Oh, I could sit here all day...

I'm having a really hard time thinking about where to even begin in describing this past week and all that has happened.  Going from a semi-decent hotel in Tbilisi surrounded by fellow English speakers to village life where the only English words I hear all day (with the exception being in class of course) are 'eat' and 'hello' for the most part has been...interesting to say the least.  A lot has happened over the course of this week so I'll try and recap the key bits:
  We were all handed off to our host families on Sunday afternoon and myself and another volunteer actually rode in the same van to our respective homes.  I was greeted by my host mother (deda), Iza, and my host father (mama), Valeri.  It was a 3 hour ride to my village of Tsitelkhevi in the Baghdati district of the Imereti region (you can google map it if you like).  I learned the words 'ghurzeni' (grape) and 'vashli' (apple) along the way as we ate food gathered from roadside stands.  There was also an amazing sweetened bread we bought as well although I can't remember the name of it.  I was greeted at my new home by my sister (da) T'iko, brother (dzma) Givi, grandmother (bebia), cousin (bedzashvili) Lizi, aunt (mamida) Nino, and some neighbors as well.  I was very excited to discover that a supra (feast) had been prepared for my arrival.  Next time a supra occurs I'll be sure to document it with some pictures, I don't feel that simply describing it here would paint the most accurate picture.  Needless to say, the food was great, communication was lacking making for a somewhat awkward evening, but thankfully the English-Georgian dictionary I had purchased became a lifesaver.  I began trying to tell them things about myself as best I could with the few words I already knew along with words I found in the book and so by the end of dinner had the kids sitting close waiting to see what next word I'd attempt to say in my broken Georgian pronunciation.  While difficult it's definitely not impossibly to tell people a lot about yourself using few key words.  Unfortunately, I haven't yet taken pictures of my home and a lot of my family/neighbors here, but will do so before my next post or at least try to.  I first wanted to acclimate myself to my new surroundings and new family before I began documenting every little bit of village life here.  Some key things I feel needs mentioning now however are:
-There are cows everywhere, along with geese, chickens, and stray dogs.  I'll see them wandering around the school grounds, along the side of the road, on the road, everywhere.
- I have a turkish toilet, that's right full on squat to a hole in the ground.  I came across a regular toilet when I was attending an intro meeting in Bagdati and found myself thinking 'Oh, I could sit here all day', hence the title of my post.  Oddly enough, after only one week I feel rather comfortable in that squat position. 
- In my family, eating is an all day occasion.  I have Ramen noodles for breakfast along with an extremely tasty instant coffee, lunch comes after school and T'iko essentially pulls out whatever cold dishes are leftover from the supra to eat while bebia peels apples and keeps insisting I eat more.  Random hot and cold dishes appear throughout the afternoon as T'iko and I spend most of our time sitting on the porch at the table, me practicing my Georgian, and she practicing her English.
-Spanish soap operas are here and they are...your standard soap opera, dubbed in Georgian.  There's terrible acting, ridiculous plot lines and yet somehow very entertaining and slightly addictive.  From what I've gathered my host family follows them pretty regularly while attending to other household tasks during the hour it's on.
-Majority of family life that can't be communicated is a mystery to me.  With a language barrier there's only so much data you can gather from observation so I'll include what info I've learned in my next post.
In terms of what my first few days in school have been like, here's some key mentionings:
-The break time between classes is chaos - running, screaming, all that fun stuff.  I feel like a celebrity and am stared at constantly, which after awhile it gets really difficult to pretend to be oblivious to it, as well as the constant whispering to each other/staring by the high school aged boys in my classes.  
-Just because you don't know the language doesn't mean you don't know exactly when everyone around you is talking about you
-School here (or at least all the classes I've seen) lacks all forms of creativity.  For English class, some kids have the books, others I'm not sure about and both of my co-teachers just follow along with what's in the book.  It appears to me that whatever requires the least outside thought or effort is what they go with.  I've already had to create several different games on the spot to do with the children because either my teachers don't feel like teaching or I feel so bad for the kids monotonous routine I want to help add a little excitement.  

