The One Where Christmas Comes to Georgia

Sorry for the cliffhanger everyone, I know that you have all been on the edge of your seats waiting to hear about my holidays here in Georgia, well wait no further!

I stole this from facebook, but it snowed in Poti on New Years- a rare sight

When I last left you I was leaving my bags on random busses and trying to teach kids how to sing Jingle Bells, my version of adventure. Well the adventures continues; we had many more practices throughout the week, each one just as crazy as the one before. However, the kids are committed and pretty hilarious so it always ended well. I still don’t have the video of the whole performance, but I have seen pictures and it looks like it all worked out for the best. (And by for the best, I really mean better than I ever imagined it could turn out.)

Georgians make the best use of fireworks indoors

(Feel free to look at all of their pics here: https://goo.gl/SJapOq)

Another highlight from the week came out of my 7th grade class. I realized that we were moving through the material quicker than we’d planned which meant we had some unplanned days coming up. This was the perfect opportunity to introduce a group project for the students to complete. We decided to have them do a report and presentation on an English speaking country. It was a simple task but quite the arduous process. The students tend to copy and paste from Wikipedia rather than putting things into their own words, so we worked a lot on helping them find ways to express the information simply. Finally on Wednesday the groups presented their work. They each gave a presentation in English and prepared a poster to use as a visual aid. Then the class was able to ask them questions about their country. It was a huge success and a great confidence booster for the students.

Next step- teach them how to smile or even smize

During the week I had small Christmas parties with my English clubs and taught them the joy of a white elephant gift exchange- ugly sweaters were lost on them. Attendance was on a steep decline in all my classes, by Thursday no one showed up to both 11th and 12th grade. The students were busy preparing for tests, their holiday performance, and were as ready for the winter break as I was.

Still friends with these ol' cluster mates

Since Christmas was on a Friday, and would be a regular school day in Poti, my director told me to take the day off and enjoy my holiday. For Christmas Eve I met up with some volunteers and we had a small celebration together. We went out to dinner, brought our Christmas PJs, opened some presents, and watched a movie. It was a small and simple Christmas Eve but a lot of fun.

Girls inspecting the most coveted white elephant gift- a nail care set

The next day, Christmas, we made cinnamon rolls and ginger snaps (thanks Rachel). We skyped our families and just lounged around. We tried to avoid venturing outside because it would ruin the spirit of the day since no one else would be celebrating Christmas out on the streets.

Unintentional matching Christmas jammies- thanks Mom!

I’ve been away for Christmas before, but this time it was really different. When you are living in a place that doesn’t celebrate Christmas at all it can feel really strange, it’s almost like you are celebrating in secret. When I returned home to my host family they were going about their work like any other day. It was sort of a downer. Luckily I have great friends and family who made sure to reach out and wish me a merry Christmas. 

From my impromptu performance

The day after Christmas was also my school’s winter carnival (their wording) which was actually just a series of performances from my 9th-12th grade students. You could tell that they had been practicing for some time, and they were all very excited to present their talents. It was a great show! Some students sang popular American songs, there was dancing, and they even got me to get up and do a terrible impromptu song- White Christmas. (Trust me it was bad.)

 
(Look mom I'm on youtube, and I'm so serious)

After the carnival ended they gave out some awards, I received one but I have no idea what for- they’re just nice. I had tried to incentivize my 11th/12th grade students to study for their last English tests by promising a party for those who scored well. In the end the idea proved too difficult to pull off and we had an open invitation party at a local restaurant. 

The winning students, myself, and the school teachers after the carnival

I had a great time getting to know some of my student better. We sang and danced and ate great food. However in true Georgian tradition my 12th grade boys showed up with some bottles of vodka to share with the other students. That is where things got interesting. As far as I can tell there is no legal drinking age for youth in Georgia and many start drinking at a young age, mostly wine since everyone makes their own wine and it is such a big part of their culture. So there I was the 27 year old teacher at the table with my students and the only one not drinking. It can be a tricky area to navigate culturally since it makes me really uncomfortable to watch young people drink. I couldn’t stop them from drinking but I was able to several students off when they had too much. Luckily no one drives so everyone made it home safely. It is interesting when you come across these cultural differences which give you pause but which local people don’t even bat an eye. 

Christmas Tree in Tbilisi

Finally Sunday came and I found myself preparing for my pending vacation. Packing proved to be a pain since I would have to plan for cold weather in Tbilisi and in Skra when I got back, but warm weather while I was away in Dubai. However this was a problem I was glad to take on.

