Blog, June 30, 2016
Hello and Good-By to my Faithful Readers:
Peace
Corps Service: Completed 27 Months
I am thinking about Frank Sinatra singing “and now
the end is near”….as today is my last day in the Peace Corps. I am and have
been experiencing such mixed feelings about leaving as Peace Corps has been
such a staple in my life for the past 27 months.
The last day was spent talking with other volunteers
who were leaving today also having lunch at Ronnie’s Pizza and trying to beat
the heat. The real feel temperature today as 106F; and the temperature was
actually 95F. It was awful. I’ve not spent this much time in Tbilisi. As you
know, I usually come in for a shower and food on a weekly basis; but, with
moving into my apartment I’ve been here a little more than once a week. The
forecast said that it should cool down soon; maybe in to the 80’s – so, that would
be welcome.
The FINAL act as a Volunteer was to ring the bell.
The bell ringing is a tradition that will official mark the “close of service.”
Some countries require PCV’s to make a little speech before they ring the bell:
however, here in Georgia it was not that organized and formal. When my friend
Sara and I rang the bell the cord that moved the striker fell off – that was
funny. When you ring the bell the staff finds their way down to the first floor
to watch the festivities. We did take lots of pictures and I will post a couple
here in the blog; to say the least it was a moment.
When I said good-by to the security staff I actually
started to cry. I just got so filled up that I would not be walking back
through the Peace Corps Doors and signing in ever again. The security staff was
available to all of us 24/7; so, no matter when I was at the office I had a sense
of safety. It was a moment for me.
I will also miss the Peace Corps Volunteer lounge
and the FREE BOX. The Lounge was an
oasis for me. I could sit on comfortable chairs; get my weekly shower and buy
food and have a feast without the host family watching what I was doing. The
FREE BOX was such a source of “goodies” and they were free. The PCV’s would
leave everything from food to clothing to Christmas trees in the free box so
that anyone could take and use. Most of my clothing came from the free box and
then some. It was like going to a FREE flea market every week. It will be
missed.
Since this is my final blog as a Peace Corps
Volunteer; I need to close this blog as, of course, I am no longer a PCV. I
will let you know what I will name my new blog so that you can continue to
follow me if you would like. Stay tuned J
I had a birthday this week also, on June 29th.
It is my third birthday in Georgia (aka Captivity- HA). Friends and I
celebrated at an “all you can eat” sushi restaurant. It was such a treat as
sushi here in Georgia is very expensive; however, this promotion made it very
manageable financially. Some friends and I ate and drank for two hours and
talked our heads off. It was a wonderful evening.
Now, as a full time resident - A couple of things
that I’ve learned about Tbilisi – things I really didn’t know before as usually
I was only here in Tbilisi for one day at a time. However, since I’ve been here
more often since I now have an apartment
I’ve learned:
1. Tbilisi
is really a very dirty city. I have known that previously; however, what makes
it different is the living day to day in this environment. The furniture in my
apartment when I run a rag over it to clean, the rag is just black as coal.
Some friends tell me that what comes out of their noses is usually black soot. That has not been my problem; however:
My experience has been my eye. I
feel like something is in it; and when I try to get it out (sort of like
sleepers – if you know what I mean) – I end up making it worse. So, now I just
use compresses to dab what is seeping out of my eye. I did see the doctor and
she gave me eye drops - which does help; but again, because of the pollution this
may be a problem for me. The emission from the cars is not clean and because we
are surrounded by mountains the air quality is poor. When you get up high you
can see the smog hanging on the city….so, we shall see how all this goes.
The marsh and buses don’t have air
conditioning; so, as we sit in traffic (and there is a lot of traffic) we end
up smelling the fumes and exhaust of whatever is next to us on the streets that
sometimes is 3 or 4 cars. All the windows have to be open in the marsh or bus;
otherwise, we will all die L
2. The
metro closes down at midnight. I mean at exactly midnight they close the gates
to the entrance to the metro….so, you are at the mercy of the taxi drivers.
This is something that I need to keep in mind.
3. The
trees in Tbilisi are TALL. I never noticed before how tall the trees were.
These trees were not planted recently; I don’t know how old they are – but I am
sure they have been around for some time. Most are beautiful; however, others
need the tree doctors.
