In terms of holidays, Georgia goes to town – they've got St. Nino's Day, St. Barbara's Day, St. Nikolas's Day, and (at least) two St. George's Days. So, it only makes since that when it comes to Christmas and New Year's there would be two of each. The Georgian Orthodox Church still uses the Julian calendar, which marks Christmas and New Year's as January 7 and January 14, respectively. However, being the hospitable and supra-loving people they are, Georgians did not want to miss out on the Gregorian New Year (January 1) celebrated by most people around the world. “Western Christmas” is still not widely celebrated by Georgians, but the PCVs in-country make up for this lack of merry-making. For Christmas Eve, which was a fellow volunteers birthday, we got all dressed up and went out on the town. And when I say we got all dressed up, I mean it - I haven't seen some of these people (myself included) so clean since staging in Philadelphia in June 2009! We all met up for an impromptu cocktail hour, and then hustled down to the Indian restaurant for some festive food, and a surprise “Georgian dance” which turned out to be a belly dancer. After dinner, we went the Radisson bar for some overpriced drinks and spectacular views of Tbilisi. The night continued with a stroll down the middle of Rustaveli, the main street in Tbilisi, which happened to be closed for tree pruning. It was a great night followed by a good Christmas day, which started off, as all holidays should, with sleeping in and a delicious breakfast of doughnuts. Later in the day, we made eggnog and had a “white elephant” gift exchange. At the end of the weekend, I begrudgingly headed back to site. But I didn't have to wait long to return to town, because I went back to Tbilisi for New Year's Eve. I had stayed with my host family for New Year's last year, and wanted to see what all the hullabaloo on T.V. was all about. And Tbilisi did not disappoint! In the early evening, the streets and stores were full of people hurriedly buying food and fireworks. And because PCVs are well-acclimated to their host culture, we joined in and bought food and fireworks, too. A little past 11:30, we went out into the street in front of our hotel and set off some fireworks, which started a chain reaction and had the neighbors setting off fireworks, and from that point on there was hardly a break between fireworks going off to think, let alone sleep. For a solid 30 minutes, from about 11:45 to 12:15, I was surrounded by fireworks. They were going off in every direction - getting shot off of balconies, out of windows, thrown in the street – it was insane! And the little kid in me, the one that loves the 4th of July, was over the moon, smiling ear to ear! I went to bed listening to the echoes of fireworks.I have never seen Tbilisi as shut down as it was in the late morning/early afternoon hours of January 1. Everything, and I mean everything was closed (or opened later and closed earlier). I'm glad I slept in for as long as I did, because even McDonald's opened late. Yes, I went to McDonald's on New Year's Day and had a McFlurry. And right after that, I went to Texas Chicken and had some fried chicken and biscuits. Now there's something I have never done before! I had not ever gone to TWO fast-food restaurants in the same day, much less back-to-back! But, now I have, and I'm not proud of it, but when you have no choice, you have no choice. On Orthodox Christmas, I went to a counterpart's house for a celebratory supra (feast, with lots of toasts and drinking, and singing). It was a small supra, with just 3 of us at first, and then grew to about 8. My counterpart, her sister-in-law and I shared the tamada (toast-maker) duties in Alaverdi style (which means everyone gets a turn to make a toast). Orthodox New Year's is coming up this Friday, and while I don't have plans yet, I'm looking forward to it! It's been a crazy holiday season here in Georgia, and we're not finished yet!

As a Peace Corps volunteer, my happiness is... a care package from home a card from a family member warm days in December (in the northern hemisphere) sunny days in December running water on non-water days hot water on water days hot water on non-water days electricity, water, and gas at the same time anything involving running water 4th graders who ask “How are you?” and can respond to the question, too making homemade Irish cream with fellow PCVs G-chat calls home for free internet access Chinese restaurants Mexican restaurants Thai restaurants coffee shops/cafes Tbilisi weekends

Another long break in between posts, and apologies all around. Since my last post, my counterparts and I have worked at break-neck speed to get a grant written for Healthy Lifestyles trainings at my school. And our efforts have paid off, literally, because we got our grant, and the trainings should start sometime in January/February or thereabouts. There was also the annual All-Vol Conference, and the concurrent sessions, the Safety and Security Committee talks, as well as food prep for the Thanksgiving dinner. Last week, one of the English teachers from School 2 asked me to be a guest speaker in one of her classes, and today I went to speak with them. It was a nice, one lesson meet and greet, and the students had all prepared questions to ask me. Some of them were predictable Georgian questions, such as “Are you married? Do you like Georgian food?” and others were a pleasant surprise, such as “What are the differences between Georgian and American students? Do you have a pet?”. Afterward, there was the requisite picture taking, and they gave me a journal and pen as a thank-you gift. It was a nice change of pace, and I might see if the English teacher wants to make it a once-a-month treat for her students. A list of things I'm looking forward to: Second Thanksgiving (with a small group of friends) 2 PCV's birthday celebrations Christmas break Getting started on the planning and prep for the Healthy Lifestyles trainings January 29, 2011 – the day I fly home for my sister's wedding COS conference in March That should be enough to get me through until the spring! And now, it's time for our usual cross-culture notes (thanks to LCCC Keti Chikovani): St George's day (გიორგობა) is a very important holiday for Georgians and is celebrated every year on November23rd. People go to church, gather together with their families and have supras. Saint George was a Roman soldier and priest in the Guard of Diocletian. He is immortalized in the tale of Saint George and the Dragon. The episode of St George and the Dragon was a legend brought back by the Crusaders and retold with the courtly appurtenances of the romantic genre. According to legend, after St. George’s death God scattered the parts of his body all over Georgia; chapels and churches were erected on each place. There are more than 400 churches and chapels named after St. George all over Georgia. Giorgoba has been celebrated under various names in different regions of Georgia. For example, in Kartli it is celebrated as Geristoba, Usanetoba; in Kakheti as Alaverdoba, Tetri Giorgoba; in Samegrelo as Iloroba, and in the mountain regions of East Georgia as Lasharoba, Lomisoba. Even the country name “Georgia” is related to St. George. The French chronicler Jacques de Vitry and the English traveler Sir John Mandeville wrote that Georgians are called Georgian because they especially revere Saint George. In January 2004, the country adopted the five-cross flag, featuring the Saint George's Cross. The monument on Tbilisi Freedom Square symbolizes the importance of the Saint George in Georgian culture.Not to forget the minority communities in Georgia: Eid al-Adha or Kurban Bayram, a very important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims started yesterday. It is a three day festival know as the Festival of Sacrifice. Many Azeri areas in Georgia are currently celebrating this holiday. Please see the link below to find the article about Eid al-Adha holiday: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Adha