That evening I went out to dinner with my sister and one of her friends who happens to be Jewish (a rarity here) and who also doesn’t speak Georgian fluently (though he has lived in Georgia for years). We had a great time. I love meeting great and interesting people, and Georgia sure is full of them.

No Heat, No Power, No Service

Coming back to school after a long week away can be a difficult thing. Luckily, my school had a surprise waiting for me- no heat, and no power! Something had happened while I was at my training and there had been no heat or power since Thursday morning. To cope with the unforeseen difficulty the decided to shorten all classed to 35 min- shaving an hour or so off of the school day. There is nothing like a short day to get you through a case of the Mondays.

Tuesday things were back to normal, but on Wednesday the heat was out again. This time it was out in the whole neighborhood, including at my house. It was a cold day. However, I can't complain because at least we "heat" (it's a minimal amount of heat); most schools and homes use petchis aka old wood burning stoves. To heat their homes and schools. That is what my family in the village uses. It works well, but you have to stoke it and it leaves a smoky smell even if the chimney pipes it out. Also, I have heard some really strange stories from other volunteers about what kids throw in the petchis to keep them going. Apparently they don't always have a stockpile of wood on hand.

Aside from school, I also had a Christmas photo shoot with Randi. If you haven't seen the pics you should check out my last post. I was going to save them for this week's post, but I was too impatient to post them.

Later on Wednesday I visited the orphanage and taught the kids how to play UNO. It was a great time. That game has served me well wherever I go in the world. I don't think I have ever met a kid who didn't like playing UNO. Plus it is really easy to explain, you can act out most of the requirements and people will catch on. The downside of teaching kids these games is that they all want to gang up on me while playing. I don't think I have ever been the but of so many draw 2 and draw 4 cards!

My weekend was another busy one as well. I left on Friday afternoon for Kutaisi where I was planning to meet up with some other volunteers to help run a Model UN competition for some local university students. These types of activities are not very common in Georgia and are great for teaching critical thinking skills.

When I arrived in Kutaisi I met up with another volunteer at the McDonald's (conveniently located next to the bus station- "yes I would like fries with that!") As we were leaving I had the weird sensation that I was missing something. After a quick inventory (I wasn't carrying anything) I realized that I had left my backpack on the marshutka.

We raced to the station to the area where Poti's marshutka wait and found out that I had ridden in on the one marshutka a day which doesn't stop in Kutaisi but rather continues on to Zestaponi. That meant that my bag was still in transit. I explained my situation to some of the men hanging around and soon several were on their phones making some phone calls to try and figure out who was driving the marsh I had been on. It didn't take long before they had a phone number and were able to call and explain my situation. (Georgia is a such a small place, everyone literally knows everyone. If they don't, then they know someone who does.)

A short while later I found myself on another marsh headed to Zestaponi to find my bag. The ride took a lot longer than estimated, but the driver was there waiting when I arrived. He had probably been waiting for close to an hour by the time I showed up. There was nothing which said he had to wait, he could've left my bag with someone, or just told me I was out of luck. However he chose to wait, because that is what they do here. They take care of each other. I really appreciate that about Georgians. Even more so, they take care of me because they recognize that I am a foreigner here and don't have the same connections and network that they have.

In the end it just ended up being a 2 hour detour in my plans, but I got a good reminder of true Georgian hospitality, and more time to listen to my book on tape- A Christmas Carol (I have to get in the Christmas spirit somehow). I joined the other volunteers at my friend's apartment and we had a great night playing Settlers of Catan (genius idea of someone to bring the travel version).

The Model UN event also went off without a hitch on Saturday. We had a fair turn out (nothing like a Model UN event back home), and the students did a great job. We conducted the entire even in English which forced the students to really work on their English skills. It can be hard enough to participate in your native tongue but doing the same in a foreign language is really tough! It was great to see how they approached the issues and tried to really represent their designated countries. The student representing Saudi Arabia really dressed up like a Saudi!

Unfortunately I was unable to stay and watch the final session of the competition on Sunday, I had to get back to Poti for some other appointments. The next day I had to meet my counterpart teacher and our fifth grade class at the school to begin our work on their New Year's presentation. Oh boy is it going to be a hit! I haven't decided if it will be a miracle or a hot mess, but either way it is going to be a good time for all. They will be performing 2 short plays in English- Red Riding Hood (nothing screams Christmas like ol' Red), and a New Year's fable called the New Year Fairy. After the plays they will sing a rousing rendition of Jingle Bells and conclude with some traditional Georgian dances, samba, and hip-hop. Oh and did I mention that they are going to have this all ready to go in a week?! Unfortunately I will be leaving for my Holiday vacation and won't be in Poti to watch the presentation. I have made many a person promise to record the whole things for me. If they do I will be sure to share!

