NaBloPoMo Failure

I failed. Even after returning from Ukraine I didn't write an entry. Honestly, I haven't really wanted to. Leaving left a hole in me that has been bothering me since. I've been a bit more negative and agitated as I have to readjust to a lifestyle with false smiles and judgmental eyes (from HCNs and Volunteers alike). I'm never really able to be myself in Georgia, and I think that's what agitates me the most. There are a SMALL handful of Volunteers and even fewer HCNs that I can feel comfortable talking to as myself. Most of the time I'm putting on my own fake smiles to keep everything on an even keel. Sometimes I wish I was in a tiny village with no cell phone and could just work in the fields all day as opposed to a school. 

One of the hardest things is that I can understand almost everything people say in Georgian, but I lack the ability to respond well. When I do try to respond it comes out as if I were a child and then some people think I'm an idiot. It's almost as if people think that what I say in a six-year-old's vocabulary means I can only think at a six-year-old's level. So often I just have to sit there and listen while people talk and talk right in front of me. It's probably the worst thing about getting better at Georgian is being able to fully understand when "friends" and co-workers are talking about you. 

Still, that's neither here nor there, and I'll have to wait until July 9, 2012 to give my full opinion on everything. Until then I'll toss around my own fake smile and forced laugh and let people think I don't know anything. Instead I'll fill everyone in on Ukraine. I know my friends and family are interested in knowing, and I know PCVs would love something else to talk and gossip about. So here we go...

My last real entry was about our water park night. It was a really fun time, and I already decided that my next visit MUST include a trip back. It's not a large place, and it can easily be finished in a matter of 2 hours, but I'd like to sit in the hot tubs for more than 5 minutes. 

On Sunday Ana and I hosted some of her best friends for a little get together and some drinking. We all got to know each other, play beer pong (thanks to Johnny for his balls) and Kings. She was maid-of-honor at one of her friend's weddings just a week prior and her other best friend's boyfriend was visiting from the States. It was good meeting her friends and beginning to see all the different parts of her life. I truly don't believe you can ever truly know someone until you see their friends. It was a good day, but at the same time I knew I was more than halfway through my vacation.

On Monday I waited for Anastasiya to get off work and then we decided to go downtown to find me a new winter coat. I have a winter coat but it makes me look like a black (or red depending if I turn it inside out) marshmallow. Basically it’s not a good coat to wear when I need to look nice. So we wandered around downtown looking for a peacoat. We stopped at a few places, but Anastasiya wasn’t too fond of any of them so we kept looking. Finally we stopped in one store and she took down one coat that was about double the amount I actually wanted to spend on a coat. I put it on and just really liked it. It fits me almost perfectly and definitely works for my frame. Here it is:

Later that night we celebrated by making tacos. There was no ground beef but we made it with chicken. Still it was delicious.

The next day Anastasiya went to work and I stayed to make a 7 layer dip and guacamole. I’m not sure if I made it right, but Ana LOVED it. We didn’t have chips so I broke up unused taco shells and dipped Pringles in it. It was a good night, but still sad. We just tried not to think too much about the next day.

But the next day came nonetheless. I’ll see her again soon. The flight was sad but simple and now I’m back in Georgia. Trying to get back into the swing of things but failing. I’m trying to find my groove in writing lessons and preparing for my SPA grant but I only think about the amazing week I had.

Last Day

This is all I'm going to write today. It's my last night in Kiev and I want to spend my time with Anastasiya--not writing in my blog.

I'll give a larger update tomorrow.

Another Hello From Kiev

Unfortunately I am not able to keep up with my NaBloPoMo while I'm here. There's something about having Anastasiya right next to me all the time that makes me not want to spend hours in front of the computer. It could be the fact that we're so busy trying to make the most of the short amount of time I have. Or it could just be this smile:

 

But she is always asking me: "Did you write in your blog today?" I swear she loves my blog more than anybody else. Today she had to go to work and that means I am alone here until 2pm, which gives me a chance to write here a little bit. My last couple entries have been really short, poorly writen, and not descriptive enough.

We've had a great couple of days, and even scattered a Lyon-Family-Adventure in there as well. If there's one thing my family is good at--it's having adventures and having unexpected things happen that make our plans all the more exciting. Like our broken lock:

So we got pizza:

Or Anastasiya's new attempt at opening the door after we aasked the landlord to change the locks. 

The rest of the day ended up being lazy, but we decided we had to do something to make the most out of the day. We decided to go to the indoo waterpark near Kiev. I was like a little kid at Disney World. It was a really fun place, even though one or two rides were a little more painful than others. For example there was one where the floor just moves out from under you and you fall down a tube. That wasn't too fun. You could ride inner-tubes, and two-person tubes.

Yesterday some of Anastasiya's friends came over for a little party. We were playing beer pong and King's Cup. All-in-all it's been a good week, but I can't help but feel disappointed about leaving the day-after-tomorrow. I had to wait two months to see her since the last time, and now I'll probably have to wait another two months. Ugh...

Well, no more moping about it. I should probably get things ready for when she returns from work. So until tomorrow...

