July 11, 2008 Word up? Not only class but a TEST on Saturday? SUPER DUUUPPERRRR!

…NOT! (Insert Borat accent here). It is another fabulous Friday here in Kveshkheti. I am posted up in chemis sakhali (my house) doing my mass amounts of work and yes, that’s correct – studying for a teaching test. No big deal really common sense material.

This week has been crazy insane- insane crazy. Yea, that’s right, I said it! So Monday was my first day teaching. I rocked out. Tuesday I taught 7-9^th grade. I did not rock out. Wednesday I taught a double session in the 5-6^th grade. I rocked out hard. This pattern has been a steady sin wave in all honesty. There is a comfort in knowing that no matter how hard I try (and how much I have my supervisor translate) the counter part I work with for the 7-9^th graders just does not know english. It becomes awkwardly apparent when the lesson starts and she is not doing her part. I am learning a lot about my strengths and weaknesses at a rapid pace. My already existing respect for teachers has grown exponentially this past week. For all of us that never cared in class, or gave our teachers a hard time…try teaching and you will probably want to shoot yourself in the foot for ever being rude. Hahahaha. 35 minutes has never been so bi-polar – it can be the shortest or LONGEST amount of time I have ever experience all in one day.

Teaching methods here are still very Soviet-oriented. This is the biggest challenge for us, as we are pushed to use rather controversial methods. There is not a grading system in the schools here, and students are just given passing grades and pushed through to the next grade. Although frustrating, it is the only reality the teachers and students know. It is going to take quite a bit of time to change the larger issues. I have faith that over time things will improve, there are so many bright teachers that have a willingness to promote change.

Our lesson planning takes up most of our evenings now. Add language assignments, cross-cultural assignments, evaluations and the multiple tests we are given and it equals the BEST WEEK EVER! (Insert sarcastic tone here). I personally enjoy having a lot of work to do but I know a lot of people have hit a wall. It is difficult to truly integrate into our communities and families when we literally have over an 80 hour work week. We are so focused right now that our perspective is very narrow. This makes it quite difficult to see the bigger picture – volunteering is not going to be like training, and training is going to make volunteering possible. I have faith in our staff, they are all very smart and helpful. Five weeks from now and into my service I hope that I can look back on this time and appreciate all the silly tasks I had to complete.

The spiders are multiplying in the shower, naturally I started to name them all: Fred, Bono, Brett, Giorgi, Alfred, Igor and Zed. I am pretty sure they are all making babies with Shaniqua because there are more every stinkin’ day. I contintue to administer a no tolerance policy with insects in my bedroom and no I do not discriminate!

Tomorrow I have a four hour language class, then my technical test. Afterwards I am heading to Khashuri to use the internet! I am going to spend the night at Amanda’s and we are having lunch with Tyler’s family on Sunday. Next week is going to be packed too- we have teaching Mon- Thurs, a Hub session all day Friday and then TEFL has job shadowing that weekend. We get our permanent site assignments on July 25^th! I am SO excited.

OH SNAP! I almost forgot the most exciting thing! Yesterday I got to wake up at 4am to travel to Tbilisi…to meet Condoleezza Rice!!! She came to town and decided to shout a holler at some U.S. volunteer agencies in Georgia. Nah, I’m just kiddin’ she was here on some official business but she did fit in a session to talk and shake hands with some volunteer groups currently serving. Not everyone got to go due to a limited capacity so I was excited to have the opportunity. I got to get out of language class for a day and we got our driver to stop at McDonalds. A BIGMAC AND NUGGETS HAVE NEVER TASTED SO GOOD! Haha.

OK, now I am done. I have to study and sleep. Tomorrow demands way too much as it is!

PEACE OUT.

July 6, 2008 Super Duperrrr

I am started my fourth week of training today! I cannot believe how quickly things are moving along. The language is becoming really fun and all in all I was being a little dramatic in terms of my struggles. I am doing well with it all. I am actually really lucky to be doing as well as I am with the grammar/vocabulary retention. Technical training is the more stressful – I teach my first english class tomorrow. Of course I got placed with 10^th /11th grade, how exactly do I make grammar fun for 15-17 year olds during the summer? I will let you know after my first creative lesson plan. Haha.

