June 26, 2008 T’chame, T’chame!

Things are plugging along here on this side of the pond. Classes are long and the work is crazy draining. We are all surviving and that is what counts. Yes things are different here- we do not use toilets, nor do we have showers in the same room as the latrine. Time seems to stand still a lot longer in Kveshkheti, but I like it. Minus the overwhelming amounts of mandatory, logistical information we have to go through for the PC I have been so relaxed. Take this moment for instance…I am chillin’ in my bed it is about 10:45pm here (about 2:45pm at home). I am listening to some sweet tunes on my Ipizzod and documenting some of my experiences to the best of my abilities. It is taking a long time because I keep watching these bugs on my computer screen, clean themselves. Or maybe they have an itch? All I know is the cutest one keeps moving its little legs together and it is adorable. I can honestly say that I never thought I would come to a point in my life where I found a bug cute. Hahaha. It was hot today for the first time in about a week so the bugs are out to play if you know what I’m sayin’. I have my lights out because I am very close to bedtime, thus bugs on my computer screen! Sweet. It is funny how much I took for granted at home, and how much I have come to appreciate in just one week in a village.

Chemi deda (my mom) is so kind and loving. I have had so much fun getting to know her and her family! We had lunch at my house today with my cluster and Nona made Khikhali (Meat Dumplings, a traditional Georgian Dish). For those of you that do not know- I LOVE DUMPLINGS! And I miss Mr. Dumpling Man sooooooo much. What an awesome surprise, and the people in my cluster got to partake in an awesome lunch. The dumplings were the size of my face and had a little spice to them. It was so tasty. Nona has really made sure that I know how much she wants me here, and really makes me feel so wanted!

We get to meet up with the other 45 volunteers tomorrow for a group training day and more vaccinations. Awesome. I love needles…NOT. Eh, I guess I’d rather have a few shots before I’d want a disease. Haha. I get to see some of the people I get along with the most, who just happen to be in the village furthest from me. Hah. Go figure. It makes it more exciting when we do get to see one another I suppose. J To be honest, I know it is better that I am not very close to the people in my cluster because I would not be integrating at all!

Pizza minda!

June 24, 2008 Cry Me a River

I had my first semi-breakdown today…in class of course. We were just introduced to the Georgian alphabet yesterday, and today we were putting together full written text dialogues in pairs that our teacher had mixed up. It was a great exercise! Just try to imagine being the most physically exhausted, emotionally drained, and mentally strained you have ever been in your life-then add 4 straight hours of language training with people you barely know. Awesome. Needless to say, I have been frustrated that the language isn’t coming quickly. I have been holding it together pretty well until today, I started crying in class. Haha. My co-trainee, Travis, kindly just handed me a napkin to wipe my tears. It is hard for all of us. This is new for me, and it goes without saying, good for my pride! Hah. Talk about humbling…reading like a 4 year old and having a complete blank with every other character. I know I will get it eventually. “Keep yo head up Bubba” is all I keep telling myself.

We lost two more people today from other clusters. This whole training time is set up for people to determine if it is really something they want to do for the next 2 years. Kind of genius if you ask me! The teaching training is interesting to say the least. It should be interesting to actually attempt to teach my first set of Georgian children, I hope I am capable enough. They learn British English here, so on top of learning Georgian we are all going to have to learn British spelling, vocabulary and grammar in order to affectively convey American English. Or, rather to be able to properly distinguish between British and American English. Bring it on. That is all I have to say.

Chemi megobari Salome Khartvelidan.

June 22, 2008 Say What!

This morning I woke up before my entire family did. I had to go to the bathroom last night but it is outside and I was literally scared of the dark. It is funny how much I take for granted. My host mother, Nona woke up and started making breakfast around 10am. Sunday is her only day off so she likes to sleep in a bit. It rained in the morning, creating a beautiful fog across the mountains. Salome and Lizi ate with Nona and I, Giorgi and Deviko stayed at the house next door with Deviko’s parents because this house is under construction. It should be done if a few weeks.

Nona sent the girls and I for a walk so that I could see the village. Travis, a trainee in my language and technical class is staying with my neighbors. The girls took me past the school where my training will be and then to a local store where I bought a couple phone cards. I stick out like a sore thumb and I do not know a lick of Georgian but the store owner was very nice. We stopped by to say hi to Travis and his host brother and sister and my sisters took us for a long hike up the mountain. It was so gorgeous. I could see our whole village plus two others! Amazing. Chappi, one of my family’s dogs came running out of the woods with branches and leaves all over him – so adorable!

