most Georgians that I know will not even give me definite details about it (to be fair definite details about a lot of things are generally hard to come by). I have ridden the train a few times – my parents definitely have a story about that – and it really wasn’t that bad, in fact, the day train between Tbilisi and Batumi is quite nice. Unfortunately that has become quite expensive, forcing PCVs from the West to take the night train which is filled with four-person cabins and the possibility for benign, enjoyable or downright creepy encounters. Obviously one’s sex and hair and eye color are factors in your treatment. The fact that most of us can function quite well in Georgian helps enormously. Being blonde in this country means first that you are Russian and that you may very well be a prostitute. You can imagine how this can affect relations, must less those during a night train ride. This brief synopsis covers the general points of the train system in Georgia.

The second form of transport available to PCVs is the car. As I already stated we are not allowed to drive. Most of us feel this is probably a good thing since traffic laws – cough – are quite different here from just about everywhere else that I’ve ever been. I’ll be honest and state they Georgia is my first time in a non-first world country, i.e. a developing country. There are very traffic lights outside of the three major, and only, cities in Georgia. My town has a population of about 23,000 people and we have one or two traffic lights that I’m not even sure work. The most common way to drive is to gun it on the occasional good road and drive very slowly, swerving on the bad roads which have many potholes and rocks. Obviously, driving in Tbilisi versus outside of Tbilisi is quite different, but there are still similarities. Drivers will pass into oncoming traffic and swerve just in time. There are ex-patriots who drive in and out of Tbilisi, but they have also found it to be a bit crazy.

In a cost/gas saving measure, most Georgians will turn off their engine when they are going downhill. Many of us have tried to explain how this actually causes one to use more gas since you are starting and stopping your car, but since we don’t drive we are clearly not taken seriously. Eh. It is actually quite amusing (and just a little ridiculous) to just coast down roads and listen to the poor motors as they work to start again. My host family has a car, but they do not use it often since gas is expensive here. It is about $1/liter. When the average teacher salary is anywhere from $45-$75/month, $1/liter is quite a bit of money. Most families only have one person working. Consequently, I do not really have access to a car.

Now we are to most used form of transportation. We do have buses here, but they are so bad that they do not even merit a mention. My most common and let’s be honest, enjoyable form of transportation is the marshutka. A marshutka is a fifteen passenger van – that often fits between fifteen and twenty-one – from Western Europe that has outlived its usefulness and has been resold to Georgia. Yes, this naturally means that it is in peak condition and extraordinarily good for the environment. Each town has a station from which marshutkas and buses leave. There is a man there who is responsible for making sure that each marshutka leaves approximately on time and as full as possible. This is quite a job since there are marshutkas constantly leaving to all parts of the country. I befriended this man awhile back and it is quite a good relationship to have. He is a very nice man and quite helpful.

Marshutkas do not have seatbelts, except for the driver and the front passengers, but as any Georgian will tell you, you don’t need a seatbelt all Georgians are safe drivers. Ok. Speed limits are also for the weak of heart. These drivers have driven their routes for years and certainly know how to go around a corner in the mountains at 100 – 120 km/hr. I will admit that in the winter they do slow down by about 10-20km/hr. They are also respectful of severe weather. They’ll still drive in it, but they will drive much slower. Marshutkas usually stop for a few minutes during the trip if the trip is at least two and a half hours. This is generally not a bad thing as some passengers wear their professions. Since a lot of Georgian women spend a lot of time in the kitchen, they can very easily smell like cheese and other foods. Georgian men spend a lot of time outside and with their buddies drinking so some of them can smell of vodka. I usually take the first marshutka from Akhaltsikhe to Tbilisi so I don’t really encounter this anymore. The stop is also for the driver and does serve as a bathroom break.

One of the truly fun parts of taking marshutkas is the chance to flag one down from the side of the road. Yes, it does read as if I’m hitch-hiking around Georgia, which to a certain extent is true, but from certain places to others there are not direct routes. Each marshutka has a sign denoting its final destination. I have noticed on more than one occasion that drivers have not stopped when people have tried to flag them down. One reason is that the person has too much stuff with them. People will often transport large amounts of food and supplies, which some drivers do not want to bother loading up. More often than not, I’m in agreement with them since it merely delays my trip. There have been other times when the person has not given the sign that he or she is going to the end of the route – waving their hand away from themselves – so the driver does not see it as worthwhile. I have also been in marshutkas where the driver stopped ever five minutes. It really just depends. Regardless of such, flagging down a marshutka from the side of the road is a rite of passage. My parents actually did it with me twice and we did not have a problem either time. The fact that I’m clearly not Georgian and that I can speak Georgian definitely improves my chances.

Ok, now for a typical marshutka experience. I hasten to tell you that a typical experience is always a bit odd. As I previously mentioned, I usually take the earliest marshutka from my site since it is three hours to Tbilisi and I’d rather get there and start my work, rather than waiting. The first marshutka also picks me up near my house which is fantastic and saves me about thirty minutes of walking.

I usually get up around 4:45 since the first marshutka is at 6:20 and I need to leave my house no later than 6:00 because the marshutka goes to the station around 6:10. I get up, exercise (yes, I’ve started doing that again, plus it helps to warm me up in the morning and the evening), and then wash up. I’m usually ready around 5:45. Fortunately that gives me about fifteen minutes to think about all of the things that I have forgotten. I get out to the main street near my house and wait for the marshutka if it is not already there. I’m usually the first person on it. I know a few of the early morning drivers and even have a few of their numbers. They are always nice and make sure that I get a good seat where I will not be too cold or too hot. This is important since most marshutka drivers are chain smokers and often have the window next to them open. In the summer this is fantastic, but in the winter it can be a bit much.

It is very dark in the morning at this time of year, so I listen to music or sleep until I can read. I should note that Peace Corps does not suggest that we PCVs sleep on the marshutka, but usually I sit next to a grandmother (bebia) or if not, I’m quite aware of my things. I know that this could come back to bite me later, but so far I have been able to protect my things. I usually have my bag under a seat near where I’m sitting so that is also in my purview. Since those of us behind the driver and front passengers do not have seatbelts there is a lot of touching during the trip since the drivers have somehow had access to NASCAR and are emulating their favorite drivers. If I have found myself wedged in my seat due to my fellow passenger next to me then I do not shift around too much. On the rare occasion that I get the seat to myself, I can actually fly around due to the speed racing and sudden stops for passengers wanting to get on and off. I have been on a marshutka where a young girl threw up, but thankfully her mother was ready and had a bag handy so that none of us in close proximity had to wear it, some of my fellow PCVs have not been so lucky.

Marshutka drivers must have to pass a fear test before they are permitted to get behind the wheel. They will pass multiple vehicles and large military transports if there is an opening. We, PCVs, know that we have been here too long when we are wishing that the driver would just pass the slow car that is probably going about 110km/hr. I don’t know how fast I’ve gone in a marshutka, but I know that there were times I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it. Accidents are common. There are many grave markers on the side of the road, but that is part of the adventure of living here in Georgia, living as the Georgians do. Obviously the drivers don’t want to crash, but they will drive three cars across on a two lane road in order to pass. I often think of the old ‘No Fear’ t-shirts when riding in marshutkas. It is, however, because of this that I will practice driving in a parking lot when I return to America. My mom has in fact already said that she had been thinking of that. I do look forward to the day when I can drive at my leisure and not rely upon other people, but that is how I feel in general. I have reached a certain level of independence, but independent I am not; that is a whole other story.

I will write about Thanksgiving in my next entry so that I have it done before Christmas.

Take care.

Sara

Remember that one time…

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 06:59:49 GMT

when I cooked for my host family? I finally decided that it was time to make American food for the host family. It then became a matter of what. How do I best represent America? This is a tall order, if I mess up I am potentially shaming an entire country, let alone my family in America. This activity is not for the faint of heart. I thought that I was up for the challenge. Last year, I had received a birthday package from some friends from grad school. I recalled that they had enclosed a chili mix. It should be noted that I had never made chili before…ever. Yes, for my first American meal in Georgia I decided to make a truly American food that I had truly never made before. What could go wrong? I mean, come on, it was a mix. All I had to add was water and tomato paste and whatever sundry items that tickled my fancy.

I have two sitemates, Chris and Jason. Chris is in the same group as me. He is also a NGO Volunteer. Our’s was the only town in this country to receive two NGO Volunteers from our group. Jason is an University TEFL Volunteer. He is in the newer group. Chris is a vegetarian, but Jason is not.

Naturally I invited both of them over for some chili, giving them both fair warning that this was my first time cooking for my host family. I have cooked in Georgia, but not yet at site. I only needed to buy paste and meat for the side. I decided to cook the Tuesday after Halloween. I informed my host family Monday evening that the following evening I would be making dinner. I’m fairly confident that they didn’t believe me. I had told them before that I would eventually do it, but I think that they had given up. I usually get home around six or seven, but I decided to have Jason and Chris over around six, so I would have to get home early to make sure that I had enough time to clean my room and cook.

I had left the package of chili mix on the kitchen table before I left for the work that morning to make sure that my family knew that I was serious. I came home from work with my purchases in hand ready to begin cooking. My host mom was a bit surprised, to say the least, that I was actually going to do it. I realize that there were a few times in the past when I said that I would cook and something came up and it didn’t work out, but have a little faith.

I went to work doing very little to make this yummy American meal. I had to boil water and thaw the meat and cook it. Unfortunately, Chris had to cancel because of work, but Jason was still able to attend. I tentatively entered the kitchen for the first time as a cook and not as a consumer of yummy foods. I had heard terrible stories of Georgian host mothers who did not take kindly to having their sacred space invaded. I walked in and my host mother looked up from her work and eyed me curiously. I decided that only the confident survive. I told her that it was time for me to cook and that the first item I would need would be a pot to boil water. She looked at me, impressed that I expressed my succinctly and correctly. She knew that I meant no disrespect, but that I did know what I was doing. She pointed to cabinet where the pots where and told me to use what I needed. I picked out the pot that I thought was big enough and went to work boiling the water.

While I waited for the water to boil I vacuumed my room. My host mom was also quite stunned with that. I had asked to use the dust trap, but she just handed me the vacuum cleaner and attempted to give a quick tutorial, but I told that I had one in America that used quite a bit (which is true, thank you very much).

I was quite a bit nervous when I compared the amount of water required and the amount of tomato paste. The mix plus the paste seemed to equal a very watery chili which I did not want. I did not think a watery chili would go over well with the host family. If I messed this up then they would decide once and for all that I was not marriage material since I could not even get the amount of water correct. (This would be a disaster since I’ve had my eye on very nice local boy named Giorgi who has promised to whisk me away to a life of cooking, cleaning and caring for many children. How could I let that slip away? – which would certainly happen if he heard of my failure in the kitchen.) Consequently, I decided to add more paste and just see what would happen. My youngest host sister was watching with a great deal of interest. I watched with glee and bated breath as the water level steadily decreased and the chili thickened. Success. Giorgi’s dream will live to see another day. Why should it come crashing down yet?

Jason came over and noted the good smell of the kitchen and appreciated the warmth as well. His family did not have a pechi yet. (A pechi is a wood burning stove that has become popular for cooking and heat since central disappeared after Communism when the lines were ripped up to be sold as scrap metal). His family has since acquired a pechi and his life is significantly better. He noted that were several mornings in which he woke up and could see his breath in his room. Ouch. I, unfortunately, have never had to experience this particular joy and hope that I never do.

As it turned out my host father and other host sister were not around for the start of the meal. I was quite disappointed as I thought that I had scheduled the dinner for a time that would be appropriate for everyone’s schedules. However, all was not lost, Jason, my host mother, my host sister and myself were able to enjoy the fruits of my rather minimal labor. They were a bit unsure of the odd concoction in their respective bowls, but Jason and I dug right in. It turned out to be quite good. It was a bit spicy for me, but Jason did not complain. My host mom offered her homemade bread and some other standard Georgian dishes. It was the first time that Jason had been over to my house and it would not be polite to offer only one dish at a meal, particularly dinner. We ended up having a bit of a supra with some of my family’s homemade wine which was pretty good. My host mother did compare the chili to a type of bean soup that is quite popular here, but I patiently explained that it was quite different. She didn’t seem to agree with me and noted that her bean soup is better. Can’t win ’em all. Jason and I ate to our hearts content, so we were quite happy.

