Learning about Grieving and Sitting

Hello from the other side... I keep trying to write this post, but Adele's new song is just too distracting. I might be halfway across the world but thanks to technology I am still pretty plugged in to what is going on, thank you globalization and mass telecommunication!

I don't like olives so it's been awhile since I could do this with food. 

I was walking to school the other day when I was finally able to put my finger on the feeling that I get so frequently. Do you remember the beginning of To Kill a Mockingbird? Scout is starting school and has a new teacher from a different town. Miss Caroline Fisher is new to town so she doesn't know about the Cunninghams, and she doesn't understand the town. I'm a 21st century version of this same idea. I'm the foreign teacher in a foreign town trying to work with kids I just don't understand. (If you don't remember To Kill a Mockingbird then just think of any old timey movie with a similar plot.) People stare at me a lot. Many people ignore me and others try to baby me. Either way I am the outsider, the newbie, the foreigner, the one that isn't Georgian. It get's tiring, but I understand why a little better, I'm just not from around here.

This package ran the gauntlet and took 3 months to get to me! Luckily I've found other methods to get packages.

On Sunday I was informed that one of my neighbors had passed away, I had never met him but it was good to know so that I could be aware and behave appropriately. I still don't fully understand all of the traditions and beliefs surrounding death here in Georgia (and it differs from region to region), but I will try to explain what I know.

The only fall colors I have in my life are the persimmons

Upon news of the death the wife, mother, or some significant female relative will begin to mourn through wailing. I'm not exactly sure what they say but they mourn vocally at a loud volume that can often be heard from several houses away.  Family members immediately being to wear black and the wife or mother will generally wear all black for the 40 days following the death, some indefinitely. Hence, a lot of older women in Georgia only wear black clothing. When you see a women dressed in black you can assume that either a child or her husband has passed away.

Waste waterslide

One of the major differences in the culture surrounding death is the public nature of it. Here the whole neighborhood will come to pay their respects. So many that they body is generally kept on display in a refrigerated coffin for about 6 days in the family's home. After the viewing time is complete, it is then time for the funeral.

My recent Georgian DIY project, the plaster came off with the tape when I tried to adjust it...

Everyone meets at the home of the deceased and a few words are spoken. Next they load the body into a car or cart and usually the procession will then set off through the streets to the cemetery. To also be  noted is the funeral anniversary procession. A year later on the anniversary of the burial or death another procession is held. Once again they move from home to cemetery. This time upon arriving at the cemetery they begin to have a supra in honor of the deceased. It is a pretty normal event until they begin to pour wine on to the the tomb, this is done in their honor and is often a way of acting as if they were still present. Overall it's a very ritualistic process but also contains a lot of heart and emotion.

My bed, refer to last week's description

On a lighter note, I have started 2 more weekly projects. The first is an English club at my school. This past week we talked about the future and celebrated Back to the Future day. The second "project" is me visiting the orphanage once a week to watch The Flash with the kids. The older boys love it and I have found a place to download copies of the episodes in Georgian. We all gather around my laptop and watch it together (I can't understand a word of the translation because the man doing the dubbbing is unable to speak at a normal pace, and due to the fact that Georgian words are a lot more longer, he has a lot more to say).

Scenes from one of my "sitting" trips

One last aside, from my home here in Poti. Sitting is a popular pastime in Georgia. Coming from a western country where we prize being busy it is hard to adjust to the idea of doing nothing, in training they called it an art. This past week I got to experience a lot of it with  my new host brother and his friend Carlo. They invited me to go out with them several times and each time involved some sort of food and sitting by the sea. We would talk for a bit, but we would also just sit. It's nice if you can clear your head and just relax (not easy). Sitting is something I learned how to do before I was 1; however, now it is something I am working to perfect at the age of 27.

Perfecting the art of sitting, by the sea

6 months bite the dust

The Alaverdi monastery complex

The thing with moving into a new house is that there are no instructions. The adjustment process is all about trial and error and there are new discoveries to be made everyday. My second day here I noticed what our bathroom plumbing looked like and had a good laugh. The toilet is on the second floor of the house and is an actual toilet. However indoor plumbing isn't much of a thing. Instead there is a massive pipe that shoots out from behind the toilet, it heads outside for a few feet and then drops at a 45 degree angle until it hits where the old outhouse used to be. Basically it's a waste water slide... I'll have to send a picture sometime.

