Last day of school before Mestia. We have 4 classes on Friday, but since gr 12 is very unpredictable and I had to prepare for Mestia, Co-teach let me leave right after gr 7. I came home and finished packing then ate some lunch and headed into Batumi.
I got there really early (due to leaving school early) and so I ran some errands, ending up at the library. After returning my books and using the internet for a while, I met Boston and we headed to Goodwill. While there, we stocked up on breakfast and roadtrip food for the morning. Since it was still early, we wandered up the coast and sat of a bench overlooking the port. When Joker finished at the Sheraton, he joined us and we all had beanboats for dinner.
After dinner, Boston and I headed back to her place. After a sketchy walk through some not great streets, we arrived at her building, only to realize that the power was out. I met her family and did not join them for dinner (in spite of pressure from them to do so) since we had just finished eating.
We escaped the awkwardness and hid out in Boston’s room, where she packed by flashlight. When Boston was done packing, we used the flashlight to make shadow puppets on the wall. We’re not bery good, but it was incredibly entertaining. Knowing that we had to be up at 5:30 to catch our marshrutka, we called it a night and were in bed by 10.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Nov. 18 - All by Myself
I feel like ass. My sinuses kept me awake most of the night. But it’s ok, I just have to get to the end of the week and then Boston and I are going to Mestia, which is in Northern Georgia. We’re both super excited.
At 8:45 today, I received a text from Co-teach, telling me that she wouldn’t be at school. So I had to teach by myself. Still feeling like crap, I went in. I taught gr. 6 and 7, but there was no way I was up to teaching gr 8 or 9, especially, since I don’t have my own copy of their textbooks. So I talked to the director and she let me cancel those classes and come home early. I spent the rest of the day napping and lounging.
At 8:45 today, I received a text from Co-teach, telling me that she wouldn’t be at school. So I had to teach by myself. Still feeling like crap, I went in. I taught gr. 6 and 7, but there was no way I was up to teaching gr 8 or 9, especially, since I don’t have my own copy of their textbooks. So I talked to the director and she let me cancel those classes and come home early. I spent the rest of the day napping and lounging.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Nov. 17 - safety, schmafety
The official story on HB3’s leg is that he fractured a bone in the top of his foot. There is an actual cast on it, and he generally seems to be ok. He keeps wanting to go to sleep on the couch where I am, which would be fine by me, except that Bebia doesn’t help at all. HB3 will be laying there almost asleep and she’ll come barreling into the room. The door makes a loud noise every time it’s opened, so no matter how close to sleep HB3 is, the sound wakes him up. Then he realizes how close he was and starts crying and calling out, at which point I return him to his mother, because I did not sign up to be a nanny.
Several interesting things happened today. I say that everyday, and yet it continues. In gr 12, one of the students used the handout I gave him to make a paper airplane. He was smart enough not to fly it in my class. I guess he got tired of having a grounded plane, because then he refolded it into a hat, which the boy next to him put on. It looked lovely.
On my break I saw the gr 6's playing in the yard. They had a wooden plank placed across a bench. The plank wasn’t attached to anything, but they were using it as a see-saw. And this was ok. I mean, smart of them to devise their own entertainment, but safety standards? Hello?
At home, HD had the chainsaw out again. This time the victim was the other tree that overhangs the pool deck. I missed all of the branches coming off, but I did get a killer series of pics of the tree coming down. This was after I’d had to move from where I was sitting, due to the possibility of the tree falling on me. It didn’t even fall that way, but I was grateful for the precaution.
Several interesting things happened today. I say that everyday, and yet it continues. In gr 12, one of the students used the handout I gave him to make a paper airplane. He was smart enough not to fly it in my class. I guess he got tired of having a grounded plane, because then he refolded it into a hat, which the boy next to him put on. It looked lovely.
On my break I saw the gr 6's playing in the yard. They had a wooden plank placed across a bench. The plank wasn’t attached to anything, but they were using it as a see-saw. And this was ok. I mean, smart of them to devise their own entertainment, but safety standards? Hello?
At home, HD had the chainsaw out again. This time the victim was the other tree that overhangs the pool deck. I missed all of the branches coming off, but I did get a killer series of pics of the tree coming down. This was after I’d had to move from where I was sitting, due to the possibility of the tree falling on me. It didn’t even fall that way, but I was grateful for the precaution.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Nov. 15 - Bizarre or just Georgian?
At breakfast today, HM came in carrying HB3. She told me that he broke his leg yesterday. I think. He had a huge bandage on, but I couldn’t tell if there was a cast underneath or not. Medicine here is a little strange. Either way, he didn’t seem to be too fussy and enjoyed his caviar and butter on bread for breakfast (he had the same thing for dinner).
School was the same as always. On Monday I don’t have gr. 9 or 6, so it usually goes the smoothest. In my gr. 12 class, only 4 boys showed up and they hadn’t done the homework (surprise, surprise). I think I might actually die of shock if someone in that class did the homework, but I keep assigning it anyway, just in case.
After school, I came home to find my host dad with a chain saw. At first he was just attacking the tree stump across the street. He didn’t do anything major to it, just shaved off a few pieces from where there used to be branches. Next thing I know, HM wants my camera because HD has the chainsaw in the top of a tree (he was there with it). I spent the majority of the afternoon reading on the pooldeck and watching him dismember this huge tree, piece by piece.
I also tried to do some interneting, but the connection was slower than molasses and the power was out. So when my battery died, after 50 minutes, I headed outside to where there was light. I’m reading some Edgar Allan Poe and I can’t say I’m loving it. There is a lot of superfluous crap in his stories and we all know I like to stick to the plot. I’m alternating the Poe with some Irish legends. I’m enjoying those much more.
