Christmas Movies and Sparking Fruit Punch

I have now celebrated two major holidays in Ireland – Christmas and New Years – and although I miss the familiar traditions from the past years of my life with family and friends, I also enjoy the random memories made while celebrating holidays overseas. 

To celebrate Christmas, Jenny and I decided to go to a Christmas evensong (which is basically a mass) in a 12^th century church in Dublin at 11pm. Although it was very long and very…Latin, I wouldn’t have done it differently. We took communion, which was not a “normal” sort of communion, but I liked it. Communion is one of those things that I take for granted, and when it’s not how I know it to be, it forces me to think about it. It has happened in Georgia, and now it has happened in Ireland. 

We slept in on Christmas morning until 11am and woke up to have a delicious breakfast of donuts – a tradition Jenny’s family has. I opened the presents my family had sent, and we picked out the day’s movie line-up. We started the day out with Holiday Inn, followed by The Holiday and a bit of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I called my family on Skype and talked with them for a bit, which is always delightful. I read the Christmas story while we ate Christmas candy and junk food – a tradition my family has (although the junk food is not necessary to the tradition). Jenny went to bed, and I continued the evening with sitting in the hallway, watching the first half of the Packer game.

The second holiday – New Year’s Eve – was celebrated, only 1 hour and 15 minutes ago, in Galway, Ireland. We had the delightfully naïve idea that bringing in the new year with random Irish people in a pub would be an unforgettable experience, so we got dinner and started the search for the perfect pub. Most were charging covers up to €20 per person, so our choices were narrowed down significantly. We finally found one that looked promising, and although we had to shove our way in, we eventually squeezed our way to the bar and ordered drinks. 

Sitting down next to a random old man, we silently congratulated ourselves on finding the only two seats in the entire building. We quickly realized, however, that our victory was empty as there was a clear reason no one had beaten us to the bench. The man, who seemed a bit tipsy but possibly sweet, was fairly drunk and fairly crazy. He would not stop talking and neither would the second man that came up a few minutes later. Finishing our drinks, we eventually escaped the old man’s prattles but not before he showed us his back scar where a bullet from one of the three (that’s right, three) world wars and not before he insisted on fixing our hair so that he could take a picture of us. We wandered around city center in search of a better bar but to no avail. We eventually ended up back in the same pub, where we got another set of drinks. We quickly realized, however, that the night would not be fun if we spent it standing up, shoved up against everyone else. We made the decision to leave and get a bottle of champagne from the store and take it back to the room to celebrate on our own. Little did we know that Ireland stops selling alcohol at 10pm. Instead, we got the next best thing: sparking fruit punch. 

We walked back to the hotel, where we snuck unnoticed so that we didn’t have to answer any unnecessary questions. Getting back to the room, I immediately changed into sweatpants and put my hair into a ponytail. We watched a few clips of good New Year’s Eve movie scenes and then played a few rounds of duraka (cards). At one minute to go, we poured the sparking fruit punch and started an appropriate song to have in the background as the new year began. We decided to drink our punch “Georgian friendship toast” style, which means nothing to those who have not been to a Georgian supra…which is most of you. After downing the whole glass while linking arms and kissing on the cheek three times, we had a chance to recognize that the aftertaste of our celebratory juice was awful. Really awful. We continued with cards and then watched an episode of Community. Jenny fell asleep and then woke up and started into crazy mode, which is always fun to experience.

Here’s the point of this post (apart from informing the world on what my holidays have been): I don’t mind changing things up a bit. I like my traditions, and I like being in a place where I’m surrounded by friends and family. However, I’ve realized that celebrating the holidays, wherever I am and however it is done, is still a celebration. I like doing it in whatever way seems the most fitting for the experience I’m having at the time. This year, I have lived in Georgia and am visiting Ireland. It is very fitting in my mind to have some strange sorts of holiday experiences, then, because my year has been that of a strange sort. 

Jenny’s going to bed and I’m going to look up some London activities, but first I’m going to drink another glass of what has been deemed “puke juice” while sitting in my room in Ireland three weeks away from being back in Georgia because this has been a strange sort of year. Here's to 2012 being the same sort of year.

