After such a long hiatus from writing on my blog (and writing in general) it is difficult to know where to begin. I can clearly remember sitting down with my laptop this past October but I can’t remember how to … Continue reading →
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Autumn is here in all of its glory. The sky is filled with colorful leaves falling to the ground and a cool wind that wipes the warmth of the sun from your face and leaves a dustier ground beneath it. … Continue reading →
I let the entire summer pass without thinking even once about writing on my blog and now it’s payback time. Perhaps my lack of attention to my writing has caused me few followers, but I shall try to make up … Continue reading →
Congratulations Shemokmedi School! I wrote a grant a few months ago because my English classroom is in dire need of a renovation and I found out today that the grant has been approved! This summer I will be busy repairing … Continue reading →
A year ago right now I was saying goodbye to friends and family over cabernet sauvignon, doing last minute packing and wondering if I had made the right decision to join the Peace Corps and leave home for 27 months. … Continue reading →
The wonderful Peace Corps took the Education volunteers and their counterparts to the Georgia Palace Hotel last week for a very fancy conference and getaway. Upon arriving in the five star, luxurious hotel I immediately filled the bathtub with hot … Continue reading →
When people think of Russia in a non-political context, they probably think of vodka, an impossibly difficult language, and COLD WEATHER. Well, being right below Russia, all of the above predispositions remain true for Georgia. The past several weeks have … Continue reading →
One of my friends recently found this video and sent it my way. So you want to join the Peace Corps? Apart from being hilarious, I think that there is a lot of truth to the video. I found myself … Continue reading →
In America the holiday season is over, the decorations have been put away and the indulgent eating has at last come to an end. In Georgia, however, we are still waiting for the second celebration of the new year, which … Continue reading →
Nights like last Saturday are the reason I love to travel. I was in Tbilisi for the weekend with friends Erin and Carsten. We rode the night train for the first time, ate good non-Georgian food, went to a school … Continue reading →
This is my first big holiday away from home. I missed two 4th of July’s during my travel in Latin America, but that seems far less significant than Thanksgiving. The Thanksgivings that I remember well were spent with my immediate … Continue reading →
I am very happy to report that the Peace Corps finally gave in and let me move in with my tutor and her husband! Although it was difficult to leave my crying host sisters and host mom in Shemokmedi, I … Continue reading →
It shouldn’t be surprising anymore that schedules often change and people seldom keep plans in Georgia. However, I just about lost it the other day when I was told that my 11th grade class had been switched to the 6th … Continue reading →
I can finally update my blog again because today is a holiday in Georgia. For more information, read below. If you want to skip the holiday and jump to my blog, you can ignore the following: Svetistkhovloba, October 14On the14th … Continue reading →
The new school year is upon us and we are starting the third week today. As you can imagine, I have been busy becoming acquainted with my new students and my fellow teachers in Shemokmedi’s school. The first day of … Continue reading →
The summer is winding down and school begins a week from today. I think I am more nervous than my students for the first day. In preparation I have done . . . nothing . . . because for the … Continue reading →
Just spent another fabulous weekend in Gonio visiting Laura. Not only is Laura’s host family warm and kind, but they also have a second floor to their home where they let Laura roam, complete with her own bathroom AND kitchen!! … Continue reading →
I have turned into a beach bum, thus I am too lazy to write a new post. I do care about you, though, so I posted some pictures. Enjoy!
Today was the final day of my seven day summer camp — phew! It was seven days of entertaining anywhere from 7 to 15 kids with a break to enjoy the beach over the weekend. My friend, Erin, came to … Continue reading →
I’m a volunteer! The swearing in event occurred this past Friday at a nice venue in Borjomi. In attendance were my fellow volunteers, the US Ambassador, the head of Peace Corps Georgia, one member from each host family (both old … Continue reading →
Like many of my fellow trainees, I woke up early in the morning yesterday to get ready to meet Hillary Clinton. I took extra care making my hair look like I get regular showers, I spent 20 minutes searching for … Continue reading →
Denise, Gizo, me, Laura – Denise & Laura live in Kvishkheti with me and Gizo is part of the PC Georgia staff In order to celebrate the American Independence Day, the Peace Corps, with the help of several trainees, organized … Continue reading →
Due to a much needed, long walk with a friend tonight, I missed dinner with the host family and had to eat alone when I got home (only if you count alone as being the only one in the kitchen … Continue reading →
This week I am conducting a summer camp for 2 hours a day with 4 other Peace Corps trainees. Today was the second day of the camp and both days we had over 25 kids show up to be involved … Continue reading →
I have some venting to do. The week has been long and training is winding down, so my plate is full and I’m almost ready to burst. I just walked through thick, deep mud from the school to my home and was poured on the whole way. Not only did my sandal break (the only [...]
For the past several days I have been in Shemokmedi visiting my new host family, the people I will be living with for the next two years of my life. They are a family of four, with a mother, a father, and two teenage girls. The house was built fairly recently and is well-equipped with [...]
The weekend alone in Tbilisi went faster than I thought it would. I made it back safely to Kvishkheti yesterday late afternoon and was welcomed back with open arms by my host family. Supposedly they called my language instructor daily while I was gone to check on the status of my health. I love them.
Yesterday, [...]
For the past week I have had a case of traveler’s sickness. Of course, when I ran into one of the Peace Corps doctors on Thursday at a hub day in Borjomi, I gave her graphic details about the situation so she called me that evening to inquire about the status of my stomach. I [...]
The big news here is that I found out where my permanent site for the next two years in Georgia is. It is a small village, roughly 1,700 people, in the Guria region of Georgia called Shemokmedi. The school where I’ll be teaching has 207 students and they have only one English teacher. The community [...]
I returned yesterday late afternoon from a 4 day journey to another volunteer’s site in the East of Georgia. It was well over 100 degrees and we spent the majority of the time outside drinking, so it was especially wonderful to sleep in until 8:30am today. I am so glad to be back at my [...]
This past weekend I went to Akhaltsikhe with three other trainees. We got to shower (twice, for the first time in a month), we explored the city’s streets, and we trekked up two hills to a beautiful church and a very old, uninhabited castle. Unfortunately the guards didn’t allow us into the castle. It is [...]
I’m loving life in Georgia. I already feel attached to the kids in my school and the language is coming along slowly. I spend my days in language class or technical training and two days a week I get to teach one lesson. Today I taught my lesson with two fellow volunteers, Laura and Erin, [...]
For now my blog isn’t allowing me to upload photos, so take a look at this
5/6/2010 PM
Where to begin? I’m sitting in my room that is on the second floor of my new Georgian home. The walls are covered with ocean blue wallpaper and the furniture is 1970’s-esque, while the white French doors are rustic-looking. Outside the windows and surrounding the house are mountains speckled with pine trees and homes. [...]
4/18/2010 PM
The going away party was yesterday. It was a whole day filled with family, friends, Georgian wine, beer, good food, and a great big cake with the Peace Corps logo on it. One of my friends from my old job brought Georgian sweet buns. They had raisins, pears, and other types of fruit baked [...]
3/21/2010 early AM
In Madison visiting my sister and brother-in-law for the weekend. Yesterday afternoon we went to one of those wonderful outdoors stores, REI, to purchase a backpacking backpack. This one will surely get the job done. It’s about twice the size of the first one I bought and it has lots of secret zippers [...]
Chapter One: The Last Chapter at 2637 Maryland Avenue
It is going to take a lot of hard work to empty and clean the apartment that I’ve been living in for almost three years, but it can be done. On the desk is a container of caulk to fill the many holes that I’ve left in [...]
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