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Blogs from Georgia, Asia - page 4
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December 24th 2011
It is only the beginning.. We have now been in Georgia for three weeks, so much has happened yet there is so much to come, we are here for the long haul...7 months in Georgia. We are now on our school holidays; the end of the school year was celebrated yesterday with Christmas concerts at each of our schools. The girls wore their traditional white dress while the boys wore little suit jackets. The children sang carols and performed plays - we did not understand them but it was still cute. (See photos below) Last week was our second week of teaching in our schools; it was also the last week of the school year in Georgia. Last week continued in much the same way as the previous week however with more empty seats in classrooms ... read more
December 23rd 2011
I get myself up pretty early on Monday and manage to get the Metro by myself for the first time, so I’m feeling pretty smug. I take a marshrutka to Zugdidi but, as usual, things happen that are outside my control and beyond my comprehension. At Senaki I’m told to get off the marshrutka and to get on another one, where we sit and wait for a while. I once again realise that if a Georgian guy wants your phone number there’s really nothing you can do about it. Saying no makes no difference. Saying you’re married makes no difference. If that guy wants your number, he’s going to get it. Eventually we drive to Zugdidi and by the time we get there it’s just me and two guys on the bus. We arrive just in ... read more
December 18th 2011
A question we seem to be asking ourselves a lot lately. Every day we think we know the plan or have a vague idea of what is in front of us and then bam, one of the family members will say its time to go and we are off herding sheep or going for a walk to the villiage ending in cha cha at some random persons (to us anyway) house. Today we departed our house thinking we were going to a church service, instead we visited the villiage of Gremi and its royal citadel and the Church of the Archangels, as well as a Khaketian museum. Our family insisted we have a tour guide to take us around the palace at their expence without our input. It was very interesting seeing how they use to ... read more
December 18th 2011
For those of you who don’t know (and that group included me until last Saturday morning) Richie Dixon was the coach of the Georgian National Rugby team, until the end of the last world cup. Apparently Georgia has a very good side. That is, in its entirety, my knowledge of the game of rugby. But I’ll start at the beginning. I’m kind of hoping to get out of school early on Friday but it doesn’t happen. The reason I want to get out early is cos I know that, if I do, I’ll be able to hitch to Tbilisi with Ally or Ara and it will save me 15 lari but they both get out hours before me so I’m on my own. I wait for ages with Eka and Maia outside the school, hoping ... read more
Gamarjoba (Hello from Georgia)
Published: December 16th 2011Asia » Georgia » Eastern Georgia » Telavi
December 16th 2011
Village life ... Where do I start, so many stories to tell. Since leaving Tblisi and arriving in our small village so much has happened. Our family is very big with four generations living in one house, they are a very hospital and happy family. We live with our great grandma, grandparents, parents and two brothers aged 17 and 12. Our parents are teachers at my school where the boys also attend. Our family lives in the centre of our village but also own sheep, goats, horses, chickens and dogs on a property on the outskirts of the village. The boys herd the sheep and goats each morning and afternoon along with many other families in the village. Horse and carraiges out number cars in our village. We are very lucky because our house has running ... read more
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December 15th 2011
Tuesday’s a fairly standard day at school. We go to drink coffee after my first lesson and I’m fed cakes and pears in syrup and apple jam. I’m feeling quite ill by the end of it. I’m actually slightly concerned about my last couple of weeks at home cos I can see the quantities of food and opportunities to eat increasing on a daily basis. Things also seem to be getting more and more lax at school as the holidays approach. We sit in the kitchen for about ten minutes into the next lesson. The general attitude seems to be that someone else will be taking care of it. I’m supposed to give the sixth graders their extra lesson after school but only two of them turn up so Eka and I decide it’s probably not ... read more
December 12th 2011
I take my weekend bag with me to school on Friday, even though I still have no clear idea what I’m doing or where I’m going. I figure if nothing comes up I can always take it home again! Between classes I type up the test for the sixth grade that I wrote the night before. Given how drunk I was when I wrote it I’m relieved to see it all makes sense. We go to drink coffee before my last class and Maia has brought in a jar of roasted peanuts mixed with honey. It’s delicious and I could have eaten it all day. One of the other teachers is sick so Eka and I agree that I will supervise the sixth grade test while she covers the other class. We’re about half way through ... read more
December 11th 2011
Our week of orientation is coming to a close, we are both exhasted yet excited to begin our time in Gerogia outside the four walls of this Hotel. I don't know whether we have decribed the hotel before, it is a huge ex soviet hotel with very dim lights and resembles something from a horror flick. .Mikaela and I got the news two days ago that we have been placed with a host family together meaning that we will not have to rent an appartment which was a relief to us as we wanted to see Georgian culture from the inside. We have been placed in a small village named Shilda near the region centre of Kvaveli in the Kakheti region in East Gerogia. Our region is known as the wine capital of Georgia. Our family ... read more
December 8th 2011
On Monday night I sleep really well for the second night in a row and wake up in a great mood on Tuesday. I don’t think I realised how rubbish I’d been feeling until I wasn’t! It’s nice to be back at school after my day off. I tell Maia all about my weekend and everyone asks me about Bakoriami and Maia tells me a story about her weekend. Apparently her and Eka had a training session in Zugdidi and during the break they were sitting in a café with a ‘negro’ boy (her word not mine). One of the other volunteers I think. Some Georgian guys at the next table started throwing cake at him. They had to persuade him not to call the police! Honestly, some people. For all its wonderful qualities every now ... read more
December 6th 2011
Today we began the morning by heading into the city to get our medicals done. We were a little nervous about where we were going and the kind of health standards that we were going to subject to ourselves to. After a short drive we pulled up outside an old soviet block building which did not improve my nerves, those who know me well know that I hate needles and am a bit of sook. Inside was actually quite modern, the doctor was nice and had visited Sydney before. He said that he thought Australia was a very pretty country. Our nerves were quickly set aside when nature started calling - having drunk a lot of water under Aaron's guidance I was more than ready to pee for our urine test. People were actually jumping at ... read more