Broken Locks and Water Parks

Today was an eventful day. We woke up reasonably early because we wanted to go to an outdoor museum near Kiev. We also needed to stop by the store to get water and some ingredients for Ana to make breakfast. As we were leaving the apartment Ana went to lock the door, got the door locked and then couldn't get the key out. The key was stuck. Eventually I got the key out, but the lock mechanism was broken. The keyhole was sticking out and two of the pins were laying in my hands. So, we were locked out. We had to call the landlord and he came 2 hours later. In the mean time we got some pizza. Yes, at 11am. Needless to say we didn't make it to the outdoor museum.

After a while we decided not to make a complete loss out of a nice weekend day. We went to an indoor water park outside Kiev. This place was huge, and reallllyyyyy fun. They had this tube rollercoaster like ride that we rode several times. You could get a two person tube for the couply people (like us). There was also one ride where you stood on the platform and then the floor gives out from under you and you fall into the water through a tube. It didn't look very popular, and Ana didn't want to do it. But, it looked intriguing so I gave it a shot. Sure enough, having the ground give out from under you isn't a great feeling. Even if you are only falling 10 feet into a nice pool of water.

Another good day. I doubt we'll be able to make the outdoor museum now, but that's okay. I'm still having a great time and will update with pictures ASAP.

Woops

Unfortunately I was not able to write yesterday. The day before I knew I wouldn't have access to a computer so I scheduled a post the day before (assuming my plane would make it). Yesterday I would have posted but Ana's computer had a fun little virus that turned all her icons into Windows Media Player links. Needless to say I didn't want to do anything on such a possessed computer. So I'll start somewhat from the beginning when I left Batumi.

The night before I was supposed to leave it was thunderstorming hard in Batumi. I seriously doubted whether my plane would take off the next day. My host sister and I woke up around 3:30am and had to shut all the windows--but some of the windows don't close all the way and I got a little damp. When I woke up the rain was coming down slower and I didn't hear anymore thunder. So I finish my packing and take the bus to the airport.

I didn't have to wait long before registration started and I was second in line and checked one of my bigger pieces of luggage. Then I head into passport control and walk out easily to "security". I get myself wanded and the "wander" ended up grabbing me in an inappropiate place... awkward. I'd prefer that machine that looks like a Star Trek transporter than that. After I finally got the the waiting area I started reading my book. That's when the "wander" came with another employee and asked if I had a bag checked wrapped in plastic. I said I had a bag, but it wasn't wrapped. I was asked to go along with the "wander" to a back room. Now at this point I'm a little uncomfortable but he takes me to the back area where the baggage is scanned. I doubt people are supposed to be in these areas, but here I am wandering around them because I have a mysterious bag. We get to this plastic bag that's wrapped in tape, and they ask if it's mine. I say it isn't and they ask to see my baggage ticket. Then they realize their stupidity and let me leave. Only to take the next man away that has a last name like Lian. Oopps.

The plane itself looked like a tin can, and I was a little worried getting on it. Especially with the high winds and rain in Batumi. It's strange--I've never been afraid of flying before, but in the past few years I've felt more and more afraid of it. This flight solidified my fear. Our tin-can plane was tossed around like a rag doll through the turbulence. At one point we must hae dropped over a 100 feet because i felt like I was in a roller coaster. We did make it and passport control was easy (being American here ROCKS).

I had to wait around for Ana to arrive because she was coming from work. I talked to some Russian guys and put the pins back on my bag to the amusement of people around me. When Ana came we took the bus and metro to my apartment where I met....... her MOM. Yeah, I was pretty worried, but it all turned out great. We ate a lot and talked about all sorts of things: family, politics, religion, food... everything. Then when it got late they left.

Yesterday I was alone in the apartment until Ana got off of work and she and her mom came. We hung out and ate dinner then dropped her mom at the train station.

Today it was cold and rainy so we've remained indoors and are about to watch a movie, so I better go. I will write more later.

I'm Here

I really don't have time, but I wanted to say I have arrived safely in Ukraine. I've been spending the afternoon and evening with Ana and her mom. It is REALLY cold here. Compared to Batumi I might as well be in Antarctica. I'll give a larger update, and maybe pictures tomorrow or the day after. Until then this entry is just to keep up my NaBloPoMo...

Also if you didn't see this before, check out: http://tomspeacecorps.blogspot.com/2011/10/call-for-help.html

and of course:

http://www.wideawake.org/fitness-club

A Call For Help

Remember this: http://www.wideawake.org/fitness-club?

I was somewhat distraught yesterday. I was talking briefly with my host father about the fitness center we’re trying to put together and he was less than optimistic. I’ve decided that I have to put together another grant to get more money. I was hoping that the money from Wide Awake donations would be able to handle the costs, but I know it will not cover the needs anymore. From the almost 400 Facebook friends I have and the people from all over the world that read my blog it seems few people are willing to help us out. I’ve talked to numerous friends who have donated and I appreciate their donations. Some people I haven’t seen in years (since middle school or high school) have also donated. They’ve been great and I truly appreciate everything they have sacrificed, especially as the economy seems to be slowing down again. Remember, when the US economy goes into recession places like Georgia go into deeper economic turmoil.