After dinner, I was watching English tv when HM came up with HB3. Apparently he wanted to hang out with me and wouldn’t settle to sleep. I was surprised that he’d done that with her; until now it had only been with Bebia. Usually he wants nothing to do with me if his mom’s around. But anyway, she laid him on the couch and then left. Unnatural History seems to be the best way to get the kid to drift off. Once he’d been asleep for a bit, I got HM and she transported him to bed. I finished my show and headed to bed myself.
School was the same as always. On Monday I don’t have gr. 9 or 6, so it usually goes the smoothest. In my gr. 12 class, only 4 boys showed up and they hadn’t done the homework (surprise, surprise). I think I might actually die of shock if someone in that class did the homework, but I keep assigning it anyway, just in case.
After school, I came home to find my host dad with a chain saw. At first he was just attacking the tree stump across the street. He didn’t do anything major to it, just shaved off a few pieces from where there used to be branches. Next thing I know, HM wants my camera because HD has the chainsaw in the top of a tree (he was there with it). I spent the majority of the afternoon reading on the pooldeck and watching him dismember this huge tree, piece by piece.
I also tried to do some interneting, but the connection was slower than molasses and the power was out. So when my battery died, after 50 minutes, I headed outside to where there was light. I’m reading some Edgar Allan Poe and I can’t say I’m loving it. There is a lot of superfluous crap in his stories and we all know I like to stick to the plot. I’m alternating the Poe with some Irish legends. I’m enjoying those much more.
After dinner, I was watching English tv when HM came up with HB3. Apparently he wanted to hang out with me and wouldn’t settle to sleep. I was surprised that he’d done that with her; until now it had only been with Bebia. Usually he wants nothing to do with me if his mom’s around. But anyway, she laid him on the couch and then left. Unnatural History seems to be the best way to get the kid to drift off. Once he’d been asleep for a bit, I got HM and she transported him to bed. I finished my show and headed to bed myself.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Nov 13 - The Harvest
Today was so weird. I did some organizing. Helped dress Bebia. Made friends with some goats. Almost fell out of a tree. Had a song-association sing-along. Watched music videos with my friend’s host dad. Waited while the men flagged down a bus. And saw a whole bunch of men (including police) hanging around at a fork in the road to my house.
It started out normal enough. I slept in later than usual and then had breakfast. There were a bunch of people here to help with the mandarins, but by the time I got downstairs, they were all outside already. After breakfast, I spent a couple of hours on my computer, writing and organizing photos.
Sailor had invited me to come help her family pick the mandarins at her house. I had initially turned her down, but as the afternoon stretched before me, I called and asked if I could still come. She said sure,so I got ready to go. Just as I was walking out the door, Bebia stopped me. I told her where I was going and she said something in a string of rapid-fire Georgian. I had no idea what she wanted, but she started leading me upstairs, so I followed. I finally figured out that she wanted me to help her put her stockings on. It was even weirder than helping with the boots last week.
It seems she only needed help getting the stockings over her feet, so once that was done, I was out of there. I’ve only been to Sailor’s house once before and we came from a different direction, so I called her for directions. As she was trying to describe where to go, her host dad decided that they would come get me. Since I was unsure which road to take, I sat down on a rock and waited for them.
While I was waiting, two guys in a house across the road let their two hairy goats out of the yard to graze. The goats must have thought I looked friendly, because they made a beeline for where I was sitting. Sailor and the others (Boston and Gem [called because he’s quiet, but every time he opens his mouth it’s a gem]) drove up, just as the goats were approaching me. Luckily, they got pics of me with the goats, cuz I only got a pic of the goats.
I said goodbye to my new animal friends and joined my human ones. We got to the house and greeted the family. Then we headed out into the mandarin orchard. I’ve picked a mandarin here and there from our trees, but this was large scale harvest for the purpose of taking them to the market.
We weren’t allowed on the ladders, because they’re not safe, but we could climb any tree we wanted. The others had been picking mandarins all day, and they’d been up trees enough. So I got to climb. Of course, the one branch I was standing on broke off from under my foot. Luckily I had a good grip and a secure perch, so the worst I got was a scrape on my knee.
We stopped harvesting when the sun was going down. We were told to sit at the outside table and were presented with a bowl of fruit (persimmons and pears) and a plate of feijoas. At one point in the conversation, Boston burst into song (someone had said something to make her think of it). I, of course, joined in. Then one line of the song made me think of another song, which I started singing. We all laughed and continued talking, but it wasn’t very long before we were singing again. The song-association went on for about 10 minutes, with one song leading right into the next. Songs sung included; Rainbow Connection, Phenomenon, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Carry on my Wayward Son, Jesse’s Girl, and so many more.
When it got too dark to see each other across the table, we went inside. Dinner wasn’t ready yet, so we watched some music videos on Russian TV. Dinner was good, but typically Georgian. After dinner Sailor’s host dad said he’d drive Boston and Gem to where they could catch a marshrutka and me home.
We got to the main road and parked and the host dad got out. When Sailor and I tried to get out, he told us no. Then we thought he said something about how marshrutkas only stop for girls, so we tried to get out again, but he wouldn’t let us. Instead, he called for Gem to come stand outside with him. A bus came fairly quickly and then we were allowed to get out of the car (we had to, because Boston was in the middle).
On the way up to my place, there was a huge crowd gathered at one of the forks in the road. All men of course, because women don’t out after dark. There were police cars and search lights and about 50 men. I couldn’t see what they were looking at, but it was bizarre. At home, I said hey to the family, put the lemons that I had gotten from the village in the kitchen and came upstairs for English tv.
Nov. 12 - Kids are my life (and I hate it)
School is becoming routine. Even the excuses for homework not being done have stagnated. Nothing new and inventive anymore, bacause the kids don’t care. Though I do keep getting indications that they like me, which is gratifying, since I spend a large portion of class time being stern with them. One of my gr 8s even told another teacher that if he were my age he’d marry me. And this is a high compliment from a Georgian male, never mind that I have no interest in marriage. I thought it was sweet.
