Hello, My Faithful Readers
March 24, 2016
23
Months Served/3 Months Remaining
See a collection of photographs below - throughout my time here in Georgia!
Before
I begin the adventures of my life happenings here in Eastern Europe; I wanted to
share with you information about a GREAT competition entitled: WriteOn!
WriteOn is an international creative writing competition for
high school kids, university students and English speaking professionals in
over 15 different Peace Corps countries. It's a fun contest that gives kids a
chance to use their creative brains to write stories in English.
In addition to the competition, WriteOn develops and distributes
lesson plans focused on writing and creative thought. Our goal is to develop
Georgian students' creativity, improve their English abilities and encourage
more creative and critical thinking based lessons in Georgian schools.
In Georgia, we invite the national winners (1st, 2nd and 3rd
place) to a creative writing workshop where they get to meet their peers from
all over the country, learn about ways to improve and explore their creative
skills and even meet a Georgian author.
By donating to this grant, you help us fund this great opportunity for Georgian students and you also contribute to a worldwide need for more creative minds!
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The International Write On! Competition engages students,
teachers, and professionals from around Georgia and the world in one of Peace
Corps most successful inte...
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Preview by Yahoo
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My “Official COS – Close of Service” date is June
30, 2016. So, at this point in time I have entered the “last 100 days” phase of my service. The Peace Corps provides
what they call a COS Conference. It was held at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel in
Tbilisi and it was a wonderful couple of days (3-night). Provided was lots and lots of food,
comfortable beds and wonderful linens and pillows; a pool and fitness center
and of course real bathrooms. Showers, showers, showers….we got rid of the “sticks”
in our hair (HA). I stayed in Tbilisi an extra night to meet a friend for
dinner and it was all wonderful.
There was a funny moment during dinner one evening.
I pushed my chair back from the table to go back to the buffet table and the
2-back legs of my chair buckled underneath the chair. I fell back (felt like
slow motion) onto the carpet. Lucky I didn’t get hurt; however, after I figured
out what had just happened I could not stop laughing and could not get off the
floor. Of course the hotel management and Peace Corps staff ran over to see if
I was ok (and I was). Not long after my tumble, someone else had a chair break
in the dining room. I have written about the condition of the furniture in
other blogs. Most tables are not steady or strong and chairs usually sink in
the middle (from use). Georgians don’t seem to replace furniture; it just
continues to get used until it just disintegrates.
Coming back to site was difficult. As much as we all
enjoy going into civilization for a couple of days; going back to cold mash
potatoes mashed in water and beans as well as no showers and chamber pots for
toilets – well, needless to say I for one need to get numb again. I yearn for
the coming time where all the earmarks of civilization will be part of my daily
life. I also cannot wait not to have to adhere to all the rules we are subject
to also.
The Conference provided all the information we will
need to close our service and leave Georgia; however, even though the end is
near – we were informed that it is still “not too late” to screw it up (if you
know what I mean). The Security Office advised us that during these last
3-months people get lazy and lots of unfortunate stuff happens…so, even though
we are almost at the finish line we still need to be vigilant living and
working here in Georgia.
Lots of time was also spent on “what comes next as
we approach the cliff.” That is, as difficult as life has been we have been in
a “bubble” so to speak with the Peace Corps and the US Government having our
back. Once we leave service it becomes a whole new ball game. Most of the
conversation was focused to the 20-somethings that will leave Peace Corps and
go and find jobs. We had a panel of folks from the CDC; USAID, the US Embassy
and State Department as well as a representative from a NGO here in Tbilisi. It
was enjoyable. All members of the panel were former Peace Corps Volunteers so
they could share not only their time in service; but, also what it felt like to
transition back into the real world.
The icing on the cake for me was to spend the last
night of the conference at the recently re-opened Opera House in Tbilisi. The building is indeed beautiful. The program
was “Swan Lake.” The costumes, music and dancing was tremendous and it was a
very inexpensive undertaking. The Opera House was completely sold out and for
the most part everyone was quiet to watch and hear the performance. I hope to
attend many events in this building.
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We had a couple of holidays in March. The first was
on March 3rd. It is Mother’s Day here in Georgia and March 8th
which is International Women’s Day here in Georgia. I’ve listed the links in
case you want to learn more. One of the GREAT aspects about these holidays was
the fact that the School were closed along with everything else in Georgia….It
was a nice treat.
Also in March we had a practice evacuation. This
usually happens in October; however, we had so many changes within the ranks of
the Peace Corps Staff this had to be postponed until March. Each section of the
country has a different gathering spot in the event of a political or natural
disaster that would make it necessary to leave the country (evacuate). My
location is to go to Telavi which is north of where I live. It is such an
ordeal to get to Telavi; so I decided to go the day before and spend the nite
with another Peace Corps Volunteer. I am so glad that I did.
The friend I stayed with and I had a nice lunch and
then walked around Telavi for a number of hours. I got to see a lot of the city
and then we ended up at a bar for a beer. It was a great time to catch up and
talk and also to meet other folks who live in Telavi. In the event of an actual
evacuation of course we would need our “go bag” – so during the meeting we
spoke of what we needed to do and where to gather in the city. The hotel is the
focal point so we all now know what to do. Hopefully, especially since I have
so little time left, I won’t have to do what we prepared for.