Finally, the week ended with some more Christmas preparations- sugar cookies and Elf. I can't believe that Christmas is right around the corner! The city is just starting to decorate for the season. They have set up a large Christmas tree in the center and hang light across some of the streets. It all seems late to me, but I have to remember that their holiday season starts a lot later because it carries over well into January.

That's all I have for now, if I don't talk to you before Friday then Merry Christmas to all!

I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams!

Family Pictures (minus the family)

Well I have missed being in another round of holiday family pics, so I had my own photo shoot:

Because you can't go far without running into a cow here

I guess this makes me the big bad wolf

Black Sea styling

Just popping in to see how you are doing

Soon to be a New Year's feast centerpiece 

Somebody put this on pintrest for me...

I don't chop wood, I pose on it

რა გინდა ბიჭო!?

P.S. Thanks to Randi for being a great photographer!

All Work and No Play, I Swear

The only thing that got me through the doldrums of last week was knowing that I wouldn't have to do it again this week. Hallelujah! This week was another trainings week. Like I mentioned before, Peace Corps really is concerned about helping us make it through our first year of service, especially the first winter. These conferences are specifically planned and spaced out in order to give us something to look forward to as winter sets in and begins force many volunteers into deeper isolation. Smart move Peace Corps, smart move.

Our view for the week... living near the sea has its benefits.

This week's trainings was focused on project design and management (PDM). This training was also the first one where one of our counterpart teachers was also invited, that definitely changed the dynamic. We had a great time regardless though. The hotel rooms were comfortable, the food was good, the water was hot, and there was a swimming pool. What more could we ask for?

Hard at work with my counterpart Nana

The way Peace Corps works is by assigning all volunteer to a primary project. This project is your primary focus while in country. (Mine is education, hence the whole teacher schtick I am trying to pull off.) Outside of your primary project you are free to work on whatever you want. Everyone's skill set and interests vary widely so the types of projects cover just about every idea imaginable. To help volunteers create more meaningful projects Peace Corps has developed a means for volunteers to get access to funding, and that makes the realm of possibilities even greater. (Their method works a lot other donation sites like kickstarter, except all the money goes to the volunteer's project. This is just a convenient method that avoids taxes and international transfer rates, etc.)

Just 1 of the hundreds of pics that was taken during the conference.

This training was great for walking volunteers through the process of how to write a grant and find project funding, but it also walked us volunteers through the project design process together with a local counterpart so that they understand the process and gain the skill set needed to work with us (hooray for capacity building). If you are interested you can explore the donation site and get a feel for the type of projects going on around the world- https://donate.peacecorps.gov/donate/projects-funds/# You can sort by project area, country, or volunteer. I am sure that yours truly will eventually make their debut on the donation page.

Some cluster Christmas pics with 5 of the 7 of us from Skra

During the training my counterpart Nana and I worked together to plan out a future potential project for our school. We focused on equipping and renovating our computer lab. The goal would be to give students greater access to computers and technology and to train them in basic skills like microsoft programs and internet research. We would also like to host trainings for teachers so they can learn ways to incorporate more technology into their teaching and lesson planning. Finally, the new lab would make a great place for skill trainings for community members who need help with things like CV/Resume writing. It's a pretty good idea, now we will see how motivated the teachers at my school are. If everything works out we could start work on the project in January.

Our group of energetic volunteers and Georgian counterparts

On Friday we had to check out of the hotel and back into regular life. However, since it was the weekend I decided to take my time coming home. I headed south to Batumi and then met up with another volunteer to help with an International Human Rights Day activity and discussion. A group of youth met us at their town's youth center and we had a great presentation and discussion on the idea of human rights. It was really cool to see the youth thinking deeper on issues that wouldn't normally cross their minds like discrimination and gender equality. These sorts of activities and trainings are awesome, but can be very tiring. It takes a lot of planning to find ways to present the information in a sensitive manner.