My host dad joined us later. He, too, compared the chili to the bean soup. Again, I explained that it was different. My youngest host sister even jumped in to note the different spices and food within the chili. My host dad wanted to know the name for the dish and I told him it was chili. He then wanted a word in Georgian which I think he knew would be very similar to bean soup, but I did not fall for wily scheme, so I told him that the universal word was chili. He just looked at me and chuckled. He did say that it was pretty good. Both he and my host mother noted to Jason that it was my first time cooking in the house. I felt their not-so-subtle jab, but decided that the tasty food in my bowl was my just reward and that I did not need to defend myself. It just so happened that there was extra food which I had for the two following meals in typical Georgian style.

Overall, the dinner went very well, but I don’t think that I would cook again unless someone was coming over. One of my friends from near the Black Sea has since come to visit and we made Thai food for lunch and my youngest host sister was around to sample that. We also made rice crispie treats which my family really enjoyed. I have made brownies with other volunteers and I will probably make those for my host family soon.

That is all for now. I know that it is not as crazy as some of my other stories, but it is typical of cooking and interacting with my host family.

I will post again. I will not say when because you will probably not believe me so why play that game? I will try to make it soon, but again, no promises. I like to keep all of you on your toes.

Take care.

Sara

Halloween 2006

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 09:22:54 GMT

Hello all. As I mentioned the PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) organized a Halloween Party in Gori. Random trivia: Did you know that Gori is the birthplace of Stalin? Well it is. This did not play a role in our selection of Gori, nor play any part in the festivities, but I just thought that you should know.

The party was in Gori for two very simple reasons: one, a PCV there was actually willing to organize the party and two, because it is one of the few places in Georgia, besides Tbilisi, that can accomodate a large group of PCVs. I would like to take this opportunity to give a big shout-out to Mark Schaerrer who organized the party and did a really great job taking care of us.

I dressed up as mono (no, not the ailment). In Georgia, most of the volunteers use pay-as-you-go cards for their cell phones. These cards are called mono. I simply replicated the card on a t-shirt. Mono cards are black on the front and white on the back, so I bought a black t-shirt and a white t-shirt, cut them in half and then sewed them together. My host sister, Lela, used her handy sewing machine (from a long forgotten time). It was nice to work with her. I wanted to have a costume that my host family would understand and I wanted to have something in which I wrote in Georgian. I don't have pictures yet, but I have friends who do and I will send some to my parents and I will try to post a few on this site.

We had quite an assortment of costumes. One of my favorites was one PCV who had a note on himself that read: To: Women, From: God. It was rather amusing. We had other people dress up as characters from a popular Brazilian soap opera. There were Georgians in attendance and they had a great time. They were also dressed up and had a great time. The final costume that I found particularly amusing was two female PCVs dressed up as giardia. Giardia is a parasite that has plagued many PCVs here with frequent trips to bathroom. It is not pleasant, but common and part of the experience.

Other highlights from Gori include showering, eating swiss cheese, finding decent pizza and playing Settlers of Catan. I will now explain the importance of each of those. For those of you who don't really know my regular life here, showering is just about one of the greatest things ever. I have now accepted that four days is really not that long to go without a shower. I have gone six full days between showers, which is a record for me, but by no means the record for Georgia. I think the record of PC Georgia is 28 days. Have no fear, I have no intention of getting anywhere close to that record. Swiss cheese is almost never heard of outside of Tbilisi. It was quite the treat. I don't even really like swiss cheese, but I ate it because it was available and a luxury. Yes, I just referred to swiss cheese as a luxury. Finding decent pizza is close to showering, but not quite. I have a running tally of the best places to eat pizza in Georgia. Unfortunately, Akhaltsikhe is not on the list. Gori is close, but it didn't have mayonnaise so that was a start. Yes, in Georgia they put mayonnaise on their pizza. This is one of those cultural differences that I will never understand and never assimilate to. I like my pizza without mayonnaise and that is just how it is. Finally, Settlers of Catan. This is a board game from America that was sent to Aaron. My dad played it when he was here. Dad, you'll appreciate this. I played Friday and Sunday and I won on Friday. It was pretty sweet. Aaron didn't win either game which is rather unusual.

Our next big event is our All Volunteer Conference close to Thanksgiving. I will however post before then. I'm off to Tbilisi at the end of this week to work on final reports for my camps. Yes, when the camp is done, it's not over for me.

Oh, I'm cooking for the first time at my host family house tonight, so I'm sure that I'll have something to write about in the next couple of days.

Take care.

Sara

Long time, no update.

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 08:03:54 GMT

And I'm back in the game...I decided that eight months was probably long enough of a hiatus. I could do a step-by-step of what has happened over this period of time, but that would take forever instead I will do my best to summarize so that we can quickly get to the present. It's a gift, you know.

Most of my time from the ski trip until my parents arrived in June was taken up with GLOW work. The G4s (the group ahead of me) started leaving in April, but most of them left in May and June. I said good-bye to some great friends and I have kept in touch with some of them. There were parties, crazy good-byes and great times shared by all.

Ok, next (told you this would be brief). GLOW was originally scheduled for July 14-24 which was going to be tight for me since my parents were scheduled to be in Georgia from June 27-July 11. I figured that I would get everything done in advance of their trip so that I could just enjoy my time with them. Ah, the best laid plans…As it turned out the dates for the camp were changed about a month ahead of time to July 11-21. Since my parents were flying out early on the 11th, I could still make it to camp that day. Great. I’ll return to GLOW later because right now I’m going to recap my parents’ trip to Georgia. Yea!!

My parents arrived at 4:50am (your eyes do not deceive you) at the Tbilisi airport. Interestingly enough they were on the same flight as our new Peace Corps Director who Aaron and I met right then. Aaron was kind enough to go the airport with me to meet my parents as I wasn’t sure how all of us would be after a year-long absence. We didn’t have any problems went immediately to the Peace Corps office to take care of a few things and then return to our place of lodging to unwind for a bit. That did not last very long as we set out to hit the town. [I have just realized that this could take awhile if I can continue at this rate, I will speed it up a bit.] The four of us spent three days and two nights in Tbilisi going out to eat Georgian food and seeing the sights of Tbilisi. Another volunteer, Laura, was in town, who decided that we should give my parents a preview of a Georgian supra at an authentic Georgian restaurant. We did that one night and had a great time. From Tbilisi, Aaron, my parents and I headed out to Batumi on the Black Sea. We did not end up on the train that I thought that we would, so if you know my parents you should definitely get in touch with them about that experience. I’ll give you a teaser though; we were in the third class compartment. Haha. It was classic and unintentional. We spent a couple of days Batumi and even went down to the Georgian-Turkish border. We also saw the Botanical Gardens located outside of Batumi.

From Batumi, we ended up back in Tbilisi for a day before we headed out to Gori for the Peace Corps 4th of July picnic. This was a chance for my parents to meet a bunch of volunteers as well as Peace Corps staff. It was a good time had by all and I really enjoyed it. The new group is great and it was fun to hang out them and get to know them.

Our next stop was my site. We spent three nights at my site. My parents were able to do the things on their itinerary that they wanted to most which was visit Vardzia (awesome caves that a Georgian queen had hid out in) and hike to Sapara (still functioning monastery). We had great weather for both trips and my parents really liked it. We had a traditional supra with my family and toasted to their trip. My parents also had the opportunity to see where I work and meet my boss and some of the women with whom I work.

The next stop on their crazy adventure was to my training site in Khashuri. We were only able to stay one night which was too bad, because that is a great family and they definitely wanted us to stay longer. While we were there we saw a bear cub. That was highly unusual. My dad even got video of it which we were able to share with my host family. Good times.

Our final stop was back in Tbilisi. We went and visited the original site for the capitol of Georgia, Mskheta. It was fairly interesting. I had not been there before so it was good to get an opportunity to visit it. We ended up back in Tbilisi where we met up the parents of a friend of my parents’ in America. They had already met. Yes, randomly enough my parents have Georgian friends in their town. It is a small world after all.

Obviously a lot more happened during my parents’ visit, but in the interest of space and time I will conclude there. I had a great time with them and they were able to get a firsthand look at my life in Georgia, or at least pretty close. They were able to meet people and sites that I mention in emails and on the phone.

The next big thing for me was GLOW Camp. I dropped my parents off at the airport at 4am and went back to sleep a bit before I had to get up and go to GLOW Camp. I was able to get a ride out with our new country director so that saved a lot of hassle. We had two five-day sessions with a weekend break in-between. It was stressful and tiring, but really rewarding as well. We introduced junior counselors, girls who had previously been to the camp, and it was an overwhelming success. We were also lucky enough to have the First Lady of Georgia visit the first camp. She was unfortunately unable to attend the second camp, but needless to say, her participation was greatly appreciated by both counselors and campers alike. The four American counselors were sad for the camp to end, but also ready for a chance to relax and make sure all of the details were taken care of.

I was able to spend some down time before my boss let me know that she wanted to work on a grant to the United Nations Fund for Contemporary Forms of Slavery. She wanted to address human trafficking particularly since we are located very close the Armenian and Turkish borders. I then got in touch with three NGOs in Tbilisi who have extensive experience in this particular area. My boss wants to organize a Training-of-the-Trainers so that respected members of this region can then reach out to the people of this region and provide information. I won’t know until December or January if the grant is approved. It was a bit of a mad rush to get this done because I only had a month to do it and I was also working on putting the first sports camp for girls. Oh, and I had planned a trip to Azerbaijan for my birthday.

Okay, I’ll start with the trip. It was three other PCVs, Aaron, Rebecca and Lee. Rebecca had worked on GLOW with me and Lee is just a fun, chill guy. Aaron’s sister had been studying in Moscow for six weeks and speaks Russian quite well and was an awesome addition to the trip. She probably didn’t get to see as much of Georgia as she would have liked, but our trip was definitely made better by having her there. She’s also quite outdoors-y which was pretty great. We were in Azerbaijan for about six or seven days. We were able to get outside of the capitol and hike up some pretty amazing waterfalls and rock faces. I had some harrowing experiences, but it was all good in the end. There was definitely a point when I wasn’t really sure about that, but it proved to be quite a thrilling trip. We were also able to meet several volunteers from the Azerbaijan program which was rather interesting. It was crazy to contrast the two experiences. One shocking thing, for me at least, is that despite it being a Muslim country, a majority of volunteers, almost 80% live on their own, including women. PC/Georgia is no where near that. A group of them are planning to come visit in November.

Wow, so that gets me to early September. We had our Mid-Service Conference (MSC) the second full weekend of September. MSC is a chance to reflect on what we have done so far and determine our goals for the coming year. It is crazy to think that our Close of Service (COS) conference is scheduled for around May 17. It was a lot of fun to get the G5 group together. We had lost some people over summer and lost a few more right after the conference, however we were able to say good-bye, which is helpful. Our group is hoping that once we get through winter we won’t lose anyone else.

After this conference I made my way west to Kobuleti to put on the sports camp with another volunteer, Emily Dumovich. Our goal was to have a successful first camp that would then act a springboard for future camps. We knew that there would be mistakes, but it was important for it to happen with as few mistakes as possible. The camp was made of girls from the surrounding villages of Kobuleti, where Peace Corps Volunteers serve. We were able to get girls from four villages with each village having from four to six girls in attendance. Unfortunately Mother Nature was not very cooperative. It rained out one entire day, which was coincidentally the day that our Country Director was coming to visit. We were lucky enough to have a doctor from a nearby NGO come visit to talk about healthy eating and living. This was a wonderful opportunity for girls to have their questions by a trained doctor. It was before the start of this camp that I had to finalize with my NGO the grant for the UN, which was a bit hectic, but it was done.

Since then, everything has been relatively low-key. We had two new volunteers at my site, bringing us to four. Unfortunately one of them had to go home for medical reasons, so now we are down to three. We have pretty much leap-frogged over fall here, but there are still a few nice days. Once we get into November it will likely be quite cold again.

I know that a lot of people have been watching the situation between Russia and Georgia with a great deal of interest. I want to assure everyone that I am fine. One unfortunate impact of this problem could the loss of electricity this winter which would not be very nice at all, but I’ll manage. I mean, I did come here to rough it, didn’t I? So, not to worry, everything is fine and I’m still enjoying myself. We have a Halloween party coming up next weekend so I’ll shock all of you by posting the week following it. Take care and I’ll work on being more diligent with my journal.

Sara

Ski Weekend

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 13:11:25 GMT

For those of you who don’t know I have never skied before, but I decided that since I was in the Peace Corps, and it’s fairly inexpensive in Georgia, that I should try it out. Three other PCVs were able to go with me so, we made our way to Bakuriani. I was charged with finding lodging since it was a mere hour and a half from my site. I spoke with current volunteers who directed to our PST coordinator who had a hotel in a nearby town. With his help, I was able to book all of us a place in someone’s one home for a little less than what our hostel cost in Turkey (per night).

