Yes, I know it's been a long time. And after some reminders from family and fellow PCVs I've decided to FINALLY update my blog....

You're all in luck because I've been having some exciting times in this fair country of Georgia. I suppose I'll start from the beginning. With all my neighbors, the G9s, leaving (I'm talking single digit countdown) we all decided to make the most of their last days in Georgia and my beginning of summer by going and seeing as much as possible.

The decision was made to take a 3 day hike up in Lagodekhi park to a lake that's in the mountains. Now those of you that know me, I know you're asking yourself "What the hell is Danie doing going on a 3 day hike?" Well surprise, surprise! Since being in Georgia I've become quite the outdoors-woman. Granted I still have to have people help me carry crap, and I still have to pause for a breathing break every couple of feet (and yes, I still take a couple of hits off the ol' inhaler every once in a while), but other than all of that, I do great!!? Anyways, the hike started at 8 in the morning. Some of my ECOClub kids and me headed to Lagodekhi to the National Park and waited for the other volunteers and TLGs to arrive. Being the well raised lady that I am, I took full advantage of facilities prior to leaving for the excursion. Let's face it. Sit down toilets have been few and far between in my daily life as of late and you're always supposed to take care of business before long travel periods. Anyways....

So off we go, up the mountain. And UP and UP and UP. A hellatious 6 hours later, I start feeling pretty crappy. Actually, I was feeling pretty crappy 2 hours in, but this was more like death. I couldn't tell whether I had a fever or was just sweating and hot from the exercise, but the parasite (which I would later discover I had), that I had apparently digested the night before decided to rear it's ugly head on one of our MANY breaks. Instead of eating delicious trail mix, I started puking my brains out. Our Georgian guide (who we should compare to a Boot Camp Officer) kept rushing us saying that we have to keep going to make it to the campsite on time. So I wash out my mouth and adventure on. Needless to say, by the time we made it to the site, I was exhausted.

I climbed onto one of the mattresses in the cabin and tried my best to pass out. Unfortunately, the scumbag in my stomach decided he wasn't finished with torturing me. I ended up having diarrhea and throwing up everything that I had eaten within the last month. On top of that I was not able to keep any liquids down, so here I am stranded on a mountain, depleted of all sustenance while the rest of the group heads up for the 2nd day hike. Needless to say, by the next day, when we hiked down the mountain, all my electrolytes depleted, stomach completely empty and having starved myself for 2 days, I was done for. After a couple of humiliating pit stops along the way, we finally got back to Lagodekhi and I stayed in Lauren's apartment for the soul purpose of using her toilet (trust me, the use an outhouse when you're sick is pure torture). A few days past and I still wasn't any better.

Dr. Marina to the rescue! Luckily being a PCV we are provided with the best doctors on the planet. She sent a car immediately from Tbilisi to pick me up and I was taken to the hospital (a real American-like one), pumped full of 3 IVs and given lots of meds to restore my strength. Of course it didn't happen that quickly. I had some freak episodes in between where I felt like an elephant was crushing my upper body, 2 other visits to the hospital (these times accompanied by the lovely Dr. Tamriko, my new Georgian mom) and a soviet style endoscopy, incomplete with anesthesia. It was AMAZING! lol. As miserable as I was, I'm so thankful that I had our doctors taking care of me. Everyone knows when I'm sick, I only want my mom, and they did a damn good job trying to fill her shoes. (If the doctors read this, Thanks so much from the bottom of my heart. Ya'll are the best!)

So shortly after being medically released, I had already planned on going to Svaneti with some fellow volunteers and one's family. Obviously the thought of me going up into a mountainous region away from normal, more technologically advanced doctors and hospitals was not something my doctors nor country director was fond of. Nonetheless, my trip was approved and off I went. The train ride was pretty miserable. Complete with a screaming baby and her mother who had a bladder the size of a dime and felt the need to open the compartment door and flood us with light every 10 minutes. Did I mention this was an overnight train (hence the light shower not being welcome). We finally arrived in Zugdidi around 7 in the morning and were welcomed by our marshutka driver that would take us to Mestia.

This guy was unbelievable. Literally! I never thought that I would find a cautious Georgian driver, but my prayers were answered. AND in the perfect situation. Here we are trekking up the mountain in a marsh. taking sharp turns, sliding on the gravel, and where most drivers would be flying, wheels a screeching around corners, this guy is taking his time (THANK GOD!) He was the most chill/relaxed driver in this countries history.

After about 6 hours, we finally get to Mestia and me and Erin end up staying in a separate guesthouse because there were too many Americans that the one lady couldn't house us all. It ended up being for the better because we met 2 fellow travellers from Poland. Long story short (so you can clearly see that's a lie), we ended up getting a free ride/adventure with our new found friends. I'll recap the trip with the Svans:

Day 1: arrive in Mestia, tired, hungry, but overwhelmingly ecstatic because we're surrounded by 360 degree views. We decided to hike to a glacier that's a bit outside of town, so some of us hop in a marsh, driven by my future Svani husband (he was a babe) and head out to conquer the glacier. Long story short, we get there, I get stung by a bee, but the view is amazing, even though the glacier was a lot dirtier than I expected. That night, we climbed these steep ladders 5 stories high, into the famous towers and then onto the roof. I was freaking out, but I survived with everything in tact, surprisingly so since I'm so clumsy.