So, yeah, it's been a while since I've updated my blog. Read on to get caught up to speed: School's started back up, and lesson planning has been (CONSISTENTLY) happening in 3 out of 5 classes (!). September is over. October has replaced it, and brought with it all the charms of fall that are still foreign to this Florida girl, namely cool weather, with rain and wind. It has been predicted that this winter will be colder than last winter. While last winter was pretty mild, even by my standards, I'm not looking forward to a colder winter – last winter's mildness suits me fine, I'll take another one of those, please. I'm currently in Tbilisi attending a training with one of the English teachers from my school. Save the Children, an NGO with an office in Tbilisi, wanted to do a training for 10 Peace Corps Volunteers and 10 of their English speaking counterparts, all about drugs, alcohol, tobacco, STIs, HIV/AIDS, and ways of talking about it in Georgia, specifically with young people. It's interesting to hear the views and opinions of the Georgian counterparts. I'm really happy that my counterpart is here, because talking about all of these issues is a path I have no idea how to start treading down – there's taboos about some things, cultural issues about others, and stigmas attached to all of the issues. I don't know now how we will proceed, or what we will do with all of this information back in the regions, but I hope it is a starting point for conversations in the future. The ideal situation, as I see it, is as follows: Upon our return, the other teachers will ask: where have we been? What have we been doing? What do we know now? And my counterpart will tell them everything we learned. And the other teachers will lean in, unable to speak because they are astounded and impressed and soaking up all of the new knowledge being eloquently told to them by my counterpart. After, the other teachers will tell their friends, who will tell their friends, who will tell their friends, and pretty soon all of Kakheti will know the truth about HIV/AIDS transmission, alcohol abuse signs, and why they shouldn't self-treat STIs. Hold on to your hats people! We're not done yet, there's still tomorrow's and Friday's training days left. We'll see what the hold in store soon enough. However, I could not end this post without giving you some of the wonderful holiday information PC has kindly past on to us: Svetistkhovloba, October 14

On the 14th of October the Orthodox Georgian church celebrates Svetistkhovloba (Sveti– a pole; tskhoveli – miraculous) and also the saint days of King Mirian and Queen Nana, who first declared Christianity as the official religion in of Georgia. Legend says that after the crucifixion, the shroud of Christ went to Elioz and Longiroz who brought it to Mtskheta, the old capital of Georgia. Elioz’s sister, Sidonia, embraced the shroud of Christ and died. She was buried with it and a cypress tree grew on her grave. During the reign of King Mirian in the 4th century A.D., it was decided to build a church on the place of the cypress. The builders tried to use the cypress as a post, but the cypress could not be moved. After the prayers of St. Nino, the pole rose to the height of 12 meters. The whole of Mtskheta gathered to see this miracle. Every year the Catholicos –Patriarch of all Georgia, Ilia II, conducts a celebratory liturgical ceremony on account of this day in Svetitskhoveli church in Mtskheta. Giorgoba (St. George’s Day), November 23

St. George's Day (Giorgoba) is a very important holiday for Georgians and is celebrated every year on November 23rd. People go to church, gather together with their families and have supras. Saint George was a Roman soldier and priest in the Guard of Diocletian. He is immortalized in the tale of Saint George and the Dragon. The episode of St. George and the Dragon was a legend brought back by the Crusaders and retold with the courtly appurtenances of the romantic genre. According to legend, after St. George’s death God scattered the parts of his body all over Georgia; chapels and churches were erected on each place. There are more than 400 churches and chapels named after St. George all over Georgia. Giorgoba has been celebrated under various names in different regions of Georgia. For example, in Kartli it is celebrated as Geristoba, Usanetoba; in Kakheti as Alaverdoba, Tetri Giorgoba; in Samegrelo as Iloroba, and in the mountain regions of East Georgia as Lasharoba, Lomisoba. Even the country name “Georgia” is related to St. George. The French chronicler Jacques de Vitry and the English traveler Sir John Mandeville wrote that Georgians are called Georgian because they especially revere Saint George. In January 2004, the country adopted the five-cross flag, featuring the Saint George's Cross. The monument on Tbilisi Freedom Square symbolizes the importance of the Saint George in Georgian culture.

Most PCVs I know have met one or two former volunteers before they left for the great PC adventure. At the University of Florida, it's a bit different. I met at least a dozen RPCVs before I left for PC in June 2008, and even more when I returned home later that year. I talked to people who just started their application process, and people who were shipping out in two weeks time. I met them at informational sessions and Bon Voyage parties and other gatherings in Gainesville, all organized by the PC recruiter on UF's campus – her name is Amy. It was at several of these events, that I met Tom Maresco. At one of the events, I remember him showing several sketches to Amy for the new UF/PC logo, a globe and Gator.

The Gator Nation and Peace Corps family mourn the loss of Tom Maresco.

Last weekend, many of the volunteers gathered in Tbilisi for a "Volunteer Wellness" Event on Saturday, which consisted of our country director grilling hot dogs and some of us wandering off to find a place to play frisbee, 500 and kickball. (Word to the wise: NEVER play 500 with highly competitive guys or you'll get scratched up when they push you out of the way). Sunday, the regular group gathered for a softball match against the National Girls Team, and the undefeated record continues!

School starts back on the 15th, and teachers are supposed to be returning to school this week. So, hold on to your hats because we're gearing up for Year 2!

Up till a few weekends ago, I had never been camping. Sure, my cousins, sister and I slept in a tent in my uncle and aunt's backyard when we were little. But if one of us had to go to the bathroom, or got scared out of our minds by some critter in the middle of the night, we sneaked back into the house. But now, I have slept in the great outdoors away from any kind of creature comforts, under the stars, in the mountains, and amongst the critters. Friday afternoon, after baking some delicious oatmeal/cranberry cookies to take into the mountains, and shopping for our fire-side dinner that night, we (several other PCVs and myself) set off on our tiring journey from the district capital up into the mountains – by taxi. Hey, we were loaded down with some of Kakheti's finest table wine, and food, and sleeping bags, and it was getting late. Once we got to the campsite, set up the fire, and found a cool stream to chill the wine in, we set about the business of eating dinner. We chatted, and ate, and played card games, and enjoyed the nature for hours. We all got to sleep around 1 am; but the fun didn't end there. I awoke to the sounds of twigs and branches snapping and someone talking out in the woods. Others heard the sounds, and we all shined our flashlights in the direction of the noise, from behind the mosquito net (one of the others brought and set up on tree branches) pops out one of the PCVs who had wandered off to use the outhouse without a flashlight and had gotten lost on the way back. So, back to sleep we all went. An hour later, more twigs snapping, this time from the gully on the edge of our camp. More flashlights turned on, and spotlighted a fox trying to sneak into our camp for the food we had left (foolishly) out on the ground. We scared it off, tried to restart the fire to keep it scared off, and went back to sleep. If you ever wondered what time the sun rises in the eastern part of Georgia in the summer time, I can tell you it rises two and a half hours after you scare away a fox from your campsite. The next day was my mom's birthday! I got to talk to her via Skype. The next week was a summer camp in my 2009 training village with my cluster mates. It was a rip-roaring success, partly based on the low expectations of the students, and partly because we provided them with some entertainment during the day when they would otherwise be sitting at home watching tv. The second night I was there, my host family hosted a family supra (feast, or dinner party) complete with all the children of the family. It was a relaxed affair, with no food or drink being pushed at me. It was nice visiting with all the host families and spending time with them without having to do Georgian homework or work on a lesson plan for the next day's practicum. After we finished the camp, it was back to site. I had to hustle back to pay my landlady this month's rent, and my gas bill. Here's the weird part: yesterday morning, when I opened my door to leave, my electricity bill fell out of the door - that's not the weird part. My gas bill is usually stuck in the door; that's how bills are delivered. The weird part is that I have not received an electricity bill in the entire time I've lived in my apartment. No electricity bills ever came, but somebody paid them. Somebody has been paying my electricity bill for me. (If you're reading this and you paid my bill, thank you.) Also, a big THANK YOU to Aunt Frankie and Rhonda for the wonderful, glorious, amazing care package that I received this week. I did a happy dance! To finish up, I leave you information about two holidays this month, taken from the PC/Georgia Newsletter (in case you're interested, and I know you are): There are two major holidays in August in Georgia: ფერისცვალება (Transfiguration of Jesus) on August 19 and Assumption of Mary (მარიამობა) on August 28. ფერისცვალება (Transfiguration of Jesus)

