Al 06-05-2012 5:30 AM

I am finding very small things the most comforting because they are routines I can hold onto.  Making my bed, cleaning my room, brushing my teeth, putting my floss by my bed, waking up early at the same time.  These things are still the same.

06-05-2012 6:00 PM

I’m exhausted.  I’m not sure if my head hurts more from trying to understand so much Georgian or from the muggier weather or from the strange bed and pillow.  I went to a Supra dinner for the holiday of St. Giorgio.  I have never felt so unable to communicate.  I understand now why a girl ran out of our Spanish abroad program in tears one day.  I mean, then I knew it was because she couldn’t understand, but now I understand.

Sometimes not understanding frustrates me so much.  At the Supra everybody was talking and laughing and I was totally clueless.  Georgian better hurry up and be my third language.

Love,

Al

06-05-2012

Dear Grandma Weez,

You shouldn’t have worried.  I don’t think it is possible for me to have gotten a host family that reminds me more of how wonderful it is to live with you.  I live with a lady about Mom’s age and her mother.  Nino and Eli.  I already love them.  During orientation the staff told us a lot about Georgian culture—about huge dinners and being pushed to eat and drink as a way of welcoming a guest.  I was nervous about being put on the spot.  Instead, though, they did exactly what you would have done.  They fed me until there were positive I wasn’t hungry, gave me a glass of wine (or a shot, rather, Georgian style) … and put me to bed.  And I was so grateful.

The power went out halfway though dinner and we laughed and ate by flashlight.  Also!  They make their own bread, have their own honeycombs, and make their own wine and it is all so good!  They promised to teach me how to make bread and when I come home, I will teach you how to make bread like a Georgian!

I wish that you could see their home and gardens.  They have beautiful irises and flowerbeds and chickens.  A neat and orderly (big!) veggie garden, and perfectly tended grape vines.  I wish you could see it so much!  You would absolutely approve!  If you grew up in Georgia, your house would look just like this.  I know it.  Maybe it’s because everything is so clean and organized.  My host mom mopped before 10 am this morning and I felt right at home.

We have been busy trying to communicate.  I managed to tell them that at home in the states I live with you, but oh my gosh!  It was a feat!  We have been laughing a lot.  Miss you.  Love you.

Love,

Al

PS: I put my floss by my bed.

05-05-2012

(A three sentence summary)

After a long and very bumpy bus ride, we arrive in Telavi where our host families will meet us and take us to our homes.  All I can reliably say is “hello”, “from/in America”, and “nice to meet you”.  Also, “toilet”.  Thus, when my host mom showed me her home and chickens on that day, I, exhausted and far, far past the point of information overload only managed to say, “Me … chicken? … in America.”

A Letter from Orientation

Dear USA,

I've been staying for the past few days at the training site about 15 miles from the Russian occupied territory South Ossentia.  It's all peaceful and beautiful here, though.  We are staying in what our fearless leader Tengo refers to as the "that old, awful, run-down Communist era hotel".  The building, in reality, is clearly very nice by rural Georgian standards.  I was told to enjoy the nice flush toilets while I had them.  I share a small room and we have our own tiny bathroom.  You know, the kind with a drain in the middle of the floor so when you shower the toilet gets wet.  It feels a little like summer camp.

There are a lot of gutted Soviet-looking buildings alongside the road.  Otherwise it's deserted here.  I would really like to know why the buildings are gutted (as opposed to just empty) ... it's all done in the same pattern.  They're kind of cool and creepy.  It's strange to look inside and see where the chimney was and the stove was ... I wonder who lived in them.

Mostly for the past two days we've been attending meeting after meeting--security, food safety, Georgian politics, security, safety, security, Georgian customs, and health (safety).  The best part has been the language classes, even though they're really hard ... which is to be expected in a language that has like five different sounds for the letter "K" ...

All of this staying indoors in conference rooms is driving me crazy.  Each time they let us out I just bolt for the door.  I hate sitting indoors for that long.  It feels like all I've been doing since last Tuesday.  Sitting in a meeting room, sitting on a bus, sitting at the airport, sitting on the plane, airport, plane, airport, bus, conference room, conference room, language room, dining room, conference room ... I also sat when I got the first of my rabies vaccine set.  Which stung.  Awesome.  I am so excited to get my host family and to be free of some degree of these endless security meetings.  Even though I am sure that they are very important.  Sigh.