Day 2: we wake up and leave around 9 for a day trip to Ushguli, the highest inhabited village in all of Europe (does that include Central Asia too, since I'm pretty sure Georgia isn't Europe?). The drive was treacherous and bumpy, but we had some good snacks (trail mix) and good company (the Poles). 5 hours later we arrived, unscathed in Ushguli, greeted by wild boar/pigs. We walked around for a couple of hours and I witnessed one of the most beautiful places I've seen in this country. It was breathtaking. Once we visited all the sites, we decided to head back. La da da, off we go! After our picnic for lunch, we keep driving until the undercarriage of the car scraps against a bad part of road and we start leaking fluid. Turns out it was oil! Luckily, some nice Georgians stopped to help us. They turned out to be engineers working on the new roads that are being paved from Zughdidi through Svaneti. They ended up towing us back to Mestia. BUT WAIT! I can't skip the best part of this story. Halfway through the tow, me and Erin crowned Mr. Svaneti. Picture a man. He's a hardworking man who works so damn hard that his hands are black. He's dressed in the normal hardworking man's uniform of a REALLY warn down sweater and some heavily stained pants, and badass working man boots. Oh and the hat! I can't forget the hat. He was a site. Especially when he came to the rescue by attaching a wire-rope, which he pulled from beneath a haystack in a field and created a makeshift tow line. The engineers were not happy at the unattractiveness of the line, but Mr. Svaneti quickly reminded them that it isn't a beauty competition. It doesn't have to be pretty to work well. WELL SAID MR. SVANETI!

Day 3: the airport. Plane tickets purchased ahead of time in Tbilisi: 70 GEL. Arriving WAY ahead of time to be cautious and make sure the plane doesn't leave without you with some water: 2 GEL. The plane never even showing up to the airport and the flight getting cancelled: Priceless Georgia Moment. Don't want to relive this one, but we got to take a marsh driven by a crazy person (aka normal Georgian male driver) down the edge of the mountain. We were literally driving on the left side because his tire was flat, with pebbles falling into the river below, while the driver was smoking his cigs, talking on his phone. FUN TIMES! We arrived in Zugdidi (6 hours later), got ripped off by the driver, and then immediately boarded another marsh to Tbilisi, arriving 5 hours later, to again get ripped off by a marsh driver.

All in all that's been what's been going on in my life. I'm at the point in my service where it's hard to be positive and see the good aspects. Georgia has become my abusive boyfriend. He treats me to some great times, but then randomly yells at me and gives me a black eye. I just hope that I get some flowers and an apology sometime soon because I don't want to/don't think I could handle sporting another injury. Until next time....

So I know. I totally suck at keeping up with this thing. I’ll give you guys a quick update of what’s going on with me. I am sitting in a Café in Tbilisi, a café which has become a sanctuary for me. I come here and drink REAL coffee, eat baguette sandwiches, and scour the internet. I almost feel as if I’m in a small café in Paris or something. So I’ve managed to stay pretty busy. Last weekend, I came into Tbilisi for Tom G’s birthday. It was an event to say the least. A lot of the Teach and Learn Georgia people came out. It was a swarm of English-speaking Volunteers that invaded Old Town. Fun times were had, some people had too much fun. I’ll tell you what TLG kids get down, or fall down rather, and I’ll just leave it at that. lol. I also was able to try Texas Chicken (aka Church’s Chicken). They didn’t have biscuits, but I tore up a spicy breast and leg meal with mashed taters and jalapeno poppers. Amazing! This weekend Batumi was the destination. I went out there to hang out with Aaron and Laura in Shuakhevi and record the song that me and Aaroni wrote. Jason, a TLG living is Shuakhevi, recorded our “hit” and hopefully I’ll be able to hear the final product soon. We’ll see if I post it or not. It’s ironic, I never did anything musically because I have a horrible case of stage fright and now I’m in the Republic of Georgia, and in a small way, concurring my fears. I recorded a freaking song?!?! Next weekend, I’m headed to Kazbegi for Lauren’s birthday, so I’ll hopefully have something to say about that… As far as what’s been going on at site, it same ol’ same ol’. I pretty much have my routine. I get up, go to school, do after school clubs, and then head home, eat, and watch a movie, or TV show, then sleep. Exciting, I know! I’m sure you’re on the edge of your seats, waiting to read what’s next. lol.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been doing my best to really keep a positive, open mind to things that have been happening around me. I used to consider myself a very open-minded, non-judgmental person. I fear these couple of months have definitely tested those traits. So a lot of this started when I went to Tbilisi for a week for a Save the Children Training. It focused on peer education in the fields of HIV/AIDS, Alcohol, and Tobacco. I loved every second of the training. It was a lot of stuff that we’d Americans learned during health classes, but for the Georgians it was a lot of new info. I was really excited for my Counterpart to learn and for us to be able to educate some of the rest of the people in my village. Turns out she wasn’t really interested in really implementing anything, especially HIV/AIDS education because she mentioned that she wasn’t sure those topics would be socially acceptable in my village. I completely understand that HIV and AIDS are taboo subjects, even in our culture, but with Georgia having 2540 registered cases and a projected reality of 4000, these things need to be addressed, especially when most men in the villages, town center, city, and whole damn country have visited a prostitute at some point in their life! Then to test my normally accepting personality it gets pushed a little further. So I’m teaching my 10th graders about family. I have them all draw their family trees and present. So one of my students gets up and starts talking about her dad in his 2 wives. I stopped her and corrected her “My dad has 2 sisters, my aunts” “NO, my dad has 2 wives, my mothers”….WHAT?!?!? I tried my best to keep my surprise hidden, after all she has no choice in the matter. So, a little time passes and then I talk to my friend Jen and she apparently meets a man in Adjara who lives in her village that has 2 wives and wants to take a third! It’s craziness….right? So apparently this happens a lot. I’m in the process of researching the intricacies of these relationships (Are the Orthodox? What do their villages think about it? etc). I still am not sure it even makes sense in Georgia! If this weren’t a second world country and such a “religious” country then maybe I wouldn’t be so bothered by it, but it’s INSANE! So I guess the thing that I have to realize and remember is that I am in Georgia, not America. Not everything moves as fast. Ideas, People, Service (other than marshutkas, but even those are slow because drivers decide they want to stop for a smoke break or to go shopping or god know what. lol). But, with that all being said, something’s got to give! I talked to my dad about the Save the Children Training and he wisely said “today, the world is an ever changing place and you have to adapt and move forward if you do not then you get left behind.” Now I do agree for the most part, but trying to put my non-judgmental cap back on, I think it’s a lot easier for Americans to say because we live in a progressive society. A lot of the information we present them is new to them. I have to remember that not too many people accept new ideas right off the bat, but if they at least start thinking about them and talking about them, it is worth it.... Now how to get over this 2 wife thing…