I had some food from America that I had won in an auction that I brought and we bought food in Bakuriani. Getting was there was, of course, a bit of a fiasco and we were forced to cab from Borjomi. This was not outrageous and was only slightly more than a marshutka.

We ended staying in a house that a family rents out, so we had one room with its own bathroom and one room that shared one in the hallway with another room. It was great. We had heat and a hot shower. Heaven. It also turned out to not be that far from where were skiing, but we didn’t realize that until after our first day of skiing.

I had been in charge of securing lodging and pricing things, but beyond that I figured that we would figure it out as we went along. This plan worked, but there were a few minor hiccups along the way. The first morning we woke and put on our gear. I didn’t have snow pants, so I borrowed some shell pants from a friend and wore two pairs of long underwear and sweatpants underneath. Remember, I’ve never skied before, so I figured that I would be on the cold ground quite a bit (and I wasn’t wrong). The three guys didn’t dress as warmly as I did (I also had six layers, including my two layers of coats, on top). Again, they didn’t anticipate falling as much as I did.

We weren’t sure where to go so we headed back into town and were eventually directed toward a slope. We passed a bunny hill on the way there, but figured there would be more where we ended up. Hah. We ended up walking in one big circle, which we corrected the second day. It was quite a trek to the slope that we used both days. We got there around 10:15 and rented our equipment. The guy who took care of us spoke English and was incredibly helpful. My sitemate, who is from Washington State and quite an accomplished skier, recommended that I get shaped skis, but he didn’t know how likely that would be. As fate would have it, we all ended up with shaped skis. Excellent.

Two of my friends found out this was my first time on our way into Bakuriani and politely said that they would leaving the teaching to Aaron. This was fine as this is what he expected. I should note that of the three of us, I was the only from ski country. Well one guy was from Cali and wasn’t that far from Tahoe, but Aaron is from Texas and the other guy, Matt, is from South Carolina.

Once we got our skis on, they immediately hit the slopes. Aaron patiently showed me how to walk sideways and a few other things, like snow ploughing, but I really didn’t this down, before it was time to go up and just do it.

There was a point halfway up where we could get off, but Aaron was sure that there would be a bunny run at the top on the other side. He was wrong. One of the other guys, John, later said that my first run was an advanced one. Good for me. It took me nearly two and a half hours to do it. It was quite treacherous with some turns only six feet wide and rather steep. I did have some highlights like being able to move back and forth on the run, but then I would pick up speed, panic and just fall to my side. I was continually told not to be afraid to fall. Please, I embraced falling and was probably doing it too much at one point.

Yep, so I did one run before lunch and two afterwards, one of which was all by myself. Those two runs were from halfway up. I didn’t make it to the top again, because the second day it was icier and the guys didn’t think it was a good idea for me to do it and I agreed. There was a mogul course there that they tried, but I didn’t think that I was ready for that. I need more practice, before I’m challenging the likes of Bode Miller, but my day will come, oh yes it will.

The second day I did five and half runs. I tried to the toe lift, but that isn’t very much fun. I did not master the art of getting off the lift, instead there was a guy waiting to help people, so I got to know him pretty well. I did not fall very much the second day, in fact, I think it was only three or four times. Yes, I did whole runs without falling. I got close a couple of times, but in all not bad. I stopped snow ploughing, but my third run and only used it at the end of the run when there were a lot of people around.

All in all, it was a really great time and it’s too bad that I was only there to ski for two days. Matt said that it usually takes people three days to be really comfortable on skis and I would have to agree, because I did feel better the second day so the third day would have to be better. Too bad. Well there is always next year. It wasn’t a cheap weekend by PCV standards, but in all we each paid about $120 for transportation, lodging, food, rentals, and lift tickets, for two days of skiing and three nights of lodging. Not too bad at all. We did keep costs down by cooking every night, but that can still get a bit expensive.

I’m really glad that I did it and there were some good pics taken of me in the snow. I’ll be passing those on to my parents as soon as I get them from John.

That’s all for my ski weekend. I’ll update again, or at least I’ll try. Take care.

Sara

Tbilisi, Istanbul, and Beyond...

Wed, 08 Feb 2006 09:07:39 GMT

I spent a wonderful Christmas in Tbilisi, spending Christmas Eve at the home of our Administrative Officer, Adam, who is a former volunteer himself. His wife, Katie, and their four children were rather generous, opening their home to eight volunteers for the night. They had a Christmas Eve dinner for a slew of volunteers who had descended upon Tbilisi for the holiday weekend. Christmas Eve is also Jack’s birthday (Adam’s oldest and his only son), so a bunch of us brought cards and a few presents. Since it was Jack’s birthday he got to pick the main course for dinner...hot dogs for everyone! The four children went to bed around nine or ten at which time Adam and Katie set about finishing their present wrapping and placing gifts under the tree.

As it turned out a bunch of us stayed up ’til 3am talking and catching up. We went to bed knowing that we would be up early with the kids the kids the next morning. I slept upstairs so I didn’t actually hear the kids until about 7:30, but apparently they were up at 6:30. One volunteer actually slept in the room over from the Christmas tree, so he was up at 6:30.

Katie, who is a fabulous cook, made cinnamon rolls for everyone plus a wide assortment of common breakfast goodies including juice, which is expensive for us lowly volunteers and thus not commonly in our homes. There were other foods, but those were the most important items for me. Oh wait, she also made chocolate chip muffins. (I will point out here that my mom sent me my absolute favorite Christmas treat, banana chocolate chip bread, which I saved and shared with my Istanbul crew. I also gave one loaf to my host family.)

My parents called me around 10am, after they were done with the midnight Christmas Eve service. (For those of you who do not know, I am now nine hours ahead of the East Coast. This has made talking with my parents fun to coordinate. We often talk at the end of my day and the beginning of their’s.) It was nice and slightly weird to hear about their plans and know that it still wasn’t technically Christmas in America. My parents had sent my a few gifts so that I would have something to open on Christmas, which was very generous considering my big present was Istanbul trip.

Christmas day, Adam and Katie provided us with quite the spread and we gorged ourselves. That pretty much sums of my Tbilisi Christmas. It was nice to spend the holiday with other volunteers, especially some that I don’t see very often. I ate some great food and was able to hang out with kids. Being able to share the holiday with kids was actually pretty great. That was what really made it Christmas for me. Yes, Adam and Katie do things differently in their home, but it’s still Christmas. I’m really glad that I was able to spend the holidays with Americans.

The next day I started my trek west. I was supposed to take the day train to Kobuleti and spend a night or two there, but my friend buying the ticket accidentally bought tickets for the night train, so my first train experience in Georgia was in a four person cabin with one American and two Georgians. It was fine. The train was really hot, so sleeping was actually a pain, plus I was excited about taking the train. All I ever take are marshutkas (essentially 15 passenger vans that can carry as many 20, at least from my experience), so a different form of transport was pretty cool and a welcome change. We arrived in Kobuleti around 6:30. We immediately went to my friend’s house in the next village over and went to sleep for a couple of hours. We hung out with his host family for about five or six hours before heading off to Batumi to spend the night, so it would be easier to meet up with our friends the next morning as Batumi was our departure point. It was that night that I started to get sick. I bought orange juice and took cold medicine in the hope that my cold and could would simply vanish. Bright and early the morning of the 28th, Aaron and I met up with our friend Mike, and waited for our friend Emily. Emily showed up in a cab with a driver who agreed to take us to the border. It was about a thirty minute ride. Honestly, I don’t really remember. All I do remember is how excited all of us were to be officially starting our vacation. There were three other guys also going to Istanbul who had left around 5:30am to go to the border, we had left around 8am.

We showed up at the border and our three friends were still there, because one of them had brought his regular American passport and not his Peace Corps passport, which has his visa in it. They had been at the border for three hours trying to reach some sort of agreement with the military guys checking passports. Ultimately the guy had to go back to his site and get his Peace Corps passport. Those three guys left later that evening so they were only about twelve or so hours behind us.

We got through the border without any problems. Mike mentioned that he almost brought his regular passport as well, thankfully he didn’t. After some miscommunication with stamps and temporary visas for Turkey we finally made it across the border and found a cab to Hopa. In Hopa we bought tickets for a bus to Istanbul that left at 11:30am. Excellent, that was in just an hour or so. Except, wait a minute, what does that clock read on the wall??? Yes, it is correct. Once you cross the border into Turkey you have to jump BACK two hours. That was unexpected. Thank goodness there were two cafes in the bus station. We went to both. The time actually passed fairly quickly. We ate and played cards. Our vacation had begun so we were willing to wait.

We got on the bus without any problems. It was rather comfortable. It only cost us $40/each which was below budget so that worked out pretty well. We had an attendant who came around with beverages and the bus stopped every couple of hours for the bathroom and food. We were all pretty keyed up so we talked for awhile. About halfway through the trip Emily decided to take a nap and didn’t really wake up again until we got to Istanbul. Yes, she slept for about twelve hours straight. Mike and Aaron slept intermittently, but true to form, I didn’t really get that much sleep. I know that I catnapped here and there, but nothing for a sustained period of time. I read, listened to music and watched a terrible movie in Turkish. The fact that I was the most energized of the group baffled all of them, particularly Aaron, because whenever I got really bored – and since I was sitting next to him – I would nudge him, so that I would have someone with whom to talk.

We arrived in Istanbul around noon on the 29th. We immediately went to our hostel. When we got in the cab, Emily and Mike just about lost it. The windshield wasn’t cracked and the wiper fluid worked, not to mention that the cab had a meter. All of these things we are not accustomed to in Georgia. We were staying in the Eastern European side of Istanbul. We had arrived on the Asian side so our cab ride across the Bosphorus was amazing. Our hostel was great. The top floor had a bar and served breakfast each morning, but the best part was the view. We had a great look at both the Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque to two most historic mosques in Istanbul. We dropped our bags in our rooms and made our way out into the city. We had decided to walk around for a bit, rest, then go out for dinner.

I had spoken with some volunteers who had been to Istanbul the year before and they had highly recommended Taxim Square, on the Asian side, as the place to go in the evenings. Our first dinner in Istanbul...Pizza Hut. Yes, we went the route of American. Simply put, we wanted comfort food. Pizza Hut was not our first choice, but it was the first one that we saw. Afterwards we walked around the square. There had been rumors of a Starbucks, but we didn’t find it immediately, so we eventually made our way back to the hostel. We were still a bit tired and wanted to get going early the next day…

Our daily regime consisted of getting up for breakfast, checking our email (for free, which while common for me, is not for Aaron, Emily, and Mike who do have to pay and cannot check often), deciding what to do for the day, going out, napping around four, then going out to dinner around six or so. While this may not sound exhilarating to all, it was heaven for us. Having a warm place to come back to, with a hot shower, was amazing. We walked around Sultanahmet, which was where we were staying, quite a bit. We did not walk around on the Asian side as much as I would have liked, but that is for another trip.

We eventually found the Starbucks (later I learned that there were actually two, plus a Dunkin’ Donuts), which put Emily and Mike in heaven. They even went there one day to sit and read while Aaron and I checked out an archaeology museum.

New Year’s. This turned out to be quite the experience. We found a nice place to eat the night before and made our way there around seven or eight, not really sure when. We ate a great meal, followed by chocolate fondue for dessert. Around eleven or so, we made our way to Taxim Square for the festivities. There we were in the capitol of Turkey in the busiest square. We noticed that part of it was sectioned off, so naturally we wanted to get in that section. We found out that a metal detector was the only thing separating us from what appeared to be “true” festivities. We pushed our way through and ended up towards the back of the crowd. Mike and Aaron immediately noticed that Emily (also blonde haired and blue eyed) were apparently the only females in this section. Hmm. It took Emily and I another minute to realize that.

Up to this point we had not run into the three other volunteers who had made the trek to Istanbul…that was about to change. In the heart of the action, there were steps leading up to where the stage on which the band was playing, were our three friends. One of our friends, Austin, is 6’5 with curly, big hair. The lights happened to flashing right over his head and we spotted him instantly. Emily wanted to go say hi so she and I were off in a flash, leaving Mike and Aaron in the dust. To get to our friends we had to make our way through a sea of Turkish guys probably all in their twenties and early thirties. Needless to say, I don’t think they expected to see two blondes moving through the crowd. Hands were coming at us from all directions, so much so that we had to bat them away with our free hands as Emily and were tightly holding onto each other’s hands.