One might say, “$500 is still a lot of money, right?” Well, not when compared to the costs of buying a treadmill. I’m also surprised because my sister and sister-in-law are both using donations to help fund their international adoptions. Together they have raised a lot of money, in a short amount of time. I’ve tried contacting friends and family directly. I’ve tried sending mass e-mails to inform people what I’m doing. I post on Facebook. Maybe people are unsure where the money is needed, and that’s why I will post a detailed budget when I get back from Ukraine. I want everyone to know exactly what’s going on, and how the money will be spent. Everything from equipment, transportation, trainings, and materials for classes will be included.

In the meantime I will probably look to lower the goal of my project significantly and focus on other grant opportunities. I can’t say that I’m happy about that, because grant writing with Peace Corps is a long drawn out process with no guarantee of success. It also has limits about how much money I can spend on equipment. A fitness center with no equipment is pretty useless. To make matters worse, the staff at the sports school always asks me what’s going on with the project— they are getting anxious and I can tell they are losing their trust in me in being able to provide this for community. I wouldn’t blame them either. I have been trying to do this for a long time now, and I don’t have much to tell them so far. It also just adds to the rumors that I don’t do much and I’m too young to get respect.

I mean I do understand. People see my project and think it’s a great idea, but money is tight for everyone. I don’t blame anybody, but I am disappointed that maybe I’m not really showing how important or useful this project really is. Maybe people don’t think I have the ability to actually make this project happen. I’m not saying it will be easy, but I want to leave something behind for my community.

So here’s the plan:

1)     1)  Order the equipment (Treadmill, elliptical, total body workout, station, 10 fitness mats, bench, dumbbells, scales, and Olympic weight set)

2)      2) Pick up equipment and bring it back to Keda

3)      3) Set up equipment while bringing a fitness trainer in to teach the staff how to use and care for the machines

4)      4) Make fitness/weight charts, make translations for instructions and buttons in Georgian/Russian

5)      5) Open fitness center and have 10 fitness classes (specifically for women) led by other PCVs

6)      6) The newly trained fitness staff will teach community members how to use the machines and help them devise exercise plans

7)      7) Start healthy lifestyle classes focusing on smoking, drugs, alcohol, women’s health, weight, nutrition, and exercise

8)      8) After 2-3 months (not long before I leave) sponsor a fitness competition for students in Keda

The idea I want to get across here is that once I leave the fitness staff at the sports school will be able to maintain the whole thing themselves. They won’t need me. This project is meant to be sustainable and provide new skills. The center will provide for the needs of an estimated 200 people per year. Many women keep asking me when the project will be completed, because they want it that much.

In Peace Corps, even Peace Corps Georgia we have a wide range of needs and experiences. For example, my good friend got $1800 in donations to build a well. Building a well is a huge undertaking, and something that seems to be a staple of Peace Corps service (he also dug his own outhouse). I on the other hand am in a small town, not a village. This means the projects I need to do to be effective must be of a different sort. It’s the curse of being in a more developed area. Sure I might have a toilet, and more consistent water/electricity, but the projects I have to do become more complex and difficult to accomplish.

I want to put out another call for assistance in raising money. For those of you who have already donated I thank you SO much. Please keep donating if you can. If you haven’t donated but want to—now is your time. Finally, if you are one the ones who read but think someone else will donate and you don’t have to this is my call to you as well. This project only succeeds with the help and backing of people I care about. So far, the municipality of Keda is willing to provide over $1000 for the project. And their budget isn’t much larger than what many families in West Windsor and Plainsboro would make in a year. I am trying to benefit an entire community and provide education of essential fitness and health information. This information and opportunities are often only open to the wealthiest members of society. I want to bridge that gap.

So here’s the link again: http://www.wideawake.org/fitness-club.

Some people said the site said something about not being secure. I contacted Wide Awake and they assured me everything is safe and secure. So whatever you send will be safe and your identity won’t be stolen.

Thanks everyone.

I'm Rambling Now

Once again I am EXHAUSTED. I had to wake up early today and teach three lessons in Keda. Then I packed up all my bags and went to Batumi. I won’t be returning to Keda until after my trip to Ukraine. So I pack up my big bazaar bag and head to the marshutka. It’s still pretty warm out during the day and my light fleece jacket was causing me to burn up. Once I got to Batumi I stopped by the apartment to drop off my heavy bazaar bag, edited my host sister’s essay then went to the university. I have two lessons with my university counterpart and one class alone (my essay writing). After six classes, and traveling to Batumi on a crowded marshutka, and carrying my big bag everywhere I can safely say my legs and brain are in pain.