On August 19, the Orthodox Church marks the day of the Transfiguration of Jesus. The Transfiguration of Jesus is an event reported by the Synoptic Gospels, in which Jesus was transfigured upon a mountain. The Gospels state that Jesus led three of his apostles to pray at the top of a mountain. Once at the top, Jesus became transfigured, his face shining like the sun, and his clothes a brilliant white. Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah, and was called "Son" by God. The word “ფერისცვალება” literally means “change of color” („ფერი“ color and „ცვალება“ change). Beside going to church and attending the service, in Georgia there are other practices and beliefs related to this event varying from region to region. For example, you will find different sorts and colors of fruit on the table in Georgian families. Also, it is believed that after “ფერისცვალება” a noticable climate change takes place; according to a legend on this very day, somewhere up in the mountains the huge lamp of ice drops in water which is a sign of the weather becoming milder. You may hear people saying: “it won’t be that hot after August 19”. მარიამობა (Assumption of Mary)

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mariamoba) is celebrated on August 28 in Georgia. Usually celebrated on August 15 in Roman Catholic communities worldwide, this day commemorates the assumption of the Blessed Virgin into heaven. In Georgia, church ceremonies and feasts mark the event. Beside visiting church, praying, and lighting a candle, there are some other traditions as well. Georgians carry lamb to the church, walk around the church three times and then slaughter the lamb. Meat is then boiled and shared with family and friends.

I am back at site, returned safely from an all-too-short vacation in Batumi, which was glorious. Air-conditioning. Showers. Sunshine. Beaches. Beach chairs. Slight sunburn. Beach umbrellas. Salt water. Eating out at restaurants (meaning I didn't have to cook my own meals or wash the dishes afterward!). Hanging out with friends. Meeting up with the newbies.The worst part was the driving – no air-conditioning, windows closed (because some people, usually the people who sit by the windows, [still] believe that the wind will make you sick), and on the way back, frequent stops for a kid who got sick on the marshutka. Which leads me into a story from the marshutka ride: About half an hour into the ride back to Tbilisi, we stopped to let someone off the marshutka. While we were stopped, the lady with the sick kid threw the kid's 'sick bag' out the door. One of the locals saw this happen. Very angrily, he ran up to the marshutka, picked up the 'sick bag' and threw it through the open window, yelling the whole time. So, we sat there while the driver and his buddy yelled back at the local, the local yelled back at the driver and his buddy, and the mom half-heartedly admitted her mistake and apologized to the driver and his buddy. Does this mean that Black Sea coastal communities are more eco-aware? Is 'eco-aware' even a word? Do they care more about how the amount of garbage lying around will affect waterways and wildlife? Do they disapprove of the 'plastic bag bush' as the 'national flower' of Georgia? Or do they simply not like having other people's sick thrown on their door step because it's bad for tourism? I personally hope the answer to all of the above questions is YES! And I hope that the eco-awareness of western Georgia makes its way, surely and swiftly, to Eastern Georgia.

... for a few days, at least. "This Ice Cream Town" is an affectionate nickname I have given my site, which produces the best ice cream in Georgia (*according to a PCV opinion poll).

(Early) Tomorrow morning, I head out to Batumi, a Black Sea resort town, for four days of easy living. I'm looking forward to relaxing in the "blazing sun and heat" that is forecast for the coming week, and meeting up with some of the new PCVs (if they have time in their busy summer schedules).

I have been busier than I would have expected this past week. I have had water since my last post and have washed many loads of clothes by hand (many being a relative term, since hand-washing laundry is a long, tiresome, demanding task). I've finished one of the books I was reading, and watched a few movies. Various PCVs have visited my oh-so-lovely site, and various foods have been made in tribute to our collective American-ness. I also visited with one of the G8s (a PCV that was a part of the group that came in 2008) while he was visiting Georgia.

The coming week already looks as though it will be fun-filled and action-packed!

Safe travels to all who will be travelling this summer! And wish me luck on my eight hour (minimum) journey to the other side of the country tomorrow!!

But getting them to do work on a secondary project is a whole different proverb. Summer for a teacher should be a time of rest. Summer for a Peace Corps Volunteer should be a time of secondary projects (setting up an English cabinet – my school already has thanks to their first PCV; conducting summer camps – my school has already had their summer camp, three other summer camps were either postponed or canceled, one more coming up in August). The secondary project my school has chosen is new desks and chairs for the first grade classrooms by this September. My counterpart and I were going to ask the gamgebeli (city council chairman/mayor) to help us, but he was out. This was nearly three weeks ago. Yesterday, I contacted my counterpart to ask what was going on. She said she would go tomorrow, and if she goes tomorrow would I go with her? I told her I would and to let me know what time. So, today is yesterday's tomorrow, and it's nearly 5 o'clock. I don't think we'll be going today. Maybe we'll go tomorrow. In other news, Day One of the 2009 PST Village Summer Camp has been planned – way to go TJ and me! I'm currently reading two books: A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, on my oddy-knocky (on my own. Burgess creates slang by Anglicizing Russian words); and Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky, which I'm reading with the NewVillager. I made my iPod a protective skin out of an old sock, we'll see how long that holds up (I'm not very handy with a needle and thread). Next week, it's off to Batumi for a few days of R-n-R on the Black Sea coast. At my apartment, I haven't had water since Sunday, which sounds dramatic but I'm supposed to have water on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. But I haven't had water on Tuesday or Wednesday mornings, and won't have water until Saturday at the earliest. There's also a water pressure issue, or rather the lack of water pressure. I am apparently not the only PCV or resident suffering from this problem – other PCVs along the west side of the valley have also complained of a lack of water pressure. Hey Staff – what's going on?