At home on Thursday night, HD and HM were out somewhere, so Bebia was at home with the kids. HB1 was with his parents and Host Cousin (a host cousin) was here, playing with the younger boys. While I was eating my dinner, HB3 started to fuss and I heard the Georgian equivalent of "Take him to Valerie in the kitchen. He likes her, he’ll stop fussing".
Needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled. I’m not here to be a free babysitter because Bebia wants to watch her serials. Luckily, Host Cousin ’s a responsible 11 year old and continued playing with HB3, even after she’d brought him to see me in the kitchen, so I didn’t actually have to do anything. I did stay and play with them for a bit after I’d finished eating.
When I left to come upstairs for a shower, HB3 followed me, calling my name. When I answered, he said, "Shen modi, Valerie. Shen modi," which is Georgian for "come here". He’s also the only person in this house who can pronounce my name correctly. I figure it’s because he doesn’t know that Valerie is supposed to be a man’s name, so it doesn’t confuse him.
Tonight I went into Batumi as soon as school was over. My host family was busy putting the mandarins from the orchard into crates to be shipped off, so none of them could flag down a car for me. I missed the bus, so I started walking down the mountain. Partway down, a busload of teachers from my school stopped and picked me up. They were also going to Batumi, so after a quick (for Gerogians) stop in Kobuleti we were on our way.
They dropped me right by Goodwill and I walked to the library. I was hoping that the library internet connection would be stable enough for me to post some pics on fb, but the computers there were slower than mine. I hung out in the library ‘til Boston met me there. We stayed a little longer, chatting and looking up stuff online. She’d posted something new on her blog that she wanted me to see.
We left the library and went to meet Joker at the Georgian restaurant. None of us orded khingali this time, we all got bean boats (lobiani khajapuri). Delicious. It was just the three of us, which was nice. We all broke down the funny and frustrating stories from our week and shared amusing anecdotes about our host families. It’s the exact same thing we do every Friday, but we need that sense of normalcy.
After a quick stop at Goodwill, for dessert, we parted ways and I came home. The air quality is really bad in Batumi, and it triggered my allergies. By the time I got home, I had a horrible sinus headache, so I read for a little bit and then went to bed.
At home on Thursday night, HD and HM were out somewhere, so Bebia was at home with the kids. HB1 was with his parents and Host Cousin (a host cousin) was here, playing with the younger boys. While I was eating my dinner, HB3 started to fuss and I heard the Georgian equivalent of "Take him to Valerie in the kitchen. He likes her, he’ll stop fussing".
Needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled. I’m not here to be a free babysitter because Bebia wants to watch her serials. Luckily, Host Cousin ’s a responsible 11 year old and continued playing with HB3, even after she’d brought him to see me in the kitchen, so I didn’t actually have to do anything. I did stay and play with them for a bit after I’d finished eating.
When I left to come upstairs for a shower, HB3 followed me, calling my name. When I answered, he said, "Shen modi, Valerie. Shen modi," which is Georgian for "come here". He’s also the only person in this house who can pronounce my name correctly. I figure it’s because he doesn’t know that Valerie is supposed to be a man’s name, so it doesn’t confuse him.
Tonight I went into Batumi as soon as school was over. My host family was busy putting the mandarins from the orchard into crates to be shipped off, so none of them could flag down a car for me. I missed the bus, so I started walking down the mountain. Partway down, a busload of teachers from my school stopped and picked me up. They were also going to Batumi, so after a quick (for Gerogians) stop in Kobuleti we were on our way.
They dropped me right by Goodwill and I walked to the library. I was hoping that the library internet connection would be stable enough for me to post some pics on fb, but the computers there were slower than mine. I hung out in the library ‘til Boston met me there. We stayed a little longer, chatting and looking up stuff online. She’d posted something new on her blog that she wanted me to see.
We left the library and went to meet Joker at the Georgian restaurant. None of us orded khingali this time, we all got bean boats (lobiani khajapuri). Delicious. It was just the three of us, which was nice. We all broke down the funny and frustrating stories from our week and shared amusing anecdotes about our host families. It’s the exact same thing we do every Friday, but we need that sense of normalcy.
After a quick stop at Goodwill, for dessert, we parted ways and I came home. The air quality is really bad in Batumi, and it triggered my allergies. By the time I got home, I had a horrible sinus headache, so I read for a little bit and then went to bed.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Nov. 10 - Weirdness abounds
School today was full of bizarre, random Georgian weirdness. In my first class, one of the girls was late and when she came in, she had two bunches of flowers; one for Co-teach and one for me. They were really pretty and looked like they’d been cut fresh from the garden. This was weirdness number 1. Then Co-teach gets two calls during class, while I was teaching. When class ended, she told me that her father had guests from Poland at their house and she had to go. So I would have to teach gr 12 by myself. Weirdness number 2. The entire grade 12 class was a joke. I wanted to try mad libs with them, but they didn’t get it and without Co-teach there to explain, it was a free-for-all of nonsense. Toss in the fact that there were 3 kids there that I’ve never seen before and that they avoided doing work by telling me about one of my students’ recent marraige and you have Weirdness number 3. I let grade 12 go early and had started grading some assignments when my phone rang. It was Co-teach, calling from her house to find out why I wasn’t there yet. I didn’t know I’d been invited. But I went and met her dad and the guests (who don’t speak English). Then Co-teach apologized to me for not calling sooner, but she was busy serving. She had had to leave her job to go home and serve snacks and drinks to her father and his guests, because heaven forbid a Georgian man serve his own damn self. Weirdness number 4.
I spent the whole day talking to and texting back and forth with Boston. We’ve finally gotten some answers to questions that we’ve been asking the TLG staff for a month. Right now it’s a matter of "We don’t know, but we’ll let you know when we do." And I’m fine with that. It’s the Georgian tendency not to send confirmation e-mails, as we do in North America, that was causing some serious anxiety.
