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.