One Adventures Leads to Another

I had a dream last night that I was leaving Georgia; I was back in the States with my family, and I was trying not to cry because I couldn’t understand why I didn’t have a proper goodbye with my Georgian family. I was confused that it wasn’t yet Christmas, and I was leaving without the intention of coming back. It’s been 2 months since I’ve been in Georgia, and I am proud to say that I was happy to wake up from that dream. As much as I miss my family and friends in America and have days that I would like nothing better than to be there, I love Georgia, and it’s been a fabulous 2 months living in Shashiani and experiencing all that comes with that: walking faster to get onto the road before the cow does, learning to avoid glancing in the rat-infested gutters, appreciating soap operas, cuddling with hot water bottles in the night, perfecting the art of layering, chasing chickens out of the kitchen, becoming part of a church that does not speak my language, drying clothes in the midst of a snowstorm, and playing duraka for hours.

However, in one week, I will be leaving the country to go to another in search of yet another adventure. I can’t help but think that this is the sort of thing that happens in movies or to other people. I am the one who talks about traveling, not the one who actually endures all the “adventures” that go along with that. At some point, I may start another blog called “The Adventures of a Non-Adventurous Girl” because that pretty well defines my thoughts on the matter.

If moving to Georgia wasn’t enough, I am now getting ready to spend nearly 1 month in Ireland. We (my traveling buddy Jenny and I) will be spending Christmas and New Years in Ireland and Scotland, although as it happened, we’ll only be in Scotland for one week. We’ve rented a car, booked hotels, confirmed reservations, and planned travel via ferries, cars (driven on the opposite side of the road), trains, and buses. It’s a lot of adventure packed into one month, yet I can’t help but feel prepared. This preparation is not the kind that comes from organizing the trip perfectly because heavens knows we haven’t done that (don’t be concerned, mom and dad). Rather, it’s the preparation that comes from spending 2 months in a country where no one speaks fluent English or is there to hold your hand as you discover public transportation. Please don’t misunderstand me; there are numerous parts of this trip that are new and seemingly “too-adventurous” for me, but for a change, those are in the minority.

So in 1 week, we will leave the village and take a marshutka to Tbilisi. We will take the metro to the biggest market where I can finally buy a black purse, some slippers, and possibly an extra pair of sweatpants. We will check in at our favorite hostel and say goodbye to the TLG friends we’ve made here. We will attempt to see a movie in Georgian at the theater of which we already know the location, and we will take the metro and/or bus to the airport, where we will fly to Istanbul and then off to Dublin for another month of adventure. If I’ve learned anything at all in the past 2 months, it’s that as much as I can become comfortable in one part of life, adventure always manages to be lurking around the corner.

The Cold: A warning of what happens to your mind when you experience a Georgian winter

For the past few weeks, it has been getting colder and colder. It's snowed a few times, and it's just cold. With the lack of central heating, my days are consumed with staying warm, and I think it's a good idea to warn others of the effects cold can have.

·      After taking a hot shower and still leaving the bathroom shivering, I’m considering the necessity of taking showers in the winter. I’ve rationalized the idea by thinking I can wash my hair occasionally in hot water and dry it immediately without having to take any layers off and it’s cold, so I’m not sweating.

·      I watch the Spanish soap operas on TV and the first thing I think is, “Why aren’t they wearing a jacket?! How can they be warm enough to not need one?” I can’t fathom a world in which a little sun dress is warm enough.

·      My day is consumed with planning where my next source of warmth is going to come from. In this way, it’s almost like an addiction – an addiction to warmth.

·      If you’re not careful, you will describe your hatred of the cold as an addiction to warmth. I second-guess agreeing to activities that will take me away from being within two feet from the pechi.

·      When I was handed a bowl of sunflower seeds that had just been cooked on the stove, my first thought was to forget eating the sunflower seeds and just hold the warm bowl.

·      I cannot see an end to the winter; I literally feel like it will never end, and I cannot see a way that it will ever be warmer.

·      My idea of the perfect day is one spent reading a book in my long underwear and jeans with a tank top, long-sleeved shirt, sweater, and jacket on top, sitting next to the pechi without the door ever opening to let the cold air in the house.

·      When people attempt to comfort me in my state of cold by saying that snow never comes in November and always waits until January and February, I want to slap them and say, “Then why is it snowing?!”

·      You fixate upon cold so much that you write a blog post exaggerating the effects of weather.

It's been 1 month...

It has now been one month since I’ve been in Georgia. In fact, today marks one month since I arrived in Shashiani. I can hardly believe that it’s been so long already, and I know that I will be saying the same thing as I continue to mark off my 9 months. It will be very difficult to leave the life I have found myself in here.