I also had loads of time online today and accomplished many personal missions. Otherwise, not much is happening in my home world. Had an English lesson with HB1. He’s getting much better at working by himself and only asking me for answers when he needs help, leaving me free to do my own thing, as long as I’m nearby. I rounded out my day with Veronica Mars and then bed.
I spent the whole day talking to and texting back and forth with Boston. We’ve finally gotten some answers to questions that we’ve been asking the TLG staff for a month. Right now it’s a matter of "We don’t know, but we’ll let you know when we do." And I’m fine with that. It’s the Georgian tendency not to send confirmation e-mails, as we do in North America, that was causing some serious anxiety.
I also had loads of time online today and accomplished many personal missions. Otherwise, not much is happening in my home world. Had an English lesson with HB1. He’s getting much better at working by himself and only asking me for answers when he needs help, leaving me free to do my own thing, as long as I’m nearby. I rounded out my day with Veronica Mars and then bed.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Nov. 9 - Productivity and resignation
School is frustrating. I just don’t know how I am supposed to make a difference and help these kids, when the entire system is flawed. There’s nothing I can do to motivate the kids and consequences are non-existent. The kids all know that I have no actual power and though they like me, they have no incentive to work. It doesn’t help when I’m instructing the kids and ask Co-teach to translate and she looks at them and says, "Understand?" In Georgian, but still. I want the instructions in Georgian as well, so that there are no misunderstandings.
\Yesterday after school, I came home with some specific goals. One was laundry - mission accomplished. Another was to download my pictures off of my camera - mission accomplished. Several other goals involved the internet. I sent an e-mail to the TLG staff with some questions for them. Checked my million of messages on facebook and started trying to figure out what to order people for Christmas - eventually all accomplished.
Of course thanks to interruptions, these few things took me about 4 hours to complete. First N.B. came over for help with his English. Fine. He’s working on the exam with his tutor, so at least I don’t have to deal with that waste of paper anymore. Then HB1 needed help with his homework. So we did that. He mostly just needs someone to stand over him and make sure he’s working. He understands most of the exercises by now.
After English lessons and completing my goals, I was called down for dinner. Just as I was finishing up I got a call from home. Chatted with Cousin for a bit; we had a really nice talk. Of course my phone dropped the call, big surprise. So I went back downstairs and finished my tea.
Then I came back upstairs to watch my Monday night sitcoms. I was almost at the end of Big Bang Theory when Bebia came up with HB3. It was cute once, but the second night, it’s a delay tactic. She didn’t just leave, either, cuz that would’ve been fine. She made me change the tv to Georgian Idol and then ignored it to watch HB3 perform his "I’m really tired, but don’t want to go to bed" act. So he wouldn’t settle, because he had an audience, and by the time she let me change the channel back, my show was over. Since it was 11pm by this point, I said goodnight and left her to her own devices with the small one.
Today, Pop was supposed to come visit, but he’d had a crap day and decided to go into Batumi. Co-teach got called into the ERC in Kobuletti and cancelled our last class, so I decided to head into Batumi too. I called the regulars to let them know what was up and headed in. Met up with Pop at the café and Boston and Joker joined us there. Then we went to the Coffee House. It’s the place we went to after our polar bear swim. I ordered the Greek salad and a cheesecake, neither of which were made with Georgian cheese. I was thrilled.
Everyone else was still chilling and Lush had joined us, when I had to leave. I wanted to catch the bus up the mountain, so that I wouldn’t have to pay for a cab. By 5:50, after a quick stop at Goodwill, I was on a marshrutka. The blasted thing didn’t actually leave Batumi until 6:20. Then we stopped at a gas station, though no gas was purchased. Once we got moving, the pace was good, so I was still hopeful. I had forgotten that this is Georgia, where "leaving at 7" could mean leaving at 7:20 or leaving at 6:45. Tonight was a 6:45 night. But I cought a cab without trouble and made it home safely.
I spent the rest of the evening in my room, organizing my photos. As a gift for my host family, I’ve decided to print out pics of the boys and one of me and the boys and have them framed. So that’s what I was arranging.
\Yesterday after school, I came home with some specific goals. One was laundry - mission accomplished. Another was to download my pictures off of my camera - mission accomplished. Several other goals involved the internet. I sent an e-mail to the TLG staff with some questions for them. Checked my million of messages on facebook and started trying to figure out what to order people for Christmas - eventually all accomplished.
Of course thanks to interruptions, these few things took me about 4 hours to complete. First N.B. came over for help with his English. Fine. He’s working on the exam with his tutor, so at least I don’t have to deal with that waste of paper anymore. Then HB1 needed help with his homework. So we did that. He mostly just needs someone to stand over him and make sure he’s working. He understands most of the exercises by now.
After English lessons and completing my goals, I was called down for dinner. Just as I was finishing up I got a call from home. Chatted with Cousin for a bit; we had a really nice talk. Of course my phone dropped the call, big surprise. So I went back downstairs and finished my tea.
Then I came back upstairs to watch my Monday night sitcoms. I was almost at the end of Big Bang Theory when Bebia came up with HB3. It was cute once, but the second night, it’s a delay tactic. She didn’t just leave, either, cuz that would’ve been fine. She made me change the tv to Georgian Idol and then ignored it to watch HB3 perform his "I’m really tired, but don’t want to go to bed" act. So he wouldn’t settle, because he had an audience, and by the time she let me change the channel back, my show was over. Since it was 11pm by this point, I said goodnight and left her to her own devices with the small one.
Today, Pop was supposed to come visit, but he’d had a crap day and decided to go into Batumi. Co-teach got called into the ERC in Kobuletti and cancelled our last class, so I decided to head into Batumi too. I called the regulars to let them know what was up and headed in. Met up with Pop at the café and Boston and Joker joined us there. Then we went to the Coffee House. It’s the place we went to after our polar bear swim. I ordered the Greek salad and a cheesecake, neither of which were made with Georgian cheese. I was thrilled.