We made it to the boys, at which point Austin loudly asks, “How did you find us?” Our other friend, Paul, simply turns and points at Austin. Our third friend, Kevin, is busy jumping up and down with his Turkish friends of the moment. Fair enough. Suddenly Aaron and Mike join us pointing out that we would not have made it back down before the New Year, or pretty much at all. We’re all a bit off balance because we are on the steps, but also because the Turkish guys are acting as if Emily and I are the first girls that they have ever seen. It was rather unnerving. After the New Year struck the guys got even more forward trying to grab Emily away for a kiss. Our buddies tried to encircle us, but Turkish guys ended up behind Emily and the situation got really bad. Paul and Aaron decided to get us out of there, but on the way down the steps Emily was knocked down, which just further freaked us out.

We managed to get out of the crowd of guys. Emily was fine, but shaken up. We stuck around for a few more minutes, but left around 12:45 to go back to our hostel. Our three friends disappeared before we left, but we made plans to try to meet up the next day as they were leaving the following evening.

We ended up not meeting up with our boys, but the four of us did take a ferry ride on the Bosphorus. Naturally that didn’t go exactly as planned. The ferry back to our side closed for the night and we didn’t know it, so we ended up riding along the opposite side a few times before we eventually walked back. It was pretty cool. One of the nice things about Istanbul is how safe it is. We are constantly being warned to not walk around after dark in Tbilisi, but Istanbul just felt a lot safer. Since it is a major tourist destination, it is better lit and there are simply more people out and about.

The next morning we got up and left rather early. We made it to the bus station and caught a bus that was leaving for Hopa in the ten minutes. The bus ride back was lot faster than the bus ride there, but isn’t typical of all vacations?? Again, Emily slept most of the trip and I did not. I did, however, sleep more than I did on the trip out. Our trip back into Georgia was without incident. We were completely unaware of the impending bird flu problem. If we had stayed one more day we would have been quarantined at the border. We had contemplated it, but changed our minds at the last minute. Thank goodness.

We came back to text messages from the Peace Corps demanding that all volunteers who went to Turkey check-in and alert them if any of us were sick. All of us were and are fine.

So, that is my trip to Turkey and my first trip out of Georgia. It was quite an experience. There is soo much more that I didn’t write about because this is already long as it is.

Things are trudging along here. I will update on that soon. I’ve heard that our gas and electricity shortages have made international news. Thankfully I haven’t been too affected by that. My family does have electricity and Akhaltsikhe doesn’t have gas, so I can’t miss what I don’t have.

Take care and I’ll be in touch soon.

Sara

Yes, I am still alive.

Wed, 14 Dec 2005 06:53:04 GMT

I realize that I have not given a work update in awhile, so here goes. My work had generally been focused around English classes until about the end of October when I started planning a workshop on healthy living for women. This was quite an exciting topic to take up here in Georgia, so I wanted to make sure that we did everything right for the grant application. This has also provided me with an opportunity to do more research, and hopefully work, on my NGO's overall organizational structure.

I was able to work on this for a couple of weeks until we had our All Volunteer Security and Safety Conference. This was also when we had our Thanksgiving here in Georgia. Yes, Thanksgiving was Nov. 19 for me. It was actually pretty amazing. Our country director had turkeys flown over from the US and had spoken with some of the expats in town so that the turkeys would be properly cooked. I have no idea how many there were, but there were about seventy or so people there, so I'll say slightly more than a few. It was great to see everyone, but a bit overwhelming. Our G5 NGO conference immediately followed All Vol, so that was five straight nights in Tbilisi paid for by the Peace Corps. Generally this would not be so bad, but again, most of us were tired from the three days straight of hanging out with everyone. The conference went pretty well. Both of my counterparts were unable to attend so the Director of the Women's Club, Manana, came in their place. She is a really great lady and it went pretty well. Her English is not at the same level as my counterparts, but it went pretty well.

I came back to the Akh where I was supposed to do a talk about Thanksgiving on Tuesday, but Manana was not able to organize the meeting because she was in Tbilisi with me, so it was moved to the following Tuesday. I was slated to go to a meeting in a nearby village on Thanksgiving Day, but at the last minute I did not go because they could not get a translator to go and the meeting was going to be in Georgian and Armenian. This was not a problem for me as I have sat through meetings in which Georgian, Russian, and Armenian were spoken, but my boss didn't feel that it was a good use of my time. Oh well.

Since then I have been working with the G4 Finance co-chair (Maggie) to complete a grant to the US Embassy for GLOW Camp. I met with the woman who oversees the grants in Georgia last Monday and submitted the grant then as well. Maggie is rather optimistic about our chances of being fully funded since we have been funded in the past and because we have made significant strides towards making the camp sustainable. We won’t know for some though, because it is a two-pronged process; the application is first considered in Georgia, then it is sent to DC to determine whether or not it will be funded and how much, based on recommendations made here in Georgia.

I am currently working on two grants, one for each of my NGOs. First, I am working on a grant, for my girls’ NGO, to send ten Georgian young women to a conference in Poland where they will have the chance to interact with girls from Poland, Ukraine, and Sweden. This is a great opportunity for them to have a greater understanding of women’s roles in other countries and how they may go about enacting change in Georgia. Second, I am working on a grant for the women’s NGO that will enable them to have a workshop on women’s health and how to live healthfully. This will include several areas, particularly reproductive education and hopefully the repudiation of certain long-held myths.

Finally, as the holiday season approaches, it would appear that I finally have my travel itinerary set. I leave Akhaltsikhe on Dec. 23 to go to Tbilisi for Christmas holiday. I’m not yet sure where I am staying, but I actually still have time to figure that out. One of the Peace Corps staffers has graciously opened up his home to volunteers for the holidays. I will be spending Christmas Eve dinner there and will probably head over there for part of Christmas Day.

I’m not sure which day, but either Christmas night or the morning of the twenty-sixth, I will make my way west with a couple of volunteers to stay a night or two at my friend, Aaron’s house in a village near Kobuleti. Bright and early the morning of the twenty-eighth, four of us, Aaron, Emily, Mike, and I will start our trek to Istanbul. Mike and Emily are two other G5 volunteers who were also interested in spending New Year’s in Istanbul. There are three other G5 volunteers, Paul, Austin, and Kevin, who will be meeting up with us a day later in Istanbul. The four of us wanted to make sure that we had enough time to see the sites of Istanbul. We are staying at this awesome hostel in Istanbul. You can check out the website if you want, www.orienthostel.com. It’s rather affordable and vols who stayed there last year said that it was fantastic.

The trip to Istanbul will be pretty awesome. As I said, the four of us are going to meet rather early in Kobuleti and marshutka down to Batumi where we are either going to take a cab or marshutka again down to Sarpi. Sarpi is a village right on the border of Turkey. From Sarpi we are going to walk across the border into Turkey; for some reason I am particularly excited about this part of the trip. Once we cross the border there are apparently a few cabs just sitting there and we’ll take one to a nearby town, Hopa. In Hopa, we are going to pick up a bus to Istanbul. The buses in Turkey are pretty phenomenal; they are double-decker and have attendants, i.e., rather comfortable. The bus ride itself is about twenty-two hours, but it’ll be more like twenty-four because of bathroom stops. The whole trip will last from December 28 – January 4. My family has graciously supported me in this endeavor. I will definitely update everyone upon my return.

Quick weather update. The G5 vols have been continuously warned about the severity of the winters here in Georgia, but as of right now; knock on wood, we haven’t had much to speak of. Some areas do have snow, but Akhaltsikhe has been spared thus far. I do not expect this to continue, but I will appreciate it while it lasts. My new host family has a heater for me, so I haven’t had to use my sleeping bag yet; this is not true for most vols. I am definitely taking advantage of my long underwear as my line of defense, because it is cold here. Both of my NGOs have amazing pechis [pech-eez] (wood-burning stoves), so that has been helpful as well.

I hope that everyone is well. Please let me know what you are up to by either responding to this message or sending me an email. Take care everyone.

Weekend in Tbilisi.

Mon, 07 Nov 2005 07:55:35 GMT

This past weekend I went to Tbilisi for a GLOW meeting. I arrived in Tbilisi on Friday though to meet up with my friends, Laura and Hannah. Hannah’s brother was just in town and was nice enough to bring a small package from my parents with him. I had called an expat, Carol, on Wednesday to find out if we could stay with her for the weekend. All volunteers were sent a list a couple of months ago of expats who are willing to host volunteers in their homes. This is a double bonus for us as it is a free place to stay with running hot water and warm, comfortable beds. This is the third time that I have stayed with expats and each time has been fantastic. The three of us met up and went over to Carol’s house. She was at work, but her housekeeper, Helen, was there and let us in. Carol had asked Helen to make pizza and brownies for us. Amazing. The three of us gladly chowed down on the treats. We did not have specific plans so we decided to take advantage of the washer and dryer that were available to us. I have not seen a dryer outside of Tbilisi, that is more of an American, or at least Western, luxury. Later on we ran some errands on the main drag and bought hair dye as well as scissors. Laura wanted to highlight her hair to make it a bit blonder and we both wanted a hair cut. Hannah offered to cut our hair a bit, so my hair is a bit shorter and a whole lot healthier. Yes, Laura and I each paid a lari for that, approximately $.55, half the cost of the scissors. Gotta love the Peace Corps.

The GLOW meeting was Saturday morning. I may not have informed everyone, but I am co-chair of the fundraising committee which means that along with G4 Maggie, I will be working on funding the camp. Since the goal of the camp, in terms of sustainability, is to be funded by Georgian businesses and possibly the government, the task of fundraising becomes a bit more difficult. The camp is not quite ready to operate solely on national funding so there is still a look toward international funding. Needless to say, we have a lot of work to do in the coming months.

The rest of the day was pretty mundane. We hung with volunteers at the Nika, which is the hostel that volunteers generally stay at in Tbilisi as it is conveniently located near the office. Sunday, Hannah left early, but Laura and I had the whole day to relax. Carol offered to call her driver and take us around town to see some of the sights, which was cool because neither one of us had yet to do that. Unfortunately, Carol was tired from a long weekend of working because the Embassy was moving buildings. She said that we were more than welcome to go around town with her driver as he had done it before and it was no problem. That’s right, Laura and I had a driver for the afternoon. Our first stop was the office to drop off some papers. We ran into a bunch of vols and ended up kidnapping one of them, Andy. The three of us then proceeded to go see a brand new church that has an amazing view of the city, an area called dry bridge (no water under it), and going on a chibureki (tasty Georgian treat) run. Star Wars III was playing in town, but I decided not to stay because of money and because I am supposed to be at work on Monday. It was a bummer though.

Well that was my weekend. I hope that everyone had a great weekend. I had a great time, in fact, it was one of my top five experiences in Georgia thus far. Take care.

Sara

Halloween in Gori.

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 09:30:51 GMT

Halloween turned out to be awesome. I went to Gori on Friday, but met with a friend of mine, Laura, in Khashuri on the way there. She and I ended up hanging out at the hotel while we waited for everyone else to get in. I did not stay at the hotel, rather I stayed with my friend Lei who trained in Gori, so we (Lei, me and our friend Emily) had a free place to stay, excellent. Her host mom is great. She makes this tea that is literally to die for (I drink a lot of tea now, so I can actually taste the difference between - and within - homebrews, store bought, and whatever else may be thrown out at me). Emily and I agreed that it tasted like tea from the US, which we are not used to having. I will note that my new host mom brews her tea and it is fantastic.

This was an awesome weekend ’cuz I got to hang out with more of the G4s. I haven’t really had an opportunity to do that yet. A bunch of us ended up at the hotel bar to eat and drink a bit. A slew of G5s showed up that I haven’t seen a quite a while so that was fun. The hotel was great. There were parts that had been renovated from last year, which was a vast improvement, but not everyone was able to stay in those parts. There was a great area to have the party on the third floor, so food was ordered and music was played.

There was supposed to be a G5 v. G4 soccer game, but the weather in Gori did not cooperate with us and our plans. I just ended up hanging out with a bunch of my girls and having a low-key day. I went to the bazaar and bought matching themed sweatshirts with Lei and Emily. Not much to report, except that I was able to help Chris with his costume, which was a lot of fun! He decided to dress up as our Country Director (I’ll be sending out pics of this). Our CD is bald with glasses, so I got to help Chris shave his head; he did his beard on his own. It was awesome. I’ve never done that before. He looked eerily like our CD, to the point where he emailed a pic of himself with a couple of other vols to our CD. Excellent.

I dressed up as a soccer player from my town, so I painted my town name, in Georgian, on the front and Georg-ified my last name. ‘Shvili’ is a common ending to last names in this country, which means child, so since words end in vowels here my new name was bamstedishvili (it’s an ‘a’ in my last name because of how ‘u’ is pronounced in this language). I have a pic that has Dwayne (as Cornelius from Fight Club), Chris, and me in it, so I will email it. Chris took a lot of great shots, so I will finally be able to send more shots of my friends.

