1000 words on Missing Pictures

I wish that I could share my experiences in Georgia through the pictures that I can’t capture on film (or tiny digital iphone files). There are so many mental pictures that I snap daily and wish I could share- is mental social networking a thing? I think they just call it friendship.

Here are some of the moments I wanted to capture this week but was unable to:

Sunday- Walking along the river singing to myself and picking wild flowers. (Maybe a drone could follow me around and capture these candid moments.) In that moment I felt very Peace Corp, a stranger in a strange land. 10 min later I was backtracking because the river has saturated the whole bank and I was in over my head in mud.

Despite my previous photo failings, I did snap a pic of the cool bridge I got to cross. It swayed and bounced the whole way. 

Finally, making brownies with Melody and attempting to translate our needs to my attentive host mom. For our first time they turned out pretty fantastic.

Monday- Finally getting a breakthrough in my 11th grade class. Being surrounded by students who were engaged in the lesson and smiling, and then having the Georgian teacher ask how many more lessons I would be able to teach with her. (It was hard to tell her that was my last one.)

Tuesday- Driving through the city on Georgian Independence day and watching the generally stoic Georgians smiling as they gathered to celebrate their independence from Russia. Also of note were the number of tanks and assorted military equipment brought into the town square for the locals to see.

Wednesday- Hiking in the mountains behind our village. Climbing through wooded tunnels sheltered from the rain by hundreds of trees. Searching for a clearing on top of the mountain just to prove we were there and finding nothing but more trees.



Running down the same steep paths because the light is quickly fading only to realize that you’ve lost your phone somewhere along the last 15 min of running. Re-climbing the steepest section and finding your phone at the top.

The look on my face as I realized that I lost the phone again because there is a whole in my pocket and I have to re-climb the same steep section again.

Our faces when we realize we took a wrong turn and the sun has set, and being forced to take a narrow thorny path down the ridge and through the cemetery.

My face when I arrive home after dark- parched and famished, only to be served eggplant stew. #Priceless

Thursday- My 8th grade students as I try to teach them the passive voice tense. My internal face as I finally understand what all my college professors meant when they complained about writing in the passive voice. (Delayed realization)

Our class as we reach our mental limits learning Georgian for the day, and the teacher throws her hands up in exasperation.

My parents’ reaction as we picked cherries in our orchard and I shoot the pits at them by surprise.

Sunset as we walked home with buckets of cherries.

My silhouette as I walk our cow home on a leash.

My parents chasing chickens into their coop waving their arms and making funny sounds.

Graduation day in Skra! There isn't enough room for all students to cram in the tiny entrance so some are outside looking in. At the moment the 12th graders were performing their rendition of the ever popular, "We are the World." 

Friday- My parents treating me like a 5 year old because I can't drink as hot of tea as they can. One spoons a little into a tiny cup so it can cool faster, the other then pours my tea from cup to cup to help cool it down faster... I need a picture of my missing dignity so I can staple lost dignity signs to telephone poles and hope I can find it. 

The sadness on people’s faces as they gather they mourn the death of a local man who was hit by a train the night before.

Joy of being reunited with friends after an exhausting week in the village.

Saturday- Scenes from my new daily ritual of chasing the honey bees out of the outhouse before I lock myself inside. (Paired with the expressions from any on looking family members.)

Relief after our midterm language test is finished and we realize there is no language class until Wednesday!

Finally, sitting in a café with all of your American friends as you discuss this weekend’s upcoming adventures across the country as we head out to visit current volunteers for a few days. (This one I actually have a picture of)

Happy birthday Daniel, cheers to the weekend!

I wish everyone could share in these moments with me, but for now words will have to suffice. Needless to say I am loving my experience more and more each day. My training phase is now halfway through and the next weeks are going to come quickly. Tomorrow I am catching an early train to Batumi on the Black Sea coast (google it). I get to job shadow one of the best volunteers in Georgia and see a beautiful new city, I can’t wait! I get home Tuesday, and then Saturday I am off on a cultural trip with a few trainees to see Georgia’s city of love. Then on June 8th after we get home we will finally find out where our future placements will be and who we will be working with at our permanent sites. The next day we will travel to meet with our new directors and then onward to our future sites and host families. The next three weeks should be full of excitement so stay tuned!

P.S. I accidentally kissed a Georgian on the cheek today. 