so beings that I don’t use this blog for anything, I mine as well use it for a dream journal. It’s 5:46 and I just awoke soaked in sweat from this INSANELY CREEPY dream. Apparently I was dating a guy who thought it would be a good idea to get a pet spider. Now this spider was not of the hairy/fuzzy variety like most pet spiders are. No, No, No... This little bastard (mom, this is a legitimate term beings that spiders don’t have fathers, now do they?) was pin-legged with white and black stripes and a creepy medium-sized black body. Obviously, not something I could grow to love. Who could, is the question. Now, any of you that know me, know I have arachnophobia. I freaking HATE spiders! So here I am, in my “boyfriend’s” (I put this in quotations because I highly doubt the fact that I would have a boyfriend who would buy a pet spider, or rather that I would stay with a boyfriend who got one and kept it.) apartment hanging out whilst he lets this spider crawl all over the place. And not only creepy crawl mind you, this little bastard jumps too! Let me be more specific, apparently this spider has an infinity to black so he jumps on me! Now in the dream, I was wearing black the whole time and regardless of how many times he was plucked off of me, regardless of where or what I was hiding behind, he always managed to find me. I know you’re wondering why he was able to in the first place, but that’s the best part. My gem of a “boyfriend” ((*sarcasm)) didn’t like the idea of caging his spider, so I was stuck with living, sleeping, and eating with a spider crawling around all the time. I’m squirming now even thinking about it . Needless to say this nightmare awoke me from my sleep, literally drenched in sweat, and hitting myself making sure there are no creepy crawlers on me right now, and I have no idea why I’m dreaming of damn spiders… I know I live in Georgia and I’m pretty much faced with them on a daily basis. I can deal with that. I mean I’m sure there are spiders crawling on me at night, I know they crawl on me when I go to the outhouse, and they’re everywhere. But, having spiders here is entirely different than having spiders in America. I mean yeah there’s Granddaddy Longlegs and other that crawl around, but it’s called spray!!! Hello, why in the hell would I be dating an American with a spider fetish that refused to cage his nasty spider?!?!? All I know is that if this ever happens and someone doesn’t slap me out of that nightmare, I’ll be a little angry at myself and those of you reading…..

It’s officially that time of year. Children are standing at their respective corners, awaiting the approach of the giant, yellow, school bus. Office Max and Wal-Mart are swarming with families buying new notebooks stamped with whatever superhero is popular at the moment….NOT! So school started on Wednesday, September 15th, and thus far nothing really has been going on. The first day of school consisted of everyone meeting out in the school yard while my school Director (aka Principle) passed out new computers for the great students, gave out certificates for the good students, and introduced me to the entire student body, teachers, and numerous parents (roughly around 500 people). So I know you’re just waiting for me to divulge my horror story beginning with clammy palms, cotton mouth, and sweat dripping from my forehead, and ending with me hurling all over my director, but surprisingly I did well. The only thing I can claim to be unhappy about was the bad translation, but beings that I can’t speak Georgian fluently, I can’t very well step in and correct, now can I?!? The rest of last week consisted of me trying to convince my counterpart to switch books because the current books they are using right now, are pretty god awful. SUCCESS! We are now using some bright, fun, and interesting books that I think the kids will actually be excited to learn from. I also had a meeting with my Director to discuss working with 2 counterparts. They just made the old German teacher an English teacher. She understands very little English, so I'm hoping that I can help her improve her English and help her kids too!   Now onto the troubles. First, I’d like to preface this by saying that I know not all teachers in Georgia are like this. I’ve been lucky enough to have experienced some of the great teachers in this country and those teachers are EXCELLENT, but from conversations I’ve had with my host family, students, and teachers, there are some MAJOR issues with the Education system here. A lot of teachers here don’t really teach what they should or the amount they school in schools in order for the students to pass the national exams when they graduate. Therefore, most students take private tutoring lessons where they are instructed on the topics they should be learning in school. Not only does this leave a lot of students behind (those who don’t have money to pay), but it also wastes everyone’s time at school. I’m not 100% for standardized tests, but I think that perhaps in Georgia’s case, it might help. The teachers are now being required to pass tests in both their subjects and on their teaching ability. Apparently, if they don’t pass within the next 4 years, they get fired. Good thing?! Perhaps… Students throw trash out the windows! It’s insane. I can’t believe it when I see it, and every time I see it, I yell! My first project is going to be to add boxes in my classroom, and hopefully throughout the school. We shall see what happens. That’s all for now!