It was a rather low-key weekend on the whole. Chris, Emily, and I had a bit of an adventure getting home. Emily lives near Kobuleti, but she went as far as Khashuri with us. Chris and I tried to pick up a marshutka on the side of the road, but we were unsuccessful and had to get one from the station in Khash. Emily had a bit of a haul getting home, much less getting a marshutka, which should have been easier than it was for her. Ah, Georgian transportation. I could dedicate an entire entry to Georgian transport, needless to say the only constant within the Georgian transportation system is its lack of consistency. I will work on that. Chris and I made it home safe and sound.

It has started to get a bit chilly here so my new host family brought my heater into my room last night. It was heaven. I woke up this morning to warm, comfortable room. I have not done that for quite some time. My family has been great. My host dad has taken an interest in my Georgian language acquisition, which is helpful. I did not interact as much with my previous family as I would have liked and so far, my new family is different in this regard. My first family wanted me to hang out with them, but in terms of working on my vocab and speech, this second family has already done more for me. My room is great and I’m just really happy to be there. I will get a family shot and send it home.

Take care.

Sara

Changes on the Homefront.

Wed, 26 Oct 2005 07:53:02 GMT

I'm sorry that I have been delinquent in posting updates, but the internet has been screwy and honestly, I was a bit lazy.

My big news is that tomorrow I am moving in with my new family. Officially, Peace Corps (with my help) concluded that my location was not ideal during the winter and that I should be moved as soon as possible. My family was not pleased to hear it, but they understood, I think. I have been invited back anytime, which is good. My new family is on the other side near the third volunteer in town. It is an apartment which means significantly warmer in the winter because of the low ceilings, they even have a heater for my room. The family is great. There are two daughters who live there, plus two more who are married and live in nearby villages. The mother, Galina, is Russian teacher in a village very close by. Lela, the older daughter, works at the University and Maia is in school. I am not sure of Otari’s, the dad, occupation. They are a very warm family. I can’t wait to move in.

Update: I went on two excursions two weekends ago and I had a great time. Five volunteers and one visitor from the US came into town, plus we met up with Iris in Aspindza. On Friday, there were only four volunteers in town, plus the three of us who live here, we went on a hike to Sapara, which is this monastery about a two and half hour hike from Akhaltsikhe. We brought some food and water with us, so we could have a picnic nearby. The monastery was gorgeous. There was a storage facility that looked straight out of Hobbitville. There are monks that live nearby and maintain the monastery. The view from Sapara was amazing, especially because the leaves had started to turn. I do have some pictures from it that I will be sending to home to the States. It started to rain as we were getting ready to leave and it just so happened that there was a bus nearby, full of rambunctious Georgian teenagers. As it turned out the bus was full of students from Borjomi, who happen to have the volunteer at their site as their teacher – she was not with them because her brother had come to visit. It was quite the adventure. As we approached Akhaltsikhe, I had my first autographing moment. The kids on the bus came around with autograph books for each of us sign. The teachers are used to this, but this was my first time. It was funny. We did take a group picture afterward. They were nice, but a little loud.

Dwayne had two guests, Chris had one and I had one and since he lives on a different side of town, we parted ways after we were dropped off. Chris, Aaron, Helen, and I went out and had Georgian pizza for dinner. Georgian pizza has mayonnaise on it, so naturally we ask for it without it. We have yet to understand why, but it’s all good. In Tbilisi, the G4s alerted us to a great pizza and pasta restaurant. It’s delicious. Ok, after dinner we went home and I got a call from G4 Sarah that she and her friend in the states were in town and needed a place to crash. It all worked out and I ended up with three guests Friday night.

It was an interesting couple of days. Helen, who is a G4, trained outside of Tbilisi and it just so happens that her family is related to my permanent family. This family met Helen a couple of months ago. Helen speaks Georgian very well and that is also helpful. I will be hanging out with her a lot because she is the G4 Co-director of GLOW camp.

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early, had breakfast then made our way to the marshutka station so that we could buy tickets for everyone and then head to Aspindza. We met up with Iris and took our stuff to her house. This is my third trip there. Her host family is great and they have a beautiful home. I will be back there next month and possibly before that. It is likely that I will visit after Iris leaves.

Iris had rented out a marshutka for our trip to Vardzia. At first, the driver would not accept payment, but we insisted upon paying for his gas and a bit more. We stopped at a castle’s ruins on the way and explored a bit. It was pretty cool. Anyone who comes to visit really should check out all of this. From the castle we made our way to Vardzia. Iris and Dwayne had been there before, but I am not sure about anyone else. Iris has never had to pay before because she was with family. Throughout this country though, when foreigners are present, the price of goods jumps. It is usually about a lari to go into Vardzia, the people there attempted to charge us five dollars, which we refused to pay and Iris got it down to three and a half lari. The people at the office were taken aback when Iris started haggling with them. It still throws Georgians when we speak in Georgian, they do not expect it. Iris and Helen speak Georgian very well, which is even more surprising for the Georgians. The complex caves and tunnels were only exposed after an earthquake broke away part of the structure to reveal it to the outside world. We had a great time exploring. King Tamar who hid out in these caves to elude people who were trying to murder her. There is a part of where one can drink Tamar's tears and make a wish. We all did it and took pics.

We had a great time in Vardzia and then on the way back the marshutka that we had rented broke down. We thought the driver had it all set, but alas it was not meant to be. We were actually towed by a dump-like truck for a bit until we thought the motor was working. We ended up having to switch marshutkas for about half of the trip home. Always an adventure in Georgia. We all ended up at Iris' house for quite the feast. The food was amazing. Dwayne, Stephanie, and Andy headed back to the Akh for the night, but Chris, Aaron, Sarah, Alani, Helen, and I stayed at Iris' house. Her family has a projector with sound system so that we can watch DVDs on the wall. It is amazing. We drank hot cocoa and watched Clueless and the Princess Bride.

The next day we had a great breakfast and headed off. We had to squeeze into a marshutka which meant that Aaron sat on his sleeping bag and Chris stood. Good times. The travelers were sent on their way and those of us who live in the Akh hung out for the rest of the day.

It was a fabulous weekend, but rather hectic considering the number of people involved. This weekend is Halloween and there is Peace Corps party in Gori which is a city near Tbilisi. I'm not sure where Gori ranks in terms of larger cities, because I have heard population estimates that range from 70,000-200,000. That's Georgia for you.

Well I had better run. I promise to not wait so long to post again. Take care everyone.

Sara

Life in the Akh.

Wed, 05 Oct 2005 07:10:52 GMT

The weather has already started to take a turn for the worse. The G4s have warned us that we are about to experience a whole new feeling of cold this winter. I am starting to believe them. The major difference between winter and winter in the states is the obvious luxury that I will never take for granted again, central heating. There are a few volunteers who have this, one who lives about 45min from me, but again, it is difficult to have if you don't have electricity on a regular basis. However, even if we did, my family is not set up for that. We do have a few radiators, but we also have the peche because there were about six weeks last winter when there simply was not any electricity to be had. The reality of life without central heating is simply that one is cold all of the time. The joy upon entering a building and feeling the warmth will simply be a distant memory. I will be inhaling tea, hot cocoa, and hot apple cider (if anyone is kind enough to send it to me, wink, wink). Sorry, I have become shameless in the name of heat. Apparently, last winter was the worst in Georgia for over 100 years. This, of course, provides with some hope that this winter will not outdo it, however, knowing my luck, not only will this be colder, but it will set records worldwide.

It gets dark in this part of the world, now, about seven or so; in the winter around four. This means even less work at the office than I am doing now and more time at home. It's gonna be a rough and tumble winter (and I do mean that literally). It, however, will be a fantastic opportunity to read a lot of books. I am confident that I will return from my Peace Corps experience having read copious books, on a wide range of subjects. I am currently reading a book about the nature of evil, through the lens of the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West. It is interesting so far. It charts her life, how she came to be, and the world she grew up in. I am only in the beginning fifty pages, so no strong opinions yet, but I will let you know.

I have started a putting together a seminar that will compare the rights of women in Georgia versus those of women in the states. I have been lucky enough to find a copy of the civil code in English and will be working with a few places in Tbilisi to make sure that I have all of the information that I need.

I have also started to do some real brainstorming on my master's project. This again is proving more difficult than originally anticipated, but that is half the fun, eh? I have spoken with the my adviser here and as I put something more concrete together I will share it with my professors at Tech.

I have to run to the office, so I will post more later. I do apologize for the gap. I will try not to let that happen again. There are three volunteers coming in next weekend, plus one more going to Aspindza. I will have much to say after that. I am also emailing some pics, either today or tomorrow from a hike around town that Chris, Dwayne and I did.

Take care.

Sara

Tbilisi...Revisited.

Tue, 20 Sep 2005 09:21:27 GMT

I have yet another great time in the 'blissy. I went this time because one of the staffers, Adam (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) invited the volunteers over to his house for dinner on Friday and then we were invited to another RPCV's house for dinner Saturday night. There was also a GLOW meeting Saturday morning that I had wanted to go to, so it worked out well. However, I did not decided until rather late that I wanted to go to Tbilisi and there was no room at the inn. Our country director, along with our new Program Training Officer (or something like that, her title is PTO) have been working hard to locate RPCVs and Embassy workers who would be willing to house volunteers. As it turned out the couple hosting the dinner were more than willing to house a few volunteers, they actually said that they could fit ten of us. We had that many Saturday night.

Last time, my travel to the 'blissy was broken up by a visit in Khash, this time I went straight there with another volunteer, Dwayne. Dwayne is the G4 at my site and as a result of our 3hr. marshutka ride, my PC brother. He's great. After an uneventful marshutka ride (finally) we arrived in Tbilisi and headed to the Peace Corps office. I have been meaning to sit down with my NGO boss, Tika, and discuss my situation here.

I got really nervous/overwhelmed when I first got to site and my NGO said that basically I would be teaching English six days a week. That is a lot of lesson planning not to mention that it does not allow me to go to the 'blissy for work or much else for that matter. I put my foot down and said that I don't want to teach Saturdays. I also put my foot down when it came to me teaching at NGOs that are not mine. I have two NGOs here, so there will be plenty for me to do. I don't need to tack-on extra NGOs just for the fun of it. Thankfully, the other NGO was understanding. I did say that I would revisit the issue when I had a better idea of what teaching entailed as well as what else I can do for my NGO. Tika was great about everything.

I have had some rather interesting personal space/cross-cultural issues with my host family, particularly grandma. She is clearly glad that I am now a part of the family, but we just have to find a better way for her to express it. [This was intentionally crytic and diplomatic.] I want to handle it myself because that is a part of adapting and learning how to deal with new situations, but if I am unable to make headway, then I know that there are a few people who are willing to step in and help.

Later that day, I made my way, thankfully with a few other volunteers, to Adam's for dinner. It was amazing. We had chicken enchiladas. Wow. I have missed good mexican food. His wife is an extraordinary cook. We had peach cobbler and many other delicious treats. I can't remember it all, but my mouth is watering. I haven't eaten that well since the supra at Yuta's house at the end of training.

On Saturday, I had my GLOW mtg, where I was elected as co-chair of the fundraising committee. I will be working with a G4 on raising money for the camp. The goal is to have as much funding as possible come from Georgia, as opposed to international NGOs, because the G4s really want to turn this into an NGO run by Georgians. I now officially have one secondary project. This won't take up too much time, but I will have to go to Tbilisi with her and network, nice. It's such an awesome cause that it will totally be worth it.

After the meeting, a bunch of us headed to this great restaurant that serves amazing khinkali, yeah you read that correctly. It is basically a dumpling that can have a variety of things in it, I prefer the meat ones, but they had mushroom, potato, cheese, again, a wonderous variety and not expensive. Oh, and these things are huge. I had four and a beer for three lari, not bad. I spent the rest of the day wandering around until it was time for dinner number two.

They grilled for us. We had ribs, kabobs, corn salad, basically another feast. Dana and Don (she is the rpcv) were extremely generous hosts and we had a great time. A bunch of went out and hit a brew pub, while others headed off to dance. It was a great time for all.

I was able to hang out with some different people, so that was pretty awesome. Sorry, once again, I have to rush out and meet one of my georgian friends, Teona. She works at the UNDP women's office, I have mentioned her before. I haven't seen her in weeks, so I owe her a coffee break.

I teach english for the first time today. I don't know if I've mentioned that yet, but if I have, oh well. I'm pretty nervous, but it's all good. I'll definitely update everyone on that tomorrow. Take care.

Sara

Tbilisi Trip.

