Reverse Culture Shock Is The Only Explanation

I’ve been meaning to write a new blog entry for a while. To be honest, I haven’t really been writing in my personal journal much since I’ve been home either. It’s been a mix of emotions and feelings trying to readjust, and it isn’t nearly the same feeling as I thought I might have. I am sitting in a coffee shop in downtown Princeton (Small World Coffee to those who are interested), and I’m looking around at what I notice being the most different. First, people are MUCH quieter, and the music is played at a level that allows casual conversation (the two girls next to me are discussing breaking up with one of the girls’ fiancés). Second, nobody is drinking alcohol. Third, none are speaking Georgian or Russian.

When I walk around I notice a difference, too. In Georgia, when you walk down the street a person going the opposite direction USUALLY makes little attempt at avoiding ramming into you. I’m not sure why this is, but in the USA people are a bit nicer out on the streets. In the home it is a different story. I haven’t been to many people’s places since being home, but nobody beats Georgian hospitality. I have yet to find a person or family who will just drop everything to take care of a guest. I guess it has left me occasionally awkward in the presence of others, because I’m just expecting for a supra and a ton of wine/chacha. It is also refreshing, because all those social demands in Georgia between host and guest left both parties extremely exhausted. Most differences I write about are superficial, but don’t get me wrong, there are some major readjustments being back.

I guess the biggest thing I’ve noticed since coming home is very few people care. As a teacher, I figured employers would be interested in hearing about my experiences. They aren’t. I’m asked more questions about my student teaching than Peace Corps. Don’t get me wrong, many people; especially my close friends will listen to every detail. Vasav was the one who motivated me to write today because he wanted to hear about my experience and life being home (and yes, I will see you around Thanksgiving). Last week I was at the beach with Megan, and I spent most of the day talking to her about Georgia, and how awkward I feel to be back half the time; she listened intently, and when I apologized for talking so much about it, her response was “you were gone for two years, and it was a big part of your life, I want to hear about it”. Yep, that’s why after 10+ years I am still friends with these people. However, most people I meet or become acquainted to want a brief five-minute description in which they nod and smile at the appropriate times and then tune me out after a minute. Meanwhile, I listen to every minute detail of their office job, and the big presentation they have to give on the slumping sales. BORING!!!!! Nonetheless, I will listen to them, ask questions, and try to genuinely show interest expecting to talk about Georgia at some point, but then realize they don’t understand, nor care about Peace Corps, or Georgia.

Georgians are fascinated by America and my life in America. I can talk to someone for hours about America. Most Americans don’t give a crap about Georgia, and generally don’t care what happens there, or what my experiences and hardships were. Or, they look at me weirdly when I make a cultural mishap, or ask a Georgian type question (i.e. When are you getting married?)

The work that I did in Georgia often seems to pale in comparison to what Americans take for granted. It’s weird to feel proud in Georgia, and have people thank me in the street for something that Americans don’t give a s*** about. I expected this from all the reading I had done the past few months, and I thought I was ready, but I wasn’t as much as I thought. This all just kind of fits in with the whole job thing, I guess.

Jobs. Some Volunteers came back and got them immediately. Some not. I’m in the NOT category. I seriously thought Peace Corps would be big for a social studies teacher. But, here I am, one week until school and I’m unemployed. First off, I just barely missed the cut off for most of the interviews and in-class lesson demonstrations. I arrived in July, and because school was over I couldn’t show administrators my teaching abilities. I had a bunch of calls for interviews when I was still in Georgia, but they wouldn’t do Skype, and by the time I came home the positions were already filled. There have only been a few positions that have opened up since, and I’m generally stuck now. I’d go into something else, but I’m not exactly qualified to do anything else except teach. Not just that, but the jobs I have looked into require more years of experience that I don’t have. It sucks, because I know in some of these positions I am over-qualified for them in every way except for on paper. To anybody in college reading this, your GPA actually DOES count after graduation; so don’t spend hours playing Halo and miss that Biology Lab every week (but it is acceptable to ditch that “dance” class, or at least sneak in a little jungle juice).

There is one more thing about teaching that I’m trying to grapple with. There was a distinct difference between the way I teach, and what my professors taught me in my teaching college. I had one class when I was getting my Masters’ where the professor yelled at me and called me a “fascist” because I disagreed with her about tracking. I have never quite figured out what to say in interviews when the supervisor/principal asks me how I’d conduct my class or handle classroom management. Do I tell them the general BS I learned in my Masters’? Or do I tell them what I’ve gotten to work (which is usually not what I learned in the teacher’s college)? I had my eyes opened at my last interview when the supervisor basically said “that s*** doesn’t work, and the kids in this school will eat you alive” when I talked about setting up rules with the kids and creating a democratic classroom. Personally, I couldn’t agree more. I want my classroom a benevolent dictatorship. Students will know my personal pedagogy, and I’ll always treat them with respect, but there will be boundaries and expectations that they will just HAVE to follow. In Georgia, I certainly didn’t use the “democratic classroom”, and if I did my 12^th graders would go “this guy is a wimp”. So, maybe I’ve been going into my interviews in the wrong way. Maybe I need to be myself, and say what I really think, and not parrot back the pseudoscience of professors who have spent no real time in an actual classroom.

Maybe I’ll just go back to get a masters’ or doctorate in a subject that actually means something and is based on real science and research.

I’ll keep looking, but heading back abroad is starting to look more and more appealing.

me menatrebi saqartvelo da chemi megobrebi saqartveloshi. 

