Secretary of State with Ambassador Teft

The Future

Last week Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Georgia. Though she was in GE for only a brief period of time (16hrs), she was able to meet with Peace Corps Volunteers. It was the only time in two years that I ever wore a suit.

I'm down to my last 11 days as a PCV. It's a bizarre thought. I will update once I get over the shock of this knowledge.

So the good news is that spring has arrived. That means that I have all my winter clothes divided into piles labeled: give away or burn. I've been waiting a long long time for this. No more long johns, layers, scarves, etc. Although not quite flip flop season yet (Gori is Georgia's windy city) it means I can get away with a short sleeve t-shirt...and that's huge news.

So with Spring, comes the inevitable question. How long is too long in between taking showers. See with winter you don't sweat. You can easily get away with a week...10days...maaaaybe 12 days without showering. My host mom knows my shower day is Sunday. Each person has a special day. So anyways, now it's been 4 days since I last showered and I'm noticing a faint hint or something. Now, granted it could be my clothes. I was those less often than I wash myself. But I'm thinking it's my "glow" that's emitting that...amorous scent. So now I have a dilemna. Take a bath today and throw my whole shower schedule off, or just be a little more liberal with my scented body lotions (courtesy of a trip back home this past summer). Hmm decisions, decisions. If I take a bath today will I get a weird look when I ask for another in a couple of days. Or am I working myself up over nothing and maybe I should just change my shirt.

Meh.

Trust me when I say that I've been composing this latest blog in my head for a while...it's just taken a while, laziness on my part, to actually write it out. It's cold. I mean cold.

The New Year greeted us with a gift, the "Deep Freeze."

This was the coldest winter Georgia has had in 75 years. My room was literally an ice box. Ice covered both sides of my cracked windows for over 10 days. The thermometer in my room mocked me as it hovered around 20-30s deg. And that was on a good "sunny" hour. Once I accidentally tracked snow into my room, and an hour later it was solid ice. Took a while for me to chip away at it. That's just giving you an idea as to how we rough it in the Caucasus . School was canceled for 2 weeks, meaning all I could do was hover over my heater or huddle under my sleeping bag. What made things so bad was that it wouldn't snow. It was just so very cold. And since there's no system in place to clear streets or de-salt. Ice is everywhere. And it never ever melts.

Then last week in 4 days, we had 3 blizzards and white-out conditions. Walking through town, I saw numerous cars skidding and sliding and taking nearly every pedestrian on the road out with them. But what makes it worse, is that so many people are suffering and dying. There is no insulation to help keep the heat out. People are poor and can't afford gas or enough wood to heat their homes (especially in the villages). Food for sale in the bazaar had actually been frozen solid. The amount of people that I knew in one way or another who have passed away because of these harsh conditions keeps rising. At least once every week, I find out of someone who died (usually the elderly) and get invited to their funeral and the funeral supra. Yeah, I know this isn't one of my more uplifting posts so I apologize. But it is depressing to be living in a developing country, which is difficult enough as it is. And in the Caucasus where winter lasts 6 months, it just makes things grimmer.

But it hasn't all been about the winter. I didn't move to the Caucasus to escape the sunny Floridian weather. I moved to do...stuff? So here's my "New Year and a bunch of other stuff" post:

New Years 2008 Location: Gori , Georgia

In Georgia , you can hear fireworks going off throughout the month of January. Sold for cheap at the bazaar, boys like to buy them, light and throw them at unsuspecting people. People throwing them from balconies onto the street, opening the door and throwing it in a classroom, in a bus...you get the idea?

I spent New Years with my host family. We setup the supra table with special Georgian New Year food which includes treats such as churchela (a dessert made by mixing flour and grape juice together, boiling it and then coating a string of nuts with it), nigozi (honey and nuts), Satsivi (cold chicken with delicious walnut sauce), etc. But the supra doesn't start until midnight. So I went to the concert in Stalin Square . At midnight, there was lots of fireworks, hugging and kissing. Then all the families disappeared into their homes to supra and eagerly await their first visitor known as "First footprint-er." The first visitor is very special and if it's a good hearted person, that means good things await you this New Year. As for the New Year's supra it's a week long event. Literally. You are expected to gorge on food and wine, sleep, repeat until all the food is gone. This usually takes 4-5 days. Between Jan 1-3, I went to 6 supras. 4 oh which took place when I went to visit my 1st host family in the village. In 36 hours I went to 4 supras. Supra'ed out. (BTW I am hoping that after 20 months you remember what a supra is. Supra= huge feast with lots of wine). I swore off all wine and supras for a good month after that intense experience. At least I tried to get out of as many as possible, which is not easy since January is full of holidays. There's Orthodox Christmas (7 Jan), Orthodox New Years (14 Jan) and Epiphany. Supras included. Your choice of wine, vodka, brandy or Cognac .

And perhaps one of the things I'm still squeamish about after 20 months is drinking with my students. The last week of school in December each grade hosts a Winter Carnival, which consists of singing, dancing, and skits. The students, teachers and parents sit at different tables with traditional Georgian foods and alcohol, and you supra while you watch the festivities. Having my students call me out if I didn't drink enough when a toast was given...well that's just Georgia .

Well I'm getting ahead of myself. I have to give a shout out to my boy, Uncle Joe. December 23rd was Stalin's birthday. So I joined the celebrations at the Stalin Museum . Gathered there were what I assume is left of the WWII veterans in town. There were about 20 veterans battling the cold so that they could talk about the good old days and praise Stalin (Stalini to the Georgians), the "Man of Steel." They had Soviet flags, Stalin portraits and were selling the Georgian Communist Gazette for 10 cents. They also had an anti-NATO banner and were handing out anti-NATO propaganda. The government is pro-Western and pushing for NATO membership. After numerous speeches the group proceeded to parade to Stalin Square and lay wreaths and bouquets at the foot of Stalin's Statue. It was all very touching.

