Changes

I am finally sitting in the living room of my new house in Keda. I am here not as a guest, trainee, or tourist. As of today I officially became a volunteer. We took our oath (the same one the President takes), had a big fancy show, a group of us sang the US and Georgian National Anthems (without music), and then left with our new families to a strange new world. PST was comfortable, I loved my family, they loved me.

Peace Corps asks you to change a lot very quickly. From the time of my invitation to departure I had a little under 6 weeks. PST was 10 weeks. It sucked saying goodbye back home, but now I had to do it again. My host mom in Kvishkheti has been crying on and off for the past 4 days, the last day of language class was like part of my life was being ripped apart. It was sad spending my last few nights with my cluster and the other volunteers.

The truth is, this is what I expected before I left, but I didn't take into account how much 10 weeks was going to define me. Maybe in a year I'll think differently. Despite all the hassle of PST, all the rules that made me want to rip out my hair, four hour language classes 6 days a week, being told where to go and when; PST was really awesome (I'm sure several volunteers will want to punch me in the throat for saying that).

PST also pushed me to try harder. Never in a million years did I think I could pass my language test. In order to pass your language test you need to at least scare in the Intermediate Low range. If you don't score that you are required to hire a tutor and then retake the test in 3 months. Three/Four weeks ago I scored Novice Mid/High. I had been struggling with the Georgian language since I arrive 10 weeks ago. Part of it was a complete lack of confidence in my ability, second guessing myself, and being to scared to make a mistake. Plus, as most of my friends and family know, I learn a bit differently. Instead of study ups and make huge leaps then stop. I learned to crawl and walk late, but when I started to crawl I walked very soon after. The same goes with my learning I just need a bit more time for everything to "click", and then I'm good. About 2 weeks ago something clicked and I've felt 100x more comfortable speaking and I understand so well, too. I took my final test on Wednesday and today I picked up my results: Intermediate Low!! So I'm excited about that. Am I beast at Georgian? Heck no. But I did have a 5 minute phone conversation with my Kvishkheti family. Considering we used to rely upon various grunts and gestures (mimicking throw up and diarrhea were fun) to be understood, this is a big positive step.

So now I settle into my new house, in a new town, and try to find useful things to do.

Nakhvamdis