Everyone else was still chilling and Lush had joined us, when I had to leave. I wanted to catch the bus up the mountain, so that I wouldn’t have to pay for a cab. By 5:50, after a quick stop at Goodwill, I was on a marshrutka. The blasted thing didn’t actually leave Batumi until 6:20. Then we stopped at a gas station, though no gas was purchased. Once we got moving, the pace was good, so I was still hopeful. I had forgotten that this is Georgia, where "leaving at 7" could mean leaving at 7:20 or leaving at 6:45. Tonight was a 6:45 night. But I cought a cab without trouble and made it home safely.
I spent the rest of the evening in my room, organizing my photos. As a gift for my host family, I’ve decided to print out pics of the boys and one of me and the boys and have them framed. So that’s what I was arranging.
Nov. 7 - Real life is weirder than movies
Lounging is one of the best things in the world. Sailor had to make a phone call home around 5:30am and rather than wiggle back into bed, she slept on the couch outside. When I woke up, I sent her back into the bedroom and she and Boston slept for a couple more hours.
Once the girls were mobile, we had breakfast and then returned to lounging. We watched Finding Nemo and Men in Tights. Both awsome!! While we were watching the movies, Bebia kept coming through the room for various reasons. The first time, she was in her underwear, because her robe was on the balcony. Another time, she needed the couch to sit on to put on her tights. And the last time, she needed help putting her boots on, so guess who got to do that. That’s right. It was me.
Just as the second movie finished, HB1 came up to tell us to go play tennis. I thought he was inviting us to play tennis with HD, but no. HD thought we needed some fresh air after being holed up in the room all day, so he just wanted us to go play.
Instead, Sailor and I went for a walk through the orchard while Boston showered and dressed. The mandarins are finally ripe, so we ate a few right off of the trees. It was fantastic. HD was ready for a game of tennis by the time we returned, and we had just started playing when Boston appeared. While I played tennis with HD, Sailor took Boston through the orchard. I quit fairly quickly and joined the girls for lunch.
After lunch it was time for the girls to go. We packed up their things and headed out to the side of the road. Both HM and Bebia were at a funeral, and HD was watching tv, so we tried to flag down a car by ourselves. The first problem was that it was 4:15 on a Sunday afternoon. No one was going to town. Then a car did pass us, but it was full. Another car passed, just as HM got back, but it wouldn’t stop for me. The bus also wouldn’t stop, though it wasn’t full (I still don’t know why). Finally, after 45 minutes a car finally stopped and the girls were on their way.
I retreated to my room and did a little reading, a little writing and took a shower. When I was watching my English tv (at 10pm) Bebia came up with HB3. I guess she was trying to get him to sleep, and he was fussing because he wanted to be with me. So I took him from Bebia and he snuggled right into my lap. Then he laid down on the couch and watched Unnatural History with me, while Bebia went into her room to watch really loud Georgian tv. He fell asleep quickly and when Bebia was ready to go to bed, I carried him into her room. It was so cute. After some more tv I went to bed myself.
Once the girls were mobile, we had breakfast and then returned to lounging. We watched Finding Nemo and Men in Tights. Both awsome!! While we were watching the movies, Bebia kept coming through the room for various reasons. The first time, she was in her underwear, because her robe was on the balcony. Another time, she needed the couch to sit on to put on her tights. And the last time, she needed help putting her boots on, so guess who got to do that. That’s right. It was me.
Just as the second movie finished, HB1 came up to tell us to go play tennis. I thought he was inviting us to play tennis with HD, but no. HD thought we needed some fresh air after being holed up in the room all day, so he just wanted us to go play.
Instead, Sailor and I went for a walk through the orchard while Boston showered and dressed. The mandarins are finally ripe, so we ate a few right off of the trees. It was fantastic. HD was ready for a game of tennis by the time we returned, and we had just started playing when Boston appeared. While I played tennis with HD, Sailor took Boston through the orchard. I quit fairly quickly and joined the girls for lunch.
After lunch it was time for the girls to go. We packed up their things and headed out to the side of the road. Both HM and Bebia were at a funeral, and HD was watching tv, so we tried to flag down a car by ourselves. The first problem was that it was 4:15 on a Sunday afternoon. No one was going to town. Then a car did pass us, but it was full. Another car passed, just as HM got back, but it wouldn’t stop for me. The bus also wouldn’t stop, though it wasn’t full (I still don’t know why). Finally, after 45 minutes a car finally stopped and the girls were on their way.
I retreated to my room and did a little reading, a little writing and took a shower. When I was watching my English tv (at 10pm) Bebia came up with HB3. I guess she was trying to get him to sleep, and he was fussing because he wanted to be with me. So I took him from Bebia and he snuggled right into my lap. Then he laid down on the couch and watched Unnatural History with me, while Bebia went into her room to watch really loud Georgian tv. He fell asleep quickly and when Bebia was ready to go to bed, I carried him into her room. It was so cute. After some more tv I went to bed myself.
Nov. 6 - All day slumber party!
Boston and I started the day watching music videos in our pj’s. We had some breaky, of course, but then we did some serious loafing until Sailor showed up. When she did Bebia hollered my name from the front yard until I answered and then Sailor came up.
The three of us went for a "hike", by which I mean that we walked on the paved road up the mountain and then back down then mountain. We tooks loads of pictures. On our way down the mountain, we scrambled over the verge across from my house and we took a little side thing, that may or may not have been a road. Eventually we ended up at a river with a giant pipe across it. Sailor decided that walking across the pipe was a good plan, so she did while Boston and I photographed. From that point we could also see some snowy mountains in the distance, so we spent quite a long time taking pictures. On the way back, we passed the house of a woman who works at the school. She invited us in for tea, but we declined (graciously, of course) and continued home.