Peace Corps Established on March 1st,
1961. The below link will give you more information…..55 Year Anniversary!
Another interesting adventure I had during March was
to go to the US Embassy. (link below if you want to check it out).
It took me four hours to get to the embassy even
though it is in Tbilisi. What an ordeal. It normally takes me two hours from my
home in Sagarejo; however the embassy to so far out of the city it took me
another two hours (by marsh and bus) to get there. I stood in line outside
waiting for the doors to open for my 2pm appointment. Literally I spent a full 30minutes going through
security and finally into the room that I needed to do business in. The doors
were so heavy that I could barely open it by myself. One of the security people
came to help me.
When you are called to the teller window the clerk
(behind reinforced glass) speaks via an intercom. In addition to myself everyone
else in the room can hear our conversation. I was not happy about that. I don’t
want to go into my business; but, needless to say it could have all been
avoided if the forms that I needed notarized had listed clearer information.
Oh, well. That is the way it goes.
Macaroni is what Georgian’s call Pasta. I tried to
buy a colander; but nobody could understand what I was talking out. I’ve seen,
in my host family, that macaroni is cooked in a frying pan. They use very
little water to cook the macaroni; so, I imagine that is why they have no need
for a colander. However, the stores do sell them; but, the sales women didn’t
know what they were used for.
I have been in many lessons with students, in just
about all the grades. And I have noticed that when a student does not
understand a word or phrase they don’t say anything. Students just hear the
word as a word; but, it has no meaning for them. When I ask; for example:
“paperbacks” – what does it mean? The children have no response. I keep
instilling in them that asking questions will help them prepare for life. It
will also give them a richer educational experience. We had a great
conversation about “paperbacks” vs “hardbacks” and what the differences were. I
realize that it does take some time to get people to ask questions. I know for
myself that sometimes I am afraid to ask for fear of looking stupid; but, I
keep trying to show students the benefits.
I finish my tutoring sessions in the Georgian
language this month and I received my final language score – which was “Novice
High.” I missed the mark by one grade as it would have been great to finish
“Intermediate Low” which is one grade above where I ended up. Oh well; I tried
my best. I do plan to continue studying the language here in Georgia; but, I
will do it in a more relaxed atmosphere. For example; there are many language
conversation groups that gather weekly so I plan to connect. I do feel that I
understand way more than I can speak; and, seriously, I can get around – so I
am not worried. Many, many folks in Tbilisi speak English so that helps also.
I noticed something about the Georgian lettering
system that maybe I should have recognized earlier…that is, unlike English
where words can be written in script (where the letters connect to one
another). The Georgian letters are printed individually and they do not connect
with one another. It has taken me all this time to realize that….I just found
it interesting.
It has been so cold here….we had snow and ice. The
heat is still on and will be until April 1st; at that time, the heat
goes off. Last year I remember being colder in April and May than I was most of
the winter and I believe it is because there is no heat. The cold comes right
through the walls as there is no insulation. The weather is just bone chilling
cold. In addition, we get so much rain during April and May.
I will leave you on an “up” note; and that is…..drum
roll please. Sagarejo now has a new restaurant and they sell Schwarma….(my
life’s blood). I cannot begin to tell you what a difference this has made in my
life. A couple of times a week I can get “real food” and it makes me feel so
good. I am always amazed at how good I
feel when I am well fed. The problem being that I don’t think the restaurant
will last very long. The prices are high (my opinion) for my village. The
Schwarma cost 6GEL; and that is high. Some families can feed the entire family
for that amount; so for one sandwich to cost that – well, I don’t think (long
term) many people will be able to sustain that. Of course, I will use it for as
long as it lasts. I only have 3-months left so many I can wait it out….we shall
see. It does make such a difference in my thinking that I know I can get food
once in a while that I look forward to……yippee!!!!!
This weekend is Easter Weekend (in the United
States). The Georgian Easter does not happen until the end of April/beginning
of May – so I don’t have any time off. However, during the Georgian Easter we
have almost an entire week off. Of course, I will fill you in on Easter
happenings during the next blog.
I will sign off for now and so appreciate your
spending your time with me on the “”Magical Mystery Tour” – sometimes I think
of my service this way. The final 100 days will bring lots of choices and
decisions and I will share with you as I move forward. I really love living
outside of the United States; but this is not a surprise to you. One of my life
dreams was to be an ex-pat; and the Peace Corps helped me make the transition
into my next step. I will talk more about this in the remaining blogs; but, I
am not returning to the United States in July (when my service concludes). I
plan to stay here in Georgia for a little while (not sure what that correlates
to in real time).
I am excited about all this as I really don’t know,
seriously, what my choices will be. Only that, no matter what – it will be FUN!
Best,
Catherine Lawrence, G14
Peace Corps Volunteer/Georgia – March 24, 2016
The
contents of this blog are mine personally and do not reflect any position of
the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.
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