In other news, I had the opportunity to go to the baptism of 2 fellow volunteers who were converting to the Orthodox tradition. The ceremony was held in Sameba, the largest cathedral in the Caucasus . It was done in a small chamber and only the Godparents were allowed to watch. The rest of us waited on the other side of the door. The ceremony varied slightly from the Catholic ritual. The candidates had to be barefoot. They were crossed by the Priest on various parts of the body, they had to walk around the basin 3x, and hair was snipped. I'm sure there was more to it, but like I said I didn't witness the events. Oh right, and instead of pouring water on the foreheads of babies, they were dunked them 3x in the basin and then clothed them in white. And after the ritual, guess what took place. You guessed it, we supra'ed.

But there is other stuff going on besides supras, seriously! After an intense 2 month campaign period, President Mikhael Saakashvili was re-elected President of Georgia in January. And the political situation has calmed down somewhat, though the opposition remains outspoken and contests the results. In May, the parliamentary elections will take place.

And on the Russian and Georgian news channels on a nightly basis is coverage of the US elections. Yes, Clinton, Obama, and McCain are all well known people here. It’s amazing to me how extensive the coverage is of our election process, and quite frankly how intense and long it is. And how confusing it is to foreigners. On Saturday, I hosted "Writing Olympics," an English creative writing competition for students in 6-11th grade. It's part of a trans-Caucasus project with volunteers and pupils in Armenia and Azerbaijan participating. At the end, there are regional, national and "Best of the Caucasus " winners. There was a good turnout in Gori with over 200 students from the town and nearby villages participating.

The end of my service is quickly approaching. This second year has gone by so much faster than the first. I've already received "Close of Service" documents. Only 5 months left and then I'll be moving on. But to what is still unknown, and isn't that the adventure?

Today is Stalin's birthday and since I happen to live in his hometown I was able to witness a yearly tradition. A group of communists (none under the age of 65) gathered in front of Stalin's musuem. They gathered despite the awful weather conditions to celebrate the anniversary of Stalin's birthday. They had Soviet flags, stalin portraits, anti-NATO banners (Georgia is seeking NATO membership), etc. One lady was distributing copies of the Communist gazette making a nice souvenir for me. Then a string of speehes took place praising Stalin, reminising about the USSR, their opinion on NATO, etc followed by lots of singing. Quite a sight and I'll be sure to post pics soon.

You know it's starting to feel a lot like Christmas when Stalin has to share the limelight with the "New Years Tree."

Gamarjobat,

This is a long overdue update...not because I missed my monthly update, but due to the sheer volume of stuff that has happened in Sarkartvelo since November. I won't go into the nitty gritty details. For that you can go to bbc.com, but to sum up events very quickly there were protests that lasted 5 days in the capital in front of the Parliament building. On Nov 7, the protests ended violently. The President activated a nationwide State of Emergency that lasted nearly two weeks. The President decided to call snap elections. Instead of presidential elections taking place in Fall 08 they'll take place on 5 Jan 08. And that's a very brief synopsis as to what has been going on. Again, I encourage you to check online news publications for more info.

But life is not all about politics.

For Giorgeba (23 Nov), a Georgian holiday in honor of St. George, a Georgian family invited me and my site mates to participate in their traditions. WARNING might be a tad graphic with the blood and all. 9 of us piled into a car the size of a Corolla and drove to the bazaar. We went to the animal pens and selected a sheep and rooster. After being tied up they were *gently* placed in the trunk of the car. Then we made our way to Gori Jvari (Cross) Church which is high atop the mountains overlooking the city and villages. Every time we hit a pothole we'd hear a "bleeeeeeeap" from the trunk. When we finally made it there, we piled out with our offerings. We, as well as every family in the Gori region, went to the church. To bless a sacrifice, you have to walk the animal 3 times around the church. After doing that we walked to a special sacrificial area and paid a guy 5lari (not even $3) to kill and skin the sheep. The area where they did this was DRENCHED in blood and scattered around were misc organs, cut off feet, decapitated heads, etc. So won't go into detail but the sheep was killed, decapitated then hung by its foot from a hook while the guy went to work and started cutting and gutting away.

Meanwhile as we're watching this we hear "Amerika! Amerikeli!" Uh oh our cover was blown. The guys who'd been killing animals all day long called/dragged us over. Then brought out the wine and handed us cups (blood stained cups). So we proceeded to toast and drink for awhile. Later, we took the sheep minus the head and wool back home. Beka laid it on a tree stump and proceeded to hack it into cook-able, eatable sizes. The 6hr supra was indeed one of the best and tastiest I've been too.

I celebrated Thanksgiving in Gori with my fellow regional volunteers. We held the dinner at my site mate's NGO. Unfortunately there were no turkeys available in the bazaar so we made due with chickens. We had a joint Georgian-American Thanksgiving dinner with some of our local friends and colleagues. And in true Gori fashion, one of the toasts was given to Stalin. Then someone recited a poem he had written while he was in the seminary. Who knew he was such a talented, feeling man?

At the beginning of this month, we had our annual All Volunteer Conference. It was held in Bazaleti, just outside the capital. It was in a brand new hotel complex (we were its first guests) built by a large, beautiful lake. The last day of the conference, we held our annual PC Thanksgiving dinner. This time we had actual turkeys! Plus yam, stuffing, and all sorts of goodies you can't find here. The Ambassador attended the dinner too.

