Yez, ez good...ez very good.

I started teaching on Monday at school No. 1 in Akhmeta. My school is about a 15-20 minute walk from my house, but I am not allowed to walk by myself yet (something about being a new "face" and they don't want me to get kidnapped...I think they're joking though) so my host mom drops me off since it is just down the street from her office. On my first day I was greeted in front of the school by my Director (principal) and one of my co-teachers. I was thrilled to meet her as she was the first English speaking person I'd encountered since Fati, and seeing as we're going to be teaching together, being able to speak the same language might come in handy. I followed the ladies into the school and headed to the teachers room where I was greeted by about 20 more women who didn't speak English...I'll tell you what, if I meet someone who does speak English I'll let you know, as that list is much shorter :)

I said hello in English and Georgian and proceeded to meet all the other teachers. I still don't think I can remember one name as they are not the easiest, especially coming through a thick Georgian accent, but they were all very welcoming, wearing big smiles. The bell rang and I headed to my first class with my co-teacher, receiving star struck stares by every kid I passed along the way. Some would giggle, some would say "hello!" as proudly as they could, and some would just look. It's a good thing our trainers prepared us for this reaction, so I just smiled at the kids and said hello. It's now been a week and I still get the same reaction when I walk through the halls except with a few more hellos :) and let me tell you, they are so excited to say it in English.

The school is nothing like back home but pretty much standard here. It's basically a concrete block and what I imagine a Soviet era building to look like. It's very cold and there are no lights in the hallways. The classrooms are a little more comfortable as most have wood floors and stoves to provide a little warmth but even then, jackets, scarves, and hats stay on...and I completely understand if it's difficult for the children to take me seriously in my large purple jacket (technically the color is blackberry), but I'm from L.A. so it's staying on...however, I promise the clothes underneath are very teacher-professional! All the classrooms I've been in have windows so the sun definitely provides some added warmth, but you get used to having a constant shiver. The walls are bleak and pretty bare and the chalkboards (if the room has it) are definitely as old as the building. But they do have chalk and use old rags or sponges to clean the boards. The children are unfazed by this as it's all they know, and it's rather humbling to watch them refill the stove with wood and then get right back to learning. 

My first class was the 11th grade and there were about 10 students present. There's quite the flu epidemic going on and about half of the school is out sick. And this is the case at almost every school in our region, so needless to say I'm almost out of hand sanitizer. The last thing I need is to get sick! The teacher introduced me to the students and I noticed she was speaking only in English and the students understood everything she was saying! I did an internal arm pump and thought this is a good start. Then she looks at me and says, "Rachel, tell zem about yourself," so I did...I got nothin' but a sea of blank faces. The teacher then repeated what I said, in English, and they got it! Now mind you, I spoke slowly, clearly, and choose my words carefully, so really, I was at a loss. 

Class proceeded with the students reading from their books and I was rather impressed, as was their teacher with her constant praise every fifth word. I watched them read the text thoroughly, translate it back to Georgian, identify the grammatical parts, and very enthusiastically, give multiple synonyms for the word or phrase. They can read it, write it, and speak it with their teacher, but then me and my American accent walk in, and crickets. Ok...so its starting to make sense now...they've never spoken with a native English speaker before so they don't know what it sounds like! They don't need grammar (from me), they need pronunciation. Enter, my program :)

My first day ended with a concert in my honor...seriously??? Who the heck am I?! The students performed traditional Georgian dances and songs, and one student even read two poems that he wrote. The concert was great and I couldn't have been more flattered that they did all of that for me. Talk about a warm welcome! After the concert, I was escorted back to the teachers' room for a supra. 

Traditional Georgian dance

Georgian song

Supra!

The schools is grade 1st to 12th and I will be teaching grades 3 and 6-12 with 2 different co-teachers. That's at least 160 students once the flu wears off so good luck to me and learning all those names! I've got about 5 down so only 155+ to go. Thankfully every other boy is named Giorgi and every girl, Natia or Nino, so really I just have to remember who is who. My day starts at 9:30 a.m. and I'm out no later than 2 p.m. so I am enjoying the schedule. But speaking English so slowly and only being understood 30% of the time gets exhausting! In Georgian, every letter has one sound and every letter is pronounced. In English, every letter has multiple sounds, depending on what it's paired with, and there are silent letters all over the place! I definitely have a new appreciation for the English language and anyone who dare tries to learn it. It might be necessary, but in no way, shape or form is it easy.

Georgia Fun Facts

-Joseph Stalin was from Gori, Georgia which is about 80 km from my town.

-Kakheti is the most visited region in Georgia. It is wine country after all!