School ended around three weeks ago. But, then my school decided to have a two week summer camp for the incoming first through fourth grades right after school ended. And the teachers are still coming to school (even three weeks later) to talk about who will be teaching which classes in September. Also, I went back to Borjomi for some more training sessions. Got to hike around Borjomi Park a little – it was nice to get out in the nature. There's only one Georgian National Baseball team, and only one Georgian National Softball team. The softball team's coach/organizer is a nice guy who works with some Americans at a private school in Tbilisi. Through a long chain of Americaness and you-know-so-and-so-who-knows-so-and-so, some PCVs got connected with the team and we've scrimmaged against the softball team twice now (since there's only one softball team in the entire country, it limits the team to practices, with no competition – which is where we come in). The last time was on the fourth of July, and we won for America and freedom and fun! Went to Tbilisi Sea last weekend, it's a lake and would be really pretty if you didn't have to swim through garbage to get off the shore line. But it was nice to get to go to some sort of body of water and hang out for a while (although, it's no Ginny Springs/Santa Fe River). Afterward, the group of volunteers that was in town got cleaned up and went out to a Mexican restaurant in Tbilisi. I found out on the 4th that my sister and her boyfriend just got engaged – Congratulations Ashley and Martin! My birthday was the next day, which also happened to be the day that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was visiting Tbilisi and the PC/Georgia community was invited to meet-and-greet her at the Marriott. It was a nice short speech, but a long wait (3 hours in a ball room), and she didn't even mention Peace Corps (even though we made up 1/3 of the entire audience). But it was nice to be invited to the event. Some of the other volunteers took me out for dinner at the Mexican restaurant, and then we went for beers at the German restaurant/micro-brewery. Yesterday, I went to Telavi for a cookout - the hamburgers turned out great, and the brownies were fantastic! Can't wait for the next one! News from the homefront: I'm making some headway on the mountain of unwashed laundry I have yet to wash, but laundry now dries in less than 24 hours, so I plan to get everything washed before September! I bought a fan – b/c my site seems to be the only place in all of Georgia that has absolutely no wind. EVER! And it's hot, I'm talking upper 90s-100+. There's a nice store here that has several heavy-duty air conditioning units, I'm thinking I'll just park myself in front of one of those for the summer and buy something every now and then to make it look like I'm not loitering. Or I can be the volunteer door-shutter so all that cool air doesn't go to waste – think they'll hire me?

I know it's shocking for me to update my blog in the middle (-ish) of the week, but today is a special occasion. To my fellow G9s: Congratulations on ONE year in Georgia! Only one year and some change left til COS!! This post is dedicated to the past year, which we survived and flourished through. Hopefully, I will, one day soon, get a haircut, because I have tons of split ends. But for now, here's a summary of the last year: June 2009: Travel to Philadelphia to meet the new group. Travel to Georgia with the new group. PST begins in Kakheti (eastern region of Georgia). Myself and 4 other trainees, along with our Georgian teacher live in a small village called Didi Chailuri. Language classes and technical trainings abound. July and August: more language classes and technical trainings.Site announcements, Supervisor's conference and site visits. Swearing-In and the big move. September: Summer camp and the beginning of school. October and November: Teaching. Conferences. Signing up for committees. Visited 2008 training village.December: Teaching. Christmas in Tbilisi. New Years with host family. January: Cold. Celebrating no school with lots of sleep and internet time. Saw my first snow fall. Work begins on Writing Olympics. February: More cold. Back to school. Training conference. Work continues on Writing Olympics.March: Still cold. Still teaching. Another training conference. Writing Olympics. Megobari Project hit full swing. April: Still cold. Still teaching. Easter in Batumi. Writing Olympics competition held, judging completed, winnners announced. TEFL Resource Book revised and printed for new group. Met new group during their orientation. May: Rain replaced cold. Writing Olympics winners reception held. Attended trainings for new group. Moved into my own apartment. June: More school, then school's summer camp. More trainings for new group. That's a very brief summary, but I'm looking forward to the summer camps and projects that will (hopefully) take place this summer. “They” say the second year is easier. All I can say is bring it on!

Hello, once again, from your favorite Peace Corps Volunteer with atrocious grammar and spelling skills – ME! This past week has been fairly busy for me – a couple of days at school with lots of breaks in my schedule (because of canceled classes and/or no students), traveling to Borjomi for a training and back to site, with some time at the PC office working on finishing up projects/picking up a package from my MOM! On the way to Borjomi, I got on a marshutka that had one person on it, another came and they started talking about how I was one of those Peace Corps volunteers (hey, my Georgian's good enough so that I understood that much – huzzah!). They then directed their conversation to me, and we started talking – turns out they are currently hosting one of the trainees in the Borjomi area. The next day at Hub with all the trainees, I talked with the trainee whose host family members were on/owned the marshutka, and explained what happened (to which she replied, “OHHHHHH, that's what they were trying to tell me!) It's such a small world here... Also, one of the trainees is from the Gainesville area, and a UF Grad (so, we currently have a 2-2 UF-FSU PCVs in Georgia situation). She told me about an Eastern European market near Ward's where you can get Georgian wine and other products, and I had no idea what she was talking about, but apparently there was a man there who knew about me – as in, knew my name, that I had been to Georgia but was evacuated when the war started, and knew I had come back to Georgia. I knew Gainesville was a small world, and Georgia also is a small world, but I never thought there would be a Venn diagram area of overlap of the two. It really is a small world after all... But, even with all the traveling, I still have very little to fill you all in on (unless, you would like to hear about all the juicy PC gossip, of which I will not inform you now, b/c there is none, if you are PC staff, and if you're not, you won't care to hear it). The one bit I can tell you of is that I now have a refrigerator, courtesy of my landlady and her husband, and it is being put to good and constant use! One more week left of school, and then the planning of the summer camps begins. For now, try not to let the title/theme song of this blog post get stuck in your head...

June 1st is a significant date in Georgia and back home - it was St. Nino's Day (the day St. Nino brought Christianity to Georgia), also at my school it was Children's Day, and back home it was the first day of Hurricane Season. So far, so good.

The HERA Race for the Cure event was fun (with a side helping of drama at the end of the run, but of course). It was a beautiful day (with a side order of a light shower or two), and there was an amazing turnout. I met the U.S. Ambassador and saw the First Lady of Georgia (Dutch by birth) speaking better Georgian than I could ever dream of speaking. It's always nice to hang out with the other PCVs, especially when you get a free t-shirt out of it. I'm already looking forward to next year's event!

Meanwhile, back at site, the school year has been winding up - ever since 'bolo zari' (the 12th formers graduation-type ceremony) fewer and fewer students have been coming to class. I never know if my 7th and 9th form classes will be there, but I can always count on the little ones to come.

There seems to be a lot of projects going on right now - finishing up Writing Olympics, working out details for summer camps, figuring out summer plans, the newbies' trainings, sprucing up my apartment, fighting off the ants, etc. Speaking of summer camps, I have an exciting opportunity: I was recently facebook friended by some of my 2008 Gomi students, and one day we had a facebook chat. They asked what I would be doing this summer, and when I told them I'd be helping out with some summer camps, they said they wanted to help with summer camps, too. So, I tossed the idea out into the universe that maybe they should lead a summer camp in Gomi. They liked the idea and asked if I could help them with the camp, to which I responded YES! with PC permission. *Reminder to ask for PC permission to go and help with the summer camp in Gomi.

