Blog, April 26, 2015

Hello my Faithful Readers:

I have posted  four photographs at the end of the blog. The first is a photograph is me and my host brother way back in May 2014 in Osiarui. The second is the IDP camp (Koda) that I have written about in the blog. The photo was taken from the balcony of my friends apartment. The third is me at another friends apartment in Vake, Tbilisi - Georgia. More details within the blog  and the final photo is of me on the porch recently here in Sagarejo. 

April is a hard month here in Sagarejo, Georgia. It seems that April 1^st is the magical date that is supposed to change winter into spring. April 1^st marks the date when the fire wood is gone and any extra money provided to the host families to offset heating costs is suspended (so using the electric space heater is something that you want to do sparingly if at all). However, Mother Nature does not know that it is suppose to change from winter to spring on April 1^st ; and, that the temperatures should be mild enough so that fire wood and heat are no longer needed.

All winter I have stayed somewhat warm. I’ve been cold at times but not nearly as cold as I’ve been recently here in April. It has been raining for days-days-days and with the rain comes that raw cold that just goes into your bones. The pechi is still operating but not with fire wood. It has a gas insert that allows for some warmth; but not as good as with the fire wood.

I was under the covers thinking one evening that I was hungry, dirty and cold and this was how I was going to go to sleep. I thought about this and wondered how I was going to live in this state for the next four days as that is when I would be able to travel to Tbilisi for food, shower and heat. When, to my surprise I realized that the school was closed for an additional day due to the holiday and that I could travel into Tbilisi to take care of my needs. Wow, you want to talk about a “New York Minute” – that is when everything can change. I came home clean, well fed and warm as during my travels the sun cooperated and finally came out after hiding for five days.

I don’t know if this is a trick or not; but, I am told in May the “snakes” come out in Sagarejo.  Is someone pulling my leg? I don’t know if this is true or not; but I will let you know that next time I blog. I have no idea what kinds of snakes and if this is true where the snakes have been all this time (maybe hiding underground). I hope this was a joke! As if the dogs and the cars were not enough to scare me!

So, today is the end of April. On April 26^th was my “one year anniversary” of arriving in Georgia. At times I feel like I have been here five years. It has been an amazing year filled with joys, hardships, lessons learned; new friends and everything in-between. The volunteers say that the 1^st year goes very slow; but, the second year flies by. So, we shall see.

http://www.internal-displacement.org/blog/2013/five-years-on-from-the-georgia-russia-war-georgian-idps-still-in-need

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUW8tPl-sl8

One of my friends here in the Peace Corps recently celebrated a Birthday. Her post here in Georgia is “Koda, Georgia”.  Koda is an IDP camp (Internally Displaced Persons). So, I recently went to my first IDP camp to help her celebrate. The site is about 40 minutes from Tbilisi and of course travel is via marsh. My friend works with community administration to foster development to the folks who were forced to leave their homes and relocate. The above links will provide some information; however, I could not find any links for Koda specifically.

There are approximately 150,000 IDP’s in Georgia. I don’t know exactly how many IDP’s are situated in Koda; but, based on the number of apartment buildings I would estimate there are about 5,000 (maybe?).

Koda is a former Russian military base that was transformed into living quarters for the relocation. The apartment buildings, and there are many, are not that bad. They have newly installed windows; gas heat (not pechi); electric and most of all neighbors who just blew me away with the warm and loving reception we PC volunteers received. The neighbors brought food and presents and this from folks who really don’t have a heck of a lot. Water is a luxury. It is only available at certain times of the day; so, you better pay attention or you will miss your opportunity.

The camp is mostly mud….walking around is a challenge. They have lots of gardens; live stock (cows, chickens, pigs and of course DOGS). Laundry is hung outside everywhere and I could see that these folks were making improvements (building storage units) for food and cars. The community makes and sells all kinds of things; for example, furniture, knitted hats, etc. They have a sewing room where people are taught to sew and also a beauty school where hair cutting is taught. They are trying, after so many years of being displaced, to re-make their lives as many think that they will never go home again. They will spend their lives displaced. I cannot imagine how that would feel. However, since (I was told) that when relocation was organized the government tried to group folks who had been from the displaced locations together; there was already a sense of community, shared experience, as they moved into Koda.  