When we came back the girls surprised me with their version of koke kola because I had mentioned that I liked it (Kari that is a shout out to you). And they gave me a bunch of fruit and waffer cookies. It was adorable so I got a gift for them out of my bag. I bought Twislers and a deck of cards and figured the girls would appreciate them the most. They showed them to everyone and Nona came in with a gift for me. A Hello Kitty pajama tank and underwear. I then proceeded to go over the alphabet with Lizi, I happen to be extrodinarily bad at this language. I showed them how to play War (Mommom and Tim I thought of you both and playing for hours by the fireplace!) Then they taught me a Georgian card game but I am still a little unclear on the rules.

Their shower is outside and is heated by a wood furnace. It was one of the best showers I have ever taken because I LOVE the smell of wood burning on a cool night. The water is really clean here, I am hoping that my body adjusts so that I can stop spending my living allowance on bottled water! Haha. (Don’t worry I am not planning on that any time soon) I am looking forward to classes tomorrow, this integration thing is a whole lot more demanding than one imagines. Lizi and Samole both sat with me and taught me how to write the Georgian alphabet, children are really such a blessing. They ask their mom to translate really cute things to me. Nona and Samole both had english work to do tonight so they helped me and I, them. Lizi is a ball of energy and a real shot of life. If I had to compare her to someone it would most definitely be me. Samole is a bit more shy, and Giorgi just laughs at my lack of knowledge…and don’t worry I laugh with him! They all got SO excited when they found out that my birthday is going to occur while I am living with them. Lizi wants to have a party with a HUGE cake and a pinata. My stomach hurt from laughing at her excitement. My host mother says hello to all my family and friends in America. If anyone wants good food, come to Georgia. It is amazing…fo real. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!

Me Var Gretcheni da Amerikelidan.

Until next time…

*Funny additional information – kids love Tupac here. I think this is where he must have ran off to when people thought he was dead. Haha. Oh and Eminem, 50 Cent and Rhianna naturally. I can’t get away from that Umbrella song no matter how hard I try!

June 21, 2008 What? I don’t have to live out of my suitcase for a couple months?!

Today we had lots of logistical stuff to manage in the morning. Then lunch, then last minute language training, and then we packed up and drove to meet our Pre-Service Training host families. All of us were incredibly nervous. I must say that for someone that does not like to admit when I am feeling weak – this experience has already broken that as we all are feeling the exact same things. It is really like a breath of fresh air.

Tonight is my first night without 57 other Americans. I was introduced to my new family and we packed their car and drove off to their village. Talk about reality slapping you in the face! My host mother, Nona, speaks some english which is nice but I really have to kick it into gear now. It’s on like Donkey Kong now! I have a host father, Deviko, a 12 year old sister, Samole, an 11 year old sister Lizi and a 15 year old brother, Giorgi. Their cousin was also over tonight, a 12 year old boy named Dedo. Dinner was great lots of bread, vegetables, potatoes sauteed with onions and Grama will be proud…prunes. Haha. And yes, I ate them. They were very good!

My room has a separate entrance to the house which is nice but it also connects right to the kitchen (also very convienient for me haha). The bathroom is outside and their house is undergoing a ton of contruction right now. Lots going on for them it seems!

The kids were shy at first but so was I seeing as we don’t understand each other at all yet. After dinner I showed them some pictures of my immediate family because that is the only vocabulary I have so far haha. They loved it and started to show me their photos. I sat with the kids and Nona and pointed out things on a picture book. They taught me the Georgian words and I taught them the english! They are very fun and helpful. I am hoping to learning a great deal from them. I am going to sleep now because Lizi wants to take me for a walk tomorrow after breakfast and I have to study!

Nakhvamdis!

June 19, 2008 Orientation is OVER.

A week went by in a way I cannot describe. I went from two jam-packed days of introductions in Philadephia to a whirlwind experience when landing in Tbilisi. The group of PCT’s (Peace Corps Trainees) was taken to dinner, orientation breifings in the restaurant, and finally our hotels. Once we were done with our walking tour and our logistical office tasks on Monday, we had a wonderful picinic with current PCV’s (Peace Corps Volunteers). It was fun to meet the surviving group and to see their excitement as they interacted with each other. Apparently most of them get to see each other a decent amount due to the size of the country…especially considering the fact that a bunch of the country is not able to be visited, hence no PCV’s being stationed in those parts of the country!