As far as school goes, holiday cheer and merriment is in full swing. I've been teaching Christmas carols. Jingle Bells is a big hit and everyone knows it since there is a Georgian version. We've been doing a lot of arts and crafts activities too including creating and decorating a Christmas tree. On the last day of school (28 Dec), we'll have a holiday party/supra in the English Cabinet and the students will be having their annual Winter Carnival. Here, New Years and Christmas are celebrated in January. And New Years is the major holiday. That's when Santa comes and puts presents under the New Years tree. I'm looking forward to celebrating the holidays in Georgia this year since last year I was in Turkey.

Well that's all for now. I wish you all Happy Holidays!

(Super belated post...shoulda been up last month)

Light snow now tops the mountains surrounding Gori. Each morning I anxiously look out the window to see the how far down its crept. I'm not looking forward to the day when it's at street-level. At least I'm comforted by the fact that we had an actual autumn season which lasted about a month versus a week like last year.

A few weeks ago, I was able to go to my first host family's grape harvest. Each family in Georgia has their own vineyard with several different types of grapes. Then in the fall the grapes are harvested and huge celebrations take place. The harvest took four days to complete. It's hard work! Crates upon crates upon crates were filled with grapes. Then off to the presser, which can either be done by stomping on them or using a grape presser to squeeze the juice out. The result is the most delicious grape juice ever. After that, they start the wine preparation. Once the harvest is finally done, a huge supra takes place. And since harvest time occurs roughly at the same time, "supra season" lasts for weeks.

But alas, life is not all about grapes...no matter how sweet they are.

The school year started in October and things have been very busy. A few exciting things have happened in school:

1. The grant proposal I wrote over the summer was approved and we are anxiously awaiting the new furniture for our English Cabinet (English resource room). The EC has been a great addition to our school. Dare I call it the social center...because it really is. Everyday the EC is full of teachers and students who are checking out books, practicing their English and attending club meetings.

2. We held our first Halloween party. Last year, I taught the kids about Halloween and our traditions...haunted house...carved pumpkins....fake blood..."guts" (pasta in a bowl). There's no similar Georgian holiday so needless to say the kids loved the idea. This year, I was approached by several students who wanted to do an American style Halloween Party. So we spent a few weeks putting it together and it turned out to be a big hit. It was a high school party for 8-11th formers. It was held on a spooky Sunday night in the school gym. We spent all weekend decorating it. Black drapes over the windows, candles and jack-o-lanterns, stuffed dummies, "Be afraid...death is coming for you" posters, etc. Everyone came in costume. There was a lot of creativity involved because we didn't have the luxury of going to the nearest Party City to buy them.

We had an opening dance sequence to MJ's "Thriller." After the haunted house there were lots of games and competitions. Teams were scored on the scariest team name, best scary story (my favorite part), dance-off, "pin the nose on the witch" game, and lastly a costume contest. Then the room turned into a huge disco as the faculty and invited guests were whisked away to a supra upstairs that included a pink and green Spiderman cake. Everyone had a great time at the party and the school director said he'd have it again next year. My legacy in Gori has been cemented.

3. Peace Corps Director Tschetter visited Georgia for a few days as part of his Caucasus trip. I was fortunate enough to be one of the few volunteers he visited. He along with several other PC visitors visited my school. I had members from my English club put together a presentation baptized "Georgia 101." The students talked about Georgia's history, culture, traditions, famous people and places. The students also talked about their community involvement in different clubs and organizations and then had a Q&A session. They designed posters and other souvenirs for them. The school presented each guest with student-made handicrafts. Afterwards, Nona and I showed them the EC and spoke about our work and accomplishments. All that followed 15min photo-op before our visitors left to visit my sitemates. Everything went smoothly and my students were all a little star-struck. We were really honored by their visit, especially since we were the only school they visited while in Georgia.

It's been an eventful couple of months and now that I've started my second school year, I can't help thinking about this time next year. There'll be no more PC. But beyond that I have no knowledge of where I'll be or what I'll be doing. I think that I have more ???'s about my future now than when I did before starting PC. My experience here was supposed to help me focus on what I wanted to do in life...oh well.

Here's a quick blurb about a project fellow PCVs have been working on. It's the official PC Georgia Podcast. Who knew PC could be so high tech eh? It's a monthly, 30-minute podcast about Georgia. The first episode of Sakartvelo: Stories of Peace Corps Life in Georgia has been posted on the web.

You can check out the blog website at: www.sakartvelopodcast.org

It's also available on iTunes by searching at the iTunes Store or through this link.

Till next time dear readers. Thanks for all your support and emails. I look forward to seeing you all in the not too distant future!

*click link to see pictures

I'm back in Georgia. That was an incredibly hectic and productive week in Turkey. I had a great, budget-friendly vacation. So here's a quick summary of what Kat (fellow PCV from Azerbaijan) and I did in Turkiye.

