What organization will I be working with in Georgia? Where will I be living? What
will my living conditions be like? Who will be living near me? What will my new host
family be like?
On June 19th, site placements were announced outside on a big open basketball court, with a long rope in the shape of Georgia on the ground. Each of us were given someone else’s envelope, and we read them
one at a time, announcing where a fellow volunteer would be living for the next 2 years. The next day we were taken across the country to meet our supervisors. I was met by my organizations deputy director, Nona. She did not speak English, but there are 4 English speakers in the organization, including Tea, who speaks very good English. After our short supervisers conference, Nona and I traveled across the country to my permanent site.I will be living in the town of Ozurgeti, about 20 minutes from the Black Sea in the region of Guria. The regions of Georgia are like states in the US. My region is known for humor, singing, and fast, loud talkers :) I already have a traditional Gurian singing folk singing hat gifted to me by my coworkers.
My organization, translated to English, is called the Young Pedagogues Union. Their mission is: “To raise civil awareness and improve the local populations social-economic condition by developing educational institutions, social services, and providing youth with civic values.” Their three components include a School
Democratization component, a civic awareness/leadership among young adults component, and a social welfare component. They are a very high functioning organization, and I am going to have the opportunity to work in many of their programs. Druing my time there, I went out for a fantastic dinner at a restaurant along a crek in a village neighboring Ozurgeti.
I spent about 2.5 days in Ozurgeti. My host family is a married couple, Shorena and Irakli who live in an amazing house. They are 40 and 42 and claim to be my “host siblings.” They have signed up to house me for two years – they were incredibly nice and hospitable for our weekend. Everyone wish them luck with their grocery bills. We went to Batumi that Sunday (the 3rd largest city in Georgia, located on the BlackSea). Along with Shorenas sister, Ia, we walked and biked along the boardwalk and enjoyed beautiful Batumi. The Black Sea is pretty sweet, the port there reminded me of Tacoma but maybe that was just because of the smell.
Other adventures lately include our amazing July 4th 150-200 Americans and Georgians eating, playing tug-of-war, and singing American songs. It was awesome, I hope I can get some pics on this blog!
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| Bike path in Batumi along Black Sea |
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| Batumi Sunset |
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| Batumi |
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| Recieving a traditional Gurian folk-singing hat :) |
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| Some future co-workers |
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| Tug of War Champs! Khashuri |
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| Best language teacher ever! Tamta! |