I really needed this day. And yesterday as well. I feel like I’ve been falling quickly into a pattern of relative laziness. I’ve really been saving my lesson plans and classroom decision to the last minute. I’m not meaning to, and I’m not doing anything else of substance, but I just cannot keep focused on anything for long. It’s quite literally: “Okay, it’s $3000 for a treadmill and…. Oh look, a butterfly!” I know I talk a lot of these issues, and I wouldn’t feel so bad and guilty if I actually got my work done well—but I often don’t. It reminds me of high school and college. I’d have no motivation to do something or get distracted so many times that I turn in some half-assed essay or do poorly on a test. At first you make some mild changes and try to address the issue. But, it never lasts long and then I’m spinning once again down the rabbit hole. You know, after a while you stop caring, too. After a while you resign yourself to whatever it is. Although I say to myself “if I could just read this book for at least one hour I’ll be set” I know it won’t be because I know already I won’t be able to sit down for a straight hour and read. Nope, after two minutes I’ll need to do something else. It could be make dinner, check e-mail, read something else, or play X-Box, but there was always something. Heck, even if I took away all those things the distractions would still be there. I could people watch, I could stare out my window, and I could daydream. Anything to keep the boring stuff at bay.  

I mean, anybody who knows me knows I have a pretty active imagination. Just ask my sister Mary about seeing my coming out of my bedroom dressed like a soldier—at fourteen. She looked at me and just laughed. I’ve always been able to cook up some elaborate and detailed scenario and story and play it over and over in my head. When I read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe series as a kid I would imagine placing myself in the story itself. Me as one of the characters—saving Peter and the gang. After watching certain movies I’d place myself within the movie and imagine changing the whole plot. In some ways it’s good. My girlfriend always makes comments about how creative I am, and that comes because of the amount of time I spend in my own head. Then when she tells me I should write I say “Hey, that’s a great idea!” But, I also know that the work it takes writing it down and making a story would get tiresome, and movies are much more entertaining, plus the majority of the detail is already there. I don’t have to make it up from scratch.

Today, I may have been tied, my feet may hurt, and my hands are all cut up from picking corn yesterday; but I did work and it feels good. I feel good when I’m productive, and I like being organized, but I have never had the real ability to stay focused on anything for more than a few minutes at a time. I mean this blog is really often an excuse to avoid doing some of the things I feel like I should be doing. I need to write a lesson plan? Welllll, the blog must be written today, too. Don’t ask me what it is, but it’s annoying.

But, now I’m even bored writing the blog entry. So I’m off to find something more exciting to do.

Field of Dreams... Or Corn

I’m really crazy tired right now. This will be extremely short. Today I went with my host family to my host father’s village house to help pick corn. We had some fun times and it was REALLY muddy since it’s been raining nonstop the past few days. My work at the Lee Turkey Farm was a good experience that really taught me some useful things I am putting to good use now. It's also come in handy one or two times with chickens... I won't talk too much about it, though. So here we are doing work:

A little corn... 

Self-portrait picture

My hands got all cut up and Nato took a picture

The village house.

Lunch is served

More parts of the village house

The front of the house

The view from the house

Sorry. Not all posts can be winners. I hope these pictures make up for my lack of writing. But I have 3 lesson plans to take care of right now. I also have to teach 6 classes tomorrow. 3 at the school and 3 at the university. I'll be tired tomorrow, too, so sorry in advance.

Tom and Jerry

Last year I was talking with some of my good friends who complained about having mice roaming their rooms at night. They said they could hear them along the walls and gnawing at things. I considered myself lucky that I hadn’t had to deal with a roaming mouse yet. The other week I came home to my host sister putting a dead mouse—caught in a mouse trap—in a plastic bag and taking it out to the trash. I asked her “tagvi aris?” (It is a mouse?) To which she replies “agher aris” (it’s not anymore). Since then I’ve realized that the changing weather has brought these little critters in from the cold. I decided to keep a look out since then.

I should also point out that in Georgia people are obsessed with Tom and Jerry. Maybe not obsessed, because I’ve never seen anyone watch it, but they are constantly say “Tom and Jerry, Tom and Jerry” to me. Or going, “So, you’re Tom. Where’s Jerry?” I usually just smile and tell them that show is outdated and my niece used to be obsessed with it—insinuating they have the maturity of a (almost) five-year-old girl. That usually gets people laughing and the conversation turns to things. My counterparts will raise hell with students if they say “Tom and Jerry” to me, because it is annoying, and it is also rude. But this is a true Tom & Jerry story.

Last night I was reading these new books a G9 had recommended to me before he left—Game of Thrones. I hear they have an HBO series of it now, too. I was putting away my Nook at about 12:30 and turned out my lights when I heard it: tap, tap, taptap, taptaptap. It was raining last night and I foolishly thought the rain was just playing some tricks on me. I sat up somewhat concerned and didn’t see anything, so I calmed myself down and decided it was just something moving or falling a bit. I put my head down and rest my eyes.

I could hear the sound a bit closer. It was right at the edge of my bed. Then I hear scratch, scratch, scratch. I once again convinced myself it was my eyelashes twitching on the pillow or anything other than what my gut feeling was telling me. I could almost hear this scratching as if it was right to me; right underneath my pillow. Well, that’s because it was! I opened my eyes just in time to see a little brown ball of fur race across my bed, six inches from my face. I tried to catch him that second but he was too quick and ran off. This was war.

