take a look at the new tab!

next to the ‘home’ tab on my blog, i have added a ‘classroom expansion project’ tab. here you will be able to view photos, videos and updates regarding the classroom expansion project currently ongoing at my school…with the help of your contributions! unfortunately, my internet is not good enough to upload videos and pictures at my site, but whenever i make my way into tbilisi i will make sure to add any new videos and pictures. thanks and hope you like the renovations!

animal update

so, there have been a number of animal goings-on for the past couple of weeks. i figured i’d give them their own post. enjoy!

a couple of weeks ago i was walking to school (and probably running late, as usual) and happened across a female pig running up a grassy hill to the right of me. i was a little taken aback because she was moving pretty fast and because SHE WAS COMING RIGHT AT ME! i started to pick up my pace and the pig just kept coming after me. i slowed down a little to see what would happen and she ended up stopping right in front of me. “that was a little weird since this isn’t even our pig”, i thought to myself. i turned around and continued on my way thinking the pig would go on her own way. alas, she would walk behind me a few feet, quicken her pace and, finally, walk right beside me. she ended up following me all the way to the school’s gate and even tried to follow me into the school’s grounds.

on the topic of pigs, our very own pig has expanded her culinary tastes to include raw chicken. i was walking in the yard a week ago and heard quite a stir going on around the barnyard. turns out the pig caught herself a live chicken, had ripped off the wing and was running away from the chicken coop with the wing in her mouth. luckily, our neighbor was in the yard too and got rid of the remaining wingless chicken carcass. but, while trying to find a place to put it, he happened upon another mutilated chicken (possibly also made so by the pig) on the roof of one of our out buildings. the animals are upset…our very own animal farm uprising, i think.

we sold 3 of our 6 piglets to a few neighbors for about $100. when i heard that 3 piglets only cost about $100 i was appalled! now, i don’t know what the going rate for live piglets is (that will eventually be turned into easter dinner, i’m sure), but surely $100 is not enough, right?! since the neighbors live close by, 1 or 2 of the sold piglets have wandered back to their brother and sisters in our yard.

speaking of money in exchange for farm animals, i got quite the shock last week: 1 of our cows was sold! she wasn’t producing milk anymore so, i guess, it was for the best. she was sold for about $250! surely, they cost more than that! but in an even more crazy cow/money exchange, my host family bought a female cow and her new calf (like a week old brand new) for $500! what?! after the initial congratulations, i went into shock with the realization that our brand new cows COULD have been our brand new washing machine! GAH! but, as my host dad said, “you want cheese bread? then we need milk”. okay, i concede. fine. although, my host mom has said that we will probably be getting that brand new washing machine in the summer! cross your fingers that this summer/fall we will  be rocking it in the 21st century! and that my host mom’s and my backs will get a break from hand rinsing pounds of clothes in the shower!

a note that is completely unrelated to animals: this past march 3rd was mother’s day here in georgia. i bought my host mom a bouquet of flowers (and told her this was the traditional american gift for mother’s day) and some chocolate. i also bought luda a small book that one of our fellow teachers recommended when i saw her at the bookstore. i think she enjoyed her gifts, but i think most of all, she enjoyed the day off from school. that’s right! we got a day off from school for mother’s day!

also, yesterday was international women’s day (also a day off from school). so, happy women’s day to all the world’s ladies that inspire change and hope among all of us!

for my next post i’m going to try doing a vlog (video + blog) and see if it works. my parents FINALLY got skype and it has inspired me to show off videos of my host family, my house and the rest of my community.

cheers :]

happy 50th peace corps!

check out this fantastic website designed by fellow georgia pcvs celebrating peace corps’ 50th birthday and 10 years in georgia. also, check out the “live like a pcv” section. will you accept the challenge (that i live with pretty much everyday)?!

http://pcgeorgia50.tk/

cheers!

a thank you…

i found out fantastic news 2 weeks ago: thanks to all of your donations, my community’s english classroom expansion project has been fully funded! once i receive the funding (and weather permitting) we will begin restoring an unused classroom in my school. i encourage you all to keep an eye out for future posts pertaining to this project…plus pictures! my students have all expressed their excitement about having a brand new classroom in which to learn, create and study. thank you all so much :]