Saturday I met Amanda in Khashuri. We played on the internet for awhile in the Peace Corps office there with a few other clusters. A bunch of us then went next door to grab some beverages and snacks. It was really quite fun to see some new clusters that are further away from the west-siders. Yeah, that’s right, for the first time in my life I can say “WESTSIDE!” and have it actually apply. Holler at a player when you see her in the streets. Haha. Anyway, Amanda and I had a lovely time with my family and stayed up most of the night chatting. We are freakishly similar and I will leave it at that. She is a ball of energy and my family absolutely adores her. Today we walked around the village and took lots of cool pictures with my sisters.

Tyler came to meet up with us this afternoon, and we all went to Brad’s house for some attempted Mexican food. Kathleen and Jen did their best to cook up some Mexican…pretty impossible here. They did an awesome job! It was a lot of fun. Garrick, a fellow trainee in a neighboring village, came over with his guitar! He sang songs, we stuffed our faces and relaxed all afternoon. Pretty sweet day. Amanda, Tyler and I came back to my place and chilled out for an hour or so then they hit the road back to Ruisi. We have to be in our villages by 8pm, (for those of you that may not know me- I am not the biggest fan of being told what to do and have never had a curfew in my life) needless to say, that has become quite challenging for most of us to abide by! In any event things are peaceful but never dull. I am learning so much and hope it never stops. Georgian culture is so intriguing. My host family rocks my world, I can only pray my permanent site placement is as awesome!!

Droebit Ojakhi da Megobarebi! Stavlob kartuls! (See you later family and friends! I need to study Georgian!) If only I could write that with the Georgian alphabet…than you would really see what I have learned. Too bad I didn’t install it on my computer before I left, oh well.

July 4, 2008 Independence Day, a day early?

For whatever reason, Peace Corps Georgia decided to have a 4^th of July picnic, on July 3^rd. haha. A bunch of current G6’s and G7’s were there, and the Tbilisi staff. The G6’s have 2 weeks until they are able to go home for good, so most of them were pretty excited! There were information tables set up for current secondary projects etc. There is quite a bit going on here- we are all excited to get involved. The actual picnic could have been better, however it was not a total waste. It was outside of Gori (Stalin’s birthplace). A bunch of us went into Gori afterwards to relax, some went to the Stalin museum. I was not in the mood, so I joined the bar crowd. We ended up sitting outside on a nice patio where there were some G7’s. They were really inviting and talkative. We all shared a big table and lots of stories. They are a really fun group of people, I hope we get to spend more time with them.

Today we had class and technical training involved lesson planning. I start teaching on Monday! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I am hoping for the best…preparing for the worst! It will be interesting. My host siblings are signed up for the summer school so that should be fun.

Tomorrow I am going into Khashuri to go to the bank and the school to use the wireless internet there. Amanda is going to meet me there, she is coming home with me. Slumber party! Woohoo. Then on Sunday we are making mexican food at Brad’s house. Hopefully all will turn out well this weekend. I just need to make sure to stay on top of all my work. BLAH.

July 1, 2008 Georgia has how many kinds of spiders?

Today was relatively low-key. Training was intense and we all seemed to hit a wall. Technical training went very well…we meet our summer counterparts tomorrow! That is exciting because we are a few days away from actually teaching a classroom of Georgian children for the first time.

Lizi and Nona reminded me that tomorrow is my birthday. And they made it very clear that I was encouraged to invite any friends over to help celebrate. Nona also made sure I was free tomorrow night because they are doing dinner for me at our bebia’s (grandma’s) house.

Tonight, while taking one of the hottest showers I have ever taken in my life, I was introduced to roughly 5 different types of spiders. I have never been so scared to shower! I still have goosebumps just thinking about it. I was so frightened that I didn’t even put my clothes on; I ran out into the dark in my towel, across the front yard into my room. The spiders here are SO gross. I am going to say that ignorance is bliss, and I wish I had never been confronted with this reality. Quick FYI, there are over 500 different spiders in this country. FIVE HUNDRED?!!! If there were ever a time for me to get over my fear of spiders, I suppose it is NOW. One small step in the right direction- shower with a few and do not have a panic attack. Check plus for Gretch! I am praying that I don’t have anymore nightmares about them. Hahaha. Pathetic, I know…alas, I have already had a few terribly upsetting dreams about spiders. They are SO CREEPY. Ok, enough is enough. I just turned 22. That may in fact be worse than spiders…