so as of late, I’ve been trying out my skills in the kitchen. Back home I loved cooking and baking, especially when I was stressed. I must say, I have REALLY under estimated the convenience and variety of goods we have in America. If I wanted to scramble up something back home I would just get the recipe, go to the store, and start dirtying up the kitchen. Here, I have to thing of something to make off of the top of my head, make said something with the ingredients I am presented with, or can find laying around (not much) and then make sure there is enough gas to cook with or that the electricity is on for the oven, then and only then can I let my creative juices run wild. So far, they haven’t been running too out of control. I’ve managed to: Bake a Pizza from scratch. (It included made from scratch dough, thanks to my host mom, my homemade tomato sauce, pickled banana peppers, spicy green peppers, cheese that my host mom made, and NO MAYO, which Georgians love to put on their pizza) Make scrambled eggs and Omelets (with Aaron’s help) with tomatoes, peppers, some sort of fried bologna meat and cheese. A disastrous attempt at Peach Crisp. Now normally I’ve got skills when it comes to making Apple Crisp, but the pan for the oven was too massive, there was no brown sugar, so I ended up just mixing it together on the stove. I liked it, host family didn’t. FAIL! Some Kick-ass fried rice. This was my first attempt at making fried rice, but I was craving some non-Georgian food, and well I must say it turned out delicious and my host family loved it. After they ate it all, I  told them it was Chinese food. They started to tell me how so many Chinese people live in Georgia and in the Lagodekhi region (I think I’ve seen 3 my entire time in country) and explained that in America, we have many different types of people and foods that represent America. Diversity is great! (PC goal #2 accomplished). Now, if only I can get them to absorb the fact that America has no national dance, that would make my life a lot easier, especially at supras. Tzatziki Sauce. Thanks to Dina Leris, I have been skilled in the art of Greek Cuisine (ok, so only some dishes). It turned out amazing and I nearly ate all of it already. However, my host fam refuses to try it. I did force some pita sauce covered bread down my sis’ throat though. lol. I just came back from a Culinary Festival that Kamran’s NGO put on and some Azeri kids made some unbelievable food. It was a small pita with what tasted like feta, oregano, and onion inside. Went extremely well with my tzatziki sauce. Spaghetti…our ”American” contribution to the Culinary Festival. I smashed the tomatoes all by myself… lol. It was pretty good and we even had some garlic bread to accompany it. The Azeri kids were good sports and tried it. Some even claimed to liking it. I am hoping that when I make it for my fam, they’ll love it.

These past couple of days have been a little rough. I had a great trip to the West with my host fam. I was able to hang out with a lot of my friends for a nice little farewell to summer. Of course, leaving sucked because I probably won’t see any of them anytime soon, and not to mention the whole getting stuck on the train for 13 hours didn’t help, especially when you’re stuck next to screaming, bratty kids. Now, It seems that I’m sick once again with another stomach bug. I feel as if I’ve been sick off and on with something ever since I arrived in country. Anyone that knows me, knows that I am a total baby when I’m sick. I hate going to doctors, taking medicine, being hot, and anyone doting on me, other than my mom. All I want is a nice sit-down flush toilet where I can take a magazine or book and relax without worrying about a spider or roach crawling on or around me. Then, last night, I awoke to 3 bats flying around in my room. Freaking creeped me out! I have pretty much overcome my fear of spiders and other creepy crawler. I even killed a scorpion at Laura’s with no hesitation, but a BAT! What the hell do I do with that? Now, I’ll have to sleep with the curtains closed, which keeps out all the air! I completely agree with Ace Ventura. Damn you devil birds! This morning I went to school for the first time since camp. It’s still under construction and I’m wondering if it will even be ready for when school starts on the 15th. Also, there will be NO toilets, which was probably the thing I was looking forward to the most about the renovations and starting school (shitty and repetitive, I know, but you get excited about using a outhouse all the time). So now, if I want/need to use the facilities when I’m at school, I have the choice of probably one of the most disgusting outhouses that I’ve experienced in country, or walking 20 minutes to my house. The rest of my day was spent sulking in my room. I’ve put on my game-face for my host family and ate some oatmeal with some brown sugar (from America) and then some soup for lunch. For the remainder of the day I watched the rest of the Glee episodes Jen gave me, ate some sweet-tarts (dreading that they’re almost out), and slept. All I really want is MY bed, with it’s soft sheets and fluffy normal sized pillow, a warm bath in my bathroom with a toilet surrounded by scented candles, a big glass pitcher of sweet tea, some of my dad’s guacamole, some of my mom’s lasagna, a nice night out with friends, and a good cuddle with my doggie. So it’s not really even that bad. Just a little homesick because I’m sick…(I warned I was a baby). At least school’s starting and I’ll have stuff to do on a daily basis and I won’t be caught up in feeling sorry for myself. So that’s that for now.  