Overall it's pretty isolated here.  They're busy teaching us Georgian phrases like, "Where is the bathroom?" and "I don't speak Georgian, I am a Peace Corps volunteer."  The best phrases, though, come from my Georgian phrasebook--the one I got on Amazon about two months ago.  It has gems such as, "Will you help me clear the rubble?" and "It's OK, I have my own syringe." 


 It's been fun learning the culture, though.  The hardest part for me is going to be adjusting to not smiling so much.  Georgians don't really smile, and Georgian women don't smile at men unless they mean something by it.  So I'm going to be spending the first few months of training trying not to cause like an international smile incident.  Did you know that smiling actually sends endorphins to your brain that can make you happy, though???  Is it weird that I'm a little nervous that I won't be as happy of a person if I'm not allowed to smile as much???  I think I'm nuts.

They showed us this video and told us to pretend that the EU was the US and Italy was Georgia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28-P_pc8tmM

Love,
Me

First Day

 Cuban food in Philly.

 Flying to Istanbul.

 Outside training site.

Our view.  Which apparently will get even better when we change locations in two days.

First language class today.  So many crazy new sounds to learn!

 

Philly, Istanbul, Tbilisi

Well, it's 11 am right now back home in California ... and it's 10 pm here outside of Tbilisi, the capitol of Georgia (the Republic of).  I'm really tired but I am not sleepy.  I think I might dose myself with NyQuil for this first night to try to set myself straight ... even though I only have one bottle and I'm sure it's going to be a precious thing.  On second thought, I'll stick it out.

It feels like ages ago that we left Philly to bus to NYC to fly to Istanbul to fly to Georgia ... and, well, wait ... yeah, it was.  I woke up at 7:00 am Tuesday morning and it is now 11 am Wednesday night (both times are East Coast), or what it more accurately feels like--7:00 am on Tuesday to 10 pm on Wednesday.

Highlights?

I SAW THE SPACE SHUTTLE ENTERPRISE IN ITS HANGAR ALONG THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY GOING TOWARDS THE AIRPORT.

I think my life is honestly complete now.

Also, my experiment of flying with a guitar was a complete success.  I never had to check it once.  It was bulky and awkward and a total PITA, but it arrived safe and sound.  I might even try to tune it tomorrow.
We waited in the airport for 5 hours in NYC for our flight.  Everybody was starving and wanted to go to a restaurant in our wing.  The only restaurant anybody could agree on was Chili's.  That was my final true meal in the states.  At least I didn't have to look at the menu.

The flight was exhausting and long and I fell asleep on the stranger next to me ... he wasn't even a PCV, but he was very nice about the whole experience.  He's gonna go home and tell his family that a strange hippy girl slept on his shoulder on the flight from NYC to Istanbul ...

Also, I remember international flights being a lot nicer.  No little computer on the back of the seat in front of mine for this ten hour flight ... first world habits died hard in the first 30 minutes of that flight.

Istanbul was sort of like a normal US airport in another language.  Strange currency, crazy language over the loudspeaker.  Also!  Advertisements for Turkish Delight!  Too bad I couldn't find any!  I always wanted to know what was so good about it that it convinced Edmund to fall victim to the White Witch!

In Georgia, there was (as another PCV so accurately put it) a small media storm waiting for us at baggage claim.  We were surrounded by Georgian movie crews and photographers in a little roped off area.  We were exhausted, but they were all so kind and welcoming.

Then we had dinner out and they just kept bringing dish after dish after dish after dish.  Max, you would have had a field day.  I tried everything, including the liver ... but meat is just hard on me, I'm so not used to it and I really have no taste for it.  There was some very tasty cheesy bread and tomato and cucumber salad ... and lots and lots of other wonderful things (like some tasty mild cheese and a chili tomato sauce).  Some unusual and very tasty spices.  Shemomedjamo in Georgian means to eat past the point of being full and then keep eating just because the food tastes good.

To drive through the capitol city is like going past tons of old run down Soviet buildings ... and then there will be a brand new skyscraper in the middle of everything.  It's a little disconcerting.  There's a huge river that runs through the capitol too but I couldn't for the life of me think of how to pronounce it right now.

And now we are in our training center in the middle of nowhere.  It's nice as long as you don't go breathing in in the bathroom.

Love,
Me