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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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The only fall colors I have in my life are the persimmons
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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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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).
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| 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.
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| Perfecting the art of sitting, by the sea |
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