P.P.S. I may have found something I dislike almost as much as broccoli, I'll let you know when I figure out what it might be in English.

One Month in, Waxing Poetic

If you hate to read

I have condensed this past week

to seven haikus: 

Exploration hike, look at the neighboring town, cemetery view

Sunday-

Rain rain go away

My plans are now wasted

Just sit home all day

Monday-

We have a new guest

G14 here to observe

Love river nights

Tuesday-

Big interview day

Future placement in the west

I hope for the best

Wednesday-

Teaching the 9th grade

Mountain hike to awesome graves

Nature at its best

Thursday-

Last lesson this week

Happy Birthday ol' Bryan

Partying all night

Friday-

Yay, no school today

Training day in the city

Movie night, my place

Saturday-

Morning language class

Learn to cook Georgian food too

Then my first haircut

Learning how to cook, making great khatchapuri, eating is the best

Men must cook the meat, so easy we cook and eat, caution men at work

Let me know if you

need a couple more haikus

to clarify things...

We Don't Need No Education

FYI- I have not showered for a week, and I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would. Someone should look up the benefits of not showering regularly, I am sure there are some facts I can use to support my new lifestyle. As a further update, I have not gotten diarrhea yet, nor have I fallen or dropped anything into the toilet yet. Although, there have been some close calls. Some days you just balance better than others; I’ll leave the potty talk at that.

In other unimportant/uninteresting news, the weather appears to have finally stabilized and the temperature has reached a point where I am no longer scared to leave my bed each morning. However, I still can’t seem to make it through the night without having to get up and use the bathroom, sorry I thought the bathroom info was over with. Apparently you have to go to the bathroom more often when you are cold. We looked up the science behind it this week, trust me it’s a real thing. Anyways, I’ve recently been waking up during the 6 o’clock hour (which is Georgian would actually be referred to as 7’s hour, but I won’t walk you through the mess that is telling time in Georgian) needing to pee. I have to options: hold it until 8 when I plan to get out of bed, or make the trek to the toilet. The problem with making the trek is that without fail I run into someone on my way (I’m still unsure if my host family actually ever sleeps) and I always feel awkward when I pass one of my parents while they are up working a 6:30 and I’m dashing to the toilet and back to my bed… Lazy American. Next time you are getting ready for bed just know that I am probably lying awake in my bed debating the great question of the day: to pee or not to pee. Think of my plight and send some sympathy, I didn't even mention the smell that can be accompanied by a trip to the loo.

Here is a picture of Alex holding one of our chickens

Getting back on track, this week has been pretty interesting. We are starting three weeks of teaching practicum and starting to get a taste of what we are in for when we get our permanent site placements. The Georgian school experience is a whole new world compared to my education. In our school you will find grades 1-12. Each grade is assigned a classroom and the teachers rotate in and out every 45 minutes. School lasts from 9 AM until 12:20 PM (unless you are in 10th grade, then you stay until 2 pm).There is a 5 min break between each period with one 10 min break thrown in in the middle. There is no recess, occasionally the younger kids will have some free time to place, but for the most part its uninterrupted learning- there isn't even a lunch. I am not sure I would've survived 12 years of school in these conditions. 

This week our practicum included 1 day of classroom observation, and then 3 days of directing small activities during class. From day 1 our eyes were opened. Teaching methodology and technique is very different. Some students are blatantly unprepared, uninterested, and disruptive; yet, the teacher doesn't seem to mind. I’m still trying to figure out how to manage a classroom/ chaotic environment with my limited Georgian, but most seem to understand me well enough.

In Georgia it is mandatory for students to study English from 1st-12th grade which creates a high demand for English teachers. There aren’t enough fluent English speakers to meet this demand so the qualifications are probably lower than they would be elsewhere. Most teachers have learned English by reading and are able to translate text and recognize words but have less ability with speaking and listening comprehension. This is reflected in the approach many teachers take to teaching: read the text and translate it on paragraph or sentence at a time. So when we come into the classroom and want to do an activity or game the students don’t always know how to respond. We played a vocab game with the 6th graders early in the week and it took a good while before they realized it was supposed to be fun and they could relax a little bit. 

