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| No more teachers, no more books! |
If I have learned one thing from this past year of Peace Corps it is the need to be flexible and just go with the flow. Peace Corps volunteers wear so many hats during their service! For example in just one week I wore the following:
The chaperone hat
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| The delicious spread, with more food to come! |
On the 5th my 12th graders were celebrating their prom and invited me to attend as one of their teachers. I was in Tbilisi on Saturday so I took the morning train back to Poti just to attend the event. I call it prom but it probably isn't what you are picturing at all, let me describe it to you. The whole event is put on by students' parents in celebration of their graduation. The students pair up as dates, but not as official as in the US- dating like in the US isn't much of a thing here. The girls and guys get all fancied up, and I mean really fancy. Most of the students then go to take pictures (with a hired photographer) and also visit the church for a blessing from the priest. Meanwhile the parents (mom's) and teachers (almost exclusively female) gather at the banquet hall and await the students' arrival.
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| I snapchatted the whole night so you are getting the ones I saved. |
The students caravan to the banquet hall in a line of cars honking their horns and then enter couple by couple as the announcer (they hired an emcee for the night) introduces them one by one and they walk up the literal red carpet as the photographers snap their pics. My school had two 12th grade classes of close to 30 students each however each class held a separate banquet so the only students in attendance were those I had taught plus a few others who started with my students but later moved to other towns. Your class really is your everything when you are going through school.
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| I have no shame stealing photos from my students' facebook pages |
After introductions there is a night full of eating, drinking, dancing, and fun. There were plenty of toasts, jokes, and advice to be shared. Students, teachers, and parents all danced together and had fun. Unlike a US high school dance the moves were all tame and clean but each table also had it's own supply of wine and vodka- so clean dancing but a few drunk students. They partying went on for hours but around midnight most of the teacher had left and my students convinced me to stay with them until around 1am. What a night.
The trainer hat
The day after prom I was up early to head to Gori and help give a training on working with youth and how we the Youth as Resources committee works here in Georgia. You never know when you are going to have to give a training but you learn to be flexible and share your experiences with others. Luckily this was an official Peace Corps training so we had plenty of notice and had done a lot of preparations. However, this is not the norm for Georgia.
The party hat (a favorite)
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| Right before the show (and the rain) started |
I never planned on seeing a famous American band on tour while in Georgia but I wasn't about to turn down the opportunity either. After the training I was off again this time for Batumi where Maroon 5 was performing on Tuesday. The Georgian government is really trying to bring tourists into Georgia and show that they can handle large events- this concert was a test. The one problem with an outdoor concert in June in a seaside town however, is rain- and boy did it rain.
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| Singing Sugar at the top of our lungs |
We waited for the rain to subside before heading out for the concert. Slowly the crowds moved in, and by the time Maroon 5 was ready to go on stage it was packed- and the rain started again. It rained almost the entire time but we had a great time anyway. Peace Corps can be a very stressful and tiring experience so it is good to find times to unwind and have some fun- work hard play hard?
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| Post concert crowds |
The actor hat
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| A 3rd grader teaching about Georgian wine making, me creeping from backstage |
This hat could be called many things, for this experience it's the actor hat. When I got to school Wednesday morning my counterpart told me that one of the teachers needed my help with their 3rd grade class performance. I was given a paper with a couple lines to recite and that was it. By the time the performance came I found out that I was the "star" of the show. (I kid) My role was to be a tourist in Georgia and travel around visiting the students and learning about regional customs and cultures across Georgia. Luckily my acting skills are well polished and on point, I nailed my role. The students were also excited to have me there, I didn't teach 3rd graders this year but they were still so excited.
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| Someone couldn't resist a photo op |
The friend hat
Thursday I met my Georgian tutor and fellow PCV for lunch and we all caught up since we hadn't seen our tutor in a few weeks. I also go to go to a neighboring village to visit Alex and meet her mom who was in Georgia visiting for a few days. Her family hosted a small supra and we all got to celebrate the arrival of Alex's mom. It was a great moment that reminded me of the importance and value of the friendships were make in Georgia.
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| Alex and her mother with me at the supra |
The teacher hat
I mention this hat last because it's the one I knew I'd be wearing the most. Teaching English this year has been full of ups and downs, but as I reached the last days of school I was proud of how far both my students and I have come. Half of my classes took a diagnostic pre-test at the beginning of the school year and we did the same at the end. Much to my surprise, every student showed improvement! Some more than others, but all none the less. There were so many moments of frustration but progress is progress and it is definitely worth celebrating. My work as a teacher goes beyond teaching students how to speak English, but this is one of the more easily quantifiable parts of my work. I'm really going to miss my students this summer!
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| My fifth graders and counterpart |
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