The internet provider that I use has decided to limit the amount of bandwidth its customers can use per month (sorry if I didn't word that in the technologically correct terminology), and if you use all of your bandwidth up, you can buy the slow dial-up version to supplement your usage until the month is up. There are so many downsides to this new policy that I'm limiting myself to saying one thing: they don't roll-over extra bandwidth you may have at the end of the month. So, sorry if I'm not on-line as much as I used to be, but thank you to all the PCVs who spread the news by word-of-mouth because the company couldn't be bothered to send out a notice to it's customers.

P.S. It's hott here!

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Last weekend, I went to Tbilisi on Saturday afternoon, in order to be able to set out to Borjomi early the next morning. I got to hang out with some Georgian friends that I hadn't seen since my 2008 permanent site visit - it was really nice to see them again, and lots of fun! After that, another PCV and myself went to meet up with some other PCVs who were already hanging out at a restaurant/bar, and, as the saying goes, "Things got weird!" But Sunday was a day of travelling - we went to Borjomi and wandered around until we found our meeting place. We had a good time hanging out with the newbies, of course it was not nearly enough time. But we were back on a marshutka headed for Tbilisi, only to hussle across town to catch the last marshutka back to site.

Wednesday was Georgian Independence Day, and to celebrate, as any good American would, myself and a few of the other PCVs made hamburgers, salad and ate strawberries and ice cream. It was delicious. But that night, I had a dream that zombies were attacking my apartment, and when I woke up, I had a hard time getting back to sleep - zombies are some scary-as mothas.

Thursday, I was off to Tbilisi to finish off some last minute Writing Olympics celebration preparation. The event itself was fun, and relatively stress-free. The students had fun, which is what it really was all about. We networked with people from the U.S. Embassy, and other educators in Tbilisi - side note: we possibly have a very exciting prize to start getting together for next year's winners.

This Saturday, I will be at Turtle Lake in Tbilisi for the Susan G. Komen/HERA Race for the Cure with some other PCVs. I'm really excited to participate in this event, since it's usually quite the dealio.

Also, yesterday, I checked my mail at the office to find that I already had a birthday card from my mom. My birthday is in July. I love you Mom!! Hope you are feeling better!!

Since the last post, I've:

1.)Gone to Borjomi for the new group's first Hub day, a chance for them to gather as a group and learn about medical issues, safety and security and other topics that will be useful/important to them for the next 2 years. They seemed upbeat and raring to go for the rest of PST; hopefully they keep that for the rest of their service.

2.)Spent some time in Tbilisi (because I was going to be at the Hub day). For breakfast, we found a donut place.

3.)Moved into my new apartment with the help of one of the other volunteers.

4.)Celebrated St. Andrew's Day in my new apartment, since there was no school. A volunteer who was passing through my town stopped by to check out my new place. The neighborhood police officer stopped by to introduce herself. The 12th former whose family lives downstairs came by to talk.

5.)I've met the two neighbors on both sides of me, and learned that one of the downstairs neighbors is going to be doing the FLEX Program in the fall (FLEX is a one year exchange program for Georgian students, who go to a high school and live in a host family in the United States). I haven't met her yet, but one of my CPs has said she wants to meet me and improve her English and accent before she leaves.

Today was a water day. I only have running water twice, sometimes thrice a week. There's hot water only when there's running water, so I have hot water twice, sometimes thrice a week. I have a water storage, well, garbage can-like container which holds enough water for me to be able to wash dishes, flush the toilet and the like on the days when there is no running water.

It is unusual for a single, young female to live alone in Georgia. It is not unusual for a young married couple to still live in the home of the husband's family. So, when some of the other volunteers whom I have visited at their sites told their host families that I moved out from my host family, the wheels of speculation started turning. They've said things like I had a bad host family or I didn't like it at my host family's house. This is not true. I had a great host family, and I liked being with my host family. But I'm American, and have a long independent streak - just look at the history of the United States.

Also, my cooking is improving. Did you know that cooking from scratch is time-consuming and difficult when all you have is a pot and a pan?

It's Friday night, and I'm back at site, where I'm supposed to be. The past week has been hectic, to say the least.

To say more, here we go...

On Tuesday, a PC staff member came to my town to look at my apartment options and make recommendations for security improvements that have to be made before I can move. One needs bars on the windows and a light outside the door; the other needs a metal door. The owner of the first one said no problems, it'll be done; the owner of the second said we can't afford to put a metal door in (metal doors here are pretty expensive - 300-500 lari).

On Wednesday, the new group made their rock-star entrance at Tbilisi's airport - complete with journalists, the U.S. Ambassador, Minister of Education and Sciences, and our very own PC staff!

On Thursday, I went to visit the new group with two other volunteers and the PC doctors - we briefed them on ways to stay healthy and happy in their villages. When I saw them, they were jet-lagged and tired, but they were also shiny clean with clean clothes that fit well, while I changed out of my sneakers into nicer shoes for the session and shook my head as I noticed the mud that had flicked itself onto the hem of my black trousers that have to be held up with a belt. The UF graduate in the group gave me Gatorade and Gators stickers - I miss game days! Then, headed to the PC office for a meeting of the Safety and Security Council (SSC), where we discussed the session we would be attending the next day. When the work was over, some awesome Thai food was consumed and a couple of games of 'Celebrity' ensued.

Bright and early Friday morning, the SSC was up and on our way to the hotel where the new group is staying. Before, during and after our session, the new group was asking questions - which was the point of us being there. Tomorrow is going to be full of awkward moments for them, as they meet and move in with their new host families. Hopefully, the SSC session helped give them ideas on how to make their first few days in their host families successful.

This afternoon, I came back to site (as previously mentioned). Tomorrow, I'm going to check on the progress of the window bars and light outside the front door at the apartment. I was told it would be done by the end of this weekend. Also, I'm going to work on getting the Writing Olympics booklet layout set. Maybe pack some of my stuff. Maybe.

And now, as I type this, I really wish I could drive a car! But I can't because 1) it's against PC policy; and 2) Georgian highways aren't for the faint-hearted (as the saying goes, 'If you can drive in Georgia, you can drive anywhere'). And, not that I have Nintendo, but I suck at MarioKart. Maybe there's a go-cart track in Tbilisi?

When most people hear of Georgia, they think about the state. When they hear about the country of Georgia, if their response is not a look of puzzlement (there's a country called Georgia?), it probably has something to do with either the war with Russia in 2008 or the death of luger Nodar Kumaritashvili at the Vancouver Olympics earlier this year.

What you don't normally hear about is what I experience on a daily basis, living and working in this beautiful, old country. CNN is running a special this month on Georgia: http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2010/ilist/

Enjoy!!

P.S. The title of this post, Sakartvelos Gaumarjos, is loosely translated as "Here's to Georgia!" and is a toast heard at every supra, or feast.

This is a ranting blog post. If you don't like rants, do NOT read on. You've been warned!

So, my new computer (named LeRoy, by the way) is small, fast, light, easy to use and easy on the eyes. And I've been using it happily (and non-stop) ever since I first held it in my hands. But, now, Microsoft Word has stopped letting me edit or enter information into any of my documents. It's only Word, as of right now. It is the worst timing! I've got two projects both needing my attention and my access to a word processing program that will allow me to edit and write old and new documents. (One with a deadline of tomorrow!) So, what else to do (besides sitting down and alt tab -ing it back and forth between the document I need to edit and the main body of an email, where I would be typing out everything from the document into an email)? I'm going to rant and rage at the computer and the idiot Operating System that is Windows7!

