New Beginnings, Birthdays, and Beaches!

One week down and over a hundred more to go! For a week where very little actually happened, there is a lot to report on- I’ll try to keep it brief. (Brief aside: I wish I knew the correct onomatopoeia to describe the sound that the people make when they are calling to their chickens to come and eat, the strange things is that the chickens come as soon as they’re called.)

Day 1

I woke up Saturday feeling like a stranger in a strange land, the feeling of permanence has started to settle and it is a little unnerving. I thrive in more dynamic environments and the thought of two years here seems to catch up to me at times. To distract myself I stared out the window for a while, my saving grace being the two palm trees growing up in front of my window. When I stare at them I can transport myself almost anywhere, some mornings it’s Hawaii others it’s Brazil- either way it’s a brief escape from reality and a peaceful moment before I start my day.

I sat in bed for a while to see if I heard anyone moving around, no a sound. I decided that I might as well start unpacking and soon had emptied all of my belongings onto my bed. I slowly sorted through my possessions and attempted to categorize what was important and what could be stored for later use. Storage in my new room isn’t as plentiful, most of my wardrobe is full of my family’s winter clothes. Little by little things slowly began to find their home in various nooks and crannies until it was all out of site. I eventually made my way downstairs and found my host mother in the kitchen. We greeted each other briefly and she instead I sit down to some tea and bread, a change from the heavy breakfasts I have been eating in the village. That evening I sat home a long with my host mother and attempted to make conversation by showing her the books I had brought for them- one filled with pictures of Utah and the other of DC. It provided plenty of materials for a decent conversation. That night and by the end I was tired so sleep came easily.

Mosquito net problems

Day 2

Sunday morning I happened to stumble upon my dad on his way to work. He insisted that I joined him so I quickly changed my clothes and headed out the door. I had created a new rule for myself, whenever my host dad asked if I wanted to do something with him the answer is always- yes. Off we went to the center to visit his gas station. After doing some paperwork he asked if I was hungry and we headed to the bazar to find some breakfast. We ate flat cheese filled dumplings with Greek yogurt and banana juice, it felt authentic enough for me. Afterwards I headed to the park knowing that a day spent sitting around a gas station wouldn’t be very pleasant. In the park I made myself comfortable on a bench near the fountains where I could hear the sounds coming from the church next door. The polyphonic singing coming from inside was beautiful. I sat and read “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and felt content with my life. I eventually made it home later that afternoon and ate a meal at 4pm which must be supper, I spent the rest of the day with Scout and Atticus and headed to bed. 

A claw game machine for people who like cigarettes

Day 3

Monday I was determined to get a routine set for myself so I got up and went about getting ready, studying, and working on various odds and ends. I have a lot of free time during the summer months so while life in the slow lane sounds great, I also need to keep a certain level of productivity for my sanity. In the afternoon I met up with my site mates, Randi and Zach, in the center and we toured through the bazar and various stores to familiarize ourselves with our new habitat. By the end of day 3 I was starting to feel good about my future in this strange place.

A not so abandoned house near the sea

Tuesday came and I was ready with my new morning routine, I kept boredom at bay all morning and then set out to explore town. I had no end in mind so I wandered aimlessly though shops and stored. Found some shwarma for lunch and continued until I reached the port at the edge of downtown. From there I headed to the coast and meandered down the coastline to the local lighthouse (making a note to find a way up in the future). I wandered for hours and finally decided to head home to make sure I was there when my host mom got home from work. To my surprise my phone told me that I’d clocked in 9 miles on my walk, I felt that justified an ice cream cone. No one was at home when I arrived so I settled into my chair and treated myself to a pre-birthday present and purchased “Go Set a Watchman,” from the kindle store (I’d missed Scout and Atticus since I finished Mockingbird on Sunday). I won’t go into depth on my feelings around the book and its release. The message of disillusionment did ring true to me and provided a good moment of reflection as I finished the book and subsequently my last day at 26.