 

living like an eskimo

hi there 2011!

so despite being away for most of the georgian winter holidays, i figured i should still put a little bit in here about the cultural significance of the many winter-related holidays here.

christmas – january 7

georgians celebrate Christmas (შობა) on January 7.  on the night before, all churches in the country begin the solemn liturgy. after the service the most interesting and entertaining part begins: festive parade alilo (a modified pronunciation of alleluia). believers and priests walk down the street with church songs, carry icons, crosses and church banners high above their heads. thus, they carry the good news about the birth of christ. all who are interested can join the procession. most members of the alilo march are children and they are given sweets by the adults; also, gifts and sweets are distributed to orphanages and asylums. The alilo carols vary across the provinces of georgia.

on christmas night, candles are lit in every georgian house. they are especially placed near the window, so that the light is visible to passers-by. this tradition is observed in memory of events of the bible, when joseph and mary sought shelter for giving birth to their son. georgian christmas has its own culinary traditions. for this holiday, georgian women bake kveri – tasty Christmas cakes.

georgian santa claus — grandfather snow

the georgian equivalent of santa claus is tovlis babua (თოვლის ბაბუა), literally meaning grandfather snow. He is traditionally portrayed with a long white beard, dressed in chokha and wearing a fur cloak called a nabadi.

2 new years

georgians celebrate new year twice due to two calendar systems. the gregorian calendar, or the western calendar, was only introduced in georgia only after sovietization — january 1. however, the georgian orthodox church has continued to celebrate holidays according to Julian calendar introduced since the fourth century — january 14.

and, as with any georgian holiday, they all come with lots of food and lots of wine. some of the foods are seasonal, but its the usual fare.

school has started back up, but i at least get a counterpart to teach with this semester. holla! things have been good splendidly too! she’s a year younger than me, has a 4 month old baby and is super great with the students. unfortunately, she won’t be attending a very important training in february because of her baby. this is an extremely vital training conference peace corps puts on once a year for volunteers and their counterparts. as i understand, we will have sessions over classroom management, using available resources, teaching to different levels and so on. but, maybe she will be able to go with me next year. hopefully, we can work something out. in the meantime, my secondary counterpart was supposed to go instead, but her health hasn’t been too good as of late so she will also be missing out (not that big of a deal; she’s already been to 4, but no harm brushing up on things). i think this semester will be a little less stressful, mostly because we have a number of conferences this semester and now i have a counterpart that can do all the georgian-speaking in class. also, i’m aware of how the school is organized and run and i have a better idea of where the students are in terms of their english skills. now margo and i can hone in and really start making some progress with these kids. having a renovated classroom with bookcases and a whiteboard would help too [click the DONATE NOW star to your right to help out]!

the inside of the school is probably 20 degrees colder than it is outside. great. today had to have been about 60 degrees out in the sun…the school, maybe 40. still no snow :[

the other day i was sitting on my bed watching the wire and i noticed my bookcase shaking. the bed also started to shake. turns out it was a 5.8 earthquake whose epicenter was about 40 km away from kutaisi (about 2 hours from me). my very first earthquake and i thought it was the wind shaking the house!

animal update: our cat has become our very own bug catcher...then she eats them. today's count: 3; appy the cow is long gone. where he is, we don't know; our pig has had her piglets. 6 healthy and pink cuties that have to stay outside. i already asked if we could bring a pig inside to keep bella company. i was met with a number of frowns and "i don't think sos"; speaking of pigs: there are a lot of pigs on my little lane that are HUGE! i'm a little scared they will rush at me and eat me much like the ones in hannibal do; one of the chickens has had more chicks. 9 at the beginning, but 3 have died; speaking of chickens: for some reason my host mom was feeding them water with minced garlic in it. what?!?;  the turkeys still get lost on occasion; i'm also starting to get the idea that bella might be a boy...don't ask me how i know that one -- officially confirmed: bella is a boy.