Tue, 13 Sep 2005 08:08:04 GMT

My first trip to the 'blissy was a rather successful and interesting. My meeting at the US Embassy was great. I spoke with an awesome woman whose English is phenomenal. She gave me a bunch of English language materials and few that will be useful when I start teaching English. I am going to start working on one my secondary projects very soon (more details to follow). Meanwhile my other secondary project, for right now, GLOW camp is having a meeting next weekend in Tbilisi, that's right, two weekends in a row, if I decide to go. There is also a dinner Friday night at an RPCV's house, who works for the PC. We then have a huge RPCV hosted dinner Saturday night. We'll see how that all goes. I'm not sure if I'm going, but the odds are good.

I had a great time at my Khashuri family's house. I ate quite well and was able to see everyone except for host dad/brother and host grandpa. We had a great time catching up and them trying to get me paired off. They looked at some of my Kobuleti pics (after I did a bit of sensoring) and started deciding who I should be dating. Yeah, that was pretty funny. My host sister has a crush on my buddies so she was glad to see that I had a picture of him. I took a few pictures of all of them because I did not have many from PST.

I had met up with the volunteers who live in the Khash now. Wendy is an English teacher and her husband, Dulani, works at the NGO that my group trained at in Khashuri. I was able to stop by there on Friday and hang out with some of the girls there and that was great. I went to Wendy's school as well. It was very eye-opening to see how the school worked and get a better idea of the challenges the English teachers face. I have greater respect for them now. It's gonna be an interesting two years for all of us.

I left very early the next morning and met up with Wendy and we made our way to marshutka pickup to meet up with Aaron. Wendy joined us on the ride as far as Gori, which was where she trained, so about half the trip. We dropped her off and made our way to Kaspi, except that we didn't surprise Carole, because she was already in Tbilisi because she and her boss had a breakfast meeting, so that was too bad. Aaron and I got there around ten or so and made our way to the Nika. I had directions from Dwayne so I wasn't worried, it was a just a brand new experience. It is 20 tetri per ride, which is about $.10, so not so bad. It is definitely the best form of transportation it's just all over the city. There are only two lines in a city of at least a million people, if you include the suburbs 2 million.

We made it to the Nika and found a bunch of volunteers there who had made the trip the night before. That was pretty cool. We hung out there for awhile and then we were off to lunch. The food in Tbilisi is great because they have a variety of ethnic foods, which is not generally the case outside of Tbilisi. There are a few exceptions. We have a Turkish cafe in the Akh and the resort towns have more of a variety, but other than that, not much. This is clearly another attraction of the 'blissy.

The weekend was a blur of eating and moving around the city. A bunch of us did make it to the ex-pat bar to the watch the UT-OSU football game. I enjoyed pancakes, vermont maple syrup and fruit for breakfast, along with orange juice, which I drink in mass quantity in this country. The food was fantastic. Oh, right, the game. Yeah, I watched all of that and was quite dismayed when the buckeyes literally dropped the ball at the end of the game. The coolest thing about it was that we didn't watch the game live, because there were problems with the connection, so we watched it on tape delay, yeah this wide screen TV was amazing. The owner also shows rugby and European league soccer. Yeah, I may be going back for that. It was not a very Georgian experience, but one needs un-georgian experiences every once in awhile.

I went with Aaron, Brian, and Laura to the train station to buy tickets back home and then we headed back to the Nika to watch a few movies before they had to go. I watched possibly the worst movie ever, it is called, Army of Darkness. It had classic lines such as, "C'mon, give me some sugar, baby" and "Hail to the King, baby". Yeah, I think that it was written on a dare. It was pretty bad and I'm not even relaying some of the worse stuff.

I had my meeting at the Embassy on Monday as well as a Dr's visit. The doctor's visit was purely to get some cough medicine, but turned into a series of doctor's visits, including a chest x-ray. This all brought about the conclusion that I don't breath through my nose, which I already knew, and that there is something at my house in the Akh, which is causing some problem and therefore the reason why I haven't stopped coughing in over two weeks. I have cold medicine so hopefully that will be resolved.

Sorry, I've got to run to a meeting that I just found out about. This is a good time to play WWBD? Take care. Bye.

Aspindza and then some.

Thu, 08 Sep 2005 08:30:41 GMT

Chris and I went on an excursion yesterday to Aspindza, which is a small village, 4,000 people, near Akhaltsikhe. Another volunteer, Iris (G4), lives there and another volunteer, Sarah (G4), had come to visit from her village. It was the girls and Chris as Dwayne was out of town. Chris and I marshutkaed there and met up with Iris's host brother, whom we had met earlier in Akhaltsikhe (officially shortened to Akh) and headed to her house. Iris had wanted to make a carrot cake, but had trouble finding the appropriate cheese for the frosting as cream cheese is something of a novelty here. Iris has done this before and it turned out quite well. Unfortunately, this time she was unable to find what she needed and we did not have carrot cake. Her family was aware that two more people were coming and had cooked up quite a feast. Iris was tamada - toast master - for the evening and would first do the toast in georgian then translate for Sarah, Chris and I. Iris's georgian is phenomenal, she is one of the best in G4. I was actually able to follow along with some of it. Sarah knew what was going on.

The food was phenomenal and the house was beautiful. Iris's host family is great. They are very warm and hospitable. Her host brother, father, and mother had business in Akh, so Chris and I got a ride back to town. I had informed my family of Iris's invitation on Wednesday, so it was all good. I actually ran into Naira (host mom) on the street as I was going home and she had no problem what so ever. I had a great night's sleep and came home to "shower" today.

I should amend the bucket bath scenario. It is actually a basin with hot water and I dump a pitcher over my head, but the shoes part is true enough. Anyone who comes to visit may experience this joy, or perhaps go to the abano where it is a regular shower. Chris has done this, but it costs money and why pay when I can get clean for free? In the winter I will probably take advantage of the abano, but I don't need it now.

Well that is about all I have for now. I am taking my first odyssey into Tbilisi this weekend, so hopefully that goes well. I am watching the Ohio State - Texas football game with a bunch of volunteers. It's gonna be interesting because the game starts at 4am, Saturday night/Sunday morning. A bunch of us plan on sleeping a little bit Saturday night, but who knows. I leave tomorrow to go to Khashuri to spend the night with my training host family. Then the next day, my friend, Aaron (from Kobuleti) will meet up with me with in Khashuri, because he's going to Surami (his training site) on Friday and staying with his training family. He and I want to surprise a friend of our's along the way to Tbilisi, but that is becoming a hassle and I don't want to inconvenience her. I'll, of course, let everyone know how that turns out.

One last thing, if you want pics from Georgia, then just send me a roll of film, or two, and I'll take some pics and send them back to you. Yes, this is a desperate attempt for more film, but it also provides with a more intimate view of Georgia. If you want specific pics, just let me know.

If there is anything specific that people want to know, please let me know and I'll do my best to fill you in. Take care and I'll be in touch.

Daily Grind.

Wed, 07 Sep 2005 06:50:39 GMT

I am slowly trying to find my place within my NGO and it is proving to be a bit difficult. My NGO has a way of functioning and it is a bit awkward to have someone there that does not really speak the language and is used to an entirely different style of operating. Right now it is 10:45 and I am the computer lab where my Chris works - he's not here yet - and this is not a problem as I do not have a meeting until 11am and until then I am not needed in the office. This meeting could last anywhere from 10-30min. I have another one similar to it at 3pm and that is my day. There is some work that I want to do, but I am doing that on my own and with my own initiative. I am not complaining it just makes things a bit more challenging. All the volunteers were informed that things would probably be this way, but that it again, depends on the situation. That is my favorite Georgian sentence - It depends. I learned that one right away and it has definitely come in handy. It is the perfect response when one is not really sure how to respond.

I hope that all is well on the homefront. I have heard about Chief Justice Rehnquist and passed along that info to my fellow volunteers. We are curious to find out how that situation unfolds. This is gonna be brief. Take care and I'll probably write more tomorrow.

Nothin' but a bucket and a pair of shoes.

Mon, 05 Sep 2005 06:58:47 GMT

I was going to update all of you about Kobuleti, but the jist of it was that I had a great time and hung out with a bunch of volunteers. I swam in the Black Sea, which was pretty cool. I Jumped on some wooden structure that would definitely not be deemed safe in the states, so that was cool.

I ate some pretty good food and sampled a variety of Georgian vodkas and one American, SKYY (I'm not gonna lie, SKYY is tasty, and expensive, but we have one volunteer who has turned into something of a sugar daddy, if you are in contact with my parents you can see his picture. His name is Yuta.)

I have decided to share some cross-cultural info with you today. PJ and I discussed this last night when he called me. Thank you Peej, good phone call. First, I would like to point out that it has been rather easy for me to adapt to the change in creature comforts that we take for granted in the United States. I was told this would be the case, but it really is true. A flushing toilet, really, isn't that an extravagance? I actually have a toilet, which puts me ahead of a lot of the other volunteers. It does not flush, but that is what the large barrel of water and bucket next to it are for, to "act" as a flushing mechanism.

We do have electricity in Akhaltsikhe, but apparently not in the winter, which is when we use our pechi, which is a wood stove. It is conveniently located next to my room, since I bogarted (stole) mom and dad's room. This is fine. That is why we have long underwear. C'mon people, who really needs central heating, that is a waste of money.

One final point for today, since I have to head to work - at 11am. Nothin' but a bucket and a pair of shoes. You may have been able to catch that reference, but in case you were not, here it is. In Khashuri, I did have a shower, which is to say, a shower head, a drain on the floor and hot water. Now, I am roughing it a bit. My "shower" consists of a basin full of hot, but not too hot water, a pitcher and me with a smile and a pair of shoes. The first time that I did this, I will admit it was awkward, but I now have a system and it works well. I don't think my family understands why I have to do it every other day, but they are respecful of my wishes.

In my effort to adapt and find humor in things that would not be funny in the US. I have started a new game. This is by no means meant to be mean, it is just way, again, to find humor in ridiculous situations. It is called, "What Would Barb Do?", or WWBD for short. The thought of my mom standing in the middle of a room dumping water over her head for a shower is a little funny. I love my mom, but she has said that her idea of camping now includes a hotel room. I love it. This game has been helpful and I'm sure that we'll play it when my mom gets here as it really does make everything ok. I only write this down because I also know that my mom is a really good sport and would not be offended, because it is not meant to offend. A few months ago, it could have just as easily been, WWSD, but that doesn't work as I am the one here.

Well I've gotta run. Take care and let me know how all of you are doing.

My life in a nutshell.

Tue, 23 Aug 2005 11:00:55 GMT

23 August 2005

Hello everyone. I know that it has been awhile since I have posted. I apologize, it has been a crazy week. I have officially moved to Akhaltsikhe. I have a host family. They are very nice. The family name is Zedginidze – father’s name is Ushangi, mother’s name is Naira, daughter’s name is Marian, and grandma’s (Dad’s mother) name is Zina. The house overlooks Akhaltsikhe. It is quite an amazing view. I live rather close to Chris – he is the other volunteer from my group. I could actually throw a rock and hit his house.

Now to update you on the events of the last week. On Sunday August 14th, there was a supra – a feast/party where is there is a food, wine and toasting – for all of the trainees in Khashuri, thrown by one of the trainees host families. It was amazing, some of the best food that I have had in Georgia. They took very good care of us. It got pretty emotional for all us. The realization that we were about to separate and how much we had come to mean to each other was rather intense. I, personally, was not looking forward to leaving my host family. I had a really good time with them and the prospect of doing it all over again was not exactly enticing. I had two more days with them and really had wanted to hang out with the women of the family since I had spent most of my time with them.

Monday ended being a wash, because there was so much information that the Peace Corps was throwing at us in order to get us ready to go to our permanent sites. We had multiple rehearsals for our swearing-in ceremony. I don’t think that I mentioned it, but my NGO training group had decided to recite a poem for the ceremony. Our LCF (Language and XC facilitator) found a poem that six parts, so that was perfect. It turned out that the author of the poem is a rather famous Georgian poet, no pressure. Our group practiced and seemed to be alright. Naturally the most important part of the poem is pronunciation as that affects what is said and how it is interpreted. This, in some ways, is one of the most difficult parts of Georgian, pronunciation. I, of course, had a very easy section, or not. It’s all good though.

By the time we were done on Monday, we all went home to go pack and hang out with our host families. Since my host family is broken up into three homes – grandparents (where I live) and their two sons each have their own house – it is difficult to get everyone together. I ended up with Nunu and Salome that evening. It was actually for the best, because I anticipated that Tuesday would be the night to be with everyone. Oh, Peace Corps.