4. I’ve
had a little time to explore and I am happy with what I’ve found so far. There
are so many little nooks and crannies here in the city. Street after street of
alleyways and side streets off of side streets. It reminds me of old Europe at
time. Most homes look like they are the original and the sidewalks all need to
be replaced. They are made with brick that has broken up; so, once again I feel
like I am walking in a field of explosive materials. I can never look up when I
walk. If I want to see something I need to stop; as otherwise I am really
afraid of tripping.
The city also reminds me of San
Francisco at times. There are so many hills that require much strength to go up
and handrails on some streets to hold onto going down – it is so steep.
5. Some
streets are so narrow that (2) cars cannot pass side by side. One car has to
stop and pull over to the sidewalk so that the other car can pass. And, wow,
when there is a truck trying to get by – I hold my breath. It is not an easy
city for driving or walking….but then, I really did know that.
6. There
are also so many PARKS here in the City. I’ve been to two parks that are just
lovely. I will post links in upcoming blogs; but the Vake Park, very near my
house is so made for children. The parks are clean and the foliage is just
beautiful. There are no sick trees in the park. The fountain is LARGE; giving
the area a comforting feeling. There are many buildings surrounding the park
which at times make me feel like I am in Central Park in NYC.
Ok, as you can see I feel like I am living in many
different cities; San Francisco, New York City (Soho, Central Park) and cities
of old Europe. I have just touched the tip of discovering the city. My neighbor
is such of wealth for my senses. I still ride the marsh and metro buses to find
out how I can get around without taking taxies….I am very excited.
Last my not least is my apartment “Bina” – which is
apartment in Georgian. I’ve washed clothes which takes two hours no matter what
cycle you put in on. The clothes are
really clean, but two hours is just too much.
I could write a blog about every room in my place; and I will soon…but,
at the moment I just want to complete what I’ve been doing for the past 27
months. One minor issue is that there are so many air conditions above my
apartment and the water drips down; which is not a problem. BUT, the problem is
the water hits a tin roof which is a little ways below me. The “ping, ping” of
the water hitting the tin is a little annoying. I’ve asked my landlord if he
could place some material on the tin to buffer the noise and he said he would…so,
we shall see.
So often here in Georgia, it is a thing where “we
shall see” as a lot of the time it is a crap shoot and to what can be done or
accomplished. I hope for the best and if not, well – In the scope of things it
is not horrible. It is just a little annoying. J
My former Country Director is having a cocktail
party tonight. It is already July 3rd
- for all of us former Peace Corps
Volunteers. Now that we are not in his charge any longer we can socialize; so,
this will be fun.
I have been interviewing for positions here in
Tbilisi. At the moment they are mostly teaching jobs; really, not what I want –
but may need to do until I can get into what I really want to do. I will be
part of a summer camp in Bakuriani for ten days (may end up to be 20 days) depending
on enrollment. This city is in the central part of Georgia. In addition to
being paid, I will be housed and feed for the entire time….so, I don’t have to
spend any money while making money - yipee
It is really good money and I hope an excellent
experience. I will teach for (3) hours a day and the team will meet on July 4th
to lay out the plans.
Here is something that I hope will give you a
smile….I applied to McDonalds here in Tbilisi to work. What a hoot…..basically,
they could not believe I was asking for myself; and the Manager said that I was
too old! Yipes, call the lawyers…(smiles). If they were smart they would hire
me and it would open up a new venue for all the older folks in the city and
take Tbilisi McDonalds to an entirely new atmosphere for the older generation
here. I will keep you informed as things progress…honestly, I want the
experience as I seriously cannot go back and work in an office. I think it
would be a HOOT!
Happy
4th of July.
Celebrating in a foreign country is so strange as
there is NOTHING really happening – but, that is just one of considerations for
being an Ex-Pat…..
I am signing off and feel my stomach kind of queezy
and somewhat overwhelmed that this is coming to an end. It has been a wonderful
experience writing this blog and I am so appreciative of all the fine folks out
there who have been following me. I will post my new blog address as my last
and final blog for my Peace Corps Adventure and hope that you would still like
to continue to follow me as I am now an Expatriate (which has been another
dream and I’ve lived long enough to make it happen).
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.