Look at me in action there deep in conversation while the kids start in amazement...
or they're trying really hard to understand me through my terrible Georgian and strange accent- you choose :)

On Saturday I headed out again to help with another project, this time in Senaki which is just north of Poti. They were hosting the regional round of the National English Spelling Bee. It was cool to see the kids participating in a foreign language spelling bee, the competition was all really great.  I couldn't imagine competing in a Georgian spelling bee (and this language is supposedly phonetic, unlike English).

A successful training always includes selfies with the kids.

Now it's time to buckle down and get some work in before the holidays come. The city is slowly starting to decorate. There is a large tree in the center (yet to be lit) and some lights are popping up on the streetlights. Best of all the holiday season coincides with fishing season. Many men are now employed on fishing boats and there are a lot of fish to be sold. The only real downside is that fact that someone on the outskirts of town there is a fish factory that is now running full speed and the smell of fish has permeated the town, especially at night... Note to friends: don't come visit me from December to February unless a town that smells like fish sticks sounds like a match made in heaven.

After my time away I came home to this beauty of a New Years (Christmas) tree decorated by my host mother. #Classic

Rain Rain Go Away

Ho ho ho ho....

December is here in Poti and I doubt we are going to have a white Christmas, however the chances for a wet Christmas are extremely high! This week was pretty miserable, it rained every day starting Monday evening. When it is raining there isn't much to do since everyone stays inside to avoid getting wet. That means that most of my week was spent sitting in a small 9'x35' room which doubles as the kitchen, dining, and living room. It's the only room with a real gas heater so it is the warmest place to be and where everyone congregates. Grandmother has her chair facing the TV, mother is always milling around doing something, and the rest come and go. Guests come often, food is eaten, and there is plenty of neighborhood gossip. It's not too bad, but being trapped in there for several days can start to be really exhausting. Let's all hope for a mild winter, or in the least one that doesn't include full weeks of rain.

You are looking at my brother's pride and joy, the front garden. He is very protective of it. Don't even think about eating his plants, especially if you are a cow wandering the street.

Needless to say, after a week of rain I was pretty stir crazy come the weekend. I decided to get together with my neighbor Randi and make cinnamon rolls- our first foray into holiday baking. Thankfully this wasn't Randi's first time and they actually turned out deliciously. (Side note, deliciously is an actual word in Georgian and it is used quite often. You can describe how you ate- deliciously, or you can tell someone to enjoy- deliciously; it's rather strange.) After a successful Saturday I didn't mind the rain that came later that evening.

Exhibit A: I loaded that thing with cinnamon, sugar, and butter

Sunday I stayed in bed- in a sleeping bag, under 4 blankets; all morning until my host mother told me I should get up. It was still raining. However, by the afternoon it stopped and I was able to go on a walk. I had no destination in mind so I naturally ended up at sea, near the lighthouse. I really needed to stretch my legs since I hadn't used them much all week. After arriving at my spot, I noticed that I was all alone and decided that that I needed more Christmas cheer. Therefore I proceeded to spend 30 minutes belting Christmas songs into the air and out across the sea. The Michael Buble Christmas album is a favorite for singing along.

Exhibit B: We smothered those babies in vanilla glaze

Home life was rather uneventful, and school provided little respite. Many students couldn't be bothered to show up to class on the rainy days. The poor weather seems to really get to people here, I would imagine this is what living in Seattle might be like. When it's gloomy out people aren't very active and the mood at home, school, and across the town is more somber, less jovial. Because of the rain, no one showed up to my English club, I didn't get to visit the orphanage, and I spent a lot of time reading.

I won't put you through any more drawn out explanations of an otherwise uneventful week, I think that you get the picture. However, regardless of the weather, December is here and Christmas is coming. There is a lot to do to get ready. If I get my way, I will be introducing my students to the glory of an ugly sweater party as well as the classic white elephant gift exchange.

Giving Thanks

Well it’s Saturday and I just realized that I have skipped a week of blogging. I’m actually feeling under the weather (a phrase that I have no idea where it comes from), so I am sitting in bed trying to pass the time. I can’t complain too much because I am on a bit of a holiday, you know Thanksgiving and all. Some other volunteers and I decided to have a weekend getaway in the mountains near Turkey. I found us a nice guest house and we bought everything we could find in hopes of creating a Thanksgiving feast here. (I don’t know how much I will be able to eat though which is quite depressing.) Luckily we recruited some of the best PCV chefs to spend the weekend with us, so I have no doubts about the feast we will have.