france was fantastic. it was great to eat a variety of food and i tried to check all my "food wants" off my list: nutella crepes, chocolate croissants, steak frite and, of course...SUSHI! mission accomplished...a few times over. food amazingness came in the form of smoked salmon, lettuce and creme fraiche on a bun at the champs-elysees christmas market. seeing my parents was definitely the best part of the entire trip (a close 2nd was seeing a  fellow georgia PCV who was also visiting paris and meeting her peace corps-mali boyfriend)! my parents and i had a great time strolling around, shopping and going to museums. the trip ended way too soon and i was definitely sad to go back to georgia. but, luckily, i was able to catch a cab to our guesthouse with another pcv and 13 hours of dawson's creek ensued. it's certainly not the typical readjustment technique, but a lot of good laughs with good friends helps a lot!

cold weather tip #1: putting hot water in a coke bottle and sleeping with it as your would a teddy bear is an efficient and earth-friendly way to stay warm at night...no central heating here. although, because my mom back in the u.s. was always very conservative with turning on the heat in the winter, i feel i have been conditioned for this sort of non-central heated environment. thanks mom! i have yet to break out the official peace corps provided sleeping bag. it's kind of unfair since my region seems to be one of the warmer ones, but it's still a little fun to compete with other PCVs. we do have space heaters, but the only time i've really used it i had to hug it to keep warm. my room is really big so it doesn't get warm very fast. oh, once i used it to dry laundry. my room smelled like soap for 2 days and the windows steamed up. apparently they're bringing in better heaters for the next group of volunteers arriving in april.

peace corps is celebrating it's 50th anniversary this year! please don't let the recent negative press about peace corps scare you (or deter you from applying). i am 100% safe and i know that if i ever have to report anything, our safety & security representative will take everything i say seriously and will act to the best of her ability. i love it here (most days) and hopefully this blog reflects that! happy 50th peace corps!

hopefully you all had a happy holiday and may your 2011 be fantastic! only a little over a year to go...time flies!

thanks for all of your support and kind comments :]

requesting donations for a community project!

there will be another post after this, i promise.

let me take a moment to direct your attention to the upper right hand corner of this blog. there you will find a link that will send you to the PCPP (peace corps partnership program) website and directly to the description of an “english classroom extension” project…my 1st peace corps project! my community and i are requesting donations to help renovate an unused classroom. once in working condition, this classroom will serve as a 2nd english classroom as well as an after school meeting place, study room and training room. 100% of your donation will go directly to the funding of the project and all donations are tax deductible. i will continue to update you all on the status of our project through pictures and blog posts; therefore, you will become a part of our project too!

thank you in advance :]

3 ways my host parents are exactly like my actual parents.

1) my host mom doesn’t like to see things go to waste any more than my mom does. case in point: in the episode of glee (კლუბი – clubi, in this next of the woods) where puck confesses his love to quinn and promises to help take care of their baby both characters get into a small food fight while making cupcakes for a bake sale. flour is thrown, sugar is tossed and at the sight of this my host mom declared, “what a waste of food!” i can’t even begin to describe the number of times i’ve heard those words come from my mom’s mouth (my dad can attest to this)…95% of the time they pertained to my own wastefulness (or my dad’s), but all the same.

2) some background information: we have cacti. a lot of cacti and most of them are planted in the front yard. two weekends ago, in order to winterize the garden, my host dad was fashioning a way to cover the cacti from the cold. he unfortunately speared parts of the cactus with its own spines. he also did not stick enough long sticks into the ground to create a sort of skeleton to wrap a tarp around. upon seeing this my host mom told my host dad he did it wrong and she immediately set to work trying to fix it. this is not unlike something my mom would do back in the u.s. as a rather festive example, i make note of my dad’s attempt at decorating the christmas tree last year. because no one took any initiative to decorate it, my dad ended up doing it. the result was not satisfactory (all the ugly ornaments were where everyone could see them) and my mom re-did it, with some complaining. after my host dad tried to join in and help my host mom install more branches, she scolded him again and he gave up with a, “fine! you do it.” again, not unlike in the schaefer household.