Let me emphasize that despite what might sound like me complaining is actually just general observations I've made.  I really do love it here a lot right now and am really excited about this year and all the crazy/fun/laughable/awkward stuff I'll be sure to encounter along the way.  I think school is going to be a challenge, but in a good way.  The students are crazy, but also adorable and fun.  My family sometimes really misunderstands or flat out does not understand what I'm trying to get across to them, but I love spending time with them in the afternoons and evenings practicing Georgian/English, watching TV or of course eating together.  I'm also looking forward to exploring more of Georgia with Jenna and other friends from the program.  I'll do better in future posts to give you specifics on family life, school life, etc. but for now the idea of trying to condense that all into one post is just a little too overwhelming.  I did introduce t'iko, givi, and lizi to photobooth though so I at least have a few pictures of them to share.

They all seemed to be a bit unsure of the whole photobooth thing, so there wasn't a lot of smiling.

After about 6 takes, I finally got her to start cracking a smile.

Mayor Moody's new cigarette currency

So here is what I know:
Starting tomorrow I will be introduced to the family I will be living with for the next 9 months.  There will be several awkward exchanges as volunteers and families names are called out, meeting in the middle of the crowd to exchange greetings and as they approach one another asking themselves do I go in for a handshake, hug, or what?  I personally think a Michael Scott slow shun-nun-nun-nun run should do the trick.  I will be getting in a marshut'k'a, car, or whatever transportation means they've used to get to Tbilisi to meet me and for the next 3 hours we will spend some quality bonding time getting to know one another.  I'm really hoping for just one person to know basic English, but I'll just have to wait and see.  I will be living in the Imereti region of Georgia, sort of mid-west on a map, in the Baghdati district, and in the village, that's right village of Tsitelkhevi (google map it if you like).  I have a host mother, father, grandmother, 12 year old sister, and 13 year old brother...and outdoor plumbing!  Cold winter toilet runs here I come!  At some point I may resort to keeping a bucket in my room should an emergency ever arise late at night, or it just gets too damn cold and obnoxious to layer up at 3 am just to pee =).  I can't say for sure, but I also believe that means those winter months I will be heating a pot of hot water and going the sponge bath route yippee...oh adventures what crazy twists and turns you've taken me on.  Two great things about my particular location assignment. 
1)  It looks like a cool place to be.  I have the mountains to my south and a forest reserve to my north.  To the southeast I have the town of Baghdati, not too far away for those needed coffee/wi-fi trips (yep no internet at home I'm afraid).  To the northeast, about a 30 minute drive is Kutaisi, the second largest city in Georgia (score), and the Black Sea coastline is about an hour drive away to the west.
2)  There were 62 people in our orientation group who got assigned all over the country and just 12ish short km down the road is my friend Jenna, who of all the places in the whole country to be assigned to is literally a village away!  I think overall I got the long end of the stick, er, whichever ends the better one to be on.

So a new chapter of this journey begins......starting tomorrow.  For now, to reminisce on my time spent here at the hotel here's a recap of the things I've learned:
1)  A fair number of Georgian men are under the impression that foreign women will happily jump into a car with them and gladly have a 'sleepover' as well.
2)  Georgian men are under the very strong impression foreign women will happily jump into a car with them...and won't stop trying for a solid 6 minutes despite the constant 'arra' (no) and flipping them the bird.
3)  It doesn't go over so well when you accidentally take a dump in someone's closet (important note: this wasn't me personally).
4) Eating the same flavored food for every meal, 7 straight days is not fun, but the minimizing of such food is a fantastic way to shed some pounds.
5)  Walking past the same people you just said goodbye to 10 minutes ago is awkward in any country and should try and be avoided if possible.
6)  Should you come across a rabid dog, don't get to a high point or move away, simply curl into a ball and avoid eye contact.
7)  If you're a dude especially working in this program then you are going to be drinking a lot of alcohol.
8)  It's not as hard as one might think to drift off to sleep with the soothing sounds of Georgian karaoke wafting through the air, a cat either in the process of dying or just delirious, and random dog packs fighting for their territory.
9)  When you lack a defined postal system, simply send luggage, packages, or whatever with the long distance marshut'k'a drivers (cross between taxi and bus) and they will actually deliver those things to where they need to be.
10)  Salt is really popular at this hotel.
11)  Make critters in your room feel welcome by creating a cozy home for them...taped to the wall (see picture).
12)  Ladies, don't smoke outside or you will have a Georgian man assume, as they naturally should, you must be a prostitute.
13)  Apparently Mcdonald's is expensive here and where all the teens take their dates for a fancy night out.
14)  If you think you're lost, take a minute to walk each way for about 30 seconds because you may find yourself paying a taxi driver to basically just drive you those 50 steps you really could've made on your own had you continued going the way you were already walking.