After such a long break from Poti, almost 10 days, it was nice to come home and relax for a bit. Getting back into teaching was a little rough since I didn’t have time to catch up with the teachers before jumping back into things. The first couple classes were rough because I had to spend a lot of time getting the students to behave for me again- it’s amazing what you lose just by missing a week! By the end of the week though, things looked like they were back on track.

We had our own mini Georgian Thanksgiving, and I taught them the phrase- I'm stuffed!

I also got to celebrate back to back Thanksgivings with my American club students on Tuesday and Wednesday. I shared the history of Thanksgiving, we practiced expressing gratitude, I taught some idioms like- I’m stuffed and blessing in disguise, and we even had our out Thanksgiving feast. I love being able to share some of the best parts of American culture with my students. They are exposed to so much “America” but it isn’t always the best. Thanksgiving is a great time to showcase some of the important American values and ideas in a very fun way.

Our view for the Thanksgiving weekend

Being away from home on Thanksgiving is never fun, but it is something that I have gotten used to since I have missed 6 of the last 10 (I don’t have a very good track record) and I am bound to miss more. Each of the Thanksgivings I have spent away from home have been memorable experiences. This Thanksgiving Thursday there was no actual celebration. I just went to school and had a regular day since we were taking off Friday for our weekend getaway. Despite the lack of celebration I still had plenty of time to reflect and be grateful.

The first moments of gratitude went to thinking about my life back home. Gratitude for indoor plumbing, western toilets, safe electrical wiring, heating, air conditioning, and many other luxuries of life back home. I was also able to be in touch with my family through the internet and modern technology which always makes home feel so much closer.

Juicing mandarins by hand, they are plentiful in the area now

I happened upon a gathering in town and watched a brief cultural song and dance presentation which made me reflect on my gratitude for being here in Georgia. Living in a different culture provides endless opportunity for comparing and contrasting with your own. By living here I have learned many wonderful new ideas and a greater appreciation for family and history.

I was able to meet up with my old host father from my first house in Poti, it was the first time we’d met up since I moved in October. I was instantly reminded and grateful for his kindness and open heart. We still can’t communicate very well, but I can tell that he cares and is there to support me. It was a great reminder of all the wonderful hospitality and kindness that I have received from the Georgian people.

Sharing what we are grateful for before we dig in.

I had friends come into town and my current host family accepted them in with open arms. We had a great time sitting and chatting. I spent some time reflecting on all of the new friends- American and Georgian; that I have made in the past 7 months, people that I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to meet. These are people who have become family like so many others who I have spent Thanksgiving with in Brazil and back East.

My life since graduating High School has been an amazing journey. Literally in the sense of my physical journey away from home and around the world, but also more symbolically in the sense of the internal journey of growing up. During college one of my friends told me about some writer that started a project known as the 6 word memoir. One of her favorites was, “Not quite what I was expecting.” I think that if I had to write my own it would be something like, “Unexpected, but better than I dreamed.”

A successful weekend with this wonderful crew

P.S. In case you were worried, Thanksgiving went well. I rested all day and had reached a shaky truce with my insides by dinnertime. Rather than play it smart and pass on the potentially dangerous foods, I went all in and just had small portions of each. The food was AMAZING, everyone had worked all day and created some wonderful creations. I was in pain later that night, but it was well worth it. That's what Thanksgiving is all about isn't it?

Even PCVs Need a Break

When I last left off, we were heading out on a marshutka for a conference in Borjomi. Alex and I left on Sunday so we could visit our old teacher from our PST days in Skra. She happened to live on the way to Borjomi so it was a convenient detour. We spent the night at her place, met her family, and got to catch up. Naili is a dear friend since she was the one who really helped us to adjust to life in Georgia and start to better understand the Georgian language and culture. It was also terribly cold in her village, which reminded me to be grateful for where I live, even if it is unbearably hot and mosquito ridden in the summer. 

First signs of snow 

Monday morning we completed our trip to Borjomi (a Park City-esque town in Georgia) and checked into our hotel for training. When you are applying for the Peace Corps you try to imagine what your experience will be like and usually you just think about living in some mud hut in Africa. While some volunteers do live in mud huts without electricity, most don’t. Furthermore, they don’t tell you that for the sake of the volunteers’ sanity, they also plan conferences semi-regularly and try to have them at pretty nice resort places. Our Borjomi conference was at a really great hotel with a spa, hence Alex and I deciding to arrive as soon as possible so we could relax in the sauna, swim, and take a real shower with hot water on demand. 