Lunch at my place with homemade hot chocolate

All in all I would saw my activities went well. There are 7 volunteers and 3 teachers who teach 4-5 English lessons a day, so we are generally doubled up. The hardest lesson by far was trying to explain the past perfect simple and continuous verb tense to the 10th graders. It’s can be a challenge to explain the concept in English but to do it in Georgian is a whole different story. We had to get creative and luckily our teacher could understand us well enough to translate the important parts. I wasn't very sure at first how interested the local teachers were in having us in their classrooms, but I think they are ok with it. It’s hard not to make first impressions of people solely based on my American interpretation of body language and non-verbal cues.

On another tangent, I have discovered the library and began to check out books. I went straight for the children’s books. I have now realized that my reading comprehension is very low. I can’t read a level II or III book yet, and all the young kids have checked out the level I book- who do they think they are?! For now I get to read my picture dictionary and some story about a man and goats- I’m still not completely sure what it’s about.

For the upcoming week we are supposed to move to a full co-teacher role and create lesson plans with our counterpart teachers. We’ll see how that works out. The combination of limited English and Georgian skills tends to create a lot of confusion. If I can just get an idea of what they want to teach I count it as a victory. Now I get to get out of bed and get ready for my Saturday Georgian class, wish me luck!

Oh and by the way, the bathroom won out again this morning…
Also I apologize for the lack of pics, most pics come during the weekend.

Here are my train tracks displayed with perfect rule of thirds usage

A Week Full of Skra-dventure!

As the great band Queen once said, “Another ones bites the dust.” This past week has been full of adventures! Aside from learning three words for aunt (mother’s sister, father’s sister, and uncle’s wife), I braved dangerous mountains, visited a dragon slayer, got behind the raw milk movement, learned new dance moves, and ended up wandering in a cold dark cave; are you ready for this update? Like I mentioned last week my regular schedule isn't all that exciting, but the extracurricular activities are fantastic!

View of Skra and surrounding area from the mountain

There I was Tuesday evening, standing on the edge of the jagged rock wondering if I could make it safely to the other side. The wind was howling around me and I was tired from scrambling up the mountain through thorny underbrush. I looked down, calculating the distance and possibility for serious injury if I were to fall- the probability of blood was high. I took one last breath and leapt across the gap with all my might. The sound of the feat was herculean for sure. As my feet found the solid rock on the other side of the three foot gap, my eyes were drawn down to the new vent in the crotch of my pants. Georgia has claimed its first casualty. However, an extra drafty pair of jeans could not slow me down, I am well versed in the art of ripping jeans. I have no shame of letting the world know that I choose to wear underwear along with my pants! On a side note, the hike was fantastic and a great way release some energy after being cooped up in class all day long.

The view of Skra from the highest point on the hike

As Wednesday evening came, I once again found myself en route to adventure. I was scaling yet another mountain (road) to visit the great dragon slayer, St. George. My brother and I (along with just about every Georgian in the region) had come to visit the 7th century church to St George atop the local peak. The views were breathtaking, and it was an amazing experience to find myself in the middle of the local culture. On the surface it was just another visit to a church, just a little bit older this time. However, it was also a great sampling of all that is Georgian culture- the food, the hospitality, the people, the traditions, and the beautiful nature all around. I loved it all.

Gorjivari Church

Dragon slaying St. George

Inside the Church with local pilgrims 

My mother, brother and yet another cousin

My language and culture teacher

  Friday evening found me sitting on a stool getting up close and personal with a cow. My mother was trying to demonstrate proper milking technique but I obviously wasn’t catching on very quickly because the cow whacked me in the face with its tail more times than I can count. She also thought it would be fun to step in the milk bucket and then later relieve herself halfway through the process. In the end I was somewhat proficient at the process yet still too slow for my mother who took over and finished the task 10 times faster than I would have. I can at least say that I have now milked a cow and then drank said milk- it was delicious! If only every Friday night could have such excitement…

It was too much effort to try and teach them to use the camera, so here is a pic of my host mom milking rather than me.