The End (Part 2)

Well, I’m back home in the USA. More than two years after going to Philadelphia, and signing the form that solidified my two-year commitment in Peace Corps, I am back in New Jersey. It’s a little weird being back. I’m still applying for teaching jobs, and I guess we’ll see what comes out of that. I’m split over everything. On one hand, I’m happy to be home, to see my family and friends. On the other hand, I miss my life in Keda, too. Sure, I was pretty bored sometimes, but to be honest, I felt like every day was a mini-adventure. The biggest adventure I had today was driving to the Verizon store to decide on a new phone plan.

I keep being asked by well-intentioned, but completely oblivious people, “Well, what was it like over there?” I actually find myself not even saying much of anything unless there is a topic that reminds me of Georgia. But asking me “What’s it like?” Ehh… Do you have five-hours to explain to you the hours I spent in a sleeping bag to stay warm in winter? How about trying to teach English in a local public school? No, I didn’t learn Russian. Yes, Georgian is an actual language.

I can blame anyone. Just because I left for two years doesn’t mean everyone else was just sitting around waiting for me to return. People went out into the world, got jobs, got engaged/married, had kids, and had more kids. A group of us in Peace Corps would count down our service by calculating gestation periods. A somewhat strange, but nonetheless unique way of counting down 27-months. But, to most people if I said that in a conversation, I’d get a stare and a head turn like, “What are you talking about?” That’s the main issue; people just don’t understand.

I ran into an old friend’s father around town today and luckily he wouldn’t stop talking about his son. I was seriously wanting to say, “Alright, cool, got a job doing *****. I’ve been living in GEORGIA and you won’t even give me 5-minutes to talk about my job.” To most people when I say that I taught English I feel like they lump me into some group of 2^nd rate volunteers. As if I wasn’t really doing any work. Nope, I was just teaching. Again, all of us Volunteers knew this was a common occurrence, and I was ready for it.

No big deal. I just wish I could talk about poop with more people than my 6-year old niece and 2-year old nephew.

The End (Part 1)

Vasav was quite right. Just because I’m no longer a Volunteer does not mean I can stop writing in my blog. Oh, wait, that’s right, I haven’t written in my blog to TELL the blog-world that I finished my service on 19 June. Well, blog-world, I am officially a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV). A person can also call me a “newly unemployed person”. My apologies for not writing sooner. The month of June was pretty crazy for me. I had trainings to lead, guests coming, parents coming, saying goodbyes, packing, saying more goodbyes, and now I am a tourist in the country I’ve considered home for two-years. My parents and I have just finished the second day of a two-week tour of Georgia. After Georgia I will be in Turkey for a week. I will be back on U.S. soil on 4 July. Yes, that’s right, Independence Day.

I told people I’d write a more thought out and honest opinion of Peace Corps and working in Georgia. Here’s the long and the short of it. I loved it. It wasn’t easy, and I was certainly frustrated or angry sometimes, but I really enjoyed my two-years here. I think Peace Corps has done some wonderful and amazing things in Georgia, and I am really fond of the Peace Corps Staff in Georgia who were always helpful. There are few employers that I could go to with a problem that would work with me to solve the problem at hand, but still leave the problem IN my hand. Life is both simple and complicated in Peace Corps, and I disliked all the rules governing my whereabouts and not being able to take the night train by myself. Those aren’t big issues, and it’s all for safety reasons anyway, but we are all adults, right?

As for living in my town. It was hard at first. I felt uneasy at the beginning, but that’s normal with any new major change or stress. I adapted, and I felt like I was able to manage most situations in a constructive manner. I could have done some things differently, but I feel confident that I did the best I could with the information that I had at the time. I learned some things, and I’m proud of the things I accomplished. It’s impossible for me to mention the things I accomplished without referring to some of the HCNs (Host Country Nationals) who really put in their time and effort to help me. I won’t mention them by name, but I really could not have done it without all their guidance and help. We did some great work, and development here, but I also made some great lifelong friends. It was hard to say goodbye. Each supra we had the last week was more emotional than the last, and I found my Georgian to be too poor to really fully express my admiration for the people I’ve lived with and worked with in my town.

I’ll start by answering some questions I commonly get:

Q: Do you like Georgia?

A: Read above. I love Georgia. I think Georgia has a lot of amazing and wonderful people. I also think Georgia (as does every country) has a lot of issues that it needs to work out.

Q: What issues are those?

A: There are a bunch, but I think unemployment is the most pertinent and important right now. After that, I’d say gender issues.

Q: Do you like Georgian food?

A: I like when it’s made for real during supras or holidays. The day-to-day potatoes, eggs, and bread makes me go crazy. My host mother was always great about varying my diet so that was nice.

Q: Would you do Peace Corps again?

A: If I was 23 again I’d probably still go. I think I would have been a better Volunteer if I had waited a bit longer and gained some real experience first. Peace Corps Volunteers range in all ages, but I found the older Volunteers to be doing the larger projects. Age has a big place in Georgia, and I was still considered a “bitchi” (don’t pronounce it like the bad word, the “I” makes an “ee” sound) or “boy”, and therefore not taken as seriously as a 40-year old married man. It is still what you make of it yourself, and I did great things, but again, I think if I was a little older people would look at me differently. I doubt I’d do Peace Corps again right now, because unfortunately we just don’t make enough money, and it’s probably time for me to grow up. I’d definitely do it later in life with a willing spouse.

Q: Would you recommend Peace Corps to a friend?

A: Depends on the friend. Most of the Volunteers I know are great people. I am lucky I could spend the past two-years moaning, whining, but ultimately learning, working, and sharing ideas with them. Peace Corps Volunteers should have a particular set of skills, and some people just don’t have them. I’d tell my friends who have great skills that wish to share those skills with developing nations to definitely do it, because it’s an experience you won’t forget.