It was only, for me, an overnight trip but I felt as much a part of this community as I could have in that short time.  I would like to go back and learn more and I also realized that my struggles here in Sagarejo are, of course, challenging but in comparison to what I observed in Koda – I can’t complain.

Over the Georgian Easter Holiday the Tbilisi metro was FREE! I think that is just terrific for the transit system to do that. Of course, I didn’t get into Tbilisi over the holiday as I have not really been traveling much due to my parasite. And speaking of my parasite; I am told that I am completely free. Yipee; however, the doctors tell me that it will still be sometime before I can return to normal (whatever that means). It seems that some healing needs to take place; but, I must tell you that things are a little better. One of the other considerations was the fact that my system seems to have too much iron in it and that also causes issues. So the PC will fix me up with vitamins more in line with what I need.

As a result of all this I have had blood work done and other “stuff” (don’t want to mention); but, I am told that all the results came back positive, even stellar! So, I guess the weight loss (now 67 pounds) has had a positive effective on my body. I have been so well taken care of. People have said that when you are in the PC you will have the best medical care that you will probably ever get!  When I went for the blood work I was escorted by a member of the PC security staff. He drove me over to the medical office and navigated the sign-in procedure for me. He then drove me back to the PC office. It was truly effortless.

I have finally been connected with “World Wise Schools” in the United States. I have been connected with a 6^th grade teacher in Jamesville DeWitt Middle School, in DeWitt.  It is a suburb of Syracuse, NY.  The school is grades 5 - 8 and has about 950 students.  My teacher has 24 kids in her ELA class and that is the class that would correspond with me or with some of your students.

The below links are for the school and the Peace Corps site that talks about the World Wise Schools project.

http://www.jamesvilledewitt.org/middle

http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/about/

We have been communicating via email and the students have lots of questions for me. There are lots of possibilities for lessons plans; Celsius VS Fahrenheit, The language of Georgia – history and alphabet, the geography of Georgia…lots and lots of idea. I think at some point we will skype. I am very glad I signed on to do this project.

1.  What's the climate like?  (or How's the weather?)

2.  How many kids go to Sagarejo #2?  We have about 950 students here.

3.  Is it hard to get up and down the mountain?

4.  How many other schools are there?

5.  Please tell us how to say the name of the town (phonetically).

6.  What is the official language of Georgia?

I recently spent a weekend in Tbilisi recently with a friend who is former PCV and ex-pat who decided to live in Georgia after she completed her PC service. It was an amazing weekend as her apartment is in “Vake” which is a section within Tbilisi. I have been toying with the idea of relocating in Georgia (retiring) after I complete; but it is far away (July 2016). We spent the time walking all around the neighborhood just so I could get a feel for the area. It so reminds me of NYC (the So-Ho) area. It is an interesting neighborhood. There are tons of apartment buildings, shops, restaurants and a park. There is great transportation and I was on many, many auto-buses so I could see how I could get around. The bus cost, now hold onto your hat – 50Tetri, which is about 20cents in US currency for a ride. And, if you make a transfer to another bus or metro within 90 minutes there is no cost. The marsh system is a little different, but it is also very inexpensive.

My friend lives in a walk-up apartment building. Most of the apartments are walk-ups. She lives on the 3^rd floor; so that in and of itself is a great exercise program. Her place is small; one bedroom, a nice size living room, small kitchen and bathroom but it is really perfect. The location is awesome and she walks everywhere she needs to go. She has a little terrace that she can have plants and hang laundry. It is all really very affordable as the apartments come equipped with all the furniture and pots/pans, dishes, etc. So, no big investment is needed.