The excitement of my Friday evening propelled me through a cold and rainy Saturday which seemed like it would never end. However, my problems soon disappeared as I found myself surrounded by my newest Georgian friends in a rousing rendition of We are the World, the 80’s classic that united some of the greatest divas and musicians of the time. I was in Gori with some other volunteers at a party to celebrate both America and Georgia and our new friendships. Our American host’s made delicious hamburgers, potato salad, salsa, and apple pie. Our Georgians provided khatchapuri, skewered pork, and an almost bottomless supply of their own house wine. We had a great time. There were toasts to everything under the sun, with all the toasting I was glad I was only drinking their pear soda. Along with our many toasts we had plenty of music and dancing. The songs would go from Justin Timberlake, to traditional Georgian song, back to Frank Sinatra, Queen, or Shakira, and then back to Georgian folk music. No matter what was playing the Georgian men were on the flow showing off some literally fancy footwork as well as their interpretations of American dance moves- think arms in the air, hands open, palms facing down, bobbing to the beat. Just when we didn't think the night could get any better we were instructed to climb upon our chairs to sing our prospective national anthems and toast to our motherlands- including the chant, "U.S.A. and Geor-Gi-A!". Shortly after we found ourselves in the street watching the Georgians light off fireworks. 4/5 made it into the sky, only one blew up right into the neighboring house… This is only my third weekend in Georgia, I can’t imagine what some of the others will bring.

 

New Georgian Friends

To America! To Georgia!

We are the World!

This morning I woke up at a friend’s house and immediately noticed a difference, I wasn’t too cold to get out of bed, and there was no dread of a morning visit to the outhouse. Staying in the city meant that I was sleeping in a warm apartment with a western bathroom. I am pretty sure this was as close to heaven as I would be getting for a while.

After eating a delicious breakfast of spaghetti noodles and unflavored Greek yogurt, Daniel and I set out to catch the Marshutka to Uplistsikhe and the local Georgian cave city. The rain was still falling pretty hard so we sought shelter in a small café where we comforted ourselves with Magnum bars while we waited the rest of our friends. Once the Americans arrived and took the place by storm we were ready to scale the cliffs and explore the ancient caves. The entire place was amazing to see but I couldn’t tell you the smallest fact about what actually went on there. So I am now going to refer you to the Uplistsikhe Wikipedia page for more info. It was a great outing with my new PC friends and one of the last times we will be able to all get together as we move into the practicum section of our training. Rather than describe the place I will let you look at the pictures I took. Also to my surprise I found that I despite wandering over countless rocks, I only say half of the entire place. Glad to know that when I go back there will be more to discover.

Dressed to impress, and to explore

Selfie stick pro!

The Hall of a Single column... my Georgian translation is on point

View of the middle cave section

Now I am back home and getting ready for the week ahead, I have skyped my family for Mothers’ Day, had a delicious Georgian dinner, practiced my Georgian, and am drinking my evening glass of fresh warm cow milk. Another end to a fantastic week in Georgia!

View from the top of the city

Thanks for following along today!

P.S. I hope that no one minds the fact that I am still not proofreading my posts…

Just Skra-tching the Surface

Aside from a week full of our regularly scheduled programming (detailed in part 1), there were a few moments of fun:

On Thursday morning we had to do some paperwork in Gori and afterwards had a couple hours to ourselves. The first thing I did was find a drug store to purchase baby wipes, these are vital due to the fact that I might only be showering twice a week. A little wipe in all the right places can go a long way towards keeping you feeling fresh as the happy smiling baby on the packaging.

After the necessities were purchased, it was tourist time. We headed to the Stalin museum and got a different take on history. For those who aren't living near Gori and are likely unaware, Stalin was born in Georgia in the city of Gori and thus they have a museum which is type of shrine in his honor. We didn't get the full experience because almost everything was in Russian or Georgian; however, it wasn't hard to tell that there was nothing in the museum that criticized Stalin in any way. I don’t think I’d ever heard Stalin portrayed positively so to get that feeling was interesting by itself.

Stalin museum in the background, Stalin's birthplace in the foreground

Me and the original comrade

Gori church and fortress in the background

Following our tour of the museum we wandered the city and saw part of an old fort as well as a few churches. The final stop was at the Georgian War Museum where another volunteer and I (hello Bronywn) walked through and looked at the pictures and memorabilia depicting Georgia’s involvement from WW1 through the most recent conflict in 2008. Once again the information was all Russian and Georgian but looking at world history from a different perspective is still enlightening. For the most part WWI and WWII were foreign affairs for the US. In Georgia and other countries it wasn't just the soldiers engaged in combat who died. Civilian casualties were common and the people were on the front-lines themselves. The most memorable display was from the 2008 conflict with Russia where they had a picture for every person who died in Georgia as well as photographs of the damage done to both buildings as well as peoples. The history of Georgia is one of conflict, these people know what war is.