Mskheta's church, old as dirt- but we look fresh!

In addition to the water slide, there is also the matter of heating the water to take a shower with. I went 2 years with cold showers in Brazil, but when it's cold outside you'd have to be crazy to take a cold shower as well. I'm still not sure how it all works, but I know that it takes an hour to heat up. If I don't plan ahead then there is no morning shower for me. (I might have missed a few days this week.)

Other fun discoveries of the week all take place in my room. First my ceiling is made out of wallpaper. I am not totally sure how it works but it's not attached to anything, it just sort of sags but when you push on it there is some give. Either way it looks real nice. Next my bed. To the naked eye it looks quite normal. When you climb in you might notice a difference, and if you roll around on it you will spot the problem real soon. There is no mattress. My bed it made out of a hodgepodge collection of cushions and pads.  For the most part it feels ok, I like a firm bed anyway. However, the bottom corner of the bed is made out cylindrical cushions which don't fit in quite as well. I was quite surprised when I peels back the layers to see what I was really sleeping on. No complaints though, I sleep like a baby every night.

The City of Love (aka a free Georgian marketing scheme)

As for my week, things were really easy. Wednesday was a holiday and Friday I had to go to Tbilisi so I only had 3 days of teaching. On Thursday I caught the marshutka to Tbilisi where I met up with Melody and we prepared for our weekend together. I met her at a semi formal gala at the Marriott in Tbilisi (not your stereotypical Peace Corps environment by any means) where we got to meet several people involved in international development and have delicious food- despite how great it is, it is easy to get tired of Georgian meals.

Megan's first khinkali experience in Georgia

Friday we set out together to meet my friend Megan at the airport. She was flying in on her way to Turkey and we were going to spend the weekend together. I wasn't originally going to be able to meet her at the airport, so my presence was going to be a surprise. 6 months in and I was getting my first visitor, not even an hour long bus ride could spoil my excitement.

How do you eat a pomegranate anyways?

When we got to the airport Melody found her first and when I came walking towards her she just looked at me, and in her own words thought "that guy looks a lot like Logan." Once it clicked that I was there to pick her up too she was just as excited as me. From the airport we headed back to the city and then caught a marsh to Mskheta, the old capital of Georgia. There we feasted on khinkali (Georgian dumplings) per Megan's request, and then we visited the old church in the center. Next we fulfilled Megan's childhood dream and picked some pomegranates from tree on the side of the road.

Jamming to some One Direction with the youths

Later Melody's counterpart picked us up and took us out to a small village where the Embassy's book mobile was stationed for the day. There we spoke with some students and played some childhood games like duck duck goose. We also helped them practice their English and listened to some 1D, (teenage girls are the same all over the world).

The crew for the afternoon

That evening we made the trip into Skra and spent the evening with my old host family. The already love Melody (my host dad said she was the best girl in all of Georgia) and they accepted Megan with open arms. She got the full village experience and was forced to eat more food than she probably ever expected. Everything was delicious per usual, and of course it was also all from their own farm. We has a chicken from the yard, blackberry sauce, candied pears, apricot jam, fresh cheese, khatchapuri, salads, and more. My host dad kept the wine flowing (as Georgians always do) and made the required toast for the meal. (Toasts to God, family, country, etc.) It was a beautiful evening.

My village brothers Nika (left) and Vano (right)

The next morning we woke up early and headed into Tbilisi to start our next adventure. We found ourselves a taxi, who turned out to be impressed that we foreigners could speak and would bother to try and learn Georgian. He was easy to talk to and offered to be our private taxi for the entire day.

Fall in Georgia and it makes me feel at home

Our trip took us throughout most of the Kakheti region of Georgia. We visited the Ujarma fortress, Shuamta monastary, Alaverdi monestary, Gremi fortress, Nekresi monastery, Sighnaghi, and Bode covenant.  All in all it was a lot of time spent in the car and visiting old sites which I know nothing about. I can appreciate something that is old even if I don't know it's history. I am impressed that some things could actually survive that long. Some structures were over 1000 years old! I dare you to find something man made that is over 1000 years old.