It’s been a while since my last post. It’s funny, I remember now why I don’t own a full Diary/Journal, I am horrible with keeping up with this kind of thing. I’m sure there have been a lot of things that have happened since my last post and worthwhile situations to report, so I’ll do my best to recreate and recap what’s happened… I moved into my new village (sopeli) and home (sakhli). (this is my driveway)   I’ve been traveling and helping out with a lot of camps… (BlackSea & Laura’s Site) (Aaron’s site) (Batumi)   …as well as putting on my own camp. My camp went really well. I had about 50 kids show up and I enlisted my host sister and her friends’s help as well as Em and Sam. We played a lot of games and the last day culminated in a massive water balloon fight, which I lost. so that in a nutshell is what I’ve been doing….

The day before yesterday I had ants crawling in my pants, or in my bed rather, yesterday night, while in the outhouse, I was greeted by a cockroach, and today, a snake was found upstairs in my room. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow’s creepy crawler will be. lol. It’s so funny. All these things that I would normally find incredibly scary and spazz out about, I’m dealing with. I am by no means in the running to compete on Fear Factor, but the fact that none of it is really phasing me, is quite an accomplishment. I guess knowing that my dad’s not there to kill the spider or spray for bugs has forced me to deal. I have yet to encounter a really big spider though, in which case I might run in circles on top of my bed, and scream like the girly girl I’m trying my best to suppress. On another note, I went to the neighbor’s today to talk and drink cold coffee. That is the extent of physical activity done by me during the day, beings that it’s balls hot between the hours of 10 and 6. So, I walked over to the neighbors with my host mom and host sister and we began discussing the difference between America and Georgia. It all started with a discussion about how in America, I lived away from my parents. Obviously, it’s completely different here (as explained in previous post). They then began questioning me about living on my own, having a job, and paying for school. My Georgian friends, and I’m sure many other people, believed that Americans get their college paid for. Trying to explain student loans and debt was quite a fete. But then came the inevitable question of if I was married. My normal reaction of laughter was followed by them questioning me about my job in the States. I explained to them that I loved working and I liked having a job. My host mom then started speaking very quickly and from what I got from the conversation she was telling them that I was such a hard worker. “She’s always reading, she’s always writing, she’s typing away on the computer, and she helps with the housework.” Now, in America, me reading for fun and facebook-ing all day doesn’t constitute working, but here apparently it’s a task. It’s funny that they seem to think that all I do is work, but in reality all I want to do is work. I think the expression that we have is that Americans  “Live to Work” while others “Work to Live”  Granted, this probably sounds so insensitive, but it’s true. I’m not good at sitting around doing nothing, that is if there’s not a TV and air conditioning present. A lot of us are very lucky though, that we can just sit around when we want and go work when we want or need. They then said that if I married a Georgian man, the man could work, though it has been my observation that the women work far more than the men. I tried to be as diplomatic as possible when I said “I would make a horrible wife.” When asked why, I explained that I don’t like  to clean and I don’t cook all the time, etc. I think they saw through the diversion and my host mom ask if American men help around the house. Now, I am well aware that all American don’t, but I do know that my dad is one of the best cooks I know and he does the dishes quite frequently, so that was was I said. Of course, when I was little my mom stayed home and did most of the cooking and cleaning, but my dad really did pitch in a lot. It’s just so very different all over the world. I would continue this post, but it’s entirely too hot upstairs in my room and I’m getting hungry. Oh and by the way, the creepy crawler of choice last night (3 am) was a moth the size of my fist that was trying to attack me. I spent about an hour trying to kill it and it wouldn’t die, when finally my host mom came upstairs, probably from all the noise, and grabbed it’s wings and set it free. I guess I over estimated my badassness….

I’m sitting here enjoying a Coca-Cola on my last warm day as a resident of Tezeri. I’ve already come close to tears twice today. I just said goodbye to my didi bebia, Elene. She is probably the hardest working woman I’ve ever met, and the fact that she always buys me underwear, makes me love her even more. Now, that I’m thinking about it, maybe she buys me underwear that she deems more appropriate than my American underwear. Come to think of it, I have yet to see any other style than the granny panty hanging on the lines. I’m getting off topic. I have fallen in love with this village and I’m so sad to leave my host family. Maia is my Georgian equivalent and I hope that we are able to keep in touch and stay friends. In a little I’m headed to the cemetery for one last hoorah with the cluster. Drinking beer together one last time will be a good farewell. Man it has def been an interesting time, to say the least. From wearing flip-flops and holey jeans to class, having dance parties, being tsudi-gogos for a day, having sing-a-longs in marshutkas, having fights about marshutkas, and all the other good times, I’m going to miss being just up the mountain from everyone. Damn the PC for sending me so far away from all the G10s. lol. It’s been something undpredictable, but in the end it was right. (SO LAME, I know.)