Clustermates doing homework down by the river

Sunset on the river

Aside from a few evening trips down to the river with my clustermates, Saturday after training was our next chance to get out. Once again we decided to stick around in Skra and wander through the local bazaar. When I am wandering through these street market/bazaars I am often transported back to Brazil or any other developing country I have visited. There really is no difference between a street market in India, Brazil, Peru or Georgia. There is definite comfort in the chaos of people selling assorted goods and fresh foods.

After getting tired of the market Alex and I met up with Daniel and Liliya from a different cluster and we hiked up the Gori fortress in the center of town. It’s a short walk up but a great places to get away from the city and admire the views along with the ruins of the ancient fortress. It was a great place to end our first week Gori.

Lilya, Alex, Daniel and I on top of Gori fortress

View of Gori with the Upper Caucus range in the clouds on the horizon

Yours truly striking a pose

Daniel, Alex, and I at the entrance to the Gori fortress

Alex back in Skra showing off the the local scene

Finally we have arrived at Sunday, our one day to rest and be free from training. During the week I had inquired about a train that I had seen on Google maps and our LCF mentioned that there was a train from Skra to two other cities west of Georgia. The idea of traveling by train through Georgia really stuck with me and so I started to plan my first day trip in Georgia. I decided to head to the town of Borjomi with my clustermate Jim and it was the best decision I could have made. After being in Georgia for two weeks I was still feeling like I had yet to really get out and experience the country for myself. Everywhere I had been so far was basically a controlled environment with several other trainees. I was ready for the real deal.

Jim and I met up at the train station around 8 AM hoping to catch the rumored 8:20 train. An hour later we were still waiting. The train finally came at 9:45 (we assumed it was late, however, we have been told that 9:20 is its new scheduled time). Our journey was full of beautiful panoramas with tall mountains and green valley floors. The train basically followed the same course as the river and the views alone held my attention. After about an hour of travel the train took a turn and we began to head back up into one of the mountain valleys towards Borjomi. Slowly the mountains closed in around us and an hour later we had arrived.
A fellow Peace Corps volunteer from the 2014 group (G14) met us at the station and agreed to show us around. His name was Matt and he had been working in NYC in the Bloomberg administration before he joined PC. He took Jim and me to a great restaurant where I of course ordered more khachapuri and Khinkali and ate past the point of satisfaction. Next we started a walk through town and up into the mountains.

Our arrival in Borjomi

I just can't seem to say no

After 15 min of walking we were suddenly surrounded by trees and the city was out of site. Being enveloped by nature is one of the most serene experiences that is never lost on me no matter how many times I go out on a hike or to camp. The train wasn’t too difficult but it had rained plenty on Saturday so there were some pretty slick and muddy parts that kept things interesting. I’m not sure how long we hiked for but before I knew it we had reached the top of the mountain. Matt led us to several overlooks and the views were amazing. It definitely felt like we were getting to experience the real Georgia. In addition we were also having a great time talking to Matt about his experience and perspective on life and service in Georgia. The more we chatted the more excited I became for the next 2 years.

The view of Borjomi from the top of our mountain

Once we finished enjoying the view, we made our way down from the mountain we met up with Ryan another G14 who had just come into town to visit Matt for the day. Together we walked through town and Matt showed us where the natural springs were where we could fill up our bottles with the famous Borjomi water which was surprisingly carbonated and had a strong smell of sulfur. Apparently back in the Soviet era Borjomi was a popular location for people who were ill- sort of like Florida is for old people these days. This spring water is said to have many medicinal benefits. I can’t say I feel like a changed man, but I will say I it hasn’t made me ill yet.

Fortress where we met Ryan

Following our city tour Matt treated us to some food in a nearby cafe and we chatted some more about the Georgian PC experience. Finally it was time for us to head home but the last train had already left so our only choice was the famed Georgian marshutka. We've heard plenty about the marshutkas (marsh for short) and were excited to have our first real marsh experience. Like good mentors Matt and Ryan walked us through the whole experience. Our journey would be a tad tricky because the marsh was headed to Tbilisi and we’d need the driver to drop us off on the side of the highway near Gori.

Matt and Ryan found the correct Marsh for us an explained to the driver where we needed to be let off. Ryan even paid for our tickets. They joked that they felt like they were sending their kids off on the bus for their first day of school. Once all the seats in the marsh were claimed Jim and I climbed onboard and settled in for our journey. The entire trip went quiet smoothly. I was glad to have recently traveled in India because although the driving was a bit erratic it paled in comparison to what I had experienced in India and I felt at ease the entire way.

