Ode to Ramen Noodles

I’ve been back in Georgia for 12 days now and so far it’s gone really well overall.  In Tbilisi I stayed at the same former brothel/hostel that I always stay at and met one pretty interesting character.  After spending some time on Skype one morning a guy sitting nearby proceeded to ask if I was TLG.  Apparently he was a former teacher as well yet decided to remain in the country because he didn’t really have anything to go back to at home.  He found new work teaching English at a different school and he currently lives at the hostel.  At first our conversation was pretty standard, and then it went on...and on.  This guy could talk for forever and to anyone who would listen I learned pretty quickly.  I was finally able to break away from the conversation only for him to later that day come into the big shared bedroom where I was watching a movie on my computer with my headphones in and continued to talk more, this conversation revolving around his pizza delivering days in the ghetto.  It was pretty impressive how much he could talk without any encouragement from the one he was talking to whether it be me or someone else.  The next morning as I was preparing to leave for my village, this same gentleman begins singing Evanesence songs at 8 am, really emphasizing the chorus lines.  So here we have a black dude singing a white girl rock band’s songs out loud in a hostel at 8 am on a Monday morning, awesome.  

Traveling back to my village with all my bags was overall not as bad as I thought it would be, no real trouble there.  I was so tired from the jet leg I slept through most of the trip.  However, I will say the hike up the hill to my house was not fun.  I was greeted really warmly by my family when I arrived and it was great to see them all again.  That same night I decided to present them all with their gifts.  For Givi, my host brother, I got a Barcelona football jersey which he was really excited about.  For Valeri, my host dad, a Broncos T-shirt, for Iza, my host mom, a Folly Beach T-shirt and some nail stickers.  My host aunt Nino also received a Folly T-shirt and for her husband (whose name I still have yet to figure out, although I’m pretty sure it’s something like Vaho), given his love of coffee, I gave him a travel mug with the South Carolina flag symbol on it.  Lizi, my host niece, received a Folly shirt as well as a small colorful purse which she was very excited about and carried around the rest of the night, Ts’itsana, my grandmother, received a mug and some Baltimore tea (thank you Mike) and for Tiko I gave her a large set of beads for jewelry making and a scarf.  Her mother and she have already made about 10+ pieces so they have definitely been a big hit. 

The next day I started back at school and I’m happy to report it felt really good to be back, something I was not quite expecting.  At least for the time being I’m very motivated to try and engage my classes more.  Thus far I’ve created Bingo cards for grades 1-3 and they have been a big hit.  The kids love it and each class ask if they can play it again.  I’ve come up with a few more games for other classes and grades, but I still need to actually create them which takes some time.  In third grade we played a running around game involving using the phrase ‘I have got’.  The kids absolutely loved it and everyday since have asked/begged to play.  I believe with more time, given that it was our first attempt at the game and their first day of learning the phrase ‘I have got’, they could become very comfortable with the phrase and understand it’s meaning, but given we’ve only played once and since then they’ve had to sit and one by one read from the book every class since the phrase has yet to be truly comprehended.  Unfortunately, as I’ve learned now more than ever, my co-teachers don’t view games as a way to learn but more of a separate entity, a reward for good behavior or a motivator to do their homework.  Games aren’t used to teach the kids and I’m trying to introduce new games/new ideas as much as I can hoping that one of these days it will click for them that, shocker, learning can actually be fun.  The reason your students don’t listen to you, don’t pay attention, don’t try isn’t because they’re lazy or stupid it’s just that they’re young and find it very difficult to sit still and listen to a one lecture after the other.  I’ve already decided this semester I won’t be taking such a sideline role in the class and whenever I have a chance to introduce my games I’m going to do it.  While class and school have not changed in that they’re both extremely frustrating on the teaching end, at least I know I have the ability to change that at least somewhat as long as I stay persistent and keep creating new ideas.  If anyone ever has suggestions for games please don’t be shy with your ideas.  Keep in mind these kids know very very little English, basic phrases are difficult for them.  Any games I create for the most part I create by hand so they can’t be too intricate and the only supplies I really have at my disposal are paper with markers, colored pencils, etc. and a chalkboard.