Tuesday was rather chaotic. PC staff was running around trying to get everything ready for departure the next day. There were, of course, logistical questions that everyone needed answered, particularly when were volunteers leaving and when were training families leaving for Tbilisi. Each volunteer had four invitations to the ceremony – two for training families and two for permanent sites, i.e. one permanent family member and counterpart/supervisor. Since I had not met my new host family yet, I thought it would be best to invite Marina and her daughter Nana. Unfortunately, Nana left on Tuesday for a meeting in Poland.

My plan on Tuesday was to go home, finish packing and hang out with my host family, but the Peace Corps had other plans. I was about to sit down for dinner when I get a call from another volunteer in my town that we have to put on business clothes and return to the PC office in town, because we are going to be interviewed by a TV station from Tbilisi. Yeah, that turned into quite the fiasco, because it was then determined that the NGO group from my town would go to a nearby town – Kveshkheti – where there were only TEFL volunteers, to be interviewed. Excellent. It was just one more thing we had to and most of us wanted to spend time with our families. It was pretty cool to be doing the interview, the timing was just off.

I got my first phone call around 6:30, but we didn’t actually end up in Kveshkheti until 8:30. Pretty sweet. The interview took place in a volunteer’s home, because the station wanted to speak with Georgians familiar with Peace Corps. In all honesty it went pretty well. Peace Corps only found about the interview at 6pm or so. It’s all good. We all got home around 10pm or so. I, unfortunately, still had quite a bit of packing to do – at this point my parents are not surprised to read this.

I got up bright and early to shower and head off to Tbilisi for the ceremony. Very early – we had to leave by about 7am from the PC office in my town. The ceremony was nice. The Georgian Minister of Education was there as well as the Charges D’affaires for the US embassy – the US Ambassador had left only days earlier because Georgian is getting a new Ambassador. There was a member of our group who delivered a speech in Georgian and English, which he did well. The performances were good overall; some of them were a bit amusing, intentionally. I think that our poem went well. The ceremony was broadcast on Georgian TV. The interview that some of us had done the night before was broadcast on Georgian TV earlier in the morning. The station then showed footage of the ceremony and mixed it with our interviews. We are hoping to get copies of the interviews for families here and in the states. I will let you know if my parents get a copy.

I moved to Akhaltsikhe last Wednesday. It has been quite an adjustment. I know that I was living the good life in Khashuri, but I have returned to reality. It is a matter of getting used to a new family and having them get used to having me around. They are very nice are taking good care of me. One big adjustment is that I had gained a certain amount of freedom with my Khashuri family and I have to go through that process almost all over again here. This is, of course, not shocking, but it can be difficult at times.

I have actually started working. I was editing a proposal for my NGO. I thought that I had some time to do this, i.e., more than the weekend. I definitely got the call Monday morning, when I was at the office, that it needed to be pretty much done, because my boss was taking it to Tbilisi today. Yeah, no pressure. It's all good. My office does not officially open until September and I'm not actually sure of the day.

It looks like a bunch of us are heading to the beach this weekend. It is not too expensive to get there and is worth it for a couple of days. It will take me about seven or so hours to get there. Yeah, that part is not soo much fun, but again, worth the effort to get there. My host family seems to be okay with it. We’ll see. I will definitely send another update after that. I hope to leave on Thursday so I can have Friday, Saturday, and possibly Sunday to have fun. We’ll see.

I am sending my parents so more pictures today. If you are able to get in touch with them, have them forward them along. I hope that everyone is well. Take care and feel free to write. I promise to get better at it.

Sara

Brief.

Tue, 16 Aug 2005 08:56:01 GMT

16 August 2005

This is going to be quick. I just received the bag o’ goodies from my girls back in Blacksburg! Thank you soo much. I really appreciate it and love all that you did.

Tomorrow I am officially sworn in as a Peace Corps volunteer. I do have a host family. I will actually be living near Chris, the other G5 at my site. So now he and I will be able to walk to work. He’s a great guy so no worries there. I have really lucked out. The new host family does not have three bathrooms, but I do have a sit down toilet, which is awesome! Seriously, it really is pretty great. My host mom works in the court and my host dad owns his own business. They have an 11 year-old daughter. None of them really speak English, but that is actually good for me. I’m really excited to meet them and get started at my new job.

I’ve got to run, the phone calls and the treats. but I will be in touch. Take care and thanks for the email, letters, treats, and phone calls!

Tbilisi and the end of PST (Part I)

Fri, 12 Aug 2005 09:25:14 GMT

12 August 2005

Well it has been a busy week and next week will be even busier. I was in Tbilisi twice last week for donor visits, but we did not have much free time. We did make it to the Goodwill store, which is sort of the Georgian equivalent of Sam’s club or Costco. It was fantastic, but there are certainly things from America that we simply cannot find here. Cereal is sold here but it is the equivalent of about $8, which on Peace Corps stipend is pretty unrealistic, besides it is still Georgian cereal. If I am going to pay that much it will be for an American cereal. Peanut can be bought here, but again, the cheapest PB I have seen is about $4 for a very small jar.

My NGO group first met with people from the Eurasia Foundation. We met the ranking American, who is the assistant director. There is an auxiliary project, which is run by a former Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) from Kazakhstan. We had a great time with both of them. The next day we went to the British Council and spoke with a very nice gentleman. Overall both visits were interesting and helpful. We did not get any real free time while we were in Tbilisi, which was unfortunate, but we did know that we would be heading there on the tenth.

Our Tbilisi trip, all forty-four volunteers was designed to have us visit the Peace Corps office and meet the staff members. We also were able to check out the PC lounge where we all have mailboxes, internet access, and a great variety of reading material. While I was in the midst of walking around with few other volunteers, my cell phone rang (BTW – calls from the United States which will always be acceptable.) It appeared to be a number from the states, but who knows. I answered the phone and was told by Tiko, who works for PC Georgia, that my friend Teresa Swanson in Azerbaijan had called. Naturally this was weird because I do not have a friend Teresa Swanson. I went to the front desk at the PC office, met Tiko and tried to figure out what was going on. I was then told that Teresa wanted to know where we could meet to give me the package. Again, I had no idea what was going on. Tiko had Teresa’s number and said that we would call her. Once she dialed the number I suddenly started to put two and two together.

At Tech, my friend Kristin had a friend working in Azerbaijan. Naturally this was what was going on. Teresa told me that she would be in Tbilisi this weekend and wanted to meet up to give me a package that my friends from Tech had made me. I, of course, laughed and told her that it would not be possible for me to meet her on Saturday, but if she could drop it off at the PC office that would be fantastic. Andro, our resident PC logistical guru, will bring to our next hub-day which is Monday. Consequently, I want to send out a big thanks to those awesome women (and Jeremy) who put together my care package. I really appreciate it. You rock!

We actually have hub-days from now until next Tuesday, except for Sunday. Things are rather hectic with good-byes to host families, and each other. I’m sorry if I am not writing much, but I will work on that. I am trying to send pics to my parents and few other people from Tech whose email addresses I remember. Please get in touch with these people and have them forward the pics to you. Take care.

Basketball and My new home.

Fri, 05 Aug 2005 09:29:41 GMT

4 August 2005

I have a lot to cover in this entry. Before I get too far into this, I want to let people know that I have sent my parents some pictures of my life in Georgia. Please contact them if you would like them forwarded to you. I will be making reference to these pictures throughout this journal entry.

The first point to catch you all up on… I went to a basketball game on July 21st, in a neighboring small town, that featured Americans versus Georgians. I went because my friend, Matia, was playing in it and asked me to join her. I had not really left Khashuri, except to go to GLOW camp, so I did all that I could to get there. When it appeared that all was lost, my host family offered to take me. It did not hurt that my host sister was motivated by the fact that she has a crush one of the volunteers playing in the game (Clinton). After work on Thursday, my host Papa, sister and her friend picked me up and we headed out. I had only informed Matia that I was going in order to surprise the other volunteers. Needless to say, they were pretty shocked when I walked in. Peace Corps has a rather stringent travel policy in which the only exception is if the travel is done with a volunteer’s host family and does not conflict with the duties and responsibilities of said volunteer. Yeah, so we don’t get out much.

The game was rather amusing. Matia’s host father – Koba – who is the major of Kareli, was their coach. He was quite the athlete in his day and holds a few Georgian track records. He is the man with white hair in the picture (far right side) of the four basketball players. It was quite the game. There did not appear to be many rules. To the credit of the refs that was a rather difficult game to keep in check. Fouls were called if it was blatant. There were several stoppages of play at which time Matia’s host sister would come and interpret what her father, Koba, was saying to the Americans whose Georgian was not good enough to understand him. Koba does not speak English. It was rather amusing to watch. Travis did get hurt at one point, so another Georgian was added to the team, so that it would continue as 5 v 5. Though the Americans lost by four it was a great time. Matia was interviewed by the local station – Travis, Rebecca, and Clinton ever so carefully moved out of the way of the reporter. The final act was a presentation of awards for both teams and a trophy for the Americans although they lost (the trophy is visible in the picture). Each person received a small sword and a certificate. It was great. I had a made a few signs in Georgian and English. It was fantastic.

The second big piece of news is that on Friday, July 22nd, Peace Corps announced our permanent site placements. First, we went to a local school. Then we filed into the gymnasium, where our names were called and received envelopes with our name and a number on them. We were then instructed to get in numerical order (this all took place in a gymnasium). We were near a map of Georgia. We were told when we heard the key word in the song about to play, that we should “step into” the map. Yeah, so a little Ray Charles came on. We “stepped into” the map and proceeded to tear our envelopes open with our LCFs and a few current volunteers looking on.

I have been placed in Akhaltsikhe, which is in southern Georgia. It is about 90min. south of where I am training – Khashuri. There is another volunteer from G4 in the town as an English teacher. There will also be another NGO volunteer in town with me, Chris (He is actually in one of the pictures that I sent home). We spent the next twenty minutes sharing and figuring out where we all were in Georgia. I am about 2 ½ hours southwest of Tbilisi. Carole is about 40min. west of Tbilisi and Matia is about three hours north of me. My buddy Aaron (there is a picture of him as well) is in Kobuleti which is a Black Sea resort town, so he’s about three or four hours west of me. Another friend of mine, Shayne (in same picture with Aaron) is east of Tbilisi. There are very few people east of Tbilisi. There is a fair amount of us in sort of the middle of the country. I am actually pretty close to volunteers, but not necessarily volunteers that I have been hanging out with, so that was a bit of a shock. Matia was great about it and assured me that we would visit each other a lot. I was able to return her kindness this past week.

Then, suddenly, it was time to head back to hub so that us NGO volunteers could go to our supervisors conference in Bakuriani. This was where we would meet our bosses for the next two years. It was also the first opportunity we had had as a group to hang out and relax.

It was a beautiful hotel, the best accommodations that we have had so far. It was more than comparable to a hotel in the United States. Bakuriani is a resort town, where there is fabulous skiing, thus there is a concerted effort to maintain the town. This is accentuated by the fact that in the winter the roads in Bakuriani are immaculate whereas the rest of Georgia, minus the other ski town, is generally not as lucky.

We met our supervisors in a somewhat hokey fashion. They were waiting for us in the conference room and we were given our nametags as well as those of our supervisors. We then had to walk in as a group and read our supervisor’s name and find them in the room. Naturally all of this was in Georgian. Now at this point it is not a matter of not being able to read the names, but some of them can be quite difficult. I lucked out; my supervisor’s name is Marina Modebadze – only one set of double letters.

Note: I do not know if I have explained this, but in Georgian they have a series of double Latin letters, in terms of pronunciation. Another example of this is Akhaltsikhe, which has three sets, though one is repeating – the ‘kh’ sound. It just makes it more interesting in terms of pronunciation.

Back to the conference…We did a few ice breakers and then it was time for dinner. It was at this point that Tika, my Peace Corps NGO boss as well as my Master’s International advisor, pulled my aside. I had recently submitted the first part of my Master’s International project and for some reason was worried that I had offended, which would have been difficult considering that nothing that I had to write was offensive. Nonetheless I was worried because, Tika ‘needed’ to talk to me. She sat me down and told me that unfortunately my permanent host family in Akhaltsikhe had not worked out. Then she informed me that I would actually be heading back to Khashuri with my boss because she had to go a funeral. It’s all good. Since I have been training in Khashuri I was able to occupy myself. One of the really cool things about my boss is that she owns and drives her own car. This is pretty rare for Georgia, especially outside of the capitol.