As one month seems like a significant marker of sorts, I feel that it is appropriate to look back over the past 4 weeks. One of the lists I’ve made in mind over my time here has been the things I am most glad I brought with me and the things I wish I had with me. Today seems like a fitting time to share that with you, whether you’re interested or not…

Things I Consider It A Stroke of Brilliance That I Have Them With Me (whether or not it was my own brilliance is another matter entirely, so if something on this list was your idea…10 points to you):

    1.  Leggings – It’s getting cold here, and I can’t just wear another sweater to make my legs    

        warm.

    2.  Aleve – I’ve had a few headaches in my days here, probably from trying so hard to   

       catch a word or two here in a conversation in a language I don’t understand.  

    3. Kleenex – They are soft; they are my friend, and I’ve had a cold for the majority of my   

       time in Georgia up until yesterday.

    4. Black boots – It rains a lot here, and my flats just won’t cut it as I walk to and from    

       school in the mud.

    5. Granola bars and other sorts of American snacks – I realize I won’t have these forever, 

       but they’re definitely helped as I transition into finding Georgian snacks that I want to  

       have and deal with not controlling my food intake.

    6. Movies – I filled a CD case with movies and TV shows, and it’s been a great way to end 

       the evening when I go to my room for the night.

Things I Consider It a Stroke of Idiocracy That I Don’t Have With Them Me (whether or not I would’ve had room for them is another matter entirely):

    1. Games – I have a few, but they are mostly educational, and sometimes I would like to 

       whip out a game that Ani and I could play together.

    2. Computer paper – Ani and I draw a lot, and it would be nice to have some blank paper.

    3. Big black bag – Seriously, all the teachers here have them to carry their books around   

       in, so it would’ve been nice to have been clued in on that one before coming. I can buy 

       one here that I really like, but it’s fairly expensive, so we’ll see what happens.

    4. Just one more sweater – I have a bunch of sweaters, so that’s not really the problem. I 

       do, however, wish that I had an extra “lounging” sweater that I could wear around the 

       house or as an additional layer when it’s just a bit chilly.

    5. Georgian-English dictionary – I can get one here, but it would’ve been nice to have it 

       with me in the past month as the tiny dictionary in the back of my phrasebook renders 

       itself useless in many cases.

    6. An extra pair of flats – I realize I can just buy some here, but it’s easier to buy things in  

       stores in which the employees speak perfect English and not everyone stares at you 

       when you walk in. I would like a pair of flats that I can wear around the house, and I 

       know exactly the pair that I left at home in favor of tennis shoes…tennis shoes, like I’ll 

       ever need those.

All things considered, though, I’ve done pretty well with the things I’ve brought. There’s nothing that I don’t have that I can’t live without – just things that could make life a little easier. Alas, I will buy them here, and a month from now I will be writing on the things that I didn’t realize I could buy with such ease in Georgia.

7 ½ months to go, one of which spent traveling in Ireland and Scotland for the holidays, and I can say with perfect honesty, as I sit on a random pipe in front of the house to catch the sun after being at church this morning in which I understood the majority of the sermon as it is given in English and then translated into Georgian, that I am completely content with being right where I am.

A Commerical Break in the Spanish Soap Opera

As I sit in the kitchen as my family watches yet another Spanish soap opera dubbed in Georgian, I have a bit of time to update my readers, as I have not done so far a few weeks.

Life in Shashiani has proved to suit me quite well. Typically, I am finished with teaching by around 1:30. I come home, eat lunch, and read a book or study Georgian. As my e-reader is currently uncharged, studying the Georgian language has been my latest pastime.

I live with a family of 4: Nana, Niko, Ani, and bebia. Nana is a general physician and works during the day. Niko does a bit of everything and is always busy with some sort of project. Ani is Nana and Niko’s niece who lives with them as her mom works in Turkey. She is 11 and is one of my 6^th grade students. Babua (grandfather in Georgian) stays inside; I don’t have much interaction with him.

Teaching has proved to be the most difficult part of the Georgian transition. I have two co-teachers; however, I only have one class with Maia. It has been difficult because, at times, it seems as though my school simply tolerates my presence. I knew co-teaching would be a challenge, and I’m trusting it will get better. This week my main focus, other than teaching, has been getting to know the other teachers better and jumping in with my classes whenever I can.

Everywhere I look, I am surrounded by something interesting and beautiful in its own way. My backyard is full of various fruit trees and bushes and is framed with the Caucasus Mountains. When I sit on the swing to read, I can observe chickens walking in front of me, a cart full of branches pulled by a horse outside the door, and my Georgian dad draining the various stages of wine from a wooden barrel next to the karalioki tree.