The weather hasn’t been too terrible lately, a bit colder than I would like but it looks like by this week it’ll be in the 60s maybe 70s one day here!  I went to bed the other night able to see my breath so this will be a welcome change.  I did get to go running once last weekend when it was really warm.  I hadn’t yet attempted it, not sure if I’d have to deal with people stopping to offer me rides (given that the idea of running is so weird here they assume you’d rather be in car, which I know happens to some people) or some of the stray dogs might chase me or something.  All the strays I’ve encountered so far have been very sweet and not aggressive and turns out they’re no more so when I run so that’s something else to look forward to doing.  I ran past one of my second graders, I wish I could’ve taken a picture of the look of sheer confusion on his face, way outside the spectrum of understanding clearly.  My hosts still worry about how I don’t eat enough food in their opinion.  Of course these verbal exchanges take place in Georgian, but to give you a run through of standard meal discussion in English.  While eating my grandmother/host mom will remind me to ‘eat’ pointing at food, this of course while I am in fact, eating.  I will nod my head or so yes and continue chewing.  As I’m finishing my meal one of them will grab a dish and say ‘eat’.  ‘No, thank you’ I say.  ‘Eat’.  ‘No I can’t,’ pointing to my full belly.  ‘Eat, eat, a little’.  ‘No, I’m not hungry, I don’t want to, no.‘  ‘A little, please, please.‘  ‘No’. ‘A little, a little.‘  ‘No, thank you’, hence ending the discussion.   This occurs after every single meal I eat here.  It’s a good thing Georgian cuisine isn’t my favorite because if I had that kind of encouragement with a lot of good food around me I’d be coming home in 6 months looking very differently =).  Skip-Bo and Dominoes have both been great purchases to bring with me.  We’ve played a ridiculous amount of both already but it’s great because it allows me to interact with my brother and sister without being limited with the language barrier.  The nights when I have nothing to do with them or to keep myself occupied are the worst, which actually happened last night.  We stayed with some family relations in Kutaisi for the night.  I didn’t bring my book or any games with me not realizing what or day/night would actually entail so I basically stared at the Georgian television programs for about 3 hours.  The family had internet which Givi was glued into the whole time.  Thankfully it kind of clicked that maybe I should have some time on it since I had absolutely nothing else to do.  I responded to some emails with 5 13ish year olds surrounding me every few seconds commenting on how fast I could type.  You don’t exactly learn typing skills at the Georgian schools so I think for them it was entertaining alone just to me type words so quickly and without even looking at the keys.

I’ve been able to meet up with another volunteer here who lives in Tsitelkhevi 2, basically a 20 minute walk from my house.  It’s great to have her so close by, a shame we didn’t meet sooner, but we’ll have the next 6 months to hang out and take walks together so yet another thing to look forward to.  I’m afraid my post isn’t really all that exciting since I haven’t taken any trips or outings since being back and don’t really plan to for the next month until spring starts to truly kick in.  I’ll have more photos for you all to see next time, had some requests to document daily life via pictures so I’ll have that for you all next post and actually take my camera to school a couple days so you can see my co-teachers, the school, and of course all my kids.  Which reminds me of one quick story I guess I have.  My co-teacher left my 5th grade room to go get something during the lesson.  The instant she left I had all the boys crowded around my desk saying ‘boyfriendi, Carly, gaqvs boyfriendii?’  I figured it was best to respond yes, and when the teacher returned they all promptly sat back down but not before asking her if boyfriendi means megobari (friend) or lover.  They all seemed a little dejected by the answer she provided.  A slightly unsettling, but at the same time very cute instant one day at school.  Daylene, the other TLG, has a much better story though that I’ll finish this post with, it’s just so Georgian.  Her host mom’s cousin came over to visit one of the first days Daylene arrived in the country.  Another person from the village spoke some English and was helping to translate.  Well I guess after he asked her a couple basic questions the next one he asked Daylene she thought she understood as mushrooms, picking mushrooms together.  She believed he was asking if she wanted to go with him to pick mushrooms one day, which she of course said yeah, sure to.  Well he got really excited and left the room to go make some calls on his phone.  Those around her looked incredibly surprised by her answer, which of course made Daylene rethink what she just said yes to.  She pulled up the word mushroom in her dictionary, which the translator promptly said ‘no, no!’  Instead she turned to the word for getting married.  Turns out Daylene had agreed to marry a Georgian without realizing it.  Sadly the engagement was called off to the man’s chagrin right then and there.  He’s since stayed persistent however, almost to the point of Daylene maybe having to be relocated, which I really hope doesn’t happen for my own sake, but also hers given that she really lovers her school.  TLG has instructed her to never ever sign any papers given to her in the village because that could open up a whole lot of trouble if she ended up signing a marriage certificate with witnesses around.  It’s just so Georgian I love it.  Oh, and I've shockingly only had Ramen noodles for breakfast three times since coming back.  I have a feeling that first week and a half was just a fluke though because the past 3 school mornings we've had Ramen noodles every time

Making churchella with the fam

That would be hazelnuts soaked in water, strung together, then dipped in a thickened grape juice mixture and hung to dry.  That's my bebia (grandmother)

It's also served straight from the pot to eat.  I don't mind it so much while it's still hot and more soupy but as time goes on it becomes a jello-ish consistency and cold, both of which just gross my out too much to eat it.