Back at the casa, we cleaned up a bit (our shoes were super muddy from taking the road(?)s less travelled. Then we had lunch. While we were eating lunch Bebia came into the kitchen in a tizzy because her son had come to visit and brought guests from Italy.
After we tidied our lunch mess, we went out and visited for a bit. It was cool, but weird. Only one of the Italians spoke any English, and I think only 1 or 2 spoke Georgian. After the initial small talk, we were pretty much ignored, so we escaped to inside.
We turned the tv to music videos again and each spent time doing our own thing; I was reading (surprise!), Sailor was creating a test for her gr 3 class, and Boston was working on the cover letter for an application. We then spent a solid couple of hours helping her revise and edit said letter. In the end it was amazing.
Food came next, since it had been a solid 5 hours since we’d last eaten. The girls have gotten really good at finding their way around the kitchen here, and between the three of us we had dinner and cleaned up in no time. Then we decided to watch Pirate Radio, one of the movies Boston brought. It was pretty darn funny. By the time it was over, Sailor and I were both exhausted, so we called it a night and all went to bed.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Nov. 5 - TGIF
Today, I had an assignment due in gr. 9. The entire project was done outside of class time and I didn’t have much hope of getting them handed in, but I was pleasantly surprised. Four out of the five groups handed them in and they looked pretty good.
In the afternoon, some of the teachers decided to go into Batumi today for dinner. I already had plans with my friends, so I declined. However, the teachers who were going all finished class earlier than Co-teach and I, so they pressured her into cancelling our gr. 12 class (last of the day) so that they could get a move on. So she cancelled it, and we all left early.
I went into Batumi right away, which meant that I had time for the haircut that I didn’t get on Wed before everyone else was ready to meet. I went into the salon and asked for a cut the same way I did last time. This time,though, they thought I was Russian and took me through the well lit, public salon area and up a stairway in the back, to what looked like a woman’s apartment. I was a little freaked out, but she gave me an amazing cut and a great blow dry, so I was happy.
After my haircut, I hung out at the café, which is a pretty central meeting place. Hammer, Boston and Sailor eventually all showed up. Joker was meeting us at the restaurant, because it was closer to his house.
Over dinner, we did a fun rehash of our weeks. Turns out we had lots of time to talk because our food took forever. They also brought us a gigantic order of the wrong thing. Since servers here never write anything down, this is not uncommon, but it’s never happened on such a big scale. Normally, I wouldn’t have worried, except that 4/5 of us are vegetarian and they brought us meat khingali, in spite of the fact that Joker clearly said potato.
Once they got our order right, the food was really good. When our bill came, though, they’d charged us for the wrong order as well. We ended up being pretty rude (not that rude is even a thing in Georgia) just because we don’t possess the language skills to be polite in Georgian. It was a whole big thing and it took forever to fix it and then it took ages to get our change. It was almost 9 by the time Boston and I got back to my house.
Once we got here, we decided to visit with the family. The kids were around and had some plastic ball-pit balls out. HB3 gave one to Boston and she tried to play catch with him. HB2 wanted to play too, except that he can’t really catch. When he tried, it looked like he was having a seizure and more often than not he wound up on his ass. It was so funny to watch. HB1 also wanted to be included and we ended up with an hilarious free-for-all of me, Boston and all 3 of my host brothers whipping 4 different balls around the room at each other. It ended when HM started yelling and Sarha and I discreetly collected the balls.
After "catch" HD wanted to play "Joker". This time we played with partners. It’s not actually any different than regular play, except that you add your score to your partners at the end. HM was my partner and we won by a large margin. This was not cool with HD, who tried to blame the whole thing on Boston, though she had played much better than he had. When she started to argue back (all in good fun) I decided we’d had enough family time and dragged her upstairs.
It was pretty late by that point, so we came straight to bed.
In the afternoon, some of the teachers decided to go into Batumi today for dinner. I already had plans with my friends, so I declined. However, the teachers who were going all finished class earlier than Co-teach and I, so they pressured her into cancelling our gr. 12 class (last of the day) so that they could get a move on. So she cancelled it, and we all left early.
I went into Batumi right away, which meant that I had time for the haircut that I didn’t get on Wed before everyone else was ready to meet. I went into the salon and asked for a cut the same way I did last time. This time,though, they thought I was Russian and took me through the well lit, public salon area and up a stairway in the back, to what looked like a woman’s apartment. I was a little freaked out, but she gave me an amazing cut and a great blow dry, so I was happy.
After my haircut, I hung out at the café, which is a pretty central meeting place. Hammer, Boston and Sailor eventually all showed up. Joker was meeting us at the restaurant, because it was closer to his house.
Over dinner, we did a fun rehash of our weeks. Turns out we had lots of time to talk because our food took forever. They also brought us a gigantic order of the wrong thing. Since servers here never write anything down, this is not uncommon, but it’s never happened on such a big scale. Normally, I wouldn’t have worried, except that 4/5 of us are vegetarian and they brought us meat khingali, in spite of the fact that Joker clearly said potato.
Once they got our order right, the food was really good. When our bill came, though, they’d charged us for the wrong order as well. We ended up being pretty rude (not that rude is even a thing in Georgia) just because we don’t possess the language skills to be polite in Georgian. It was a whole big thing and it took forever to fix it and then it took ages to get our change. It was almost 9 by the time Boston and I got back to my house.
Once we got here, we decided to visit with the family. The kids were around and had some plastic ball-pit balls out. HB3 gave one to Boston and she tried to play catch with him. HB2 wanted to play too, except that he can’t really catch. When he tried, it looked like he was having a seizure and more often than not he wound up on his ass. It was so funny to watch. HB1 also wanted to be included and we ended up with an hilarious free-for-all of me, Boston and all 3 of my host brothers whipping 4 different balls around the room at each other. It ended when HM started yelling and Sarha and I discreetly collected the balls.
