Monday was the big day and everyone was buzzing with excitement as we gathered together for our day long training. We tried to wait patiently through a few meetings and trainings but it was obvious where our minds were. When it was finally time they brought us all outside to where the staff had taken rope and made an outline of Georgia, then they placed slips of papers on the map according to where they were going to be volunteers. Next every volunteer was given an envelope addressed to another volunteer. The first person stepped up, called out the name of the person whose envelope they had, and then proceeded to read out the region and city where that person was being assigned. The volunteer would then go stand on that spot on the map and read out the name of the person whose envelope they had. It was such an exciting process to hear where everyone was going. Slowly the volunteers all moved onto their places and there were fewer and fewer of us standing outside the lines.
By the time my name was called there were only two more people still waiting for their assignments and it was difficult to see which sites were left. My friend Andy called out my name and shouted out my assignment- Poti! (FYI- it isn’t pronounced like potty, it’s more like P-oh-tee) I was floored. I remember when I first saw a map of Georgia and began to look at all the cities, the name Poti had stood out because I knew a town in Brazil by the same name. From that first moment I’d told myself I was going to go to Poti. I didn’t think much of it after I had arrived here because there weren’t any volunteers there and hadn’t been any for years. However, it stayed in the back of my mind and every now and then I had coincidences where it would come up and I’d think about going there. I’m not a psychic by any means, but that’s close enough right?!
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| Post placement activity excitement |
Anyways I couldn’t have been more excited. It is a medium sized town on the Black Sea and home to Georgia’s main sea port. It is also one of the oldest cities around. Legend links it back to the time of the Greek empire and the myth of Jason and the Argonauts. They sailed to Poti, then called Fasi, in search of the Golden Fleece. Given its key location, it has always been a center for commerce on the Black Sea. It’s more recent history is full of wars has it changed from Ottoman, to Russian, to Georgian control several times. Even recently in 2008 during the brief war with Russia, Poti was under attack from the Russian Navy. I’m definitely excited to learn more about its history and culture.
Following lunch we were divided into groups based on which of Georgia’s 11 regions we had been assigned. My group of seven have been assigned to the Samegrelo region. The people from the area are known as Megrelians (I’ve taken to calling us Megremlins, we’ll see if it sticks) and many speak Megreli which is a dialect of Georgian only spoken in that region. Luckily everyone knows Georgian as well because I don’t think I could handle another language at this time. In our group we learned about our region and what it’s most known for. My takeaways include: the diversity and beauty of its nature, its love for spicier foods, large hazelnut crop, humid climate, and worst of all the large mosquitoes near Poti.
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| The new Samegrelo crew- Randi and Zach on my left will be in Poti near me |
After our trainings had finished I came back to my village to find my family waiting excitedly to hear were I would be going. I’m pretty sure they were just as excited as I was, I love them! After spending the rest of the evening reading about Poti I finally remembered that I actually needed to pack because I was leaving the next day for our conference in Borjomi and then to visit Poti for a few days.
Tuesday after lunch we all gathered together again and load onto our buses to travel to Borjomi (the mountain city I visited my first weekend here). We pulled up to a swanky hotel and were all shocked. We definitely had not expected anything this nice. We were all in heaven as we got to our rooms and found western toilets, full showers with hot water, robes, and various other amenities. We had little time to take it all in before we were brought outside to meet our new supervisors (aka the principal at our new school). There were so much excitement on their end as they called us out one by one to match each volunteer with their supervisor. They people have been waiting a long time, attended various trainings, and filled out endless paperwork all to then hopefully be selected to receive a volunteer. Why my name was called the wrong director actually stepped forward so there was a bit of a mishap however we quickly corrected things and were able to meet and start chatting (using my limited Georgian skills). The rest of the night and the next morning were spent in various meetings together getting oriented to what the first 90 days at our permanent sites would be like. With each step things keep feeling more and more real and I get more and more excited!
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| My new director, Nona, and I at our conference |
Finally Wednesday after lunch we said goodbye to the other trainees and the Samegremlins loaded onto a bus with our supervisors and headed west for our new sites. It was a long ride, luckily my trusty ipad kept me entertained with Thor 2 (now that I am all caught up I can finally watch the new Avengers movie, whenever it comes to Georgia). We pulled into Poti around 7pm and I was exhausted. My new host father was waiting for us at the bus station and quickly loaded me and the director into a car to take us home. I got a brief tour of the town before we pulled up to my new place. It is a nice house and very different from the village I’m currently in. My new host family also has a 15 year old son which should be fun. It was just surreal to stop and think that this would be my home for the next two years. (Don’t worry though, I’ve still got an outhouse so those stories aren’t going away anytime soon.)