July 2, 2008 “Welcome to the stage of life where every birthday is one more step downhill.” –Phil

The caption for this entry is a text message I received from my friend Phil this morning. Thanks bubba. Haha. I suppose he is right. JUST KIDDING. Well, another birthday abroad and I must say it was lovely. I had class all morning and technical in the afternoon. Today we met our temporary counterparts for summer school, which starts…MONDAY! It is three weeks long and the students ask to participate. The level of motivation is definitely skewed but I am not protesting! Haha. I need all the practice I can get. Working with actual Georgian English teachers for the first time was interesting to say the least. It made it very evident to us that learning Georgian is a must.

After class my cluster came back to my house to study together before going to my bebias house for my birthday. My host mom told me to invite whomever I wanted over, as long as we were there at 6pm. As we were studying Travis got a call and left quickly…very strange behavior for him. Come to find out Amanda and Tyler showed up, with flowers to boot!!!! They are in a village about an hour away. I was SO surprised to see them. It was the best gift I could have received. Tyler’s host brother drove them from Ruisi, their village outside of Gori. He got lost on the way and they took over two hours to get to me. Talk about dedication! J

We headed to my bebias (Grandma) house for dinner. They had a MASSIVE barbiedoll cake on the table for me, with my name written in Georgian across the front. It was amazing. I have never seem a cake that intricate…and definitely never that size. I am talking wedding cake status here people. They gave me gifts and made toasts to me (and my family/friends in America). The Georgian champagne was very good! Everyone is so caring here, it really touched me a great deal. Not only my friends taking it upon themselves to surprise me on a weeknight when we have curfew, but my host family as well. The food was amazing, as usual, the cake was astonishing, and the company was priceless. I felt so genuinely loved. It is remarkable considering I have only been here for two weeks, and have only known my fellow trainees for little over three weeks. It really feels like much longer.

On top of all that gloriousness, I got to talk to my parents, brother and one set of Grandparents! I also received wonderfully considerate emails from family and friends. Thank you to everyone that thought of me, it really brought a huge smile to my face all day. And will continue to do so when I am feeling lonely. I LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL!!!

June 30, 2008 Order in the classroom?

Today was a great day overall. Another rollercoaster ride of emotions ranging from enthusiastic, confident, tired, frustrated, joyful, grateful, and finally utterly exhausted.

Language class was great because we had an enormous amount of information thrown at us. It made it fun because we actually had decent things to add to a conversation now…relatively speaking of course. The past tense has never been so rewarding! The moral of the story is that class seemed to pass by a bit faster today. We went to the store for break because I wanted Koka Kola somethin’ fierce and a snickers bar. The store owner thinks I am a ‘gizhi gogo’ (crazy girl)! I made her laugh until she cried the other day…ok, fine I’ll tell the story.

I had just learned how to pronounce the word Tsitsila the night before and really like saying it. SO we were in the store and I asked the lady for water (Tskhali). She looked at me with confused eyes and I realized that I had said tsitsila which means CHICKEN, not tskhali. Hahaha. And as she handed me my bag, instead of Madloba (thank you), I said gamarjoba (hello) for a third time! I attempted to play it off by pretending that I had been talking to myself. I looked up and said madloba but it was not enough to save me. Needless to say, my brain was done processing Georgian that day. It was funny and we all still get a good laugh out of it.

Technical training was interesting today. We learned how to manage a classroom. And to answer your questions- being a teacher is similar to running for president. I have never been introduced to so many “theories” and “middle areas” in my life. IT ALL DEPENDS, is the theme of the next 2 years of my life. It was a frustrating lesson to say the least.

When I got home I hung out with Salome and Lizi. We worked on my homework, played cards and watched spanish soap operas in georgian. Haha. At least I can understand the spanish! Then we went for a walk with Travis and his host sister, while Nona started dinner. When we came back in I noticed their piano. I played a few songs and the girls got very excited. Salome played a song, she is very good. They encouraged their mom to come play- Nona is amazing!!! Her tiny fingers owned that instrument. From classical to traditional Georgian music, she played and sang until her fingers quit. I took pictures and watching in awe. Afterwards we continued to cook dinner as Salome played her songs. Nona had not had a chance to eat all day long so she devoured her dinner. Poor thing works so hard, I am constantly amazed by her.