Port side beach, popular with the locals

Day 4 (Birthday)

I had wondered for quite some time how I would celebrate my birthday. Would my new host family care? Would they be too busy? Should I stay in Poti? Should I treat myself to a trip to Batumi? Finally it was decided that my new friends would come into town and we’d make a day of celebrating in Poti. The plans were set and I was excited for the day. I’ll tell you know though, nothing went as planned. 

If you come visit we can eat here together too!

My host father came up to my room on his way to work to give me a გილოცავ (congratulations, the Georgian equivalent of happy birthday), and then proceeded to tell me many things in Georgian which I didn’t fully grasp. But I nodded in agreement and as he left. I took advantage of the time difference between Georgia and home to talk to a few friends and my parents who were still on the 14th- I decided I would let this birthday stretch as long is it was the 15th somewhere where my friends/family were (a shout out to Sheryl who kept it going in Hawaii long after in finished in Georgia).

Getting our toes wet

Birthday crew

My first stop was to meet Alex at the bazar and show her around town while we waited for Melissa’s marsh to arrive. Then since Daniel and Kelly were going to be awhile we decided to head to my favorite pirate ship, floating restaurant and eat a midmorning snack. Traveling in Georgia isn’t always the easiest and Kelly and Daniel’s trip took longer than anyone expected. It was after 1pm when we finally all got together and met my dad for a ride around town. We headed straight to the beach since they’d never been to the Black Sea. Given our tight time schedule we only had time to take a few pics and were moving again. Next stop was my summer house, which looked a lot better in the day than the night I’d first visited back in June. Finally we made it back to my house where I was surprised to find my host mom putting the finishing touches on a birthday feast.

Traditional Georgian supra

The table was overladen with an array of foods that made my mouth water. It was hands down the best supra I’d seen in Georgia, I wanted to eat it all. It was now close to 3 as we all sat down to eat, the time was own everyone’s minds because we’d discovered that the last marsh back to Kelly and Daniel’s sites was leaving at 3:45- creating a rather short turnaround for them. We dove in like there was no tomorrow, it was a joyous occasion. Just before they had to leave my host mom brought in a flaming brick of cake and frosting and they sang to me in Georgian and English. It was perfect. 

Fireworks for candles, it's all you'd imagine

Soon after, Daniel and Kelly were on their way back home while Alex, Melissa, and I continued our pathetic attempt at making a dent in the food on the table. Eventually we gave up and retired to the couches to rest until it was then Alex and Melissa’s turn to leave. We headed to the marsh station one more time to send her off. Unfortunately the marsh we’d hoped to send Melissa on was already gone so she returned home with me. 

Making the most out of missed marshutkas

My dad took care of some business (I’m fairly certain he went to see a man about a horse), and then he came back to take Melissa and I to Ureki where we would hopefully find a marsh for her to take back home. We struck out a second time. However, we were now in the beach town of Ureki so my dad decided we should make the most of it, and we did. We visited some relatives, walked along the beach, explored the “boardwalk”, had some magnum bars, and experimented with some virtual reality glasses. It was all great! (Granted, my experience with the glasses was great- I was on a theme park ride. Melissa however was in a creepy haunted building and at the end was “killed” by the skinny man- or whatever the creep is called. I felt bad for her.)

Exploring new frontiers on the boardwalk

Melissa's not to happy experience

The drive to Melissa’s site was beautiful and it took us up into the mountains which I’d been missing in Poti. It was green and beautiful with fruit trees and other crops growing everywhere. On the way back we stopped by the summer house again and my dad set to work harvesting potatoes while I explored a little bit. We finally made it home well after sunset. 

Just as I was settling into bed for the night I finally got online and was flooded with many emails, messages, and Facebook posts from friends and family all over the world. It was a great end to my birthday and left me feeling like I was on top of the world as I fell asleep.