After "catch" HD wanted to play "Joker". This time we played with partners. It’s not actually any different than regular play, except that you add your score to your partners at the end. HM was my partner and we won by a large margin. This was not cool with HD, who tried to blame the whole thing on Boston, though she had played much better than he had. When she started to argue back (all in good fun) I decided we’d had enough family time and dragged her upstairs.
It was pretty late by that point, so we came straight to bed.
Nov. 4 - Livin' the life
Did some laundry this morning. I have to pick and choose my days carefully now that the weather’s turned. The balcony on which I used to drape my clothes (which is sheltered from the rain) no longer gets any sun. So if I want my clothes to dry in less than 4 days, I have to hang them on the line, which is not sheltered from the rain. Anyway, I put a load in this morning before school and then hung them to dry when I got home.
I have less and less patience with what is deemed acceptable classroom behaviour here. Especially since these kids have been dealing with me for a month and a half. I have never once picked someone who is calling "Mast! Mast! Mast!" (It’s a short form for the Georgian word for teacher) and waving their hands at me. Why do they still look suprised when I choose to ignore this behaviour?
Other than my general bitchiness, school was the same as always. At break, I showed Co-teach my pics from the weekend, including the party and the sea. I skipped a lot of the party pictures, because I didn’t really want to explain things like ‘beer pong’. She also told me that Boston and I are lucky that we didn’t get seriously ill from our 5 minutes in the sea. I didn’t feel like arguing, so I agreed and changed the subject.
I had lunch with Bebia, including another fruit that I’ve never seen before. This one looks like a persimmon with a pointy bottom. The inside is soft textured like a plum and orange. It tastes familiar, but I can’t place the flavour. Anyway, it’s delicious and I’m really glad they’re in season right now.
After lunch I was chilling in my room with my lappy and mp3 player when 2 of my students stopped by for help. I assigned a project for my gr. 9 class. They have to research a Georgian city and create a brochure. It’s due tomorrow. So Monkey came over with one of his group members so that I could proofread their rough copy. Of course he didn’t come empty handed (because he never does). Today’s fruit was mandarins. They’re finally ripe and he brought me 3 of them. I’m excited.
I have less and less patience with what is deemed acceptable classroom behaviour here. Especially since these kids have been dealing with me for a month and a half. I have never once picked someone who is calling "Mast! Mast! Mast!" (It’s a short form for the Georgian word for teacher) and waving their hands at me. Why do they still look suprised when I choose to ignore this behaviour?
Other than my general bitchiness, school was the same as always. At break, I showed Co-teach my pics from the weekend, including the party and the sea. I skipped a lot of the party pictures, because I didn’t really want to explain things like ‘beer pong’. She also told me that Boston and I are lucky that we didn’t get seriously ill from our 5 minutes in the sea. I didn’t feel like arguing, so I agreed and changed the subject.
I had lunch with Bebia, including another fruit that I’ve never seen before. This one looks like a persimmon with a pointy bottom. The inside is soft textured like a plum and orange. It tastes familiar, but I can’t place the flavour. Anyway, it’s delicious and I’m really glad they’re in season right now.
After lunch I was chilling in my room with my lappy and mp3 player when 2 of my students stopped by for help. I assigned a project for my gr. 9 class. They have to research a Georgian city and create a brochure. It’s due tomorrow. So Monkey came over with one of his group members so that I could proofread their rough copy. Of course he didn’t come empty handed (because he never does). Today’s fruit was mandarins. They’re finally ripe and he brought me 3 of them. I’m excited.
Nov. 3 - Gobble, gobble
Today I ducked out of school early to go to Turkey with Boston and Joker (even though they both went yesterday). I would’ve felt guilty, except that I only missed one class, it was gr. 9 (whom I hate) and they were writing a test. And, I’ve learned, here in Georgia, actual test results don’t matter, because teachers don’t write any mark lower than 5/10 in the official register. After making my feelings on that topic perfectly clear (words like ‘ridiculous’, ‘pointless’ and ‘seriously?’ were used) Co-teach asked someone if we could record the actual marks and she was told ‘no’. Gee, and I wondered why none of my students put in any effort. Grr.
But anyway, we went to Turkey and it was magical. Since I finished school way earlier than the others, I planned to get a haircut in Batumi. When I left school, I stopped by the house to drop off a few things and pick up a few different things. I found Bebia sick in bed, which meant that she couldn’t flag down a car for me. It was a gorgeous, sunny fall day, so I decided to walk until I could hail the bus.
Well, the one bus that passed me didn’t stop when I hailed it. So instead of getting down the mountain and being in Batumi by 11:30ish, I walked all the way down. I got to the bottom at about 11:45. But once at the bottom I caught a marshrutka quickly and was on my way. It turned out to be the slowest marshrutka ever, so by the time I got to Batumi, I no longer had time for a haircut.
I exchanged some money (some of the US$ that I had taken out the last time I went to Turkey) and went to the café for lunch. There is a stray cat that lives near the café and he and I became friends. He joined me at my table and I shared my lunch. Joker showed up after a bit and we went to meet Boston at the marshrutka stop.
Transportation into Turkey and walking across the border were uneventful. No issues or fantastic stories. Except that from Batumi, you can see snow on some of the distant, high mountain peaks. It was beautiful.
Once in Turkey, it was up to me to get us where we were going, because neither of the others had been to the little shops Co-teach’s friends took us to and they wanted to go. I got out at a place that looked familiar, but then the street didn’t actually have all that many shops on it. A little way down the road, I happened to glance down an alley and saw a familiar shop on a parrallel street. We ducked down the alley and found the area we’d been aiming for all along. Now I know exactly how to get there, without any false starts.