I could write for hours about how awesome these people are but I have to wake up early. Ugh. Wake up early to attempt to cram in as much of this language as humanly possibly before August. SUPER DUPER. Haha. In all honesty it has been a lot of fun so far, I have no complaints. NOT ONE! Thumbs up Peace Corps. Oh, and we lost one more today. My roommate from Philly went home this morning apparently. She is in the east TEFL cluster so I do not get to see her to know but I received a few messages today. We have exceeded the 10% marker for early termination. This is beginning to seem a lot like survivor yo. Let me just say once more, this is the time for people to really decide if this is what they want to do for two years. And it is much better to decide to go home now than during our actual service time. Either way it is not an easy decision for any of us and I wish everyone that left the best of luck!

June 29, 2008 Instant K’ava

Saturday morning Travis and I get to Skola and the door is locked, hard. We were so excited! Haha. Tea, our teacher, showed up and promptly called the school director to open the doors. At least it knocked off like 20 minutes from the lesson. ;) Class was hard for all of us – not only was it Saturday, it was Kathleen’s birthday! Ironically and completely by chance her birthday was the day we were scheduled to have lunch at her house. Her family lives on a farm, all of their food is made by hand. They make their own jam, bread, meat patties from the pigs, chickens and cows in their yard. They made her an awesome birthday cake. It was coffee flavored…I had 4 pieces and a cup of instant coffee. After having about 5 pieces of lobiani (bean bread with cilantro) it is fabulous.

The five of us hung out for about 4 hours after lunch. It was very relaxing and fun to talk about something other than our assignments. We walked to the maghazhia to get some koka kola and tskhali (water). After that I headed home, and made it just in time. There was a massive thunderstorm! It was beautiful to see the pouring rain across the mountains. I sat with chems debi da deda (my sisters and mom) in the kitchen while it rained. I then decided to work on my homework a bit and to work on my homework.

Sunday Kathleen, Travis, Jen, Brad and I met at the Marshutka stop and went into Khashuri. Amanda, Tyler, Phil and Mike met me. Lucy and Jessica met up with Travis. Later we met up with Katie, Garrick, Kirsten, Cate and Katelyn. It was hilarious when we all ended up in the same resturanshi we ate at on Friday as a huge group. So much fun to see so many trainees outside of training!! Things are much cheaper in Khashuri and it is relatively easy to get around. Minus the fact that it was HOT and HUMID…and I have to wear PANTS, it was tons of fun. Haha.

The bazeri (bazaar) has anything you could ever need…it is like a collaboration between the farmers market and the lambertville flea market. When we went to the restaurant I ended up taking charge and ordering. Everyone else became quite timid. Somehow my language pulled through and everyone thanked me for doing it…keep in mind it is very intimidating to be in a place where no one speaks english. And being American doesn’t mean people love you. Anyway, I did it and somehow lunch for 7 people only cost $10. Pretty SUPER DUPER AWESOME if ya ask me.

When I got home my host sisters helped me correct my homework and then Lizi asked me to take a walk with her. We walked through a neighboring village, to a school where I had been last week for technical training on Monday. Lizi and I worked on my Georgian language skills, and I helped her learn the English translations. We sat on a bench outside of the school for a long time and played with her dogs. It was funny to see all the kids in the village stroll through and look at the American girl.

After awhile we began to walk again. Chappy, the smaller dog went buck wild on a chicken in the road and had it by its throat! Hahaha. We called him and he let go, turned around and looked at us with a mouth full of feathers. HILARIOUS. Then he proceeded to chase down every single stinkin’ droha (cow) in the road. Lizi and I were pretty scared as the cows began to run toward us. Lizi had me wait in a field as she disappeared in the woods. She came running out with a huge boquet of flowers for me. It was so cute. J

She then told me that part of the field was her’s, and a few fields down were Giorgi’s and Salome’s. A few dirt paths later and we ended up in her bebias da papas (grandma and grandpa’s) house. I was really excited because I hadn’t met them yet. They are Deviko’s parents, and are quite possibly the cutest people I have ever met, Dali and Ofto. Ofto was disappointed to hear that I did not speak Russian well because he could. Anyone over the age of 20 speaks Russian here because until recently Russian was obviously manditory in schools. Now only some schools still teach it, and many people do not admit that they can even speak it.