And before you ask, YES, I have tried turning it off and on again!

There is a "Windows 60-day Free Trial" icon on my desktop. I'll give anything a try at this point. And have. Does it work? NO. A screen pops up that says "You are not currently connected to the internet. Please connect and try again." Oh, I'm not connected to the internet? How did I manage to check my email, facebook, textsfromlastnight.com, BBCNews, and type out a blog post AND post it if I'm not connected to the internet? Riddle me that Bill Gates!

In other news: Ants have invaded my host family's house. Everywhere. Earlier today, one crawled across LeRoy's screen. Two mornings ago, one bit my- well, one lives on the toilet. They crawl across the tables in the kitchen. They're all over the floors. I need to find out if bay leaves (Ants don't like bay leaves. I had ants in my car once, placed a couple of bay leaves around the car and never had another ant problem) exist in Georgia, and if so, how to say bay leaves in Georgian. Or, you know, move out.

Well, I guess I better get back to work - since I now have double the work ahead of me! And if Bill Gates ever does read this... well, I am a Peace Corps volunteer, I'm allowed to be snarky and sarcastic every once in a blog post.

So, we had spring weather for about a week or so, and the school started taking the petchis (a petchi is a wood-burning stove used for heating classrooms and homes in winter) out of the classrooms. But it has once again turned cold, and the rain doesn’t help much. The petchis that were left in classrooms were lit today because it is cold! (Note: don’t ever abuse central heating and air conditioning in my presence, they are two luxuries we Floridians take for granted.) You may be asking yourself, right about now, what happened with the Writing Olympics judging this past Saturday. Well, I know you’re all on the edge of your seat, nervous with anticipation to hear the results! So here goes… The judging went well, we had fourteen PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) show up to help judge, meaning that part took no time at all, and four Georgians swing by to help out. We have 1st, 2nd and 3rd place regional winners for Kakheti (my region), Kvemo Kartli, and “the West” region, as well as 1st, 2nd and 3rd place national winners. Unfortunately, none of my students won. Anything. (But I read my 2 seventh graders essays, and one of them was really great!) The winning essays did, however, blow away the judges that read them! Yea! Mission Accomplished! Creativity is seeping into Georgian classrooms! On the apartment hunting front: Goose egg. After seeing three flats, and being denied the chance to see what a 300 lari/month apartment in the regions looks like (I heard the words washing machine and grew curious), I’ve decided to have PC come look at two, with one a clear front runner, to my mind at least. The one I do want to move into is not ready yet (they’re renovating it right now) but should be ready by next Sunday. The landlady said she told the workers to work fast, and she agreed to the rent I wanted. It’s all sounding too good. So, I’ll keep the other apartment on the table for now, and see what happens when PC comes. In an effort to be more upbeat, here are some things that I am grateful for: daily emails from my mom; Gatorade from Didi Titi; the support and friendship of other PCVs; my counterparts enthusiasm for finding me a new apartment; my netbook which keeps me connected to the world; and my fourth graders faces when they saw that I put stickers on their worksheets, instead of grades.

So, I’m gonna be honest – I WANT A BIRTHDAY CARE PACKAGE! Got it? Good. Since, I’m looking to move into an apartment, I guess it can be a birthday/apartment warming care package. Here’s the wish-list in (somewhat) preferential order and with a running commentary: Letters, cards and pictures from ya’ll Flip-flops – black or brown – size 11 women’s (if you want to spring for a pair of Rainbow’s, I wouldn’t say no, but otherwise they’re going buy one, get one half off at Famous Footwear http://www.famousfootwear.com/Shopping/ProductDetails.aspx?p=00556&pg=1003512&icid=undefined or a 2-pack at http://www.zappos.com/teva-mush-2-pack-tread-black-gardenia-red Gatorade/Snapple/Crystal Light/powdered juice mixes (single-size packets are preferable – they fill up space in the box) Knorr Pasta Sides chicken flavor Brownie mixes (b/c baking from a box is so much easier than from scratch) Cookie mixes/Double-stuffed OREOS Cake mixes (Funfetti would be AMAZING! Please include frosting!) Crank can opener, Vegetable peeler, Garlic press, Spatula, Measuring spoons/measuring cup Margarita mix (don’t ask, just send) Herb seeds (so I can start an herb garden in my kitchen window) Vanilla extract (large bottle)Peanut Butter Velveeta cheese Ranch dressing mix (the powdered kind, mayonnaise and sour cream I can buy here, it’s the flavor we can never get quite right when making it from scratch) Hot sauce Granola bars Tupperware (in various sizes, also good for putting mixes and what-not in so they don’t spill in the box on the way over)Cornbread mix Tortillas (yes, they’ll keep) Gators or Florida-touristy key chains (great prizes for brib- ehem, encouraging students to do work)Bay leaves Please feel free to include anything you feel like sending or have room to send So, that’s the list as of right now. And if you want the funfetti cake mix and frosting to get here by my birthday, you should mail out the box by the beginning of May.