I have also had an opportunity to explore the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, as I have two Georgian brothers who live there with their babua (grandmother). I have seen 5^th century fortresses, a fantastic view from Bombora Park, the watchful statue of kartlisdeda (Mother of Georgia) amidst the beautiful botanical gardens.

I have also visited the quaint town of Sighnaghi which is surrounded by a very old wall that we, of course, climbed all over. From the top of the towers, you can see for miles until the view is interrupted by the imposing mountains. I have attempted to capture it all through photos, but picture refuses to show what I see.

This week it has begun to get colder, and I’m sure that as temperatures continue to drop, things will become less idyllic. My 20 minute walk to school will no longer be a brilliant introduction to my day; rather, it will be a dreaded part of my morning. Sitting outside will be an impossibility without hundreds of layers, and coats will not be a fashion statement. Until then, however, I will absorb it all and recognize that winter can only last so long…or so they say.

As an additional bonus for those of you who have lasted this long, I am including a special feature to this blog post; enjoy.

The Sounds of the Road: An exploratory look at the honks

     Honking, either from cars, trucks, marshutkas, taxis, or vans, can be broken down so     

     as to understand the meaning. In America, if someone honks, it is the first step to 

     road rage. In Georgia, that is not the case. This is particularly helpful if, as a 

     foreigner, you feel all the honking is aimed at you.

1.       Honk to let other drivers know of your presence.

2.       Honk to say hello to fellow drivers. This rings particularly true of “professional” drivers   

       (i.e. marshutka and taxi drivers).

3.       Honk to let other drivers know you will be passing them – usually occurs when the 

       honker has pulled up next to the honkee.

4.       Honk to let pedestrians know they will soon be run over.

5.       Honk to let pedestrians know they will not be run over, regardless of how close the 

       driver intends to get.

6.       Honk to check the blind spots on sharp curves.

7.       Honk to let the person know you know that he or she is a foreigner because, let’s be 

       realistic, if there’s a car honking with no one around but you, it’s probably directed to 

       you.

What They Don't Tell You In Orientation

What They Don’t Tell You In Orientation…

  1. You need to buy the phrasebook they have available unless you already have your own.

-    The way it was presented to our group, it seemed like a halfway decent idea to pay the 25GEL for the book. In my opinion, buy the book. I was on the fence about it, but I have already used the dictionary in the back 1,003 times (yes, I’ve been keeping track), and it’s made itself worth it.

   2. Although, in theory, it is great to have conversations with your host family about the school, privacy, holidays, etc., if they don’t speak English, you’re lucky if you can get across that you’re tired and want to go to sleep.

-    My host parents do not speak English, so if I want to have a conversation regarding … anything…I must piece it together via my phrase book-dictionary combo or find someone who speaks English, although it’s probably going to be the first option.

  3. Teachers may or may not be available for you to tag along with on your first day of school.

-    When I arrived at school this morning, I had yet to hear from a school director or co-teacher. I was told to go to school, so to school I went. My school director was pointed out to me by a 12-year-old, and I introduced myself awkwardly. She eventually figured out who I was and led me to a room, which I later discovered is the teachers’ lounge. I tagged along with an English teacher for the morning until she was finished with classes and went home, which I also did.

   4. Your first day of school does not, in fact, have to be the first “school day” you are in the village.

-    Halfway through the day, I received a text message that said I am not expected to teach until I have had a meeting with my school director and co-teachers at the ERC location in my region. I have not yet had this meeting, nor had I been a similar meeting would take place. Later that day I was texted the date and time of my meeting, so I’m assuming my teachers and director received the same information.

   5. It may or may not be convenient to use the school’s computers for Internet.

-    Although my school has computers with internet available, during school hours classes are held in the lab. Therefore, if I want to use the computers, I find it best to wait until after school is out. However, I never teach past 1:00, so unless I want to hang out in the teachers’ lounge for an extra hour, an internet café is a much better option for me.

Georgian Breakfast: Cocoa Puffs and Cream Puffs

გამარჯობათ! მე ვარ საქართველოში და არ მჯერა!

(Hello! I am in Georgia and I can’t believe it!)

Right now it is 19:08 on 4-10-11 – just two of the things I’ve been working on adapting to over the last few days. And although I continuously remind myself that in the Bazaleti Hotel (sast’umro bazaleti) I am placed in a little bubble, from what I’ve seen so far, I like Georgia and can’t wait to experience more. 