No denying it this time. There was a mouse in my room and I was determined to catch him or chase him away. I sat up and grabbed my flashlight and shined it towards all the corners of my room, under dressers, chairs, desks, and finally my bed. There he was again, he was peaking his little head between my sleeping bag and travel suitcase. He saw the light and quickly ran off under the confusion of the bed. So, I took everything out from underneath my bed. Then I turned off my flashlight and stood very still until I could hear him moving about again. I turned on my light and shined it straight at him, and also trying to corner him. Again, he was too fast and hid underneath a dresser and then a chair.

My host father was going to the bathroom when he saw me getting things to help my cause from the kitchen and asked what I was doing. I told him there was a mouse I was trying to catch. He said we’d wait till morning and deal with it then. Mostly I was just annoyed that a mouse had the audacity to stage an attack on my bed. This mouse was goin’ DOWN!

I decided to kick him out of the house instead on catching him. I opened my door and closed all the other doors along the long hallway of our apartment, and then leaving only the front door open. I found him and chased him out the door (he’d been scratching at the door trying to get out, too. Apparently he didn’t enjoy my company much either. From there it was relatively easy. Imagine me at 3:30am, my host family sound asleep in their beds, and me racing down a dark hallway flashlight in one hand and rolled up flip-chart paper in the other. Yeah, interesting thought. The mouse tried to hide out under our hallway coat rack but I took an umbrella and chased him pretty quickly out of there.

My host family also has a vestibule area and there were too many places he could hide in there. But I decided my job was sufficiently accomplished and finally went to bed. I woke up this morning to my host family having a good laugh over my antics the previous night. We then told my host sister I chased the mouse into her room. I’m a very nice older brother. I learned from the best, Dean. Since then we placed a half-dozen mouse traps around the house.

I seriously doubt that mouse will return to my room anytime soon though. 

The Lyon Makes Wine

I don't know how many of you know this, but the earliest evidence of wine making is in Georgia. For all of you lovers of wine who talk big about French and Italian wine there is a lot of history of wine here. I personally like Georgian wine a lot, but I know many people who don't. Wine here is not meant to be sipped lightly either--no it's meant to be jugged and the glasses are supposed to be empty after each toast. So, the wine has a significantly different taste and texture than wine we are used to in bottles.

Another distinct difference that I like is that almost all the wine consumed in homemade. Families in Georgia grow their own grapes, harvest the grapes, then make their own wine that will usually last until the summer and then the process continues. With all this practice families really know what they're doing when it comes to wine-making. I have been really looking forward to this day all year. My host father and I were supposed to make wine last year together (before he became my host father), but I was called away for something Peace Corps related and missed it. I've waited a long time for this, and so we woke up early this morning and got to work making the juice.

We didn't do it like in the movies where pretty girls jump around in grapes in a big pool of grapey goodness. Nope, we aren't making THAT much wine so we just did it by hand and a wooden hammer. Basically it's all done by hand, no machines are involved whatsoever. I think that makes it pretty cool. Nadimi spent a lot of time talking about how to make good wine and teaching me so I can make it when I got back to the USA. Again, this isn't a professional and business deal. This is just the wine we drink at supra's and give as gifts to people like Kelly when they come visit. I'll probably be given about five liters of our wine in Fanta bottles to take home with me when I visit for Christmas. My father and I will have a good time with all this wine. Also, a Georgian man can/will drink 1-3 liters of wine at a supra. So my father better be prepared.

Anyway, we make white wine mainly out here in the west. The seasons aren't really as conducive to good grapes as it is out east in the Kakheti region, which is known for it's delicious black wine. My host father doesn't make a lot of wine, but he takes great pride in it. He is well known in Keda for is wine, but he NEVER sells it.

First we clean all the bowls and equipment thoroughly. Then we sift through the grapes and take out all the ones that are shriveled and bad. Then we put it in a big bowl and smash it with a wooden mallet. Then we put the smashed grapes (that have now collected juice) through a drainer and continue smashing them by hand as well. we take that juice and put it in another glass container where it will sit for a few days to let the solid pieces go to the bottom. Then we siphon it out into other containers. We filter it about 3 times over two months. I don't know the scientific process by which ethanol is created, but Nadimi tells me to make good wine it takes 2 months to one year.

Now all the leftover parts of the grapes are put into a big garbage can where it will collect and be "bad wine". Essentially wine that has sugar and water added. Nadimi hates that time of wine, but he can make a lot of it this way. Here are some cool pictures of today's work. We will have more work ahead of us over the next few months.

I do want to point out that I was basically following Nadimi's instructions and trying to understand as much about the process as I could understand. If I got any of the above information incorrect I apologize. Nonetheless, it was an interesting day.

The first batch of grapes. Our nice early morning start...

My host father going to town on the grapes...

Now the juice is being drained into another container

More grapes...

The trash can with the leftover grapes.

The draining of the grapes, and our first little bit of juice.

Pouring the juice into the container. 

Sifting through to find reject grapes. 

There was a lot of squatting involved.

Mmmmm juice.

