I haven't written in awhile as I've been sucked into the life of Georgia and everything it has to offer. Although it may not seem like it based on all of my fascinating stories :) life here is a bit on the slow side. Nonetheless, it's about time I let you all in on my daily life and who I spend most of my weekly time with.
My town of Akhmeta is in the northeast corner of Georgia, and just beyond my view of the Caucuses is Chechnya. I'm surrounded by mountains and hills, vineyards and pastures, which all make for beautiful scenery, cold winters, and rainy springs. Aside from teaching at School No. 1, I spend a lot of my time with my host mom, Iza, and her co-workers/friends. Iza is the Executive Director at KRDF (an NGO funded by UNHCR) that assists Chechen refugees and internally displaced persons (IDP) in the nearby Pankisi Gorge. Her office is just down the street from school, so everyday I walk there, have lunch with the staff, and then help Fati, the office coordinator, write English translations for their reports, educational materials, and even email responses. Fati has been my translator for me since I arrived, so it's really only fair that I provide the favor in return. We've become very good friends...seeing as she's the only person I can really talk to...and although she speaks English fairly well, it's still difficult to write. I mean, it's difficult for native English speakers, think of how it is for ESLers :) She translates from Georgian to the word she wants to use, but it's not always the most modern word for her meaning. So we need to discuss the message she's trying to deliver and then choose the right phrasing. Sounds simple but it's actually quite the brain workout between two people who speak very different languages. However, she's keeping me on my toes.
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| me and fati. |
One of KRDF's main projects is the activity center in Duisi Village, located in Pankisi Gorge where the refugees live. Extremely brief history...Pankisi was once a base for rebels, some linked to al Qaeda, in the late 90's early 2000's, during their war with Russia, and the Georgian government had very little control over this area. It was definitely a "do not travel" zone, and I recently found out that the Peace Corp volunteers in Georgia are still not allowed to go there. Anyway, it has since been "cleaned up" and is where most of KRDF's projects are implemented. The Duisi center offers educational and skills classes to the school children and local community to help develop this very poor area. So once a week, I go to Pankisi (which is about 15 minutes from my house) and teach an additional English course to the more advanced students that are interested in the extra help. I mainly teach 12th graders preparing for the national exams...such a great group of hardworking kids. And after that, I teach a beginner English class to the staff, but unfortunately it didn't always happen due to their many other responsibilities at home. They are a great group of women, always making me laugh which is impressive since their English is slim to none. For both classes I worked with the staff English teacher, Marina, and she always made me feel more than welcome. Pankisi is one of the most beautiful places here so sometimes I tag along with Iza and Fati just for the drive...yes, this is my source of entertainment and totally worth it when we get stuck behind a herd of sheep or pass the neighborhood cows meeting in the alley.
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| driving in pankisi. |
In Akhmeta proper there are three schools and I was the first teacher placed here. About 4 weeks after I arrived, I learned that 2 more teachers from the following group joined me in my little town in the corner! Phil and Cort...my local sanity. Phil is from Liverpool, England, Cort is from Alaska, and together these two lads manage to give me some sort of weekly social life. They live on the other side of town and at least once a week, we gather at the one "cafe" in Akhmeta to have a beer (or two) and speak English as fast as we can. We discuss anything and everything from school strifes to crazy customs, and I always manage to get some sort of world history lesson as these two are like walking wikipedias :) We sit outside in the yellow patio furniture and although it warrants stares and snickering, each others company usually distracts us from the fact that we are on display. It's something we've gotten used to and it's much easier to shrug it off in numbers. The first time we met at the cafe we joked about how it would be the talk of the town and sure enough, the next day in class my students were telling my co-teacher that I was at the cafe with the boys. If there was a local tabloid I'm sure we'd make the cover at least every other week :).
When I arrive home I'm usually greeted by Nana (my host sister-in-law) one or two of my lovely neighbors, and the love of my Georgian life, Lizi :) Lizi is Nana and Giorgi's 11-month-old daughter and she knows how to brighten anyones day. Everyday I pop my head in the kitchen and say "Hi, Lizi!" and she gets the biggest smile on her face and just giggles (I think this earned me points with mom earlier on). She's a happy baby with so much energy and now that its warm she's getting to put it to good use. She just started crawling and can already pull herself up. Today she even stood by herself for about a 1.5 seconds before toppling over! I'm no parent, so I'm not quite sure when kids are suppose to start doing this, but given the cold winter, hardwood floors and lack of heating, there was no way she was allowed to crawl around on the ground when I first got here. And even if she was, she most likely wouldn't have been able to move with all the layers she had on. However, my proudest moment was about a month ago when I came home from school and like every other day, went into the kitchen and said "Hi, Lizi!" except this time, she looked up and said "hi!" I stood there wide eyed and wasn't sure if I heard her right, but when Nana did a 180 and exclaimed "Vaimey!" (the Georgian "OMG") I knew I'd taught this baby something. It'll probably be the only English I get to teach her, but it was a goal of mine and one I can proudly check off my list.
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| lizi! :) |
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| me and lizi before h. cousin's wedding. |
So in short, this is an idea of what daily life is like for me here in Akhmeta. I don't know if I've said it before, but I have a wonderful host family, and my living conditions are quite comfortable (all things considered). I live in a house with modern thinking adults and a baby that steals the attention of everyone in the room (a huge lifesaver at times). I'm given my space and they don't try to show me off, but they always treat me as part of the family and constantly look out for me. I still have many more stories to share and unfortunately the slow life is contagious, but I promise, I'll get to them... even if it is upon my return home. I mean, it's not like I'll have much else to do :).