It was a nice Thursday in Borjomi. A Hub day. All the PC Trainees waited anxiously for the announcement of their permanent sites. I was excited just as everyone else was. We were all finally going to see where we would be living for the next 2 years of our lives. Upon our arrival to the Restaurant for lunch, a life size map was set up in the parking lot with random cities, our prospective sites. After lunch, we were all given an envelope with someone’s name on it. Everyone stood around Georgia and called out a person’s name, told them their site, and then the process continued. As I listened and anticipated my name being called, I was insanely excited. In prior classes and hub sessions we were warned that though more of us were in the west, we would still be spread out. I kept seeing person after person being placed in the west and not far away from others. Some people even got site-mates. HELL YES! This is going to be a great 2 years! Then I hear my name. I grab my envelope and then start looking for Vardisubani...”where is it?” I turn to my left and look in the west…NOTHING, then I turn to my right and there it is. There farthest city located on the Eastern border of Georgia. Miles and hours away from all my new friends. Plus, it’s in the east. My asthma has already been crazy weird here and now I’m in the East where it is much colder than in the west and much more dry, which leads me to think that the air will be much thinner in wintertime. I’m freaking out! Fast forward a couple of days. I’m still apprehensive but I’m trying to look at the positives in this situation: 1. I am close to G9s who are experienced and can provide a lot of insight to what’s going to be happening and what I should expect in day to day life. 2. I’m closer to Tbilisi than the others (roughly 3 hours away) which means I can experience city life and non-Georgian food.  3. I’m in a valley surrounded by mountains. Even though I’m more of a beach person, this will be something new and different and I’ll be able to see breathtaking views every single day. 4. Supposedly I have an amazing counterpart and school director that are really excited to work with me. 5. My family situation seems fairly small, with only 1 man, which means the frustration of day to day gender role issues will be limited. 6. I get to experience wine season!   However I am still freaking out…so the cons are still weighing heavy on me: 1. I’m so far away from my group. There are no TEFL people near me (the closest is 4 hours away) and the closet of the 2 BSEs is more than 1 hour away. 2. The closest friends I’ve made are a minimum of 8 hours away, at least. 3. I wouldn’t mind being that far if travel was easy, but it takes a minimum of 8 hours to travel coast to coast in a country the size of South Carolina, and that’s if everything is on time. On top of that if I choose to just got see everyone for only once a month, I will be spending at least 30 Lari alone on travel, not including expenses, which will be a large chunk of my stipend. 4. My asthma. They don’t want to put me in humid or heat, but I’m used to that. Hello, that is Charlotte during summertime. The ONLY time I have ever had any issue (asthma attack) was when I was high in the mountains, it was January and snowing, and I was snowboarding. I understand that they are preparing for the worst, but I am far more worried about my mental sanity and psychological well being than I am about having asthma issues. 5. I am 1 of 3 in my group that has an outhouse. Now I know I said I’ve come to terms with my outhouse situation, but I’d be lying if I said I won’t mind if for the next 2 years. I really do enjoy sitting on the toilet. And if one more person tells me I’m going to have great thigh muscles, I will punch them in the face. They’re only saying that because they won’t be walking out to a dark field with a flashlight in the dead of winter…lol. No, but really I will have great thigh muscles! …… It is now July 2nd and since the previous post, I had a little talk with my Program Manager for the moment, Teo. She was incredibly gracious and helped break down the questions and whys that I had. I got some reassurances and explanations and basically the reason I am in the east is primarily due to my “asthma”. So yeah. I’ve pretty much accepted the fact that I’ll be far away from my fellow G10s, but hopefully I will be able to see them every once in a while. At least I have some good places to stay when I am able to visit the coast. The school director that I’m working with is a really savvy lady. I think me and her will have a good relationship. The teachers at my school all seem really cool and fun, so I look forward to working with that. I had to change host families. I liked my host family a lot. They had a plethora of peppers and the bebia cooked me a kickass stir-fry with eggplant, tomatoes, onions, and SPICY PEPPERS. It was scrumptious.  But yeah, the mother was having a baby and her sister, the Deputy Director, and my Director thought it would be too much added pressure if I were to stay with them. I just hope that they are not upset or hurt by the fact that I won’t be living there with them. Instead I am staying with a smaller family that is only a couple and their daughter. The host dad is a vet, which ROCKS. I’m thinking that maybe I can get a dog, he can give them the shots it will need, and then in 2 years I can figure out a way to take it back with me when I go to America. Other than that everything has been going so fast. I haven’t really had time to think about much. This past week, we all threw SUMMER CAMPS. Tezeri’s ended up being a hit. The first day only 20 kids showed up, then Tuesday there were 50. Other than some situations with some older boys from out of town, all the kids really liked it. Today was the G10s last Hub session. It’s all a little bittersweet. On one hand I’m excited to become a volunteer and really get settled into what I’m going to be doing for the next 2 years, but at the same time I am already settled into my life here. I love Tezeri. I love my host family. I’ve even gotten used to my outhouse. The other volunteers have also become fast friends of mine. I was looking forward to getting to know the people that were not in my cluster, but even so, I’m going to miss the hell out of the Tezeri group. Then there’s the staff. I really like Manana (our technical trainer) and I like Teo (my Program Manager until September).  It’s funny because it’s not as though I had a lot of one on one time with either of them, but in some way or another they reminded me of my 2 favorite aunts and they made Georgia familiar. Manana reminded me of my Aunt Nan. She’s always so warm and like my Aunt Nan, regardless of how much time has gone by or how long it’s been since you talked last, she always feels safe. Teo reminds me of my Aunt Becky. She seems very sassy, but in a understated way. I don’t really even know her, but I do know that she’s an incredibly intelligent, no nonsense woman in a male dominated society. She definitely can hang with the big boys and if I had to put money on her or a man, I’d bet her 10 to 1, yet she is so caring and helpful. The LCFs that all of us have grown so accustomed to seeing are also going to be taken out of our lives. Nana was our liaison into the Georgian world as were Marika and Tea. We learned how to speak and exist in this brand new world. It’s so crazy that I won’t be going to class and that I won’t be seeing them on a daily basis.  Anyone that knows me knows that I’m not huge on change, so the fact that I’m going to have to readjust again without any constants and without having the people who have made this a warm and inviting place, is going to suck. lol. I guess only time will tell.

