New Beginnings and Tragic Endings

A new school year has begun (or I should say began 1 month ago). As a general PSA, I should tell you that I will be finishing my school year (and consequently my Peace Corps time) in 8 months- time flies. However fast time is flying however, there is still more to do than could ever be done (at least that is how I am feeling).

With the new school year has also come new classes, students, and teachers to work with. There is a lot of adjustment to be done. We are working on the same things as always- please stop talking, did anyone do their homework, who knows what this means, where are all your missing classmates, and the list goes on. Hopefully I will have good news to report soon.

Shout out to my friend Dillon for sending me a package of Taco Bell hot sauce packets 

In non-teaching related news a lot has been going on here in Georgia. Last weekend there were parliamentary elections across the country. The campaigns were riddled with mudslinging and personality politics but mostly calm. However, things did escalate during the last week or so including a shooting at one rally and a car bombing at another. Both of which left few people injured but are a sign of a dangerous level of rhetoric and passion in politics- not unlike what is going on in my own country. The car bomb was especially noteworthy since I happened to be in Tbilisi at the time and Peace Corps had to do some quick work to make sure all volunteers ans staff were safe and accounted for. Thankfully elections here are mostly wrapped up (some run-offs are still to come). Likewise I cannot wait for the constant embarrassing stream of US election coverage to end. It is getting harder and harder to explain what is going on back home while I try to represent the democratic ideals the US is supposed to represent. Hypocrisy has never looked so bad.

I finally got a new bed which means I am no longer sleeping on couch cushions!

Changing topic now.... While I was in Tbilisi for this training (a super cool training that I was grateful to attend and which will do great things for the PC program here in Georgia, but which I am down playing for brevity) I noticed that many of my students were posting mysteriously sad notes on Facebook. Such posts are often hard to decipher due to Georgians penchant for poetry in everyday writing. However, I eventually realized that they were alluding to the surprising death of one of my fellow teachers. I was stunned to say the least.

Due to travel restrictions we spent Election day exploring this abandoned building in town,
I'm also trying to lighten up a pretty somber post.

Medea was a math teacher and relatively young. She was active in her work and I helped her several times to translate an abstract of some paper she was publishing. She was also a single mother. Several years ago her husband passed away in a car accident, which in a cruel twist of fate was the same thing that took her life last week. Before her husband died they had been working on fertility treatments and she had just gotten pregnant. The stress and effects of her husband's death led her to have a miscarriage and lose their child. A couple years later she realized that her husbands sperm was still saved at the clinic and chose to be artificially inseminated and miraculously was impregnated again. Early this year she miraculously gave birth posthumously to his baby.  We had a huge celebration this Spring when the baby was christened.

Ignore the fact that this is an upper floor of an abandoned building...

A few weeks ago she was invited to appear on a national morning show in Tbilisi and share her miraculous story. It was an emotional broadcast. On the way home from the taping the driver seemingly fell asleep at the wheel and they crashed into an oncoming semi-truck. Medea, her child, her neighbor, and the driver- a father of four, all died at the scene of the accident. It was all a great tragedy. I was away from school for the rest of the week was wasn't able to experience the grieving process but from the messages online and conversations with my host family and others in Poti, it was a terrible loss felt by many people.

Some cookies to lighten the mood.

This past Tuesday was Medea's funeral, scheduled after a week of mourning and a constant wake/vigil. Classes were cut short and I went with my teachers to pay our respects. Since she had lived in a small apartment and there wasn't room to accommodate all the visitors, a makeshift canopy structure had been constructed outside in an empty lot to house the grievers and visitors. Her mother was there wailing, per Georgia culture, over the loss of her daughter and grandchild. She was surrounded by female relatives dressed in black who were also crying and grieving the loss. A path was made for visitors to pay there respects so as a group we approached and one by one left a rose on the casket and moved through the mourning space. It was very emotional.

A photo shared from their car ride to Tbilisi

After we had paid our respects we waited for an hour while everyone else made their way through. Then the coffins were carried into a hearse and the procession of mourners began their journey to the cemetery. We joined them there and watched as the coffins arrived. Her mother, who is quite old, had to be supported on both side due to her lack of strength after 7 full days of grieving- wailing with lack of sufficient nourishment and sleep. Following the visit to the cemetery we went to the traditional supra where the mood was noticeably lighter. There were close to 250 people gathered there: friends, relatives, fellow teachers, and other close acquaintances. The men made the traditional toast but the mood was no longer one of unimaginable grief as it has been an hour before.

A photo from the Morning Show segment about Medea

I have witnessed the Georgian death and funeral traditions before but this time I was much more involved. It was a strangely beautiful yet foreign experience. One that has caused me to be more reflective and thoughtful as I consider my own beliefs about death and the life after, but also the traditions and ceremony which we use to commemorate a person's life.  Tragedies such as this are unexpected and difficult to process but provide opportunity for evaluation and reflection. This experience has definitely touched something inside of me and deepened my resolve (however cliche) to live a better life.

P.S. Many already know this but I can't help to mention more publicly that I would like to request this song to be performed at my funeral- video montage optional.

I can never decide which version I like more