We met other folks for dinner at a really wonderful Italian restaurant (I was in heaven). We had REAL coffee…and REAL butter (and toast) for breakfast before we went exploring. The weather cooperated as it didn’t rain and it was truly a wonderful spring day to tour the sites. This adventure showed me that my thinking about relocating here is completely do-able. The ex-pats who live here have given me so much information in order to figure out how to do it. I don’t need to invent the wheel and I have an already built in community of people who have truly welcomed me in the fold. I will keep you posted as this will be an on-going conversation.  The below link will provide information on the area.  “Vake” is directly below “Saburtalo” which is where the Peace Corps Office is.

https://www.google.ge/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=saburtalo

On another note, my obtaining an apartment here in Sagarejo will probably not happen. There are just not enough apartments and they are all rented. It seems that someone will have to move out so that I could move in. I have had a couple of nibbles but conditions would just not be suitable; e.g., I would be afraid due to people drinking around the building or I would need to take transportation to get to school.  Maybe it is just not that important as I really do love living where I do on the mountain. So, we shall see how this unfolds.

My host family is in high gear planting corn, beans, tomatoes, onions….and the list goes on and on. However, I was so surprised when I learned how potatoes are grown. Now, I am a potato lover “კარტოფილის = kartopilis” in Georgian. I eat potatoes almost every day. They are boiled, fried, baked (on the pechi); they are in soups and salads as well as boiled in beef and pork dishes. I think they are even in desert pastry. Potatoes are everywhere. So, when my host father brought home a 50 pound bag (I think it was that size but there were LOTS of potatoes) and he started to bury them back in the garden I thought he was out of his mind. I thought “why buy the potatoes and bury them?” So, I was asking questions as I am not a farm gal. It seems, once I had the internet to educate me, that this is the way you grow potatoes.

There are many utube videos, I’ve listed one to give you the skinny on this. My host father planted the potato whole; however, many videos say that you should cut them because of the eyes. This is a whole new world for me. I knew potatoes grew in the ground; but, I thought maybe there were seeds planted or something. Very interesting  - J

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+video+to+grow+potatoes&qpvt=utube+video+to+grow+potatoes&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&mid=6E7A4D927CFE53A2B4C56E7A4D927CFE53A2B4C5

The other day as I was coming down from my room I saw the most amazing thing….it was a cow! Wow, this cow was humongous! I wanted to go get my camera but I knew I would be too late to get a picture. Reason being is that my host grandmother was heading towards the cow with a BIG stick. I wanted to see what she was going to do. Well, she threw the stick at the cow and he/she (cow) moved away from our house. I can imagine if the cow got into the garden it would eat whatever has been planted so far….but, I stayed clear of the cow as if it ran into you I am sure you could really get hurt. This was a first for me. I’ve seen horses, donkeys, chickens, ducks, of course dogs and cats; but, this was my first cow here on the mountain!

And the saga continues as the next day there were two bulls heading into our garden. Again, WOW! I was just flabbergasted. Neighbors came out with sticks to push them back to where they came from (that is another neighbor’s house). I even felt confident enough to walk with the folks to push the bulls back. They were both so black and mean looking. I don’t think I have ever seen a bull that close.

I was a little taken back recently when, during the school day, I watched as a couple of the boys were playing with toy guns. I have not seen toy guns in decades; in fact, I don’t even know if they are sold in the USA any longer? But, the children

were playing with black handguns and for me it was a frozen moment. The children were running around shooting each other and making the noises that guns make. They were hiding the guns in their clothing and ducking behind furniture as they were shooting each other.

This was unexpected and for some reason I thought why this was happening?

I remember growing up playing with handguns and machine-guns in the same way that these children were playing; however, things have changed since I was a kid. Maybe this has been happening all along; however, it is only now that I’ve noticed it?

I will close for now as I begin my 2^nd year here in Georgia. Actually, my 2^nd year does not officially start until July as that is when I finished training (July 2014)  and became a full PC volunteer (not a trainee). But, who is counting (HA). I can now see how “green” I was coming into service. I don’t feel that all of the “green” is gone; but I can certainly see how much I have grown in this experience.

All the Best, My Faithful Readers

Catherine Lawrence, G14

Peace Corps Volunteer/Georgia

The contents of this blog are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.