On Wednesday we finished our orientation to orientation at the University of Georgia haha. We then packed onto three buses and were taken to Bakuriani about three hours away from the capital. We stayed in a beautiful ski resort and finished the week full of safety, language, culture, and training breifings. The week went by quickly and my brain is ready to explode. On top of having all the Georgian information, we had policies to learn, not to mention we are all excited about getting to know one another!

All the volunteers that have made it this far are awesome, and I do miss the ones who did not make it any further. I have been incredibly blessed to have met a few people I really relate to and one is particularly like me (it is on the verge of creepy). Amanda is what God decided to make me if I were from Texas haha. I can’t wait to travel with her more. I also found a girl Katie who has my same spiritual views so it is awesome to have chill people that I know have my back, ya heard?! Haha. Even being here until now I have a feeling I will not know for some time just how difficult my life is going to become. Adaptation is not always quick or painless, even for people who are especially gifted in that area…I have a lot to learn!

The language is so difficult that my brain is nearly rejecting it at this point. Add some teacher training and basic emotional development and I feel like a tornado! My english grammar has already started to become terrible as I attempt to learn Georgian. All in all this is going to be so awesome.

16 hours later...

So we woke up SUPER early on Sunday to get to the airport where we had plenty of time to kill. That was fine with me...better than being stressed. We then borded the air plane and proceeded to wait for 2.5 hours on the runway. AWESOME. Needless to say, the 56 trainees were beyond ready to arrive in Georgia! I sat next to an awesome guy in the program and we chatted until we both passed out.

We made it with just enough time in Istanbul to jump on our connecting flight, what a relief. Once we arrived in Georgia, Peace Corps staff took us to dinner. After dinner we received lots of important information about this crazy week of orientation. We were all exhausted and ready for a good nights sleep!

Language class today was rough but I have high hopes. Everyone is wonderful here!!!! The country is beautiful. I have to run, people need the computer. I will write more later.

Staging is Over!

I arrived in Philadelphia on Friday, the 13th! haha. Everything went very smoothly at check-in and during our ice breakers. The people in this group of trainees are absolutely amazing. Our staging staff was so nice and helpful, it was great to hear about their experiences as PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers). If I thought I was excited at any point during the application process - there are no words for how I feel now. Putting faces on all the people that chose to do what I have wanted to do for so long is remarkable. 57 completely different people from all over the country, all from very different walks of life, all ages and levels of wisdom.

We went out to dinner both nights, for the most part the groups were mixed up a bit. My brother happened to be visiting Temple University tonight and stopped by the restaurant where we were eating! It was awesome to see him one last time, and to get to introduce him to some of the tremendous people I have been fortunate enough to meet. I even got lucky enough to find a few people that are as obsessed with sports as I am...I still can't believe I am missing the Celtics win the series. haha. NO really, they will. Not having ESPN for a long time is actually the one thing that is starting to hit hard. I am going to be so lost without it! So if anyone reading this happens to be a sports fan, please don't hesitate to keep me posted.

Tomorrow is the big flight! I am so excited to finally step foot on Georgian soil in two days. We get a big welcome dinner at a traditional Georgian restaurant with the Peace Corps when we land. I am really excited to finally try the food! We have an intense orientation in Country so I will be without any mode of communication for at least a week. *A little shout out to my family - NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS! So Ciao for now and I miss everyone at home already!

One Day and Counting

Today is my final day at home for 27 months. Honestly, it really has not hit me yet. Sure I packed my bags and keep saying my goodbyes...it just doesn't seem real. Everyone keeps asking me how I feel and I feel like I should lie and just tell them I am shaking in my boots.

The reality is that it will not hit me until I am living alone with a strange new family in Georgia. Until then I have the excitement of talking to people I am completely comfortable with about living abroad. It probably won't even hit me as hard during training because I will have so much to do!

I have been trying to relax, spending quality time with all the people I love. My brother and mom threw me an awesome surprise party last Saturday. I couldn't believe how many people came from all over the place. Thanks to everyone who made an effort to come visit, it really meant so much to me!! Lots of random stuff to do before I head to Philadelphia on Friday morning. I am starting to get very excited!!!!