Friends who travel together stay together

Finally our last day was spent in Tbilisi checking out the Tbilisi "fair" and wandering throughout the city. Overall the weekend was an astounding success. I got to see some fall colors, I got to see a dear friend, and I got to eat copious amount of sugar and still feign some ignorance about it's side effects. Georgia is a magical place, although that magic might rub off sometimes, experiencing it all again through another person was a good reminder of how great it can be.

6 months behind me and many more ahead

Home Sweet (3rd) Home

Every week the question is, what am I going to write about this time- sometimes there is nothing to write about other times (like this week) there is too much. Now without further ado I present my memoirs of the week…

My thoughts whenever I'm asked this question..

School. I had the thought this week as I was teaching my 12th grade class, ten years ago when I was a senior in high school I am sure someone asked us to try and imagine where we would be in ten years. I don’t think I pictured myself teaching high school, I guarantee you that I didn’t see myself teaching high school in a foreign country. Ten years ago I was behind the desk and now I’m in front of the blackboard.

I got invited (read suckered into) attending some presentation at school, no idea what was going on

This week I had my first experience with solo teaching. (I am partnered with several teachers so that I’m not only teaching English to the students, but also working with the teachers to improve their teaching skills, and to have a native speaker in the classroom.) One of my counterparts had to stay home with a sick child and I found myself covering for her in two different classes- 6th and 11th. In the 6th grade the students don’t know enough English and I don’t know enough Georgian that things were pretty interesting. At one point I made a student stand with his nose in the corner because he wouldn’t stop talking, I’m pretty sure he had no idea what was going on. In the 11th grade there were enough kids who understood English that I was able to conduct a lesson. However that lesson included sending a student to the director’s office and me taking kids chairs away when they weren’t paying attention. The boys didn’t take my threat seriously and were begging for chairs by the end (they only had to stand for 15-20 min). I am pretty sure that if I could experience either of those classes from the perspective of a student I would die laughing and probably think the American teacher was literally insane. Maybe I am.

There are some strange houses in town

Now for the highlight of my week, my new brothers. If you’ve been reading then you probably remember that this week I was set to move to my new host family’s house (I did), but that’s not what I am referring too. This week my friend took me to a local orphanage to meet the children there who all happen to attend my school. When we knocked at the door one of the boys popped over to answer and when he say me he started to shout, “Logan is here! Logan is here!” I have never seen someone so excited to see me. I melted.

There are 6 boys and 3 girls in this orphanage, ages 7-16. Orphanage is not the perfect word for it either. Most of them have some sort of family- mom, dad, or grandparents; in Poti still. However, they are unable to take care of them and thus they are in the orphanage but occasionally they get to go to their homes on the weekends. They are adorable, and some of them are in classes. My new house is only a couple of blocks away which is perfect. I had always hopped for younger host siblings but haven’t gotten any, until now.

Meet Giorgi, Giorgi, and Giorgi... yep all three of my new friends have the same name.

Today I spent over 3 hours hanging out with them and getting grilled about America, my family, and any other questions they could think of. They taught me to play Georgian checkers, lotto, and even attempted a backgammon lesson (I still don’t get it). We also facetimed with my family back in America. They loved it all. Secretly, I loved it even more. 

How do I have so much stuff!?

Finally, as I mentioned, this week was moving week. The actual act of moving was relatively painless. It was a reminder how much junk I have though. To think I brought that all to Georgia in two checked bags… Anyways, Friday I packed up my belongings and my new host brother Giga and his friend Carlos (not his actual name) came to pick me up and take me to my new place. 

New room aka the Ice Box

Overall I am really happy with the change. I am closer to my school, and the family is great. My room is larger but more “rustic”. I have an actual toilet, but the shower isn’t that great. My family is VERY attentive, I’ll probably get fat and can kiss my privacy good bye. There are pros and cons with everything. This is my 3rd time adjusting to a new host family. Each time has been very different. This new family is very welcoming and reminds me of my village family. My host siblings are quite close in age to me- 24 and 28. I now have a bebia (grandmother) as well, the number of kisses I have gotten from here in just two days is unreal. You’d think that I as a newborn baby with all the attention I’m getting. 