Ready to get our spa on!

The rest of the volunteers from my arrival group arrived throughout the day. This was our first time getting together in a group since July when we had our swearing in ceremony. It was great to see everyone back together again. The conference went from Monday to Thursday and was focused on learning more about Georgian language and culture. Now that we have been living in our sites for 4 months we were ready to go more in depth with various topics and build on the knowledge we already have.

Verbs are the worst

Georgian culture is fascinating to me because it is so old and well preserved. The Golden Age of Georgia was in the 1200s yet people reference the works of that time like they were yesterday. The Georgian language is equally interesting, but it is also very difficult to master. I don’t think I have really gone into depth with how Georgian works yet, it is so different from English. Unlike Portuguese and other Latin based languages there aren’t many commonalities with English. The sounds are so foreign and difficult to make. Learning vocabulary is very difficult. Also the verbs and their conjugations are some of the most difficult in any language. In just one word you can express who is doing what to whom and when, as well as the mood of the action. Then throw in the fact that there usually consonant clusters of 3-5 letters which don’t roll off the tongue too easily. Needless to say, mastering this language will be a miracle in the least.

After four days of all you can eat (non-traditional Georgian) food, sauna relaxation, and classes; we all went our separate ways. A number of us ended up in Tbilisi for the long weekend because we had meeting in the Peace Corps office on Friday, so the fun kept coming. 

Trying to keep up with pop culture

I am a member of the Youth as Resources committee for our post and we had our first full committee meeting last Friday. There are three volunteers from my group and three from the previous. It’s a great group over all. Our focus is on promoting volunteerism and healthy lifestyles among the youth here in Georgia, so we organize activities and events and also provide resources for other volunteers to use in their sites. We had a great meeting and I’m excited for the work that we will be able to accomplish together as a team during my service.

The rest of my stay in Tbilisi was made up of wonderful foods- real hamburgers and Chinese! A trip to the movies- the Hunger Games (in English), and lots of wandering around the city. Tbilisi is a really great city and a nice escape from the day to day life of a volunteer.

Heading to the church for Giorgoba

The next stop on my extended vacation was a visit back to the village (Skra) with Alex. I never pass up an opportunity to stop in and visit my old host family, they are wonderful people. So much has changed in the village since we were there for training. Winter is setting in so there isn’t a bounty of fresh fruits to be picked, even the cow is giving less milk. It is a lot colder as well. The petchi (wood stove) is back in the house to warm up the common areas. There are also other people living in the house. My family has taken in several men as boarders while they work on the local school (which was in serious need of a facelift). 

One of many sheep

Monday was a holiday, St. George day or Giorgoba/გიორგობა, we celebrated a similar holiday 6 months earlier in May. This meant that I was able to go back to the little church on the top of the mountain. There were so many people up there! I’m not entirely sure what the traditions for the day are, but many people were brining roosters and sheep up to the church with them. I am pretty sure they were all eaten later, I saw some people slaughtering the animals up at the top. We made our way up to the church, walked around it three times then entered and light a few candles. After that we were free to take some pics and look around before heading back down.



After we made it back to the village it was time to back the cross country trek back to Poti, and to warmer weather. Traveling around Georgia is always a treat you just never know what you are going to get. This time is was 4 marshutkas and 6.5 hours of speeding and swerving. Somedays I think that getting out of Georgia without any serious traffic incident will be another miracle.

Such a serious look

Don't Rain on My Parade

(More pictures are coming, I just need better internet for uploading.)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I'm back!

That past week was another exciting one in the small seaport town of Poti. It was a non stop show of rain and wind, that I can only assume is a preview of what is to come this winter (everyone hold onto your hats!). A lot went on this week, and even though I am writing this on Thursday instead of Sunday, I'm going to try to remember the best highlights for ya'll.

Poti Youth Leadership Conference group pic

Besides the ever present rainclouds, the one thing hovering over me all week was the youth leadership conference I was planning for Saturday. This was going to be my first real project designed, managed, and delivered in town with the help of my counterparts and other partners. I wanted it to be a success so that I could use it as a springboard for future projects and work (spoiler alert- I think it worked!). I'll get back to that in a minute though.