I officially had my permanent site placement visit last week – July 24-29th. It was fantastic. Outside of Tbilisi, Akhaltsikhe has the largest number of NGOs in the country. Since I did not have a permanent host family I stayed with my boss and her 19 yr. old daughter. My boss had actually hosted a volunteer before so she was more than able to take care of me for a week. She would actually be ideal for the entire two years, except that she is my boss and that is really not a good idea. Tika, Marina, my counterpart, Lela (who speaks English very well) and a few other people are on the hunt for a new family. I am not worried it will work out. I, along with Chris, managed to meet the deputy governor of our region, who happens to be from Khashuri. We also meet one of my new Georgian friends, she is 24, who works for UNDP. We also met a former LCF who works for BP.

Akhaltsikhe is a decently large town (the only city is Georgia is Tbilisi). There is a lot of history. The most famous writer in Georgia, Rustavelli, is from our region – Samtsikhe-Javakheti. King Tamar, yes, a woman called king, at one point hid out in the mass of rooms built into the side of a mountain. Very famous story. Yeah, my town, region, pretty much rocks. Again, still have to meet the host family, but it’s all good.

Well I had better wrap this up. We went to Tbilisi for donor org. visits, but that will have to be the next post. Take care and I’ll be in touch. Nakhvamdis (good-bye).

Permanent Placement Update.

Wed, 27 Jul 2005 07:07:19 GMT

I have a moment on the internet so I thought that I would post something quickly. This is my last day of my permanent site visit. I am in alkhaltsike, which is actually shorter in Georgian. I'm working on sending you all something in Georgian.

This week the plan was to meet my NGO supervisor (Marina) and my new host family (leave some bags behind). However, it has not gone as planned. My PC NGO boss, Tika, informed me Friday night that my host family in akhaltsikhe had fallen through. Consequently, I would be staying with my NGO boss for the week while a new family was found for me. It's all good. My boss lives near the center of the city, so I have been able to see quite a bit of the town. This is a great place for NGOs so the next two years will be busy.

The name of my NGO is 'Democrat Women's Organization'. They have a grant from a Swedish NGO which has enabled them to open a free clinic. They also have a women's club where women are able to come in and speak freely about their problems. There is a lawyer who provides free advice and respresentation. This is a big deal in Georgia. The NGO has a sister organization which is simply the Girl's Organization, which is run by Marina's daughter, Nana. Nana is 19 and attends the university in akhaltsikhe. She is studying to be a lawyer.

There is another PC NGO trainee here with me as well as a G4 teacher. I have been able to do some interesting networking so far. I will follow up on that in a few days.

I have to get going. I hope that all is well with everyone and I promise to respond more to people. I have internet at the girl's org. and we have three internet cafes in town. Right now I am at another NGO where we just had a meeting. Take care.

Halfway through PST (yep, that's Peace Corps lingo).

Mon, 18 Jul 2005 14:02:05 GMT

17 July 2005

Last week was a flurry of activity for the TEFL (English Teachers) volunteers and a week of inconvenience for my NGO group, but that is life. The TEFL people came into Khashuri last week, M-F, for practice school. This also meant that hub was on Saturday. This was frustrating for my NGO group only because TEFL was using our school as the practice school. Originally, Carole and I thought that this would be great, because we would get to see some of the other volunteers in the morning. Unfortunately, TEFL ended up booting us out of our school, because they needed the room that we use for language class. Our LCF was not happy because they did not inform her of this until Monday morning. Consequently we had to do language class at our NGO. I love our NGO. We have really lucked out in that regard. However, the room we use there is really small and hot. It just was not fun to be cooped up there for about seven hours a day.

The biggest disappointment, at least for Carole and I, again was the idea that we wouldn’t get to see the other volunteers. We would not be deterred. We ended up meeting up with them after we were all done with lunch. It is nice to talk to different people and find out how they are doing and not talk about NGO stuff. I have found that the longer that I am here; there are more people in our overall group with whom I want to talk. Smaller groups are definitely forming, which is probably going to be particularly true in our group because it is so big. We (G5) are double that of last year’s group (G4).

Now for the big news. We find out this Friday (07/22) where we will be permanently placed. The NGO group then leaves on Friday to go to Bakuriani (the town I went to for GLOW camp) to have a NGO supervisors conference in apparently a rather nice hotel. We will meet our Georgian NGO counterparts and go with them to our permanent sites. While at our permanent sites we will be staying with our permanent host families. We have been instructed to bring about half of our stuff at this point so that the final move in August is easier. I think that it has been determined that I brought the most stuff of any volunteer, which is pretty ridiculous (and pretty funny). I do know that I will not be going back to the states with the most stuff, so that is nice.

However, before the thrill of finding out where we will be spending the next two years, we have mid-evaluations. This Tuesday (07/19), we will meet with a language trainer to determine our progress. This just means that we will have a conversation (in Georgian) and we have to demonstrate a certain level of understanding and ability to construct grammatically correct sentences that make sense. This has been a point of great anxiety for a lot of volunteers, because no one wants to go visit permanent site and then have to go back to the states, because they were unable to learn the language. Our LCFs have been pretty helpful in terms of assuaging our fears. There are about three trainers who are licensed to this type of language evaluation of which my LCF is one. This is helpful because she constructs her lesson plans with the notion of being to communicate ideas, plus she forces to talk in complete sentences and use proper grammar. Unfortunately because she is our LCF she cannot be our tester.

So, this will be a stressful week with a great finish. I won’t be able to post anything to anyone about my placement until I return, which will then be after July 28th. I will try to post one more time after my evaluation.
I have not been to a supra in a while. I missed out on a wedding supra because of hub day, so that was too bad. My host family did indeed call my LCF to try to get me out early, but that was not going to happen. It is pretty common for host families to call LCFs and try to get volunteers out of Peace Corps events so that the volunteer can attend the family function. Peace Corps does not go for that. They only way we don’t go to class, training, or hub is if we are dying. This makes sense of course, it was just unfortunate to miss what was definitely a good time.

At our last hub we had more current volunteers come talk about alcohol. We are all starting to get the feeling that alcohol plays a prominent role in Georgian society and that Peace Corps is concerned about the volunteer consumption-levels…hmm. Perhaps I came to this clearly brilliant realization because we talk about alcohol consumption every week, yes, that must be it. Sorry, a bit of sarcasm. This is an important issue because it deals directly with our image in the community and how we are adjusting to being Georgia. I have heard that Khashuri has about 6,000 people, (who really knows, they haven’t had a census for a very long time) but it is not uncommon for host families to know exactly what we’ve done when we have been out during the day. I bought a snack once at a store on the main street on my way home. I did not have it in front of my host family, but two days later it appeared in our house. I had never seen it there before. We really are living in a fishbowl, but we knew that coming in, we just may not have appreciated how much.

Yesterday after hub, all but one of us Khashuri went to have a beer in a café. That is really the only venue for us American to have a beer and just relax, and for some of the female volunteers it was their first alcohol since training had begun. Nine Americans in a café having a beer. Yeah, that’s all over town. We weren’t rowdy or rude, we were just there. We just have to remember this as we go about our days. It’s all good. (Sidebar: the beer which was not bad, had about 14% alcohol, between 16-20 ounces, cost 1.20 lari, which would be about $.70 in America).

That’s all for now. I hope that all is well with all of you. Take care.

Sara

GLOW Camp.

Fri, 15 Jul 2005 10:24:59 GMT

15 July 2005

So it has been quite a week for me. At our last hub day, Janeen (Peace Corps staff), announced that four female volunteers would have the opportunity to visit G.L.O.W. camp. This is a camp which was started by a Peace Corps volunteer in the first group (G1 – Georgia 1). GLOW stands for Girls Leading Our World. GLOW is the first camp of its kind in Georgia. This is actually its third year of actually having camp. Back to last Friday. Janeen said that two NGO volunteers and two TEFL volunteers would be going. All interested parties simply had to state why they wanted to go.

The way that it worked out the two Masters International students, Sue and I, were the NGO people selected to go. An added bonus to this was that we were able to get a day off, visit with current volunteers, and go to an amazing camp. The only downside was that we missed a day of language.

We tend to get information here on an as-needed basis, which is not really surprising. This was particularly true in the case of GLOW. Sue and I were informed at our NGO on Tuesday that the next morning we had to meet at 8:15 to go to the camp. It was a bit anticlimactic considering just about every woman had expressed interest in going. This was simply a visit not an actual selection of who will participate in GLOW, however, it does not hurt that our group of four has already met all of the directors. I will have an opportunity after training to let the current volunteers know that I would like to work with the camp.

The camp was great. The last two years there has been one six-day long camp with forty girls. This year there are two four-day long camps. The age of the girls is 12-15, from all over Georgia. Five applications are given to each current Peace Corps volunteer to give out within their permanent site and then return to the directors. There are nine PCVs who run the camp, however, two of them are G3s, so they are leaving soon. They have both closed out their service, in fact one, Sarah, actually left the country and then came back to participate in the GLOW camp. They also have Georgian counterparts who help in the running of the camp as well as with translation, because the discussions would be difficult in English, much less in a foreign language.

The focus of this camp is on building the overall self-esteem and self-confidence of the girls involved as well as making them aware of certain opportunities and choices available to them. It was really quite an amazing experience. I know that there will be a lot of questions and I will try to be better about answering questions.

I realize this is short, but I also wanted to give you a taste of Georgian, written in the Latin alphabet…

gamarjobat. sara mkvia. khashurshi vtskhovrobdi. mshovidobis korpusis mokhalise var.

which means…

hello. my name is sara. i am living in khashuri. i am a peace corps volunteer. (nothing is capitalized in Georgian and verbs are at the end of the sentence in proper grammar).

I just want all of you to know that I just learned the past progressive tense today so the translation regarding my living situation is indeed correct. To further impress you I wrote all of that sitting down at the computer without having to looking anything up. I learned the phrase peace corps volunteer pretty early.

I hope all is well with everyone. I promise to do a more extensive journal next week. I did get sick last week and was out of commission for about two days. I went to school and to the GLOW camp, but I just wasn’t eating. I’m all good now. Take care!

Nato's Birthday.

Tue, 05 Jul 2005 12:25:18 GMT

5 July 2005

Oh, Nato’s birthday…

In case you did not catch my first installment, things are going well in Georgia. I have been in training for a little over two weeks. Training entails 3.5 hours of language training in the morning and 3 hours of NGO training in the afternoon. We have an hour for lunch in between. We “train” Monday-Saturday. However, on Fridays all of the volunteers meet up in my town and have cross cultural, medical and project area training.

Last Sunday, we, Peace Corps, did not have our picnic. I did go to Nato’s birthday, which lasted from about 6pm-2am. Yep, you did read that correctly. It was quite the party. My future husband was toasted several times. In Georgian there is a word that means, finish what is in your glass, similar to ‘bottoms up’. Well needless to say, everytime I had a glass, albeit very small, in my hand that word was shouted out. It was humorous. I, of course, did not do it everytime, just a few. I ended up having to sleep in the car towards the end of the night, because I was soo tired. Women do not really drive in Georgia, really only in Tbilisi. The party was quite a distance from the house, so walking home was not an option, besides it is really not a good idea for a women to walk alone at night. It really was a great party. The people are so much fun. My Georgian is progressing enough that I can be a room with Georgians who speak a little or no English, and I do not just sit there and smile.

There was quite a bit of dancing which of course also turns into, watch the funny American try to dance. There are several traditional dances here. At one point I was asked to show them the traditional American dances. Yeah, I explained that in American, we do not have a traditional dance. There is also some sort activity in which a napkin is placed on the floor and a person is to go almost into a split and pick up the napkin with their teeth. I have had to do this before. It has been funny each time. I have been able to do it two of four times. I was actually quite good at Nato's party. Again, I think this is also done sometimes to laugh at the funny American. Good times.

The day-to-day activities are of course interesting and a bit frustrating, but to be expected. Again, I cannot really complain because I not only have running water, but hot water for the shower and electricity. I have used my computer a bit. I was able to download America: A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy in Action, the book by the Daily Show, which has provided me a great deal of amusement. I do spend a good deal of time studying the language. There are a great group of volunteers here. We are now down to 45, but since it is such a large, it is to be expected.

We have a test at the end of training to demonstrate our competency in both the language and in our specific project area. Nothing is guaranteed until we take that test, however, pretty much everyone is expected to pass. The NGO people will be meeting with our permanent site NGO counterparts in a couple of weeks. It is at this point that we will also meet our permanent host families. It seems like it is awfully fast, but you know at this point it is a matter of going where we are supposed to go. There is so much that is out of our hands and unknown. We have all come to accept it.

Again, this is rather random so ask me some questions. A random note: calf highs, have proven to be rather useful. Take care all. I will try to update again within a week.