Let me preface this entry by saying that these are NOT at all complaints about Georgia, just things I have noticed and observed, in my short amount of time here.   1. Animal Rights in this country are definitely non-existent. Pets are also not really common. People that do have “pets” usually have dogs that are chained up and aggressive, from not so nice ‘guard dog’ training tactics. Also, many people here chop the ears off their dogs. It’s bizarre looking, but they’re still adorable. They kind of look like little bear ears. 2. Outhouses are the standard. SQUATTING over giant poop-filled holes, that get vacuumed out sporadically, are preferred (or maybe the only means available) over having a non-thigh burning workout that is the sit-down commode. The volunteers have had many discussion about how bizarre it is that all of our families have satellite TVs and really nice houses, but no thoughts on even adding a seat to their outhouse. Just proves how lazy and genius Americans really are! 3. Paved Roads in the villages are few and far between. There is 1 paved road in my PST village and in comparison to some of the other rock/mud roads, it’s far worst for wear. It's the most pot-hole filled street I have ever ventured down. Most of the villagers prefer to drive on the shoulder rather than directly in their “lane.” It’s actually quite humorous because on any given day you see cars criss-crossing the road like figure skaters to find the smoothest path.  4. This leads me to drivers. No one can say that men are better drivers! (OK, so maybe this one is a complaint) I have yet to see any females drive here, but I’m sure any woman here would drive better than the men. They’re insane. Now any of you that know me are well aware that I am a very crazy and aggressive driver. Now take my driving and multiply it by a not over exaggerated amount of about 30. I have been driven in taxis (terrifying), in marshutkas (terrifying), and in cars (terrifying). I think it’s funny that Americans complain about other drivers, but really we have the safest roads out of anywhere I’ve travelled. I’m interested to see what the rest of the 2 years are going to entail. 5. Doctors in Georgia, rather Russian doctors in Georgia, are obviously hard to understand, but their medical facilities are equally questionable. Don’t misunderstand me. I felt completely safe, but when I was getting my x-ray for my ankle, instead of getting a anti-radiation vest like in America, I was given 2 thinly cut sheets of “protection” for my head and genitals. Then the doctor preceded to pull on those protectors and when he pulled them into what I thought was the proper place, he yelled, in Russian, to hold it. Well then stop pulling them down! lol. I guess it will be a while before we will be able to tell if any damage was done to my future children. 6. Butter and coffee are the cure-alls. I’m still trying to determine what nutritional or mineral benefit either provides. Though I think grandmas taking care of you is universal. 7. Women here are hard-ass-workers. They do so much and though they don’t seem to mind it, they don’t really get much out of the deal. Women in the village typically don’t drink, and if they do, it is a very minuscule amount, while a large percentage of men are hammered a good 3 nights out of the week, at the least. They sweep with brooms that look as if they’re made for kids to be toy brooms. Talk about back-breaking. They knead bread, and pick beans, onions, from the garden and cook and bake from scratch. They get the water heated and ready for the family to bathe. They tend to the kids. If you’re a teacher you have that job on top of other house duties. A lot of Georgian women are the sole-providers of their families, so while they work as teachers and tend to the women’s work, their husbands can stand around the railroad tracks or store and have leisurely convo about the goings on of the village. They are far better than I. (a possible future complaint) 8. If you are fortunate to have a hot-water heater it is probably a wood-burning hot water heater. THEY’RE FABULOUS! I have come to see mine as the best gift my host family could’ve given me. I had 2 bucket baths and it was def an experience. I realize how fortunate I am to have hot water in Georgia…(I’m praying my perm site with come complete with a hot-water shower) 9. Georgian people are very warm people. Extremely nice, friendly, and loving, just not in a physical sense. I’m going through severe hug withdrawal. Though I do try and sneak some in here and there with the fellow volunteers. 10. It is a very family-oriented society. When you marry, which in the village can be as early as 13 or 14, you go live with your husband’s family. From the time you move in you will probably live there, raise your children there, and grow old there. Sleeping quarters are very close regardless of how many rooms are in the house. In my house right now, my host Ps and kids sleep in a room off one side of the living room and my host grand-Ps sleep off the other. There are 2 bedrooms upstairs that aren’t even used, but I’m sure that’s where the kid’s bedrooms will eventually be.   that’s all I can think of right now, but then again I’m kind of tired, so I’m sure there are more to come…