Sunday 12 Aug Cross border and go to Ezurum, the capital of Eastern Turkey---very conservative. All women were covered from top to bottom and the men were wearing long white robes. I felt awkwardly naked in my capris and tshit. Spend the night there and then off to Cappadocia Monday Took 12hr grueling bus ride to Cappadocia region in Central Turkey. So sick of seeing mountains...mountains...mountains everywhere. Not much else to see and by the time we go to Goreme (city) it was too dark to appreciate the awesome landscape. Arrived at bus station 11pm and by midnight passed out in 'cave' dormitory room. Cave room was not quite authentic but for the price I wasn't complaining. Tuesday Took tour of Cappadocia. If you haven't heard of this place, google it. It's simply amazing. Shaped by volcanic eruptions 60+million years ago, combined with wind, flood, etc erosion the landscape is simply eerie and breathtaking. Some parts reminded me of the Southwest and Badlands area. In some parts, the lava flow was so strong it was 100 meters thick. There are many interesting rock formations known as 'fairy chimneys' to the locals. Reminded me of "toad" from Mario Bros games hehe. Visited cave cities, saw monasteries and homes built into the rocks. Went to pottery factory, and was able to see masters at work. Their handiwork were absolutely amazing. I'll post pics up shortly. Wednesday Free day. Explored more of Goreme and hiked into the nearby mountains. More cool fairy chimneys. Took night bus to Ephesus (Efes). Frequent stops every 2-3 hours. Around 4am we turned into a rest stop and all I thought was a huge Turkish Don Quixote was staring me down. At the entrance to this station was a huge statue of a bearded, turban wearing man sitting backwards on a donkey. He was holding out prayer beads and cherries to visitors. And this was fully colored and 50+feet high. The symbolism is still lost on me. Seljuk-Efes are very important to history and religion. Some highlights of the area This is where the Temple of Artemis, one of the 7 wonders of the Ancient World, once stood. It was larger than the Pantheon. Now all that remains is one lonely pillar. It was maintained until 110AD. Pillars form the temple were taken and used in other projects such as the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

Tradition has it that shortly after Jesus was crucified, St John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary moved to Efes and lived out the rest of their days there.

On top of a hill overlooking Seljuk is the Basilica of St John, where his tomb is located. The Basilica was built by Emperor Justinian in the 5th Century to mark the spot of his grave. The foundation and many pillars still remain. It was a beautiful sight overlooking the valleys. And unlike many ruins, this one had beautiful gardens in and around it. The basilica in its prime must've been a spectacular site. It had 2 stories and 6 golden cupolas. If entirely intact today, it would be the 7th largest cathedral in the world. From the Basilica you can see the remains of the Temple of Artemis and the Isa Bey Mosque built in 1375.

Near the Basilica is an expansive fortress which dates back 2000yrs. It puts the fortress in Gori to shame, and that's saying a lot. Inside are 15 towers, a church that was converted to a mosque, and cisterns. An aqua duct system that ran through Selcuk transported water from the mountain opposite the hill to the fortress. The aqua duct still remains to the day- though not entirely intact.

House of the Virgin Mary. Located about 9km away from the town, it is said she lived here until her death in a house on a mountain peak. Every 15 Aug, mass is held here to celebrate her Assumption. Too bad we arrived on the 16th!

Church of the Virgin Mary- 1st church built in her honor. Site of the 3rd Council (Council of Efes) in 431 AD where bishops convened to decide whether her Mary was 'Mother of Christ" or "Mother of God." Thursday Arrive in town of Selcuk, near Efes ruins. Check in and by 11am we're lounging on the Aegean coast. Beautiful sandy beaches and perfect water. Visited St. John's Basilica, Temple of Artemis, fortress, and Isa Bey Mosque. Friday Visited the antique city of Efes. Efes has been populated since 6000BC, and "New" Efes was built in 300BC by Lysimachos, one of Alexander the Great's generals. The ruins take you on a journey of the city and it doesn't take much imagination to imagine Ephesians walking about.

Some highlights: Temple of Domitian: Dedicated to the Emperor, it was the 1st structure to be built in honor of an emperor. It was an honor and a privilege for cities to be part of the Emperor Cult where they'd be allowed to build structures in their honor. There once stood a 7meter statue of him. All that remains now is his head (massive) and part of an arm.

Lots of ornate fountains and baths built in honor of gods and emperors

Pryaneion (Town Hall) was sacred center of Efes. Contained an altar with an eternal flame that burned for centuries. Site of 2 impressively large Artemis statues.

Temple of Julius Caesar and Dea Roma (divine personification of city of Rome)

Hercules Gates

Royal Roman Latrines...no seriously. Connected to the brothel and baths, it had a square pool in the center and the 4 sides were covered with latrines. Nice mosaics on the floor.Something pretty to look at since I don't think they had bathroom reading material back then.

Terrace Houses were multi-story residences for wealthy Ephesians. Used from 1-700 AD.

Brothel had 2 stories and lots and lots of rooms. How do you know you've reached the Brothel? A footprint at the doorway leads you there.

Library Celsus was built by Julius Caesar in honor of his father who was the the consul of the Roman Asian province. He's buried in the library. It has a 2 story facade and large interior room measuring 15 meters. Female statues out front symbolize wisdom, virtue, intelligence and knowledge. This was by far my favorite place in Efes.

Gate of Mazeus and Mithridates built by freed slaves in honor of Emperor Augustus and his family

Grand Theater had seating capacity of 25,000. Was site of gladiator competitions. Gladiator cemetery nearby.

After Efes, went to the Efes Museum where they had more statues on display. If you have a chance check out the Artemis statue online. Had an exhibit on Gladiators and by excavating and studying the bones of those buried in the cemetery where able to show how they'd been killed. Pretty gruesome stuff. Saturday Arrived in Ankara at 730am after taking the overnight bus. Went to the Ataturk Mausoleum. Didn't really know what to expect after living in the world of Stalin for the past year. Was relieved it is nowhere near as creepy as the Stalin Museum. Went to Museum of Anatolian Civilizations representing Urartu, Hatti, Hittite, Phrygian and Assyrians. Lots of cool things to see, but by this time I was experiencing burnout and couldn't wait to get back to Georgia. Perked up when we saw a Burger King, had delicious lunch and headed back to the bus station. Overnight bus to Hopa (borders Georgia) Sunday Arrive in Hopa 830am. Alarming discovery...for the 1st time in my life I developed...cankles!!! We both did. Well I guess that's what happens when you take 2 overnight buses in a row and don't elevate your feet. Cross border by 1100. Home sweet home! I'm back in Georgia!Take the worst 5hr bus to Gori. Blech. I was spoiled on Turkish transportation where they spoiled us w/ a/c, free drinks, etc. Happy to say I'm not cankle-free and recuperated. Turkey was awesome and I couldn't believe how much we did in a week's worth of time.