The last week of March is over, and we’ve all lunged head first into spring – and it’s about time! Last Thursday, I had a PC committee meeting to attend in Tbilisi, which went well. Afterwards, we went to dinner at an amazing Mexican restaurant – where one of the volunteers led an American traveler she met on her trip in earlier in the day. We all greeted him with the usual enthusiasm – “Hey, you’re American, so am I! What’s up?” However, at some point during dinner, the newcomer said, “Wouldn’t it have been cool to have been here during the war?!” One of my fellow re-instated volunteers said, “We were here during the war, and believe me, you wouldn’t have wanted to be here.” I turned to the person who had brought him and said, “Have fun with this one.” We left the restaurant shortly after this, and the group of 8 of us that was going to Batumi stocked up on provisions and headed to the train station for the 8 hour night train west. I didn’t sleep well on the train; I think it was because we made so many long stops and the interruption in the rhythm of the train’s movement coupled with the heating still being turned on in the compartment. So, I stood in the corridor of our train car, looking out the window as the train passed through gorges, by rivers, through tunnels, and watched the moon bob in and out of sight behind mountains and clouds. It was peaceful and the rhythmic sounds of the train’s pdut-pdut kept me sleepy but incapable of sleep. When we finally pulled into Batumi station, took a marshutka into Batumi and found a hotel, we were all exhausted and hungry. Hunger won the battle over exhaustion and we set out to find a place to eat. I can tell you this about Batumi: I am happy I don’t live there because I would always be broke from eating out at restaurants all the time! We had Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Turkish, great desserts (for Georgia), and great service at the bars (one of which has waiters dressed in old Russian sailor suits) and restaurants. I definitely want to go back during the summer (to ride the Ferris wheel, sunbathe on the stone beach and ice skate, if the rink repairs are finished by then). We took a day trip to Sarpi (the town on the Turkish border) and Gonio castle. On the way back from Gonio, we were standing on the marshutka (which is not usually allowed, but happens), when a young man taps me on the shoulder and says, “Will you have seat?” I was very confused, and was about to say I didn’t understand, when he stood up and gave me his seat. Hooray for small acts of kindness! On Easter Sunday, our hotel greeted us with paska (Easter bread/cake) and red eggs. Cross-culture note: on Good Friday, known in Georgia as Red Friday, eggs are dyed red “to represent the blood of Christ, shed on the Cross, and the hard shell of the egg symbolized the sealed Tomb of Christ—the cracking of which (on Easter Sunday) symbolized his resurrection from the dead.” - Thanks to Teo for this information! After which, we walked to brunch with the other half of our group (we split up and stayed at 2 hotels), and wandered around for the rest of the day and part of the evening. When it was time to leave for the train station, we grabbed our bags and headed for a marshutka station, and then kept walking until we found a driver who said he’d take us to the train station for 50 tetri per person. When we got to the train station, we found ourselves with an hour and a half of free time. I learned how to play “Euchre” from the others, but still need to practice some more. Got on the train when it pulled in, found our compartments, popped some Benadryl (to combat the sleeplessness that occurred on the train out to Batumi) and slept. We pulled into Tbilisi around 7:30 in the morning, hung out at the office for a while, went to McDonald’s for some brunch, hung out at Prospero’s (coffeehouse/book store) and took off on a 2-hour marshutka ride to Kvareli to pick up my net book. Once in Kvareli, I found it difficult to get out – I was marooned at the marshutka station for 2 hours before there was room for me, who was not going all the way to Tbilisi (I live less than an hour away from Kvareli and an hour and a half away from Tbilisi). After arriving back at site, I half-heartedly setup my new computer, did some work and fell asleep early. It was such a good trip! I’d do it again, although probably not anytime soon – I need time to recover from this trip, and money to move into my own apartment. One of my counterparts has been on the lookout for an apartment for me since the training we had two weeks ago, and today we went to look at two of them. One is huge, comes with its own furnishings and knickknacks, has water four times a week, is owned by another counterpart and is further away from school than the other I saw today, which is small, being renovated, will have all new furnishings, has water twice a week and is right next to my school. Ah, decisions, decisions. I’m supposed to see two or three other apartments tomorrow. So, I’ll let you know how the whole moving out process goes. This weekend is the regional and national judging for the Writing Olympics, and so signals the beginning of the end of this project for this year. We’ve received over 500 entries from students in two regions in the east of Georgia and two districts in central Georgia. The winning essays from the national judging will be judged against the national winning essays from Azerbaijan, Armenia and Moldova later in the month for the “Eurasian Writing Olympics”. In May, there will be a celebration and awards ceremony for the Georgia winners in Tbilisi with the support of the U.S. Embassy there. My counterpart informed me today that there are ten weeks left in the school year. I’m trying not to count.

I knew this would happen! I knew that I would keep up with this blog for a while, and then start to forget about it. It’s okay, it’s what happens. And even when I have sat down to write a post, I've forgotten most of what I wanted to include, or thought better of publishing certain anecdotes out of respect for those PCVs involved, cultural sensitivity or not wanting those PC staff members who keep up to date on volunteer blog posts to hear about it from me. But I’ll try to entertain you once again:

We'll start with the training conference this past week in the resort town of Bazaleti. We learned all about designing and managing projects with our counterparts, writing grants and what grant opportunities are available in Georgia. So, my counterpart and I have an idea, which we will discuss with the school director and deputy director, and maybe other counterparts on Monday. And if it happens, GREAT!! and if not, well, you can’t blame the third PCV (that’d be me) at my school for failing to complete a project.

However, it was not all smooth sailing at the conference, at least not for me! On the second day, I woke up early in the morning to one of the worst cases of food poisoning I’ve ever had. Needless to say, I missed training that day, opting instead to rest (read as: sleep) through the day instead. I’m feeling better now, but heed my warning: NEVER eat a bag of chips with a hole in it and a “Processed in 03/2009; Best before 03/2010” label on it that was purchased from a small, out-of-the-way village store in any country!

Writing Olympics Update (because what would/will my life be like without the Writing Olympics): last Saturday (March 20) was a HUGE success for the contest! Volunteers in quite a few villages and towns held the contest, as well as our “Wild West” volunteers (PCVs who traveled to Gori and Bagdati in regions west of Tbilisi, where no PCVs are working currently) who proctored the essay writing in towns where the contest has been enthusiastically welcomed in past years. In total, we had approximately 450 students participate on this one weekend, bringing the total number of participants for all of Georgia to ~ 550, with two weeks left in the contest! This is AMAZING considering how small our group is, that we are working in 2 regions, and that in 2007, when about 60 PCVs were in-country, the total number of students was just over 1100!

What about next weekend? You know the time of Cadbury eggs, jelly beans, and inedible Peeps? Well, you’ll all be happy to hear that they color eggs here, too. Here’s everything you’ll ever need to know about Easter in Georgia (taken from the PC/Georgia newsletter the country director thinks no one ever reads):

For Orthodox Christians Easter is the biggest religious holiday. This year Easter will be celebrated on April 4 [and] is preceded with the biggest fasting period. The last week before the Easter is the most important week for believers. On Sunday before the Easter a Palm Sunday (Georgian bzoba) is celebrated. People usually go to the church and bring small willow-branches, which they keep for the year before another Palm Sunday. The willow branches from the previous year are usually put to fire. As part of the secular celebrations people traditionally make bonfires on a Wednesday or Thursday night before Easter, which in Georgian is called “tchiakokona”. Two important elements of the Easter preparation are painting the eggs in red on a Good Friday and baking Easter Bread, Paska. Eggs are smashed on the Easter morning, a candle is lit on the Paska during the first meal of Easter Sunday. Another integral element for Easter is that the families go to the grave of their deceased ones and bring along the red eggs and Paska. In the regions of Georgian people usually go to the cemeteries on Easter Sunday, while in Tbilisi the first Monday after Easter. Tradition of bringing eggs and other food to the cemetery is much stronger in the regions. People in fact usually take big Supras, wine included and walk around the cemetery and drink a toast to “the Dead” with every family they know. Religious liturgy is held on Saturday night. A Georgian delegation to Jerusalem brings the holy fire to Sameba Cathedral in Tbilisi and then it is spread across Georgia. Several days starting from Easter Sunday greet each other saying the following phrase “qriste aghsdga” to which the response is “tcheshmaritad aghsdga” (“Christ had risen” – “Indeed Risen” in English).

So, now that you know, send me a card telling me how you will spend your Easter, Cadbury eggs and other edible goodies accepted as well.

Before we get to the story behind the title of this post, let's update you on the goings-on:

Whoever said showing up is half the battle must have been a TEFL Peace Corps volunteer. The other half of the battle is getting your students to show up, too. After planning the Writing Olympics in Georgia for months (okay, so, for two months), today was the day. I held the Writing Olympics at my school this morning. Hip-hip-hold your horses! Out of six classes, only 7th and 9th graders showed up, only eight 7th and 9th graders showed up, total. How do you say EPIC FAIL in Georgian? EIGHT students! I hope the other volunteers have better luck with their Writing Olympics! If you’re a volunteer reading this and need supplies, give me a call, I’ve got plenty. Also, an interesting side-note: Only students from the grades I teach showed up today. Writing Olympics is for 6th-11th grades, and I teach one of the 7th and one of the 9th grade English classes.