So that about sums up what I've taken away so far.  Overall, most of the orientation was helpful some of it boring, but that's to be expected.  We spent time learning about cultural differences, teaching in the classrooms, and practicing our Georgian language skills (challenging language I got to say).  I've met some great people, made good friends and so I'm sure we'll have some fun weekend trips to look forward to in everyone's respective regions.  Next time I should have plenty more to share as I will be in an entirely new place with all new people.  Until then I bid you adieu.

Freedom square location

Tbilisi at night

If you give a mouse a cake...or just tape a bag to the wall and put a trash bag in front of it.

...And a Kindle stuffed under my bra.

(I meant to publish this earlier but realized I never had, hence why it's a bit out of order)

I've created a nice little song to accompany my first bit of traveling...

On the 1st day of my journey, I had to stuff on my body (because I didn't take the weight restriction for carry on luggage seriously) --- A Kindle stuffed under my bra.
For the 2nd hidden item I stuffed on my body --- 2 long sleeve shirts and a Kindle stuffed under my bra.
For the 3rd hidden item I stuffed on my body --- 3 extra pairs of underwear, 2 long sleeve shirts, and a Kindle stuffed under my bra...

You get the idea, I thought it was catchy.  So flying out of Chicago I came to realize my backpack and carry on bag were both too heavy.  Since I refuse to spend more money than necessary on baggage I went ahead and did what any cheap person would do and stuffed as much excess stuff on my body as possible right before I got my 2 bags weighed.  Here is the final list of what excess clothing and items found a temporary resting place on my body:
-3 pairs of underwear
-1 pair of sweatpants
-2 long sleeve shirts
-2 sweaters
-1 windbreaker
-My wallet and journal stuffed into my boots
-Laptop charger stuffed in my pants
-Kindle stuffed under my bra
-iPod, wall plug, and external hard drive stuffed into my pockets
-Swimsuit top over my bra (and Kindle)
-5 necklaces
-1 scarf

Needless to say it was a great start to my trip.  After that debacle everything else seemed to go pretty smooth from there.  I met Jenna, Mary, and Max at the airport.  The flight to Warsaw was around 9 hours and then we had 12 hours to kill in Warsaw.  Figuring out navigating the city was interesting but still we seemed to make do.  We really just spent about 6 hours wandering around between the new town area and Old Town, which definitely had more character to offer.

Well if I have to be tested for AIDS, I'm glad I could share it with all of you

Since our Warsaw trip, most of the time spent here in Tbilisi has been in a classroom.  For the first few days we had some readjustment time, which gave all us volunteers time to explore the city.  That first day Jenna, my roommate, and I ventured out for a brief walk and later that night ended up going downtown with a big group.  The Old City area of Tbilisi is really cool and has all sorts of restaurants and bars open really late with great outdoor seating areas, a basketful of blankets to help yourself to while you're there should you get cold, and some live music mixed in too.  All the different places run along these narrow pedestrian streets giving it that quintessential European town feel.  We all spent time at one restaurant where to my surprise the drink menu is more varied than in the US - I had my choice of margaritas, daiquiris, you name it.  While some wrapped up smoking an apple-flavored hookah others of us ventured to another bar with some grand old techno music.  The rest of the night was spent exploring quieter streets of Tbilisi as well as a nearby park and then finally seeking out some great late night 'dodgy' food which came in the form of a surprisingly tasty kebab.  The following day Jenna and I took to exploring more of the Old City area in daylight as well as hiking up to the Narikala Fort, which rests on top of a huge hill overlooking the city, built in the 4th century. 