Before we knew it the driver was slowing down and telling us that our stop was here. We did as we were told and proceeded to make our way down some stairs to the road headed into town were we flagged down a taxi and made the rest of the journey back to Skra. As I walked back to my house I felt like I could check off one of the unwritten requirements for PST and was ready for another week of assimilation into my new home.

P.S. I added a link on the side of the blog where you can submit a question for me if you have any!

It's a Skra-knock Life

I have made it through my first full week here in the village of Skra, please applaud appropriately (but not excessively because I hate excessive applause). This past week has definitely been a week of discoveries and new adventures, but I think I am finally settling into a routine. I am here for another 10 weeks so it’s probably wise to settle in.

Just as an aside, there is currently a loud conversation going on between my mother and father with some interjections from my brother. This is typical for my experience. I rarely really know what is going on around me. My comprehension meter is constantly swinging from “I get it” to “What in the world is happening?” this leaves me living partly in the Georgian world around me and my own world inside my head. Trust me, both are equally hilarious. Also my father just asked that I tell you all hello from him, he says greetings from Georgia.

Back to my narrative now. The phase of my Peace Corps service I am currently in is known as pre-service training (PST). PST is an intense 12 weeks of integration into Georgian culture and society along with preparation for our upcoming service projects. The first week of PST was orientation when all the trainees lived together in the weird old soviet compound. This current phase of 11 weeks is where we have been broken up into 10 or so clusters of 5-7 trainees and each group is assigned a village or city where they each individually are staying with a host family. Additionally, each cluster has their own language and culture facilitator (LCF) to help them learn Georgian and integrate into the villages- also they serve as a lifeline whenever there is a misunderstanding between the locals and trainees. In case you’ve missed it, I’m in the village of Skra with 6 other volunteers (Jim, Rachel, Bryan, Melissa, Alex, and Lisa) and our LCF Naili.

Rather than run through every day I figure it would be best to give a general overview of what we do every day. Training for us is actually 6 days a week so we are pretty busy Monday- Saturday. Most days begin at 9 AM with 4 hours of language class at the local school. We have been given a small room on the first floor and attempt to learn this incredibly difficult language. Naili has been a great teacher thus far and I definitely feel like I have learned a ton, especially when you take into account the fact that I only landed in Georgia two weeks ago. The school is for Skra and another neighboring village and serves grades 1-12. It was an old factory during the Soviet era and still carries that feel with it. Most of the rooms have a small wood stove to help heat; however, I would still hate to experience winter inside. Even now in the spring it is often colder inside than out. Go figure. Given that it’s a small school, everyone knows who the Americans are and where our classroom it. We attract plenty of stares as well as many “hellos” along with assorted English words.

Skra's wonderful schoolhouse, the third floor is unusable

My clustermates and I hard at work learning Georgian with Naili

Once we have finished our daily Georgian marathon it is finally time for lunch. I won’t go into more detail here since my last post was all about food. I will say that the lunches continue to be great. The families watch what we eat and what we don’t eat and tell each other, so slowly we are getting a lot of the same foods that they know we like. They are so eager to please, I love them. Also I would like people to know that I am forcing myself to eat more veggies in an effort to balance my diet. I have yet to see broccoli but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.
Following lunch we head to our meeting point and a van comes to take us into Gori to meet up with others trainees for our technical sessions. Depending on the day the trainings are either for the entire group or for just a small group. We have small group sessions on pedagogical techniques and the larger ones tend to be general Peace Corps trainings like safety, culture, and health. The trainings vary in their level of interests, but the best part is seeing the other volunteers. We always gather to swap stories, compare experiences, and most commonly talk about our bowel movements and outhouses (it’s a common theme whenever you are outside of the US). We have only really known each other for a week but given our shared experience we've been able to bond fairly quickly.

There you have it a basic day in the life for a Peace Corp (PC) trainee in the country of Georgia. If it sounds like college or something that is because it basically is school from 9-6 pm 6 days a week. However, I can't complain too much because it seems like the alternative is a 9-6 desk job and I'll take staring out of a classroom window to a computer screen any day!

(Don't forget to check out the second part of my update for the more interesting moments from this past week.)