The next morning I was up at my normal time 7:30 or so and started to move around and get ready for the day. I quickly realized that life in a town is very different from the village. We don’t have animals to take care of and nowhere near as many chores, so I was the only one awake. I’m used to my parent’s getting up at 6am every morning and then trying to come up with ways to avoid eating all of whatever morning feast has been prepared. Around 8:30 my brother was ready for school so my Dad called a taxi and the three of us headed into town. My school is about 2km from my house and my dad’s work is another km from there so we carpool together in a taxi. (Not sure if that is an everyday occurrence yet).
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| My new school built in 1928, I think? |
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| The students and parents decorate the halls according to the season |
My new school, like everything else in Poti, it very different from the village as well. Public school #1 is the oldest school in the town and has about 625 student enrolled. There are 6 English teacher for me to work with as well. I first headed to the director’s office where I met up with Nona. Next Nana the head English teacher came and took me on a tour of the school. We visited every class and greeted all the students and teachers. Everyone seemed very excited and made me feel wonderful as well. Despite it being the second to last day of school the students were all fairly well behaved as well.
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| The bathrooms are outside unlike in Skra where they stink up the whole hallway |
After my tour we met to discuss various details of my visit and the school’s needs then I helped teach a few classes before I left. I can already tell that it is going to be a great place to work and is also a great fit for my knowledge, background, and interest. Unfortunately school won’t start up until September so I’ll have a lot of downtime to navigate before I start teaching.
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| Searching for the sea |
After lunch I went on a stroll around the center to familiarize myself with the town some more. It seems like a great place but it also seems really old and has probably struggled adjusting to the post-Soviet realities, much like the rest of Georgia. After my self-guided tour I returned home for lunch and a quick nap. Afterwards I was back in an exploration mood and decided to find my way to the sea from my house. My brother’s directions were simple enough. Just go straight. Straight let me to the end of my street, across a cow pasture, through thick brush, narrow cow trails, and finally to the beach. Unlike Batumi the beach here is a mix of black sand and dirt and more comfortable for laying out. However the beach is full of wandering cows and washed up debris. I’ve already started planning my summer cleaning up a section of the beach for my own use- there wasn’t another person in site.
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| "Cow Beach" |
While I was exploring the beach nature came calling and I couldn't avoided. I found myself reverting to my boy scout roots and sat out to find leaves which would work as toilet paper and weren’t poisonous. Next I found an old cement structure which happened to have some nice holes near by and deemed it a suitable bathroom. Given I was still the only one around I wasn't too worried about the lack of privacy. It was definitely one of the better views I have had while using the bathroom. Also the whole process was fairly simple given that fact that I’ve been squatting for weeks now. Overall it was a great reminder that despite being in a larger town I was still in the Peace Corps.
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| What a view! |
Later that same evening after dinner my host father borrowed the neighbor’s car to take me on another tour of Poti. He showed me where the national park is nearby as well as the WWII memorial. Next we visited his “summer house” where he is growing various fruits and veggies. The house itself is a lot more rustic and I couldn’t follow most of what he was saying but I am hoping it didn’t include living there during the summer, on the plus side the walk to the sea from there is a lot shorter and doesn’t include cows and thick brush. Next we headed to the ports and the gas station he manages. It was a pretty fun time out together, I definitely think that I won’t have any worries getting along with him.
The rest of my stay in Poti was fairly uneventful. I headed back into the center on Friday morning to familiarize myself with where the various stores were. Then at 2pm I headed to school where I sat in on their last day of school faculty meeting and then introduced myself. Of course I was a sweaty mess because I had had to speed walk to the school because I was running late and it was a hot and humid day. Not having AC in a humid climate can just be cruel, it is like being in Brazil all over again. Hopefully the people here also won’t mind the sweaty American who can’t ever seem to cool down.
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| My afternoon in the park |
That night I borrowed my father’s bike and went for a ride and eventually made it back to the beach. Being as enamored with the sea as I am, I decided to walk the 1.5 miles back up to where I would be able to find the path back to my house. Unfortunately it took a lot longer than expected and by the time I made it up the beach I couldn’t see anything so I had to get creative before I found the right road home. It was too dark to ride the bike without light so I had to stick my iphone in my chest pocket with the flashlight on and use that light to navigate the uneven dirt road back to my house. I really need to stop having these little mishaps out in nature.
I was exhausted by the time I finally made it home and after going to my room I next remember waking up at 3:30 am with the lights on and me flat on my back. When I woke back up in the morning my dad was ready to take me to the bus station for my trip back to Skra. He made the driver stop at the store so he could buy me some travel snacks and even bought my bus ticket for me, I’m telling you he is a wonderful man.
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| An afternoon break in Kutaisi, Georgia's legislative capital |
I met up with the other volunteers in Poti and we headed to Kutaisi where we spent the afternoon with the other Samegremlins to break up the long trip home. When I finally made it back into Skra around 7pm I was hit with that ever comforting feeling of home. I have just 4 more short weeks here in training before I head out for good. I never thought that I would grow so attached to my little village and family in such a short amount of time. I’m definitely not looking forward to those goodbyes.
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