Blog, April 13, 2015

Hello, My Faithful Readers:

I am attaching at the bottom of the blog four photographs. The first, as promised, is the tattoo text that PCV friends had placed on their upper arm. It says “Peace Corps Georgia 2013-2015”. The second is the newly established library book corner for the children of Sagarejo School #2. These books were donated to Peace Corps and then to Georgian Schools from various non-profit organizations in the United State. Next is a photo of “me” in the English Cabinet during a recent 9^th grade class and finally a photo of the English alphabet letters that were placed in the English Cabinet.

Today is the end of Easter Break (from school) here in Georgia (April 9-13, 2015). The link below will provide additional information on Orthodox Easter Sunday. During conversations with my host family and friends I hear that even though it is a week later than the Easter holiday in the states; people here basically do many of the same things. For example: dying eggs, visiting family and friends and going to the cemetery. Of course, food plays a big part of this holiday – many of the traditional Georgian food are served. Eggs here in Georgia are colored ONLY in “red” to represent the blood of Christ. My host sister went to Easter Services that started at midnight on Sunday morning and finished at 3:00am on Easter Sunday.  It has been raining now for five days and it is so cold and raw. We all pray for the sun to come out. My host mother is baking bread and preparing food for the supra.

http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/georgia/orthodox-easter-day

PCV’s have been advised that during the Easter gathering and visiting the ancestors’ cemeteries on Monday (4/13/15)  will likely result in a higher number of inebriated drivers, therefore be particularly aware when you are walking home or crossing the street and also riding the marshrutka.

LELO is an Easter Tradition – and the video link below shows how Georgians play “Lelo” in Georgia. Georgians are preparing whole year to play Lelo for the Easter day in the Shukhuti village. Ball making process is very sacred. The number of players isn't limited. All the people are divided into two groups and all of them are willing to score a Lelo, which is the Georgian synonym of try. After the match, the winner should place the ball on the grave of a glorious person from his village.

You have to see this game to believe it. It sort of reminds me of Rugby..all I could do while watching was place my hand over my mouth…it is worth the 7 minutes!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvmq_K6G84Q

I am an American and according to many of my Georgian friends, we Americans do some crazy things. I say that tongue and cheek as some of my Georgian friends feel comfortable enough to needle and tease me about some of the things that I do that seem strange to them.  

Some of my crazy habits: I brush my teeth a lot! I drink LOTS of water and very little wine! I use very little (if any) salt and sugar! I arrive to places on time or even early! I wash my hands a lot (or use sanitizer)!

However, over time here I have seen many of my Georgian friends drinking a LOT more water than they did a few months ago, and the teachers ask to use my hand sanitizer during the day when I am around. I keep singing the praises of being hydrated and I think my example maybe getting through.

I heard something recently that I surely don’t hear much in the USA; that is, parents calling their children to come home. I remember as a girl growing up that I heard my parents calling me back to the house for meals or time to come in; however, in the United States I sure don’t hear that anymore. Here in Georgia (as when I was growing up) children can go away from home to play, ride bikes, roller skate  or just visit with friends in the neighborhood without having a parent hovering near. In recent years parents/grandparents in the US don’t let their children out of their sight. I will speak for myself; as I would not let my grandchildren go riding their bike freely around any neighborhood.

Parents in the US watch their kids like hawks; not so here in Georgia. Children here can roam free as it is a tight knit community and it seems to be OK here to let your children go on their own (at times). Children here walk to and from school by themselves; in the US most families take their children to school and watch them go in with their teacher. So sad that in the US many children just disappear and so much emphasis is placed on “stranger danger.” In the US we take fingerprints of our children, just in case. I am not 100% sure, but I don’t think that happens here (or at least it is not reported).  It is so refreshing to listen to mothers yelling for their children. It is just a normal thing to do here.  I didn’t realize how we just don’t do that in the USA any longer.

News Flash! All this time and I didn’t realize that there are NO soap operas broadcasted on Sundays here in Georgia. Of course this is not earth shattering news; but, I never put it together before now. Oh well!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujo65bBRQ4I

Unforgettable Energy of Freedom  - you may need to cut and paste into your browser.