3) my host parents and i were coming back from “the city” (ozurgeti, about 15 minutes away and not all that exciting) and we detoured to make a stop at an area tea grower’s house. my host dad took a wrong turn and after driving a little ways, my host mom asked if he remembered where to go. my host dad muttered in the positive. as it turned out, we weren’t going in the right direction and my host mom told my host dad to ask someone for directions. he refused. we turned around, drove back to the main road, drove some, turned again and found the house. i told my host mom that even in american men don’t ask for directions. she just shook her head.

i share all of these small vignettes with you because its moments like these i forget my homesickness and feel more at home than ever before. my host parents are fantastic…and maybe i think (and feel) this because they remind me so much of my own parents. i miss my parents on a daily basis…especially my mom’s hugs, but i know that if i ever need one, luda will have her arms wide open for me (and badri will attempt to get me to look down at what he’s pointing to on my shirt and try to flick my nose…i rarely fall for that one anymore). on a less super-sappy note, i get to see my parents in 9 days! provided the weather in and around paris is conducive to travelling, we’ll be together on december 29!

animal update: after a number of false alarms (well, just one…on my part) our pig has had her piglets! a very joyous occasion for me since i have never lived within walking distance of pigs before. her sty smells bad, but i managed to snap a few pictures of the 6 newborns. they are quite the cuties. i have asked a number of times if i can have one live in the house with us…my reason: so bella the cat can have a friend. my idea has been met with mild enthusiasm…that might even be overstating it; the cat has a new nickname: the princess (georgians don’t use articles, so really, just princess). she will move into your sitting spot as soon as you leave and make no effort to move if you return. she’s sassy. oh! shout out to grandma and grandpa schaefer for the collar they sent her. she looks rather dashing in blue (she was NOT a fan of the ones with bells); appy, our calf, is leaving us sometime tomorrow. his eventual fate is unknown, but i’m going to take a wild guess and suggest he will be on a dinner plate in no time. he’s been making himself scarce these past few days. i think he knows.

this will probably be my last post before christmas. georgian christmas isn’t until january 7 because of the orthodox calendar and  i will be sure to post some historical information on the holiday for you all to enjoy. not to spoil the surprise or anything, but the celebrations will mean lots of food, lots of wine and lots of people.

thank you all for your support!

i wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

things i am looking forward to during winter break

1. NO SCHOOL…but that’s a given
2. poopless shoes while vacationing in paris. no farm animals in the city of love!
3. jen & anthony’s wedding (i can’t wait to see pictures!)
4. english tv…even if it’s just the bbc and cnn
5. HARRY POTTER!
6. seeing my parents…sorry that you weren’t further up there guys. but seriously, poopless shoes will be nice :]
7. the developed world (toilets, 2 ply toilet paper and hot showers EVERY DAY)
8. real food. or, at least, a selection of international cuisine and snack foods (here i come nutella crepes!)
9. sushi (note to the parental unit: i better get some sushi!)
10. my hair staying on my head. georgia is making my hair fall out :[

hope everyone had a fun and family-filled thanksgiving! i ate ხაჭაპური (khatchapuri - georgian cheese bread) and watched spanish soap operas dubbed in georgian with my host family. these soap operas are super sassy! watch yourself general hospital!

i miss you all :]

 

new name for my blog?: khatchapuri it to me, baby!

thankfulness.

as promised, here is my list of what i am most thankful for for the 2010 thanksgiving season:

1. my family (at home…and in georgia)
2. my dog, bailey
3. my friends (both old and new)
4. teachers…because now i know how it feels to be one. it’s really hard.
5. going to college
6. the opportunity to live and work abroad in such a fantastic community…not to mention live a dream that people only think about
7. my health — i might be parasi-tastic but it could be worse
8. sushi (that’s right, raw fish. yum!)
9. martha stewart (it wouldn’t be thanksgiving without her)
10. and TODAY…and to many more TODAYs of adventure and learning.

AND thanks to all of you who support me day after day :]

supras, supras everywhere.

so there isn’t too much to update you all on. but, here goes:

i went to my 3rd funeral this thursday. it was a pretty emotional one because it was for one of the teachers at school. she was 60 years old, had had some problems with her heart and got an infection that turned into pneumonia. nani taught in the room next to me and helped me out on my halloween trick-or-treating day. she was also a pretty well known poet in the area. i have to say that one of the best things about this particular funeral was the video of some of her poetry readings playing in the background. i think a lot of the attendees weren’t too happy about it (since those sorts of things are not done here; at least not at village funerals), but i thought it to be incredibly refreshing and a great memorial to her talent and personality.