So how many hours in total did we travel...ouch my poor bum. 11hours in Georgia...plus crisscrossing Turkey= 67.5 hours.

Now that's hardcore!

After a relatively lazy summer, some excitement was bound to come this way. Little did I know it'd be in the form of a missile headed for my region. Monday, reports came out saying that an aircraft (mmm Russia?) illegally entered Georgian airspace and launched a missile in a village in the northwestern Gori (Shida Kartli) region. The bomb didn't go off though luckily.

The Georgian military recovered it and detonated it in the mountain in Gori. It made quite an explosion followed by a lot of shaking and smoke. Peace Corps put us on alert for a few days and my region become a restricted zone where no volunteer could leave/enter without prior Country Director approval. Yes, I was in a restricted zone! Actually it wasn't as cool as it sounded. Georgians went about their daily business and didn't discuss the events. In fact had PC not mentioned the incident I probably would have remained oblivious to it. Russia continued to deny the incident, until evidence surfaced showing that it was in fact Russia.

Per PC policy, I'm not going to get into more detail, but check out the news sources for more info.

So I've neglected this blog for a few months...I know "tsudi var." The school year ended in mid-June just in time for the glorious summer heat to arrive. I have always been a summer girl and after this past winter, I fill never ever complain of how hot it is or how much I sweat. Unfortunately though, my part of town is still without gas so the only way to heat up water is by using a bucket. And believe me, you never get clean taking a bucket bath. My host father though came up with an ingenious idea. Fill a bunch of 2liter 'Kazbegi' beer bottles with water. Hang it in a net outside the window where the sun will heat it. By mid-afternoon that water is sizzling and I relish every...bottle bath! In June, I went back to the US to visit with family and friends. Wow...America, how I missed you. "Sensory overload" and "too many options" defined my experience there. But I won't lie, it was great and only one more year until go back. Coming back to Georgia was a hard transition, culture shock 2.0. But after a few days things were back to normal...and plus the weather outside is fantastic. Since school is out, days are lazier and my definition of 'being productive' has relaxed a bit. As part of the on-going school reforms, Director elections were held at my school. This past year School Directors (principals) nationwide had to take a special Director's exam to test their competency. 1/3 failed meaning as of the summer they were unemployed. Of those that passed, they had to run for re-election (like my Director). Candidates will address the school faculty, give their speeches and then the faculty would vote. My Director was unanimously re-elected. To celebrate, we went on our annual Faculty excursion. About 40 of us piled into a bus with everything we'd need for a supra en tow. We drove to Ubnisi, a monetary in Western Georgia. As most Georgian churches and monasteries, this one was centuries years old. It had a 4 story tower where the monks resided and nearby was a small church with impressive frescoes. Around 12, we all piled into the bus intent on finding a place appropriate to supra. We spent the next 4 hours driving all over Georgia trying to find 'the place.' We must've made 10 stops- all of which were rejected for one reason or another. "There's no water...no tables...no shade..." Around hour 3.5, we stopped at an abandoned Sanatorium that was about 7 stories high and must've been quite a posh place during the Soviet era. Alas, it looked quite dilapidated and many refugees from Abkhazia were living inside. "Rejected." So we finally drove to Borjomi and arrived at the National Park. FINALLY! High in the mountains, surrounded by "the nature," it turned out to be the perfect site. Everyone started unloading all the goods...meat, khashapuri (cheese pie), veggies, fruits, cake, lots and lots of bread, lots and lots of wine, juice, etc. While they were busy cooking, I explored the area and hiked up to a church on a mountain peak. It provided quite a spectacular view of the valley below. I arrived back to the campsite just in time. This was the most impressive supra...or picnic... I'd ever been too. Blankets were spread end to end to resemble the long supra tables and in true supra fashion there were plates atop plates atop plates. Then the toasting began...and well it was a great time. I made it back to Gori just before midnight; 16 hours since I'd left it! The great thing about summer is that I'm able to explore more of the country. A few weeks ago, I went to Mtskreta, the old Georgian capital and site where conversion of the country from paganism to Christianity took place during the 4th century. There are four impressive churches, including Jvari (Cross) church which overlooks the town from atop the mountain. Jvari Church is built on the site where Saint Nino placed her cross before converting the people. In nearby Sveti-Tskhoveli Cathedral, Christ's robe is said to be buried there. The first church of Georgia was built on this site in the 4th century. Samtavro Church is a nunnery where some of Georgia's old Kings and members of royalty are buried. There are also remains of an old fortress. I also had a chance to go to the Black Sea and go to an actual beach. The last time I was there, there was about 3 feet of snow when I passed through on my way to Turkey. The beaches are rocky with a colorful assortment of stones...and the water is divine too!

But summer is not all play without a little bit of work. Since spring, I have been working with my counterparts and Director to setup the English Cabinet (resource room). It's partially furnished now with a bookcase, bookshelves, tables, whiteboard and a computer desk. In the fall, we'll be getting a computer with internet access. So I've been busy writing a grant to finish furnishing the English Cabinet. We're requesting tables, chairs, TV and CD/DVD/Tape player. In September, we'll find out if our proposal will be funded. At the American Corner, I've been holding Adult English conversation classes as well as Elem. Spanish club. Guess which is more popular? Si, Espanol clase. Dios mio! I hold Spanish Club every week with a fellow site mate. We introduce basic vocab, greetings, etc and also have a cultural section. The class has been a surprise hit, especially with the English teachers in town- go figure! -- I wore out my last pair of sneakers so I needed to buy some new ones. Something I'd been putting off weeks since that meant I'd have to venture into the bazaar- something I despise. So on my way to the bazaar, I spotted one of several new Chinese products (aka cheap, better-than-Georgian quality knockoffs). So I checked out the selection of 'uni-sex' sneakers and found a pair of 'Adidas-Goodyear' sneakers that seemed ok. Then I realized I had no socks to try it on with. No prob, I'll just do what all the other Georgians were doing. Slip plastic shopping bags over your feet and "whoosh" in they go. My friends thought I would have been quite the trendsetter had I decided to keep the blue bag on and walk out the store in my new Adidas.

