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!