My veranda, yes I will be calling it a veranda.

The weather has finally taken a turn and is getting cooler. It rained a lot this week which lead to some really chilly nights. I think I now have 4 blankets on my bed and I sleep in sweats. I am worried to see what the actual winter months bring. I can’t imagine what it would be like if I lived up in the mountains. It’s not that it is even that cold, 50s or 60s probably. The problem is that there is no heat inside. Some places are colder inside than out due to lack of insulation and amount other things. Give it another month and I’ll probably be looking for ways to make human hibernation a real thing.

Well I’ll leave it at that. Things are going well. Plenty of projects in the pipeline. Plenty of changes.

Learnin Those Kidz Real Gud

I finally have internet again! I didn't realize how much more difficult things would be if I didn't have internet at home. For the past two weeks I found myself mooching wifi all over town so I could respond to emails and do other tasks. It's nice to finally be able to do this from the comfort of my own home once again.

Me and my fellow English teachers, minus one. 

This past week was my first full week working as a teacher in the school. It was exhausting. I teach 18 classes a week and then I have 6 class periods of planning. Unfortunately every class is different so I'm unable to reuse lessons plans, it's a lot of planning. I can now commiserate with any teacher who has to plan so many lessons a week.

By far the biggest challenge I am going to face as a teacher is getting the students' behavior under control so there can be some sort of learning environment in the classroom. I've got plans for the younger grades; however, I'm at a loss with 11th and 12th. There really are no consequences for poor behavior so it is impossible to convince them to behave, do homework, and even attend class. There are days when there are 15 people absent in the 12th grade, that's more than 50% of the class! I can't complain too much though because when they are gone the class is a lot more manageable and better behaved. If anyone is a class room management wizard feel free to send me some ideas!

A semi peaceful moment in my 12th grade class

For the most part the week was rather chill. Peace Corps sent a staff member out on Wednesday and they inspected my new house. Everything passed and now I will be moving in on Friday. It will be big change, but I think it is for the best. I will be nice to live a lot closer to the school. Most days I leave the house before nine and don't return until after nine, being close to school means I will be able to stop by after my lessons before I have to head to the next thing. (Note, I should create #CityProblems because if I were in the village these would really matter)

My low point of the week came on Thursday night when I was walking home after going on a walk with Randi. We had just parted ways when it started to rain. I waited a min to see if it would be a brief one but it quickly picked up and I had no option but to walk home. 30 minutes walking in a downpour. Not a soul insight to help me. I was soaked by the time I got home. Which was annoying since I was leaving for Tbilisi the next day and my shoes were also soaked through.

Saturday night fun in Tbilisi

Finally the weekend came and I got to take a trip back to Skra with the rest of my former clustermates. We came back to see the grape harvest and it was great. The smell of ripe grapes was strong in many parts of town, and the streets were covered in vines and bunches of grapes. I visited with my family, but I also visited the families of the other volunteers. It's weird to think that I have almost been out of the village longer than I was ever in it, it was such a formidable time in my adjustment to Peace Corps life in Georgia, and it will alway have a soft spot in my heart.

Saturday was spent relaxing in Tbilisi with other volunteers to celebrate a couple of birthdays. That meant that I was up really late on Saturday, which worked out to be in my favor in terms of watching General Conference. At midnight on Saturday I was outside of a bar, under a tree, huddled over my phone to protect it from the rain. On the screen I was watching the Saturday afternoon session of conference. Although the setting was less than ideal it was nice to feel connected to so many people who I knew were also watching the conference live around the world.

Poti's abandoned university from the Soviet era

Finally, Sunday came and it was time to head home. Our trip included a brief stop in Khashuri where we were able to visit with Naili our LCF from training, and then it was onward back to Poti. However, this time we caught the marshutka enroute which meant we were in the back and that I had zero room for the next 4 hours. I'm not exaggerating at all. My legs were too large and I had to contort my body just to fit. Some days it is easy to forget that I am in the Peace Corps, then I hop inside a marshutka and I quickly remember where I am and why.