Nadimi relieved me of the mallet shortly after

This was actually hard work after the 10th batch.

The completed grape juice.

So Nadimi and I are going to have a little competition. I'll make the batch on the left. He takes the batch on the right and we'll see whose wine is better. His will be better. Definitely. 

As the  solid pieces sink to the bottom we will siphon and filter it out to make it clean. Right now it's just juice.

Reject grapes that would ruin the taste

Anyway, I'm tired now and have some budget to write for my SPA grant. Hope all is well.

The Day I Washed My Clothes

Today I tried to wash my clothes of the day it was raining. I hadn't washed my clothes in over a month...

This is the result.

My room has become a maze. I love the USA "drosha" in the background. Especially the duct tape holding it up. USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA.

Room 3 with socks and some shirts

Room 1 where my students had to come to get lessons. Yes, that is my underwear on the right.

Room 3 again.

This may seem extreme, but I swear I would have hung them up outside if I had had power from 9-5 yesterday. But, I didn't. Since I'm going to Ukraine next week (barring a revolution) I decided to wash my clothes. My host mother was an active (and laughing) participant of this entire ordeal.  Other than that the pictures say a lot....

Too bad the 15 "wife beaters" don't show up on any of these pictures. They're a classic icon in Keda.

Language Learning

I think it’s time I talked a little about the Georgian language. You can find most of the information you’re looking for on Wikipedia. So, I will only give you a basic description of Georgian and then go into how difficult this language is to truly master and learn. Georgian is a Caucasus based language and is one of main language families. Even the Romans discussed how incomprehensible the Georgian language was. The written language came about with the spread of Christianity in the 4^th century. The Armenians also like to make fun of Georgian and say it looks like spaghetti.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the alphabet and how we transliterate it.

ღ - gh

ჯ - j

უ - u

კ - k

ე - e

ნ - n

გ - g

შ - sh

წ - tz

ზ - z

ხ - kh

ც - ts

ფ - p

ძ - dz

ვ - v

თ - t

ა - a

პ - p

რ - r

ო - o

ლ - l

დ - d

ჟ - zh

ჭ - tch

ჩ - ch

ყ - k’ (it’s in the throat)

ს - s

მ - m

ი - i

ტ - t’

ქ - k

ბ - b

ჰ - h

So, if I wrote გამარჯობა what would the transliterated version of that be? Use the above key. Now try: მე ვარ ტომი. Georgian is REALLY hard and really difficult to pick up with all the different forms verbs can take. I won’t go in too much, but Georgian really is one of the hardest languages in the world.

On top of Georgian I am trying to learn Russian. When I came to Georgia one of my goals was to learn Georgian and Russian. I completely underestimated how hard learning a language is. At this point Georgian takes up most of my time, but I’m also learning a little Russian. At this point I can read the words, but I don’t understand most of them.

In the end I find learning a language much harder than I ever thought it would be. I never put my dues in at the beginning either. So now I’m paying for it now. I still have 9 or 10 months left to get a lot better at it.

It’s late and I’m tired. Goodnight.

Another Good Day

Ugh, it was IMPOSSIBLE to get out of bed this morning. I set my alarm for 0715 so could take a run and really prepare for my two discussions with the 3^rd year students. I hit my alarm on my phone and went to bed knowing my second—backup alarm—would go off at 0815. The first alarm is named “Wake Up” the second alarm is named “REALLY WAKE UP NOW”—but I didn’t wake up. Nope, instead I slept until 0945 and didn’t put my foot on the floor until after 10. I got plenty of sleep last night. I went to bed around midnight and figured 7 hours was plenty of sleep.

The day itself was also productive. I really enjoy teaching at the university. There’s so much to do and my students are responding really well to my discussions. Today we were discussing sonnets about love by Wyatt, Spencer, Surrey, and Sydney. I did the first sonnet myself and used ideas from students to help make it work. The next two we did as a class and I’d give them time to work on it in pairs and then we’d discuss. The last sonnet I read to them and then passed it all on them to tell me what they believed it was. Of course I’d give them definitions of words and helps with some of the older words (some of which I didn’t even really know) so they at least knew the words on the page.

Even with this the girls needed a lot of help interpreting the poem and working through a lot of the language. It’s VERY difficult, and I even had to consult the internet a few times trying to grasp the full meanings of the poems. I was really impressed by their hard work, teamwork, and motivation throughout the entire class of over two hours. During our 15-minutes break I could see students re-reading the sonnets and trying to really understand everything that we talked about. It was just awesome.

Working at the school in Keda is nice, and I enjoy working with the kids and getting to know them. I enjoy watching a kids practice and practice and suddenly really seem to understand the material. I also really enjoy when I can just have a quick and in-depth conversation with my students, too. In a way I think as a professor I’d do pretty well. I’d be working with students who are already quite talented and lead discussions to get their understanding and thoughts. That’s why I went into history in the first place—I enjoy the discussion and the back and forth. At the grade school level I’m not able to do that nearly as easily.