Meet my 5th grade class, half of the class was absent becuase of the weather

This week was also my first site visit from my program manager, Teo. I don't think I have really explained much about the organizational make of of Peace Corps in Georgia before, so I probably haven't mentioned Teo yet. The first thing you need to know is that she is awesome. The whole organization of Peace Corps in Georgia (and other countries) is mostly made up of host country nationals aka Georgians here in Georgia. To be exact there are only 3 Americans who work in the Peace Corps office here- the Country Director (CD), the Director of Programing and Training (DPT), and the fincial office manager person whose title I can't remember. The rest of the staff are all Georgians and they are great. Anyway, back to Teo, she is the program manager over the volunteers in Eastern Georgia working in Education. She is very accomplished, super competent, and very attentive; and she came to visit me on Tuesday.

We had a great sit down meeting where we discussed my experience in my school and how my work was going with my counterpart teachers. She understood where I was feeling some frustrations and we worked out some key issues and made some great plans for the coming months. It is great to have the amount of support that I have, without it I would definitely be drowning in confusion.

After our meeting she met with my counterparts and director and then we all met together again. She was able to translate my desires and needs to them and their opinions to me in a very effective way. Language barriers definitely are a thing but they are easy to get around, cultural barriers are a completely different issue and since she is a native Georgian and has a lot of experience with Americans, she makes for a great mediator.

Following Teo's visit my school work went very smoothly and some of the small stresses were alleviated which made it a lot easier to focus on everything that I needed to do to get ready for the leadership conference. (This is where I give a shout out to Randi my fellow Poti volunteer and Maka my Georgian Tutor, who both did a lot to help me get things ready- thanks guys!) Before I knew it, it was Friday and time to really set my plans into motion.

Before I go on with the play-by-play I should give you the rundown of my vision for the project. At the beginning of the school year I found out that each school in Poti had a student council (something that obviously peaked my interest). When I pursued the point a little more I found out that the council then elects a president each year as well. This got the wheels turning in my head and I thought that it would be great to bring all of the leaders together to get to know each other and get trained on how to be better leaders for their schools. There really isn't a whole lot that goes into soft skills training in the schools, so this seemed like a great opportunity.

The girls who came out to help me

After coming up with the idea I wrote up a project proposal and and sent my idea to a contact at the port who manages their corporate social responsibility endeavors. The plan was to have all the leaders meet me at a hotel in town and we'd spend the day in trainings, next we'd have a nice dinner at a restaurant with some guest speakers, and then come back to the hotel and play games and spend the night, then wrap up in the morning. It sound like a perfect plan. Later in the week I got my response from the port and they fully funded my project (score!). From that point I just further refined my plan and got more people on board for helping out. We decided to have sessions on leadership, project design and management, goal setting, and public speaking. I also got 6 fellow volunteers and 2 Georgians to come into to help run the sessions.

The guys (summer camp veterans) that came out to help me

Friday afternoon we finished buying everything, and there was a lot since I had to coordinate all of the sessions and all of the meals for the conference. After running errands the other volunteers started to arrive as well. My host family was ecstatic. Once again Georgians love guests. My host mom made cake and various other foods and Randi's host mom also made a small feast. We had a great time. People slowly trickled in and we ate for hours and chatted with each other and our families. We pow-wowed a bit (a phrase I had to teach our Georgian translators) and then headed to bed.

Saturday morning I woke up to the news of the Paris attacks which was very upsetting. Aside from the shock of those attacks we spent our time pulling things together and headed out to the hotel. There were plenty of bumps all morning as we got things ready, but in the end it all worked out. I was also amazed at the fact that all of the students showed up on time and that all but two actually showed up. This was a huge surprise, due to the weather (and the unpredictability of Georgians, mostly due to my lack of understanding) Fazisoba (Poti Days) celebration was moved from Sunday to Saturday and put in direct competition with my conference. I had been afraid that between the weather and these changes no one was going to show up, but they proved me wrong. The rest of the conference went off without a hitch. The sessions were fantastic, the students were great participants, the food worked out, and we basically threw the best high school party in Poti that evening.

Overall, I couldn't have been happier. Sunday morning came and the students were suddenly fast friends. We had a wrap up session and sent them on their way. The plan from here on is for them to now head back to their schools and implement a project with the help of their directors and councils. Hopefully this will help spur more community involvement and volunteerism in the community.



Once we had cleaned everything up the volunteers headed to the beach and took a little tour of Poti. We did the traditional pirate ship meal, and then headed out to the marshutka station to head out to our next adventure. 8 days away from site in various parts of Georgia for trainings, meetings, and holidays. Stay tuned!