As of right now, the most Georgian experience I have had was on Saturday when four friends and I went into Tbilisi. We took a taxi to Freedom Square, which is where the Rose Revolution took place. Although the taxi driver didn’t speak English, he made an effort to engage us in conversation about his lovely city with some English phrases he had written down on a piece of paper that he then recited to us while zipping in and out of traffic and creating a third lane between two already-very-close lanes of cars. We walked down Rustaveli Ave and sampled some bakery treats. Although not exceptionally Georgian, they tasted wonderful. After walking several miles, seeing the first Georgian McDonalds, taking the metro a bit closer to the hotel, and walking to Sameba – one of the largest Eastern Orthodox churches in Europe – we took a taxi back to the hotel in time for lunch. 

Mainly, our days here are filled with training and preparation for the next 9 months in Georgia. In the morning – after an 8:30am breakfast, we go through 1 hour of culture training, which provides us with practical information about what we will be doing and specific details about Georgian life. After a 10-15 minute break, our group of 102 splits up into 4 groups. My group goes to language class first, where we are immersed in Georgian language for 2 hours before a 15 min coffee break, after which we jump right back in to conjugating verbs, greeting each other in Georgian, and introducing one another to the class for an additional 2 hours. By this time, it is 2:15, I am starving, overwhelmed, thinking in a combination of Georgian, Russian, French, and English because the foreign language side of my brain has been active for so long. We have until 3:30 to eat, at which time we have 2 hours of intercultural training, 15 mins coffee/nap break, and 2 more hours of intercultural training. During this class time, we are given the extremes of Georgian culture in order to prepare us for anything that we may encounter over our stay here. At 7:30, we are dismissed – although we go out 1 hour early today and yesterday – and head to dinner, which is available until 9:30. After dinner, I attempt to study the language, Skype with the family, respond to any FB notifications, and manage to keep my eyes open for as long as it takes for me to read a chapter of my book. And then I sleep…quite well. 

As you may be able to see, it makes for a long day – full of Georgia. However, throughout this whole time, I haven’t really been able to experience Georgia. Sure, I went across the street to the bus stop to activate my phone and buy a Pepsi. And yes, I went next door to the hardware store and bought an adaptor that doesn’t work for 0.80 USD. I have a lot of theoretical knowledge about my new home; however, I have not yet been able to experience the country’s culture. 

So until Friday when I begin the transition into my host family and the city in which I will spend most of my time – which I do not know yet – I will take advantage of the Georgian cocoa puffs for breakfast; I will relish the lovely cream puffs available at every meal (including breakfast), and I will enjoy them with a cup of “yellow label tea”.

ნახვამდის.

(Goodbye)

Hop, Skip, and a Jump: Lo and behold, I'm in Georgia.

After a very long flight, a very long layover, a not-so-long flight, and a not-so-long wait in the airport, I have arrived in Georgia. We left Chicago at 10:30pm on Wednesday night and finally arrived at the hotel in Tbilisi at 5am Friday morning. With the time change, it feels like we just skipped right over Thursday, so needless to say, I was a bit confused on the time yesterday (which was actually earlier this morning). I got settled into my room at the Bazaleti Hotel where I will spend the next week in training and orientation.

The trip – so far – has been fairly uneventful, but I will highlight some of the great parts about it.

           1.       The small child sitting in front of me on the plane to Istanbul. She was super 
                cute and risked getting in trouble multiple times to smile and laugh at the funny
                faces I was making at her.

           2.       Getting somewhat confused in the Istanbul airport because apparently if you are
                leaving the country, you do not, in fact, need to go through passport control.

           3.       Walking into the bathroom at the Tbilisi airport to a woman smoking, which I
                thought was just one of those things I take for granted in the States. I later
                found out that you’re not allowed to smoke in the airport here anymore than
                it’s allowed at home, which explains why she was doing so in the bathroom.

           4.       Waking up to the sounds of Tbilisi – honking horns, cars braking, and whatever
                other sounds were pouring through my window at 9:30.

           5.       Getting my last suitcase from baggage claim – both of them made it safe and 

                     sound!

           6.       Skyping with the ‘rents (it sounds cool to say it like that…) and getting to use
                the internet after going without communication for so long.

 

I would love to tell you (and by “you” I mean, the collective body reading this post) that all is well, I’m super excited, and I am eager to start learning Georgian, but right now, I’m exhausted. I think everything is well, I will be super excited, and if I can stay awake, I’ll be very eager to start learning the language; those feelings are just buried a bit by the idea that I can take a nap.