Tomorrow is my host mother’s birthday, and I’ve already given her flowers and have bought her two pair of earrings to give her tomorrow. I don’t know if her son and his family will be here for her birthday, or even if she’ll be here (she may have to work), so we’ll see what kind of hoopla goes on tomorrow.

For the “Health and Hygiene” section for this blog, there is great news! There will be a training coming up at the end of March at a nice, lakefront, central heated hotel with hot water.

In other news, according to an English teacher at my school, an apartment in my town costs 70 lari per month to rent.

A plea for help from friends and family: Send me (via email) any nursery rhymes, children’s songs or short and simple poems you know or remember, please! I want to teach them to my students, and also include them in the Teacher’s Resource Book the volunteers use. Send anything you think may be useful – from the “Itsy, bitsy spider” to “Little bunny Foofoo”. THANKS!

This afternoon, my host mother decided to make khatchapuri and lobiani (Georgian cheese bread and bean bread, respectively). She offered me a plate of khatchapuri, which I sat down to start to eat as she continued to make and cook lobiani. As we were talking and I was eating, my host mother remembered she forgot to put an egg in the cheese mixture, which meant the cheese mix would be runny. Not one minute after she remembered forgetting, I took a bite of khatchapuri and the cheese mix fell right onto my lap! In Georgian, cheese is kveli. My host mother’s said, basically, “That’s what happens when you forget the egg!” Let that be a lesson to you.

Well, I’ll answer that riddle in a minute, but first an update:

My new computer is in D.C. waiting for one of the PC/Georgia staffers to bring it back. Scratch that. My computer is in D.C. waiting to be shipped to Tampa to be brought with the friend of one of the other volunteers this week. Scratch that. My computer is in D.C waiting to be shipped to Ft. Lauderdale to be brought with the friend of one of the other volunteers at the end of the month. imedi makvs/I have hope! Third times a charm, right? PLEASE let it BE!!!!!

The month of March has been busy, and will continue to be so, as will April. Not that I’m complaining – it’s good to be occupied with projects!! The main project I’m working on is the Writing Olympics – holding the Olympics at my school (this Saturday), getting the word out to students, organizing judges for the regional and national contest, getting funding (we got approval from the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi for our grant!!!), and trying to think of any other little details that might have slipped through the cracks. But the committee is full of awesome people who know how to get things done!

Monday was International Women’s Day, for which I was gifted two towels by my host mom. I spent the weekend in Marneuli at another volunteer’s apartment, preparing and eating a whole lot of “American” food (oh, the gastronomic gloriousness) with a small group of volunteers. We watched ‘Daybreakers’ and I must say I wouldn’t have watched it by myself (because I don’t like horror /scary movies) and I won’t watch it again. But it was a great weekend – a sing-out-loud weekend!

One thing you always know in the Peace Corps is that every day is unpredictable. You may have your class schedule, your routine, an idea of what you think your day will look like, but it can change with a text message, a question, or on the walk to school. One of my counterparts has a 1-2 year old daughter who started running a fever over the weekend, and is still running a fever today. She says she’ll be at school tomorrow, and I hope she will be, and that her baby will be better (of course). Also, another of my counterparts has moved classes around without telling me, only to come find me in the teachers’ room halfway through class to tell me of the change. My 12th grade class regularly shows up ten minutes into class on Tuesdays, and usually not at all on Thursdays, but we’ll see what happens tomorrow. Because, in Peace Corps, in Georgia, in 2010, you just never know what will happen.

From my house to school is a 15-20 minute walk, depending on what I’m listening to on my iPod at that time. I like my walks to and from school, especially when the weather is gorgeous. There are some amazing views of the valley and the Caucasus Mountains along the way. I try not to forget to look at what’s in front of me, but I sometimes get lost in the music and scenery. Today, I was brought back to reality when I crossed the street on the walk home (after looking to the left, the right, and the left again). A dog crossed the road close to me and had something large in his mouth. As our paths crossed, I realized it was a chicken, a chicken carcass.

So, to answer the riddle: the chicken crossed the road because the scraggily dog carried it across the road in its mouth – the chicken was dinner. Oh, Georgia, what does tomorrow hold?

I miss days like this. I miss days like this in Florida especially. Days when the sun shines through the window in the mornings, but gets overtaken by dark storm clouds that roll in while you’re not paying attention, turning a glorious sunny noon into the time just after dusk, when the sun has disappeared beyond the horizon but night has not quite set in. You can feel the temperature drop. So, you run inside and turn off the air conditioning, open the windows and wait for the storm to hit. When it does, you turn off the television and computer, and settle in on the couch with a book and throw blanket and listen to the sounds of the rain on the shed’s tin roof, the wind as it rustles the leaves in the trees, the splattering of the water in the puddles outside, and the thunder as it surrounds you.

Of course, today only got to the darkness of dusk and the coolness that is Georgia in March. The rest, the good ole Florida thunderstorms, I’ll just have to wait for and relish it when it comes.

Yesterday: school, English classes (as usual), read a book in the teachers’ room (A Prayer for Owen Meany), went for khinkali with one of my counterparts and got some lesson planning accomplished, went to the music school and helped the music teacher with her pronunciation of words for the song “I don’t know how to love him” by Andrew Lloyd Weber – which she will perform at a concert soon and I was invited. She also wanted me to translate the words for her, because, as I understand, she will be performing either for a church or in a church and did not want to be singing bad things, and so it also became a Georgian practice session for me. In exchange for my services, the music teacher offered to give me piano lessons - which will be interesting since I can’t even play chopsticks!

Today: school - started off with a late CP and unruly students, but moved to good when the students heard what they would be working on – a group project on a topic of their choice. (And before you raise your hand to ask, yes, it has to be in English.) And, yeah, okay, one girl did end up in tears by the end of class (I think something else was going on, too, because another girl had been crying before class started) because my CP and I would not let her do the group project we assigned on her own, but what could we do, if we had said yes, everyone would have wanted to do the group project individually, and that’s just not a group project. The other lessons went really well, too. Then, I came home and washed clothes. (Note: cold water + hand-washing = not a good combination.)

So, it’s been a good couple of days here!

There’s the Life Skills Training of Trainers and TEFL Counterpart Conference next week – which means I will miss a lot of school next week. And that I will be in a hotel with (please, let there be) hot, running water and central heating!!

Hello all! My first blog post comes from the winter wonderland of Kakheti covered in snow, ice and mud slush. My 20 minute walk to school this morning had some slip-n-slide moments. Fun times. Good thing I brought my sh-, uh, I mean poop-stompin' boots! And while my family and friends back in the good 'ole U.S. of A. might think they have it bad, just imagine being able to see your breath inside your house, day and night. Thank goodness and PC for zero-degree sleeping bags!

I'm over winter already - don't get me wrong, snow is pretty, but slush is not. Come on Spring! I'll write more when I have news or stories. G'night!