The above link is to a short video (3minutes or so) of Georgian Dancing that takes place at various locations around Tbilisi. Really something to see!

Pictures…..as promised in an earlier blog, I have attached to the bottom of the blog a photo of the tattoo that my friends here in Georgia had placed on their upper arm. It says” Peace Corps Georgia 2013-3015”. My friends are really happy with their tattoo and felt that this was the best souvenir that could bring home. I don’t plan to do anything that elaborate; however, I have been thinking about getting one also. They said it does not hurt that much – ouch! My friends are in their early 70’s.

The big news in my life is that I am going to see if I can rent an apartment/flat here in Sagarejo. ბინა = Bina (which means apartment in Georgian.) I have been living with host families now for almost a year and I thought it might be a good idea to see if I could live on my own here in Georgia. I do love living where I do (on the mountain) and it may end up that I won’t move; but I am putting out the feelers with teachers and friends to see if there is anything affordable and safe for me. Here in Georgia when you rent it comes furnished with all the dishes, pots/pans, linens…etc., etc. So, it won’t be a big financial investment to move. Sagarejo is very poor; and there are very few apartment buildings. I’ve heard that all the apartments are occupied; however, one apartment dweller said she would move back with her parents if I wanted to rent her “bina”. I did go and look and it was very nice; but, it was SO BIG – six rooms without counting kitchen and bathroom. I just could not afford that much space and also, since I have to pay for gas and electric, I could not afford to heat it next winter. I had another possibility; however, this apartment didn’t have any water (sorry, that won’t work). And another possibility was the place was heated by a fire place. Well, I am not so sure about that…I feel like I am part of “little house on the prairie” So often here in Georgia I feel that I am living in the 18^th or early 19^th century; that is, until a car flies by and almost hits me. So, we shall see what happens.

I’ve noticed time and time again how direct the Georgian people are in how they communicate. At times it catches me off guard as for some reason I don’t expect it. For some reason I’ve had the impression that Georgian people are mild, reserved and laid back and most times they are.  Somehow I interpreted that to mean they were not confrontational and direct; however, I am mistaken. Many times I am hit from left field with questions that I surely would not ask anyone. For example; I am always put on the spot by a Georgian to tell me what my religion is. Another big question is why I am not married and do I want a Georgian husband? Of course in these situations I have to lie as I don’t want to upset anyone with my answers.

Georgian people are so direct in asking “why not.” For example, when I say “No thank you” especially for some of the food and alcohol that is offered; most time (and immediately) the person offering will say “why not?” (their tone is very targeted).  It does put me on the spot as I don’t want to hurt feelings – but, the question is posed in such a way as to not accept my refusal. I sometimes just want to take what is offered (even if I don’t want it) just to avoid having to provide an answer. It is a high wire act at times for me. However, I have been learning and find that I am now so much better as responding, in kind, when these kinds of situations arise. It seems that it is OK to do that; in fact, I think the honesty is a cleaner way to respond rather than trying to not ruffle feathers.

In class the other day, the 6^th grade class, a student was copying from the text book and wrote “The peace of jewelry was not to be worn.” I spoke to the teacher and the student who copied the sentence and said that “peace” was not correct. They both looked at me so strange. Their question was how can that be, it is in the book. We had a discussion about Peace/Piece and the differences in meaning (although they sound the same but have different meanings). I don’t think they believed me as you see “it was in the book.” They said, is the book wrong and I said yes. I don’t get to see the book very often that the teacher uses so I wonder what else is being taught that is not correct.

So often I find the students, in a word “brazen” is the best way I can describe it. They look you right in the face and just do as they please and even give you a smile as they know nothing will be done about their behavior. They have no fear of just saying “No” to handing over their cell phone, toys, doodle papers and anything else that is taking their attention away from the lesson. I have not been in many US classrooms (as I was not a classroom teacher) so maybe it’s the same all over; but, I can remember (back in the olden days) that there was usually at least one (maybe two) students in the class who are disruptive and troublesome. Well, in many of the classrooms I’ve been in here in Georgia the opposite is true. Usually there are a handful of students who are respectful and quiet trying to do their work. However, the majority fall into the category of brazen and disrespectful. I could handle a couple of unruly students but when the majority is acting out it is so difficult, if not impossible, to teach. It is exhausting trying to be heard over the talking, laughing, clowning around, running around and often foot stomping and desk pounding. I could go on, but there is no point. Many adults when confronted with this behavior smile and they say how lively the children are. There are always excuses.