OH! I also have to thank every single one of you who has donated to my fitness center. I’m 1/10 of the way to my desired goal. I doubt I’ll get to $4900, but even another $500 or $1000 will go a LONG way in Keda. So thank you everyone, and please pass along all the information you can to friends and family. 

A Good Day

Today was a good day. I went for a run around the center of Batumi and taught two successful lessons at the university and then had another great lesson on essay writing. The students are really motivated and smart. I give them homework to write journal entries every week, and the girls really seemed into it. In this circumstance I am able to talk so freely with my students. They are all 4^th year students, many are married, and they are all female. I won’t go into detail on this, but here (and in the USA) I face considerably less classroom management issues with females. I won’t say why because that’s not my place. I’ll just say that I’m able to laugh and joke around and be myself without the class getting out of hand. Also, I’m able to talk to them all in English. I did spend the first 10 minutes talking in Georgian about myself. I want them to feel comfortable and know that I respect them and their country enough to not just be here, but to try and learn their language. I also wanted them to know that I can understand enough Georgian that they can’t have too many side conversations.

That’s basically my entire day. There isn’t too much else to talk about.

I also just took a look and my latest blog post about “About a Girl” has received more hits in one day than any other post I’ve had before. I’m not sure if it’s friends and family reading it again and again, but there were a lot of people from Georgia reading it as well.  I’m not really surprised—I put up a photo of a beautiful Ukrainian and suddenly it gets people clickin’ on my link. I’m glad everyone enjoyed seeing that.

I want to inform all my Georgian visitors to check out my sister-in-law’s blog as well. My sister-in-law is an army wife and writes some great stuff. My niece and nephews are the coolest kids ever, AND she is trying to adopt an international child. Yeah, my brother makes a few appearances her and there, but he’s funny looking and we try to hide him in the basement as much as possible. JUST KIDDING! But seriously, her whole blog really took off while my brother was serving his second deployment (first Afghanistan then Iraq). As for the adoption the whole process is amazing and we are all anxiously waiting for the go ahead on whether we can celebrate the adoption yet (we should find out soon). So if you all could take a chance and check out her blog and offer support we’d all appreciate it. Also click on the little link to your left to see some nice information about the boy!

So long and goodnight. 

About a Girl

So I never really wrote about some things that have really made me happy recently. It seems all too often many of my blog posts recount my day’s activities or examine something of political or cultural significance. I haven’t explained some of the happenings that I’m looking forward to; thing you should look forward to as well as you read my blog every day for this month.

I am going back to: UKRAINE!!!

I made the decision a couple weeks ago and turned in my annual leave request form to Peace Corps as well. I was worried it might not be approved because it is over a school week, but I got everything worked out to make up all my classes in the preceding week and week after returning. I leave for Ukraine on the 19^th and return on the 26^th. I will spend my entire time in Kiev. I’m really excited to see my girlfriend and spend an entire week with her. We have a lot of fun things planned. I won’t go into the all, but I’m pretty excited.

I’ve never really talked about my girlfriend on my blog much. Since it has usually friends and family that read my blog I’d love to write more about her—especially considering so many of my friends send me e-mails and Facebook messages asking about her. Thing like: where we met, how we started dating, how long distance is going, what will happen after Peace Corps, what she does, etc., etc. I’d like to write more about her, because she is so important to me, but there are a few things that keep me from doing it. 1) I don’t want to give so much information that it makes her uncomfortable; 2) I don’t want to flaunt anything and be that annoying guy who talks about his girlfriend nonstop; 3) I really want people to meet her and get to know her themselves instead of me just writing about her.

Nonetheless, when I’m in Ukraine I will have to keep up my blog post a day and I’d have to write about what she and I are doing and stuff. So, for anyone just checking in to my blog (which I know many people from the TLG guy's blog came because he quoted something I said about his blog)—I have a girlfriend, she is Ukrainian, I met her through FLEX training. That’s all you need to know for my blog posts later this month to make sense, and that’s all I feel comfortable really saying about her on my blog. We all need to have something we are selfish and more secretive about. It’s hard when people ask me directly about her, because I don’t want to say too much, but I also want to brag about how amazing and life-changing she has been for me.

So, until tomorrow.

The Marriage of Government

I’ve been doing a little reading about this “Occupy Wall Street” movement that’s been going on in New York City and all over the world. I read about it before it was supposed to start and became interested in it immediately. The funny thing is—if I were still at home I would probably be out there protesting with everyone else. I kind of wish I was there protesting with everyone else. The thing that interests me is how leaderless this movement is, and how young people are finally standing up for themselves. I also think there’s a little bit of Newton’s First Law of Physics going on here, too. For every action there’s an opposite and equal reaction—yeah, that one. The effects of the Tea Party and ultra-conservatives have given rise to a modern day hippy.

I was talking to a fellow PCV who is around my father’s age. He was quite blunt about his generation really being at fault for the financial disaster and the reasons for it. He argues that Baby Boomers have always been the largest group going through the years from the 60s until now. Essentially they get whatever they want, and will step on the other generations to get it. He also says that the Baby Boomer’s attempt at staying alive will drive the next big economic engine of the 21^st century; biomechanics. Baby Boomers will try so hard to stay alive and they will rely on my generation to find the ways to stay alive. I agree with this somewhat. I do think that biotech will be a huge thing in the future, and it me even be the driving engine of a new economy, but I don’t think it’s all because Baby Boomer’s want to stay alive and want to use the younger generation.