Day 5

Thursday morning I was right back to work. I had my first meeting with my new counterpart teachers at my school. We gathered together to discuss the upcoming summer camp that Peace Corps had assigned for us to hold in Poti. We exchanged a few ideas and mainly took the time to get to know a little more about each other. After our meeting I headed into town and made the decision to finally purchase a Georgian sim card for my phone (if anyone gets message from a weird international number it’s probably me). Although I don’t need internet on my phone, I figured I should keep the option open in case I find myself in a bind.

After a small lunch I decided to explore a new part of town and also look for an organization that had been recommended to me by my program manager in Peace Corps. I tracked the address down which was a great experiment in speaking broken Georgian to various people out and about. While I successfully found the address the organization had moved and I settled on calling the number I had. The guy was more than happy to meet up and an hour and a half later I found myself in the Dolphin Lounge, making friend with three incredible nice Georgian men.

Their organization works as a intermediary between Poti’s youth and the municipal government working on community projects and getting the youth engaged in their community- perfect fit for me. We discussed ideas for projects I could assist with and then they gave me a walking tour of the port and that part of town. It felt great to meet some new friends and start making headway on my community work here. All week long I felt like I had so many times before when I was in Brazil and assigned to a new area with a new companion. Starting from scratch is never easy but at least I’ve done it a time or two. 

Ended Thursday night at the local theater, didn't understand a thing

Day 6

Friday morning came and once again I was without plans so I decided to respond to the flood of birthday messages and emails. It was mid-afternoon before I finished. I publish my comings and goings weekly on my blog but it is a one way street. I’m often left wondering about the lives of my friends and family back home, reading and responding to emails left me feeling more connected with home than I had since I arrived in Georgia. I’ve decided that more regular correspondence with home is definitely necessary to keep me sane on the other side of the world.

After I had finished responding to emails my dad appeared at the front gate calling for me to come join him. Once again, I never tell him no, so I scrambled to put everything away and gather a few things. We headed out to the summer house where he had me help him with a few projects around the house. The place is slowly coming around- at least on the inside. Next we walked down to the beach and enjoyed an hour or so reading and resting while the fun began to set. Afterwards it was back to the summer house. More reading for me, more chores for my dad. Eventually I got to help him harvest some golden potatoes which we then cooked up on a single burner and made a dinner out of with some bread, cheese, and the ever present cucumber and tomato salad. I’m pretty sure this is his version of camping, or something like unto it. He made plenty of remarks about how nice the village life was. I found it hard to argue with his points, but I also kept a silent list of the perks of living in the city as well.

Sunset on the Black Sea

Day 7

Saturday morning greeted me all too early with the sunny beaming through my translucent curtains before 6am. I struggled on and off with more sleep and eventually decided to turn into my new book, “The Goldfinch.” Later Melody called to inform me that they were ready to meet up and we decided to head to the beach in Ureki to celebrate my birthday and as well as Randi’s which was coming up on Sunday.

Utahns taking Georgia by storm!

A beach day turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. We enjoyed the cool sea waters, warm sun, and most importantly the large inflatable slide that would definitely not be allowed in the US. No matter where you are in the world beach culture really is all the same, and I love it. I worked out balancing out my pasty legs with my farmer tanned arms, ate the cheap Georgian version of a donut, read, and reveled in the moment.

Birthday beach day success

Eventually we made our way back to Poti and straight to the pirate ship restaurant to stuff our faces with more food than was probably wise. I should probably start introducing myself to the wait staff because I get the feeling I might become a regular, apparently I have a thing for al fresco dining on a ship…

Still working the selfie stick

Finally, Sunday finds me here reporting on my week. Plenty of details left to share but my word count has grown far past what it should be. Today has been very low key. We celebrated Randi’s birthday with a firework topped flaming cake- Georgian tradition. Said our goodbyes to Melody and headed to our homes. I’ll probably do some more reading while I wait for my family to appear. There is a show at the theater tonight as well, some Polish group in town.  Given that it’s getting late I should venture to make some food for myself, surprisingly I could really go for a cucumber.