One of the things that I am looking forward to when (and if) I can move into my own place is that I will have more control over my food. The other day my host mother made spinach. Now, I was ecstatic. I could not wait to sit down at the table. However, it was short lived as the family eats the spinach fried in oil. The spinach was swimming in oil and I lost any desire. I just could not figure out how to squeeze out the oil so I could eat the spinach; so, I just figured I would refrain from eating altogether. I want to get a colander so that I can steam vegetables….and figure out how to get some butter buds.

A fellow PCV and I have formed a book club. This is very exciting news for me. We have been trading books back and forth; however, now we have selected a book read for April and then will meet in May to have a discussion. In my past life, before Peace Corps, I was a member of the Great Books foundation. I so loved this group and the books and discussions that were had. I don’t think we are going to read the heavy books that I used to read (I just cannot concentrate on anything to deep), so we are going to read “the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.” I read it years ago and like, occasionally to read books over at different points in my life. I cannot wait to see what my second reading will unfold.

My parasite is still hanging on. Things have gotten a little better; however, I am told that it will be months before my system is completed refurbished. I don’t feel sick and I am keeping records of what I am eating to see if I can fake out the parasite.  Ok, Ok – I am LOL as I am writing this and wondering if I have been in country to long J

I have written another article for my series in OpEdNews.  Title is “A Change of Plan.” I so enjoy writing about my experiences.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Change-of-Plan-by-Catherine-Lawrence-Living_Living-150411-419.html

I had occasion to be on the metro one day during the week (as I am usually on the metro only on the weekends). So, I was surprised to see so many children begging for money on the metro. These children, maybe 7 or 8 years old; who were carrying babies and begging for money were in abundance both on the metro and in the station.  There are always policemen in the stations; so, I wondered why these children were allowed to do this?  I wondered why these children were not in school.  I wondered why the people on the train gave them money over and over again. It is upsetting to me to see this happen. The baby they were carrying looked drugged and the child that was carrying the baby held it out in front of it at arms length. Kind of like how they hold religious items in a procession.

I am usually home on Mondays as my school schedule does not have me teaching on Mondays. This is a good thing on the one hand; and on the other hand; on Fridays I have six classes. But it is nice to have a Monday off. However, what has been happening is that most Mondays the electricity goes off. Usually from around 10am to 3pm there is no electric. So, it is day light; however, I cannot work in my room as my electric heater won’t work. Of course the good news is no TV and NO serial soap opera; but it sure is inconvenient. It happens with great regularity so I think maybe it is a planned event rather than weather related.

During the school day we, the teachers, often find students sleeping at their desk during the lesson. I have a hard time with, among other things, and I want to have the student either wake up or leave the room. I am told by the teachers that sleeping is ok sometimes as the students are tired. So, this got me thinking and I think I know why they are tired. I can relate this to my experience in my host family. Many, many times that I get up to go to the bathroom at say 1:00 am or so, I hear my host family talking down on the 1^st floor (pechi room). I can hear everything as there is no insulation and the floors are thin. I am amazed that it is so late and yet they are still up watching television, talking and laughing. This happens most night; it is not an occasional happening. This also happened when I was in Osiauri during pre-service training. My host family there was up singing, watching television, listening to songs way into the middle of the night. I often had to go down and ask them to please stop as I could not sleep. It is a no wonder why they are tired during the school day. I don’t think my host family is unique in this behavior.

I will close for now. As I said earlier it has been raining for days. It is good for the garden as plants are starting to show signs of life; however, it is depressing. Until we meet next time!

All the best to my Faithful Readers:

Catherine Lawrence, G14

Peace Corps Volunteer

April 13, 2015

The contents of this blog are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.