In a few short weeks the new incoming group of volunteers will be arriving in Tbilisi. This blog post is dedicated to helping calm their jitters!

If you're anything like I was this time last year, then there's a lot of freaking out going on. My first piece of advice--don't try and learn the language ahead of time. You'll get PLENTY of training during PST. Enjoy the last few weeks you have at home. Go out, party, gorge yourself on your favorite foods. Just indulge youself while you still can.

Packing wise. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail since so many other volunteers havedone so on their blogs. I'll just jot down a few important things.

Bring lots of underwear, undershirts and socks. The heat is intense and nobody digs the sweatstains. Remember you'll be handwashing and you're not going to want to do that every week. As far toiletries go you can find everything here. The one thing I haven't been able to find is flouride rinse. Contact lens solution is here but can be hard to find sometimes outside of major cities so I recommend bringing at least 1 bottle. Also, bring lots of hand sanitizer. Though there are wetwipes, I haven't seen any that are antibacterial. For winter, bring a winter coat (shipping is less than reliable), gloves, scarf and hat. It's hard to find good quality items here. Also bring LOTS of wool socks and at least 3 pairs of longjohns.

As far as "non-essential items" those tend to be the best comfort items. Don't bring along too many books. We've got a loungeful of them. Bring an Ipod or mp3 player. Bring a digital camera. You can find rechargeable batteries and chargers here for good prices. If you have a laptop, and I can't stress this enough, BRING IT! You will find it to be great for projects as well as zoning out. There are also a few volunteers who brought Gameboys, PSPs or DSs with them (myself included). Those are definately worth their weight in gold.

Other little comfort items that help would be a small candy bag full of your fave munchies to help you through PST. The fun-size candies also make nice gifts for kids. Any flavor packets AKA Crystal Lite is great too...for yourself. Also if you're into word searches, crossword puzzles, suduko, etc bring along a few books. Don't worry about bringing and CDs or DVDs to burn for future use. They're readily available here. For guys and girls alike I recommend bringing either a small backpack or messenger bag for small trips. Also bring a pair of comfortable sandals (good warm weather) and hiking boots (crappy winter weather). Regarding clothing, to save on space pick items that you can wear in both a relaxed and professional setting. And bring along a headlamp. Those things come in mighty handy for all sorts of situations *think midnight run to the outhouse!*

Lastly, try not to freak out too much. Whatever you need, you can find here. Breathe, take it easy and I'll be seeing you in a few weeks.

I'm writing this entry from my balcony overlooking the park. Spring has FINALLY arrived. The winter gear is gone replaced by brightly colored outfits. Less layers, more skin. Finally I am no longer glued to my heater!

A lot has happened since my last entry so I'll do my best to catch you up. Last week was the TEFL Program Development and Management (PDM) conference. It was held in Bakuriani, which is a ski resort town. Skiing indeed- it snowed twice while I was there. The conference provided me and my counterpart invaluable training for designing and implementing secondary projects. One of the best aspects of this training is that our counterparts took part in every session, helping to build analyze community needs, design and implement potential project plans and proposals. This is a key to our work here about creating sustainability.

Now that the school year is winding down, I'm working on potential summer projects. That...and dreaming about my visit back to the states! Sarkartveloshi I want to continue my programs at the American Corner and do a few mini-camps. Don't know how feasible that'll be though since most kids return to the villages for the summer. And who wants to hang out with their English teacher all summer?!

I've also been doing Teacher Trainings. For ToT, groups of PCVs visit different sites throughout Georgia and give free 2-day trainings. This provides PCVs with a great opportunity to explore Georgia and allows regions or sites to learn different teaching methods who might otherwise not have access to these resources or PCVs. So far I've attended two trainings in Gurjaani (E. Georgia) and Chiatura (W. Georgia). In Gurjaani I saw an abandoned musuem praising the glories of the CCCP (Soviet Union). The town also provided an awesome view of the imposing Caucasus Mtns. Somehow I never tire of seeing it- snowcapped or otherwise.

As any Georgian will tell you each region has its own distinct "personality," traditions and landscapes. Imereti proved to be no exception. On the bus, I passed several roadside cafes who were doing their best to attract customers. What did they have to offer you that the cafe across the street couldn't? Bear cubs... in cages! I don't think they charged extra to pet them. After navigating past the cubs, I finally arrived to my destination.

The first thing any visitor will notice are the cable cars (think Disney monorail). Because of the town's unique location (it's at the bottom of a gorge) it needed a creative mode of transportation. Many homes and buildings are built into the mountainside so the vehicular option is not available. The cable cars provide a great view of the city. It should also be noted that Chiatura served as a model Soviet city. It was a mining town focused primarilly on mining manganese (isn't that a fun word?). High atop the mountains you can see the ruins of where Lenin's massive, illuminated head once stood. The pedestals are massive so I can only wonder how big his head was! "Oh to wish upon a glowing Lenin..." There's also a massive clock still in place that was used to tell the Proletariat what time to go to work. Better do as the clock says lest Lenin come down from his pedestal to smite thee.