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out my camera =)

Our night on the town

That was a surprise

Different views from the Narikala Fortress

Notice the giant cylinder things next the bridge...still no clue what those are

Jenna!

Mother of Kartli statue, a symbol of the city - in her left hand she holds a bowl of wine to greet those who come as friends, and in her right hand is a sword for those who come as enemies.

One of the best iced coffees ever!  And not just because it was free.

Our friend who treated us to the coffees

Warsaw, more like gimme moresaw

TLG

For those of you just hearing about my trip, or others who have heard about it several times, in fact, and still ask me the same questions (you know who you are =) let me get you all up to speed on what I'm about to go do for the next year-ish of my life.  I am teaching through a program called Teach and Learn with Georgia (www.tlg.gov.ge).  It is a program the Ministry of Science and Education in Georgia developed approximately 3 years ago.  The reason I chose this program over others is because I liked the fact that round trip airfare was provided not once, but twice and so I'll get to come back to the US for a few weeks around the Christmas holiday season.  You get a basic stipend of 500 lari, ~$300 USD which is apparently double what teachers in the country typically make, which I thought was interesting.  With that stipend 100 lari goes to my host family for room and board, the other 400 is to spend as I see fit.  I will be living with a host family ideally for the duration of my stay in Georgia.  I say ideally because I know past participants have at times not gotten along well with the family or for various reasons needed/wanted to move out, either to a new family or their own apartment.  I've also read other blogs of past participants who got along exceptionally well with their families and developed a very close and personal relationship with each family member and so I hope to fit into that latter category.  As of now I have no idea who my family will be or even where I'll be living in the country, that all comes later during orientation.  I think another reason I liked this program was for that reason as well- I could have said where I preferred to live in the country, but I like not knowing and just going where the wind blows me so to speak.  It feels a little more adventurous and I am after all a firm believer in that things in life happen for a reason and I'll end up exactly where I'm supposed to be.  I've spent a lot of time describing to people where Georgia is and what kind of climate I'll be living in.  No, it's not like Siberia, mother and no it's not the desert either despite being relatively close to Iran and other Middle Eastern countries.  From the information I've gathered via past participant blogs, etc. the weather reminds me a lot of Colorado and I've also seen it compared it to the northeastern states.  The weather will first and foremost vary by where I'm placed in the country itself.  I may be closer to the mountain range there and therefore weather will be slightly cooler (though I imagine the scenery is absolutely incredible) even in summertime, or closer to the Black Sea where weather is semi-tropical (if you look up pictures you see palm tress lining the downtown streets of Batumi) and doesn't get quite so cool in the winter.  The reason so many people have commented on how cold the winters are is due to the fact that central heating isn't really something Georgia homes and businesses and schools offer.  This is something I think I will have the hardest time transitioning too since I hate being cold, especially waking up to a cold house in the morning, but I'll take it all in stride.  Some homes don't have indoor plumbing, the water or electricity may shut off completely at random times during the day, and my winter showers may simply involve a pot of hot water heated stove-side and a sponge (bow-chicka-bow-wow) but you know what, I'm still looking forward to every single minute!  I welcome a slower pace of life where my days will revolve around teaching and my nights sitting fireside chatting with my Georgian family or painting or reading those books I've always told myself I'd get around to one day or another.  With my new Kindle (thank you Katie) I've acquired several free books including Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland' and let me tell you that is one weird freaking book!  The one thing I will say is if you're ever curious what my crazy dreams are like (which I have on a regular basis, just ask Mike), search no further than that book, it feels very familiar.  The reason I bring this up is to simply explain for the title of my blog.  Alice is constantly running into the most bizarre and unexpected things and her total flabbergasted-ness leads her to coin the phrase 'curiouser and curiouser' and I just love that.  I have a feeling I may come across surprises like that over the next year (though I'm pretty sure Georgia doesn't have any growth enhancing or diminishing sweets or pothead caterpillars) and find myself reminiscing about the curiousness of it all.  Beginning Thursday my adventure first begins with a plane ride to Chicago, then a 12-hour layover in Warsaw, and then finally arriving in Georgia's capital of T'bilisi so stay tuned for my next update!

The country, not the state...