It’s a biological imperative for the older generation to care for the younger generation and help them live a better life than they had. This doesn’t just mean money wise either. There was another interaction between an older and younger generation that caused some negative backlash. The World War I and World War II generations. It is argued that the WWI generation failed in their responsibilities to make the world a safer more peaceful place; a failure that cost the WWII generation millions of lives. Perhaps we can say that the Baby Boomer generation lived so outside their means, and tried to have everything all at once that they will leave the younger generation mountains of debt financial troubles.

I personally consider myself extremely lucky in this way. My parents have always been so responsible with money and I know they have ALWAYS put the needs of their children ahead of anything else. I say needs and not wants. Things like education and shelter are extremely important to them. They saved their entire lives to pay for college for the four of us. This also sets a good example for me, too. It’s easy—I think I was falling into a pattern as well—to live beyond my means because I considered myself and my family to be part of the upper-middle-class. It was tempting to look around and say, “I can make some risky financial decisions because I know my parents will help me out in the end”. It’s true that my parents will always be there to make sure I’m safe, but they won’t be there to give me gas money to drive 200 miles to party with my friends. They would expect me to work for it.

I certainly don’t think I work as hard as my parents do. It’s actually something that concerns me a bit. If I’m not willing to work as hard as my mom or dad what will I be able to do for my children? It’s scary to think that I don’t actually have the work ethic that will allow me to hold a good job to support my family. I don’t purposely choose to not work as hard, but for whatever reason I don’t seem to be able to sit down and just do the things I need and have to do. It’s actually disappointing and disheartening for me. One day I’ll be responsible for a family, and I’ll be lucky if I’ll be as good at providing for them as my father and mother are.

I do admit, the future of the economy scares me. I’m worried about what will happen in the future and what types of jobs I will be best suited for. I worry I’ll never be able to support a family through the tough economic times we are destined to have. I support everything that our country tries to do, and I realize many of our leaders have difficult choices to make. It makes it harder that Americans themselves are divided between black and white, with little in-between. As a country we have to stop the Us vs. Them mentality (the “Them” being big business, lower-class, illegal immigrants, immigrants, China, Russia, Muslims) and try to focus on finding a democratic solution. Democracy has ALWAYS been about compromise, whether for right or wrong. Our Founding Fathers had to compromise when they didn’t abolish slavery. Why did they do that? So they could have a united nation. We look back and say this was a bad compromise and bad decision that led to a Civil War and put millions of Americans through unbelievable hardships.

But, without that compromise we wouldn’t HAVE the United States of America. If there’s one thing I’ve learned this weekend in Tbilisi talking with other Volunteers is that we all have our opinions, but can also argue the other side. We all need to start thinking as one again, and start seeing our politicians as whole people and not vote for them for a few decisions. We have the ability to talk about this like regular people, but we need to come in with an open mind and actually WANT to talk and not just make demands and ultimatums. We should think of our two-party system like a marriage. Right now it’s a verbally abusive marriage that needs some counseling. I don’t know how to do it, but someone smarter than me should figure it out.

It’s time to compromise, and it’s time to be united again.

Anyway, it’s late and I’m VERY tired, and I know this is riddled with mistakes. Goodnight and take care.

Tom the Communist

Today I spent the day in Tbilisi and apparently French President Nicolas Sarkozy was giving a speech--instead I went to a place called "dry bridge" where it's like a big flea market. I bought a whole pile of old Soviet pins for my Soviet infantryman rucksack. I bought 11 today, but one (a flag of Georgia SSR) fell off while walking around Tbilisi. None of them cost a whole lost, and it's easily replaced, but it was still a little sad. I got my first pin (the one in the upper right) from my girlfriend and her parents. They know how much Soviet history fascinates me and my girlfriend's mom was kind enough to send me the pin.

After that I decided I really just wanted to collect a whole bunch and put them on my bag (like a proper tourist). I'll continue to buy more, and I might head back to dry bridge tomorrow to pick up some more. It's funny because every time I come back to Keda and show my family the pins my host parents undoubtedly say, "Why did you buy those when we have a whole pile for free?" For tourists these things are awesome, and are like a collectors item. For Georgians it's like pennies and my host family doesn't understand why I'm so fascinated by it.

My commie pins on my commie bag.

This is also Tbilisoba, a special holiday based around the city (I always thought it was the founding of the city, but I may be wrong). In also coincided with Sarcozy's visit and so there was a small rock concert.

Looking back at the crowd. Check out the McDonald's all the way to the right. 

The concert. My camera was having a hard time focusing because of the crazy lights.

More of the concert

Freedom Square blocked off for Sarcozy's speech. Tbilisi was a bit of a pain to get around today. 

So, that's all I have to write about today, I hope all is well in the States (and the people from the other 12 countries that now read my blog)!