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Wednesday, May 9th, was Victory Day. It commemorated the German defeat 62 years ago during WWII. It's a widely popular Soviet holiday that continues to be celebrated in Georgia. There's no school and concerts, parades, etc take place. I ate breakfast while watching the televised celebration from Moscow. It was a huge production in the Red Square with veterans present as a military parade took place. Though impressive I couldn't help wondering how much bigger the ceremony and parade would have been during the Soviet era when representatives from all the Republics would have been there participating as well. In Gori the celebration was more somber. A small ceremony was held by Stalin's musuem (Stalin won the war!). Bouquets of flowers were place at the WWII memorial to remember the 300,000 Georgians who perished during the war.

Last month I held the local Writing Olympics competition in Gori. We had a great turnout with 200 students from Gori and nearby villages showing up to participate. Nationwide we had a record-breaking 1,800 entries from students in grades 6-11. For only the 2nd year of this competition it was a great success! For 9 hours the Writing Olympics committee judged the entries. Talk about a mind numbing experience! After about hour 3 all the essays seem to merge and say the same thing! We read and selected regional and national winners. I'm proud to say that 5 of the regional winners are from my school!

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For Easter break I went with some friends to Armenia . For those unfamiliar with this small country it lies south of Georgia and also borders Turkey , Iran and Azerbaijan . There are currently 3 million living in country. Armenia was the 1st official Christian nation ( Georgia is the 2nd). Another claim to fame is that the band System of a Down is Armenian.

Sooo.....after a perilous 7 hour marshutkha (van) ride I arrived in Yerevan . The first site I came upon was the Blue Mosque. The Blue Mosque is the only mosque in Yerevan and was restored after the Soviet period with help from Iran . It serves as a Mosque and school offering courses in Persian. I visited several museums including the Genocide museum which was a very sobering experience. It recounts the genocide carried out by the Turks against Armenians during the early 20th century. Over 1.5 million people died. It's amazing that to this day Turkey refuses to acknowledge that genocide ever took place. I also visited the Cascade- a monument commemorating 50 years of a Soviet Armenia. Aesthetically pleasing it was not. Very, very Soviet Architecture. But it did provide a great view of the city and nearby Mt. Ararat . Does the name Ararat sound familiar? That's where Noah's Ark is rumored to be. It was very imposing in the background. Near Republic Square (formally Lenin Sq) was the Cathedral built in 2001 to celebrate 1,700 years of Christianity in Armenia . Inside it differed greatly from Georgian churches. The walls were bare except for 3 crosses by the altar. The only paintings were those of the 13 Apostles. There were no icons anywhere- something very prevalent in Georgia .

I also had a chance to visit some sites outside of Yerevan . In Garni I saw a Roman temple dedicated to the sun god Helios. I also visited the Geghard Monastery which is famous for its cave churches. The church once housed the lance that speared Jesus' side. On Easter I went to Echmiadzin which is the Vatican for the Armenian Apostolic Church . It's where the Catholicos (equivalent to the Pope) resides. In the compound are 5 churches. The main church is where the Church Treasury is located which houses thousands of religious artifacts including the lance. Nearby the church is a monument commemorating Pope John Paul II's visit in 2001.

So of course no trip is complete without some sort of cultural blunder, misunderstanding or just some ridiculously awesome story to tell. Well I won’t disappoint you. One night a big group of us decided to do downtown and party. We came across a back alley and with red neon signs beckoning us. Like flies we were drawn to it and our eyes lit up as we saw “CCCP Karaoke Nightclub.” CCCP is Russian for the USSR . To set it up for you the club is located in the basement. In front of it is the neon sign and to the side is a huge sickle and hammer with the Soviet flag proudly waving above it. I felt like I was caught in a time warp. So we rushed down the steps and flung open the door which had a huge picture of Lenin on it. Inside it was dark and smoky with obscure Russian pop music playing. We make our way to the back booth. As I’m looking around I notice that there’s no karaoke equipment, but there is a pole and a chain link swing. Hmm well I guess we’ll have to improvise…maybe Armenia doesn’t really get ‘karaoke.’ Then the waitress brings us the menus and I hear a gasp. On the menu of course are your typical bar items but then…”Private dance for 10,15 or 20 minute sessions….consummation with dancer….” Yikes! The music changes into this weird techno and this blonde Russian woman comes out bearing all. Whooooooooooooops. So yes if you’re looking for Commie karaoke I have the perfect place to recommend!

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Easter traditions in the Caucasus were interesting to experience. During Lent, the faithful engaged in fasting. Dairy and meat products were not allowed to be consumed. Most people's diet just consisted of potatoes and bread everyday since fruits and veggies are hard to comeby. During this period each family grew a plate of grass. For Easter week they decorated it with dyed red eggs. On Easter children went door to door in a "trick or treat" like manner asking for sweets and eggs. With the red eggs they played a game where two people would challenge each other. They'd each have an egg and then smash it against each other. I should mention that these eggs were hardboiled. Anyways the egg that cracked would be the the loser. This is similar to our wishbone tradition. After each competition they'd eat their eggs. By the end of the day all the children's hands were stained red.

The day after Easter was a day of remembrance for the dead. People visited cemeteries to pay their respects. Then families would feast in the cemetery and pour wine over the gravestones so that the dead would be able to enjoy it.

Good question. We've moved away from the deep freeze and into the chaotic transition into spring. March is known for its crazy weather. Exhibit A: Last Monday it snowed, Tues and Wed were gorgeous 60+deg weather, Thurs was incredibly windy and the weekend was a mix of rain and wind. Fickle weather anyone?