Dali showed me pictures of Daniel, the volunteer they had in 2005. He lived with Dali and Ofto; at the time Deviko and Nona were living there as well with their children. It is a part of Georgian culture for people to remain living with the husband’s parents. Most families are very large and live with each other. In any event, it was evident that Daniel really made an impression on Dali. Her eyes were full of love and pride as she shared her pictures of him.

The girls and I wandered around eating grapes off the vine. Cherries, plums and pears from the trees in the yard. It was so much fun. Women and girls do all the fruit picking here- Salome was like a spidermonkey in the cherry tree! I was very impressed with her climbing abilities. She got excited because I love cherries. We all ate dinner together outside and they toasted to victory and a friendship between Georgian and America. They then proceeded to talk about my birthday in Georgian because they didn’t want me to know they are planning something. I learned how to say birthday because two trainees had birthdays this past week so I caught on rather quickly. Nona started to notice and laughed. They are absolutely adorable. Salome and Lizi begged me to stay with their family my two years of service. That would be so amazing!

June 27, 2008 Week One Down.

Last night Travis was over to work on our safety and security documents and our practice lesson plans. I am pretty sure my host parents think we are dating, and as they put it, “Travisi is aris kargi bitchi” – Travis is a good boy. One thing that will be hard to get used to is the gender role issue here. Girls are not friends with boys, nor women with men the same way we are in the States. So, for Travis to come over after 6pm to work on assignments is not common. Luckily, I have a very liberal deda (mom) so she was not upset at all. They made him stay for a second dinner, hospitality has been taken to a new level in Georgia. I love it.

This morning we traveled by ourselves for the first time and all went well. We arrived to our Hub session (group meeting with the entire training class). It was so awesome to see everyone again! It seems like we are all so much closer than we are…it feels like I have known some people my whole life. I am amazed at how quickly people can bond in situations like this.

Meetings consisted of serious topics- sexual assault, safe transportation, HIV etc. PC has done a great job of preparing us for every worst-case situation. We got our debit cards, and had more vaccination shots. My arms are KILLING ME! The nurses laughed at me because I made a few funny noises while receiving the shots. I said it felt like they were giving me rabies, not a vaccination to prevent it! Haha. In any event, it was a great day all–in-all. When I got back I read a bit and finished my laundry. When I heard Nona in the kitchen I decided to go help her with dinner. She was so excited and let me jump right in, I was very excited to cook a bit.

I made the eggplant fried in a skillet. Then chopped cilantro and fresh garlic, mixed them to create a sauce of sorts. Then I spread it on the pieces of eggplant and folded them in half, making a beautiful platter! It was so delicious. Nona was so happy I helped her that she made a joke to Salome about switching me for Lizi who will not be bothered in the kitchen. She is an 11 year old girl with a vibrant, outgoing, imaginative personality…she will not be caged in to say the least! Nona told me tonight that Lizi wants to move to New York at some point. Fitting, huh? Salome on the other hand is considering law school, which is not common in Georgia. She is a very bright girl. She is quiet but a patient georgian teacher. I appreciate her efforts, and I teach her english.

I got to talk to my dad, mom and brother tonight! It was awesome to hear about life at home and to describe some experiences without having to type it all! Hah. I took a LONG shower tonight. It was SUPER DUPER AWESOME. I went all out and even shaved my legs. WOOP WOOP. I had a snickers bar the other day, I don’t think I even tasted one bite of it. In fact, it is very likely that I swallowed it whole. Hahaha. Just playin. Oh snap! Tonight at dinner chemi deda pulled out these mini twix bars. I am dead serious!! They were in a case like oreos- 30 mini twix bars. I went buck wild on those things. SO GOOD.

Ok it is after midnight and I have…yup, you guessed it…CLASS at 9am. Holla at a playa when you see her in the streets. At least I am done at 2:30pm tomorrow not 6pm. Haha.

Gretchen OUT.