Well today (Saturday, May 1st, 2010) I have officially exceeded my expectations. Upon arrival at my PreServiceTraining host family’s house, in a village. I squatted over a hole better known in these parts as an outhouse AND I have taken a bucket bath, all within a 30 minute time period! Welcome to Georgia! lol. First things first. The past couple of days my PC group has been staying at a hotel in Tbilisi, where we underwent an intense introduction into the Georgian language and culture. YIKES! It is definitely going to be a long and exhausting 2 months.My roommate Lacey and I suffered from a severe case of jet lag, something I am still showing signs of. While in the COUNTRYSIDE HOTEL I met a lot of interesting people that I’m excited to get to know during my 2 years here. Our PST village announcements were made and Aaron, Alissa, Emily, Jen, Serena, and I were all placed in a tiny village that can not be named. It's kind of funny because technically we are in a forbidden zone anyway, but our village is so great that they made an exception and allowed volunteers to be placed here. ……continued on May 27th, 2010 Anywho, my host family is great. It consists of my host mom, Maia. She’s 27 and has 2 children (Elene, 2, and Dako, 5) with her husband Shalva. I also live with Shalva’s parents and grandparents. It is customary in Georgian culture for the women to marry and live with their husband’s family. Apparently, it is also customary for the women to bust their ass’ here. The bebia-Elene (which is my “host great-grandmother) is up at 5 in the a.m., already making cheese, herding the cows, working in the garden, or doing whatever else she can get her little self into (this sometimes includes screaming at her husband…have I mentioned how much I LOVE HER?!?!). My host mom is nothing to forget either. Her profession is an English teacher, but she’s definitely a Renaissance woman. She raises the kids, cooks (from scratch), cleans (hands and knees), tutors, and shops for the household items, all the while being involved with Peace Corp and me. Insane! Just reaffirms how lazy I am. lol.On a lighter note. I’ve been doing some cultural broadening with the men in this household. I’ve watched numerous boxing matched and the Bayern/AC Milan soccer game with my host grandpops. I helped my host dad understand what he needed to do in a video game to get to the next level, and even took over the controls for a brief, yet very satisfying, period of time. I drank beer at their family supra and drank gvino (aka wine) and participated in toasts, all of which women typically don’t do. It’s so weird, and I know this is just the beginning of what will probably be a bizarre 2 years, but it’s mind-boggling that I am able to do these things, yet my host mom, that’s older than me, isn’t allowed or chooses not to. She drank beer with me when we all had our supra, but once she drank her glass she wasn’t offered anymore or given the option of having anymore, while mine was never even halfway empty. Whatevs!I’m sure there is lots more to come, but right now I’m exhausted and tomorrow is a Hub Day. I have to wake up super early to get the UTKA (G10 term for the Marshutka or mini bus) to Borjomi. Should be fun. Laters!

So apparently I completely suck at updating this blog. I guess I could argue that until recently I literally knew nothing about when, where, or what I would be doing with the Peace Corp.  Then all of a sudden I’ve been swept into a whirlwind of preparing mentally and physically to leave the country for 2 years. I feel as if a tornado has spun through my head, and my room. Let’s just hope that all of the debris will land in the country of Georgia. I guess I should start at the beginning. After 2 years of postponing life plans, saving money, and telling everyone I was going into the Peace Corp, I pretty much got fed up with waiting for what had been non-responses, avoidances, and changes being made, in which PC didn’t feel the need to inform me of. I finally made the decision that it was now or never. I sent a rather blunt and straight-forward e-mail to PC telling them that I needed someone to tell me something because if I wasn’t leaving in the next couple of months, I was going to withdrawal my application.If I had known that would be all it took, I would have sent an e-mail a lot sooner. Within a week I was called by my Placement Officer and a package was sent in which I was assigned to the Republic of Georgia. Ecstatic as I was, It couldn’t have come at a worst time. That day I learned that my dad was in the hospital for a completely collapsed lung and had to have major surgery. I immediately flew into Ohio and went straight to the hospital. Long story short. I decided the best move would be to return to Ohio and live with my parents, so 1.I could help out with my dad AND 2.I could save money (all my savings went to my jobless, yet active lifestyle in Charlotte). Thankfully, I was able to reprise my role at the Golf Club of Dublin and begin my preparation for my 2 years abroad. My List of things to accomplish before my departure: Visit all my friends and family (Ceal, Grandma, German group, Kat and Leris family, GCD friends, the Boye’s, etc.) Pack all the suggested items on the Packing List supplied by PCVs Make sure I leave my rooms clean Get into the right mind-state to enjoy my journey Since moving back to Columbus from Charlotte, I have yet to unpack or even put my things away. I guess I figured since I was just going to have to pack anyway, it would be completely pointless. So now my rooms (yes, rooms. I have taken over the 2 extra bedrooms upstairs, both housing my clothes, and then my actual sleeping quarters downstairs) are a wreck. And nothing is packed. UNCHECK. About 2 weeks ago I went to Oakdale to visit my grandma and now, at this very moment, I am sitting in the Columbus airport awaiting my flight which inevitably will land in Tampa, where my sister is. Departing Tampa, I will head to Charlotte where I will say farewell to all my Charlottean friends and head back here to Columbus to pack. So visiting my sister and German friends and the Leris clan should be a CHECK. I have yet to really focus on learning the language and am a bit nervous and apprehensive about how I am going to feel when I arrive in country. Especially, since I’m sure all my peers will have at least learned the alphabet. So right mind-state….UNCHECK. I suppose only time will tell. All I can do is enjoy this rest of my time in America and focus on Georgia when I’m there. For now, I’m drinking as much sweet tea as I possibly can and eating everything insight (so much for the 10 pounds I had lost). I’m sure my next post will be in Georgia, the country….

Today the journey offically begins! I FINALLY received my Nomination letter in the mail from my recruiter and have been nominated to be an English teacher. Is this real?!? lol. I just hope that I will be able to leave ASAP. I'm ready to start my new adventure!

So I decided, what better way to start the adventure then to publish my first blog updating everyone on the steps to being a PC volunteer. I'm going to go ahead and warn everyone, this is going to be ramblings of a crazy person, but hopefully in the end, this will be a great way to keep everyone updated on my life. Here it goes...