(unfortunately for my host mom, a fellow teacher and myself, we had to walk home in the dark…about 4 miles…over rocky terrain…after a long supra).

my host parents wedding anniversary was this past saturday. in their honor i made brownies and rice krispie squares (thanks to my fabulous mom back home for providing me the most important ingredients: marshmallows and rice krispies!) the brownies did not come out as great as i hoped they would (i think i may have messed up on the conversions and with no measuring cups or spoons, it’s difficult to really pinpoint exact amounts) and the rice krispie squares were met with mild enthusiasm. oh well. more for me! just a note, i asked around to fellow volunteers and some of the pc staff about what to give as a gift for a wedding anniversary and i was always told, “i don’t know even know my host parent’s anniversary” or “those things just aren’t celebrated here”. well, i celebrated it! even though, much like my mother back home, luda ended up doing laundry all day on her anniversary (if we had a new washing machine, it wouldn’t have taken all day. just sayin’).

in other news: i finished watching the last season of weeds. it was a good one. still keeping my interest. i’ve been watching a lot of movies to maintain some sanity. i’m saving the ones i haven’t seen for this dismal winter that i’m sure will be on it’s way soon. i’m sticking to the pixar and animated movies to keep the mood light. i have also begun making plans for some secondary projects. more on that later!

in animal news: there isn’t much, but the cat has been pooping in the house plants. the house plants have been brought in from outside for the winter and stationed right outside my bedroom. how’s that for poop-urri. that was bad, i’m sorry :] ah! only 30 minutes ago did we change october’s name to ბელა (english: bella). my host mom did not like october because it’s not a proper girl cat’s name. 5 bucks says she still calls the cat, “cat”.

yesterday was a big holiday in georgia: გიორგობა (giorgoba). basically it’s the celebration of st. george, and all you really have to know is that you drink and you eat…A LOT (like 5 pieces of cake and 10 glasses of wine A LOT). but, to support cultural exchange, here’s some historical background on the holiday:

Saint George’s Day (Giorgoba) is a very important holiday for Georgians and is celebrated every year on November 23rd. People go to church, gather together with their families and have supras.

St. George was a Roman soldier and priest in the Guard of Diocletian. He is immortalized in the tale of St. George and the Dragon. The episode of St. George and the Dragon was a legend brought back by the Crusaders and retold with the courtly appurtenances of the romantic genre.

According to legend, after St. George’s death God scattered the parts of his body all over Georgia; chapels and churches were erected on each place. There are more than 400 churches and chapels named after St. George all over Georgia [i've been to at least 4 of them; only about 396 more to go!].

Even the country name “Georgia” is related to St. George. The French chronicler Jacques de Vitry and the English traveler Sir John Mandeville wrote that Georgians are called Georgian because they especially revere Saint George. In January 2004, the country adopted the five-cross flag, featuring the Saint George’s Cross. The monument on Tbilisi Freedom Square symbolizes the importance of the Saint George in Georgian culture.

how’s that for a little history?!

oh, as i’m sure you’ve discovered, i’ve found google translate…stay tuned for further vocabulary in georgian script. by the time i’m done here, all of you will have a pretty exhaustive georgian vocabulary…to use extensively in all of your daily dealings…because georgia is the only country that speaks it…ha…ha…ha. now you all know how i will feel after being here for 2 years: i came and lived in georgia for 2 years and all the language skills i have now can only be put to use in this one country?!?!! you betcha!

so i leave you all now to join my host family in watching our daily mexican soap operas. however, in the winter, where there’s a tv, there’s warmth.

კარგად! (vocabulary word #3 — bye!)

p.s. thanks for the love and support :]

p.p.s i took some pictures of food at the giorgoba supra to go with my earlier food post. i will eventually upload them. plus, i’ll upload a picture of my counterpart’s new baby girl….a cuuuutie!