Alex and I at the beach, excited for the upcoming week of travel

Riding in Cars with Roosters

Before I start talking about my week I thought I would share two brief anecdotes with you:

Leaving Kutaisi yesterday I began to receive frantic calls from a fellow PCV who had arrived at the bus station before me. She told me the bus was leaving sooner than expected and that it was the last one of the day. I asked her to buy my ticket so that the driver would save my place and I'd be there as soon as possible- problem solved, or so I thought. Over the next 5 phone calls she slowly described to me the mutinous scene that was unfolding on the marshutka. It started with a an angry woman trying to take the seats being saved for us. Next the marsh filled up and people began to whisper about the American trying to save spots for missing people. Soon there was a revolt of people wanting to leave without us. Luckily a nice bebia (grandmother) came to our aide and started to petition for the driver to wait for us.

On the other end of the phone I was glued to the action and trying to plan my move. The marshutka pulled out from the station and began to approach the main road as my bus turned the corner. I waited for the driver to pull to a stop and open the doors and then immediately darted out into traffic. There were marshutkas everywhere. I looked (and acted like) a crazy person until I found the green marsh coming at me with the ფოთი (poti) sign in the window. I ran head on in front of it waving my arms and the driver finally pulled over to let me on. As the door opened men came pouring out, they left a gap inside and motioned me aboard. There I saw my friend and took the seat that she had risked her life to save. I was glad I'd made it, but the next two hours were no walk in the park. There were nearly 40 people in that marshutka as well as one rooster being retrained by one frail hand around its neck our hero bebia... Never a dull moment on the marsh.

Family dinner, a rare occurrence. Meet the family!

The next story took place Friday night. My sitemate and I decided to go to the theater together, I recently learned that there is some sort of performance every Friday night. This week's performance was a visiting group from Portugal who were here as part of a EU culture week going on across Georgia. Our seats were right in the middle of the army, coast guard, and local priests and bishop. At some point during the introduction the bishop went up on stage to say a few words which turned into a 15 min speech. I didn't catch most of it but I heard, "Under the protection of Russia" and judging from the face of the EU representative on stage, it wasn't a rousing pro-West speech.

The performance ended up being really great, but the audience experience was very different. There was a lot of flash photography going on. I'm almost certain several men in the auditorium were smoking. I counted at least three phone calls which were answered in the audience. Then during a couple of numbers the audience even joined together to do the whole uptempo group clapping thing (might I add this this concert was of a more formal variety). It was very different from the performances I am used to attending, but not out of the ordinary for Georgia. I'm not sure if theater etiquette transfers across cultures or if it changes in each one, but I would love to know what the dos and don't of the theater are here because next time I want to be prepared.

Georgian singers sharing the stage with the Portuguese performers

For the most part this week was pretty uneventful. Teaching ebbed and flowed, I wanted to strangle some students while others seemed to make some good progress. Overall it was just another week.

One thing that I have been working on for the past month has been a leadership retreat which is set to take place this upcoming weekend. Near the beginning of the school year I learned that each school has a student council and each council elects a president. Seeing the opportunity to do some good I immediately began brainstorming a way to bring all of these students together to get to know one another and participate in some trainings to help them be more successful in their new positions.

I've pulled together an awesome team of 6 PCVs and 2 alumni of a Georgian foreign exchange program to run the training. We have prepared sessions on leadership, goal setting, project design and management, as well as communication and planning for a successful future. These are simple topics but aren't generally taught all too often in school, little time seems to be devoted to anything other than the general academic studies. After the retreat students will be tasked with creating a project to benefit their school community and will receive a certificate of completion after they have completed said project (Georgians love certificates).

This is a filler picture because I didn't take any pics this week...

Additionally the project has been fully funded by a generous donation from the company which manages the port. Early on in the planning process I wrote up a project proposal and asked for funding, the port has been more than gracious in their assistance and support of this project. Because of this funding we are able to hold the retreat at a hotel where food will be provided and students will spend the night in order to allow more time to get to know each other and build friendships after sitting in training sessions all day long.

The whole planning and implementation process has been full of bumps and obstacles, but overall has been a great learning processes for me. Hopefully this will also be a great start for future projects which I hope to launch within the community.

Now we are on the homestretch and I have my fingers crossed that nothing will arise and derail our plans. I've done enough bureaucratic navigation that it is time to buckle down and finish off the last of the logistical preparations. I've got supplies to buy, meals to organize, and so much more. Stay tuned for next week's update, I'm sure there will be a lot to report on!