But March hasn't been all that bad. Last week a fellow PCV from Azerbaijan came up to visit me. I got to play tourguide as I took her to the local sites in the region (Shida Kartli). One of the sites we went to was Uplistsikhe, a cave city dating back to 1000 BC. This ancient site is rich in history. It was a major center of paganism before Georgia converted to Christianity. You can see the remains of ancient temples. The view was amazing as always. My initial impression of the cave city was "It's Bedrock!" I had the Flintstone's theme song playing in my head the entire time I was there...you would too if you had been there!

Last Saturday, Gori held its 2nd annual Writing Olympics competition. It took place at the local university and the turnout was fantastic. We had 197 participants from grades 6-11th. Each grade level was given a list of 3-4 topics. From there, it was up to the student to select one and write for up to an hour about it. Students not only came from the various Gori schools but also from nearby villages. Writing Olympic competitions have been taking place all over Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan this past month. On Saturday, all the Georgian entries will be judged by PCVs. Winners will be selected for regional, national and best of caucasus awards for each grade level.

This week we held our second Eco-Club meeting. The students talked about problems facing their community and then we discussed ways to resolve them. One even designed a poster with strung-out teens with "Don't ruin your life" written across it! We considered hanging it up, but the fact that nearly everyone who would see it would not know English and would only see "hooligans" presented a problem. I'll take a pic and post it up soon!For English Club, I showed them an episode of the Ghostbusters cartoons. So now there's going to be a cult following in Gori. Sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimer!

This past week, Nona and I held our first discussion group with local university students. About 30 girls showed up and they all spoke excellent English. For many it was their first opportunity to speak with a native English speaker. Since it was an all-female audience, we had a lot of fun and talked about a whole range of topics. And of course towards the end of the class, the conversation drifted towards Lost and they started speculating about the plotlines which was all sorts of fun to hear. (For you Lost fans out there, they just started showing season 2.)

And in other news, last week was chock full of holidays. On 3 March, they celebrated Women's day. I went to a concert done by the 8th graders. Here's a picture of one of the dancers from the Adjara region. On 8 March, we celebrated International Women's day which is a very big affair here. No worries, I never heard about it either when I was living in the States.

The second picture is from sunset the other day. It was taken from my beloved pechi room. I can't imagine the day when I'll feel comfortable to put my heater away!

March marks the completion of 1/3 of my service in the Republic of Georgia. Only 18 months left to go. I started off the New Year with a resolution to be a better volunteer. The first few months at site were tumultuous to say the least. I no longer had the comfort of a "training atmosphere." I was on my own, living with a host family, and trying to adjust to the Georgian way of life. Dealing with each day's new trials, I was forced to adapt or breakdown. I'm happy to say that I've become a much more flexible person--but not by choice! Working on "Georgian time" made me learn to be a better improviser, to relax, andmost of all slow down!

Now that I have developed my comfort level and am feeling more confident with my work, I have started secondary projects. In school, I team-teach grades 5-9 with Nona, my counterpart. Outside of class, I have 2 weekly English clubs. It's an opportunity for me to learn more about my students and to foster a fun environment speaking English. I'm also happy to say that I am now a successful grant writer. For the last few months I have been working with my Principal and counterparts to secure a room for an English Cabinet (resource room). Through community contributions we secured a bookcase, desks, chairs, a computer and Internet access. The grant proposal, which was approved last week, will provide a wall-length white board, books, and teaching equipment. The room is currently undergoing renovations and should be finished by the end of the month.

Outside of school, I've become more involved in the community. As a volunteer, I'm lucky to have an American Corner in my site since there are only 6 inthe country. The American Corner is a US embassy funded English resource center. In Gori it is located in the central library. It provides access to books, computers, Internet, speaker programs, etc. Every weekI hold club meetings there for secondary school children. Together with my site mates we have an English Club, Eco-Club (promoting environmental awareness), and a prep course for the National University Entrance Exam (aka SATs). My focus is promote the AC to Gori's youth since it mostly attracts adults. I'm happy to say that it's working and more and more youngsters are benefiting from theAC's resources. At the end of the month, I will hold the Writing Olympics competition in Gori. The Writing Olympics is a Caucasus-wide English creative writing competition for students in grades 6-11. The competition is partof a PCV initiative to encourage creative thinking and writing. Students compete regionally, nationally, and Caucasus-wide with students in Armenia and Azerbaijan. Writing Olympics is just one way to get our students excited about writing and win some cool awards in the process.

So that's what my life will look like for the next 3 months and then I can recuperate for 2 weeks when I go back home to visit. In the meantime I can expect to enjoy another month of winter when hopefully things will warm up a bit! And like I said before...only 18 months! How time flies.

Although there has been some chilly weather, winter has not been nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Yippee for global warming! My poor tropical-oriented body likes it! This past week has been amazing with very spring-like conditions. Oops did I just jinx myself? The other day I went to Gori Tsikhe (12th century fortress overlooking my town) and took some pics of the Caucausus mountains.

This past week for my English club, I taught the kiddies about Vday traditions back home, rhymes, etc. I brought some construction paper and taught them how to make cut-out Vday cards. Very cutesy!

Spending the weekend with expats in Tbilisi. That means I get great food, a hot shower and access to a real washer and dryer!!! I did my first load of laundry in 8 months. I feel ridiculously clean and fresh!

I'd just like to comment how great life has been since Georgian TV started airing Lost. It's great watching it every night with the host family and seeing their reaction as each new plotline unfolds. Great entertainment!

In other news, I went to visit my PST training. I've included some pics from my Georgian crew, chemi meore ojaki. And the only good thing that perks me up during winter are mandarins because they're in season! My host grandparents work in the bazaar selling fruits and veggies so I get first dibs on the good stuff.

So who knew I'd learn to be so techy in the Peace Corps? Well it is the 21st century. Time for me to catch up. I'm posted some pics on the prior entries.