Once we found the shops that we’d wanted, the shopping began in earnest. I found a jade ring for me (ridiculously cheap) and some more souvenirs for people. I had been commissioned by Sailor to pick up some things for her people, so I took care of that as well. Also for me, I picked up some really cheap (but cute) little camis and a funky watch (the battery died on my good watch).
When all missions were accomplished we went to the Istanbul Bazar for delicious food. Also, Boston and Joker were buying space heaters, because indoor heat doesn’t get turned on until the end of the month (even though the temp has dropped to about 5 degrees already). I didn’t need to buy a heater, since HD had brought one upstairs for me yesterday. After successful shopping and eating ventures at the I.B. we caught a marshrutka back to the border.
There was practically no line, so we got through really quickly. The ride back to Batumi was fine. Everything was so quick that I thought I was going to catch my last bus up the mountain. I neglected to consider that I was on the second slowest marshrutka in the world on the way back to Kobuleti. Also, we had to stop for gas. While we were there, A guy pulled up to a different pump and handed a plastic bottle to the attendant to fill with gas. Safety standards? What?
I missed my bus, but my cab driver was there, so I got home with no difficulty. At home, the kids were just finishing dinner and then HB1 came up for help with English. He’s getting much better at doing the excercises by himself. When we finished I curled up with my Kobo in front of the heater and watched tv. Sadly, Turkey has daylight savings time, so when Veronica is on there at 8pm, it’s actually 10pm here (last week it was nine). So after Veronica, I went right to bed.
But anyway, we went to Turkey and it was magical. Since I finished school way earlier than the others, I planned to get a haircut in Batumi. When I left school, I stopped by the house to drop off a few things and pick up a few different things. I found Bebia sick in bed, which meant that she couldn’t flag down a car for me. It was a gorgeous, sunny fall day, so I decided to walk until I could hail the bus.
Well, the one bus that passed me didn’t stop when I hailed it. So instead of getting down the mountain and being in Batumi by 11:30ish, I walked all the way down. I got to the bottom at about 11:45. But once at the bottom I caught a marshrutka quickly and was on my way. It turned out to be the slowest marshrutka ever, so by the time I got to Batumi, I no longer had time for a haircut.
I exchanged some money (some of the US$ that I had taken out the last time I went to Turkey) and went to the café for lunch. There is a stray cat that lives near the café and he and I became friends. He joined me at my table and I shared my lunch. Joker showed up after a bit and we went to meet Boston at the marshrutka stop.
Transportation into Turkey and walking across the border were uneventful. No issues or fantastic stories. Except that from Batumi, you can see snow on some of the distant, high mountain peaks. It was beautiful.
Once in Turkey, it was up to me to get us where we were going, because neither of the others had been to the little shops Co-teach’s friends took us to and they wanted to go. I got out at a place that looked familiar, but then the street didn’t actually have all that many shops on it. A little way down the road, I happened to glance down an alley and saw a familiar shop on a parrallel street. We ducked down the alley and found the area we’d been aiming for all along. Now I know exactly how to get there, without any false starts.
Once we found the shops that we’d wanted, the shopping began in earnest. I found a jade ring for me (ridiculously cheap) and some more souvenirs for people. I had been commissioned by Sailor to pick up some things for her people, so I took care of that as well. Also for me, I picked up some really cheap (but cute) little camis and a funky watch (the battery died on my good watch).
When all missions were accomplished we went to the Istanbul Bazar for delicious food. Also, Boston and Joker were buying space heaters, because indoor heat doesn’t get turned on until the end of the month (even though the temp has dropped to about 5 degrees already). I didn’t need to buy a heater, since HD had brought one upstairs for me yesterday. After successful shopping and eating ventures at the I.B. we caught a marshrutka back to the border.
There was practically no line, so we got through really quickly. The ride back to Batumi was fine. Everything was so quick that I thought I was going to catch my last bus up the mountain. I neglected to consider that I was on the second slowest marshrutka in the world on the way back to Kobuleti. Also, we had to stop for gas. While we were there, A guy pulled up to a different pump and handed a plastic bottle to the attendant to fill with gas. Safety standards? What?
I missed my bus, but my cab driver was there, so I got home with no difficulty. At home, the kids were just finishing dinner and then HB1 came up for help with English. He’s getting much better at doing the excercises by himself. When we finished I curled up with my Kobo in front of the heater and watched tv. Sadly, Turkey has daylight savings time, so when Veronica is on there at 8pm, it’s actually 10pm here (last week it was nine). So after Veronica, I went right to bed.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Oct. 31 - I'm a Polar Bear for Hallowe'en
It’s Hallowe’en and it was definitely scary. After last night’s activities, we had all expected to sleep in, but I was awake by a little after 8. Everyone else was up by nine. We all did the run down from last night.
Half of the people left pretty early. When there were only some of us left, Mom made banana pancakes. There was no syrup, but we ate them with nutella instead. They were amazing. We hung out for a little longer, before I had to head into Batumi to meet Boston. She and I had planned to do a Polar Bear swim in the Black Sea. Kiwi came with me, to laugh and take pics and Sailor and Joker came too. We all met at the Sheraton.
After chatting for a while and catching the others up on what they missed from the party, I changed into my suit and we headed for the beach. The weather was not co-operative. It was windy and cold and there had been hail earlier. But to the beach we went.
At first, we just took pictures of the waves, because they were huge and really cool. While Boston and I worked up our nerve, Joker and Sailor went closer to the water. A huge wave caught them off guard and soaked them from the knees down. Joker was wearing rubber boots, and the water got inside, but poor Sailor was just wearing jeans and sneakers.
Boston and I gave our cameras to the others and stripped down. It was freaking cold! We approached the water cautiously, not wanting to get caught off guard. I was wearing my crocs (wanting something to protect my feet from the stones) but after the first wave almost removed them, I threw them back at the others. We stayed in the water for a few more waves. I was really cold and decided that the next wave would be my last. Boston agreed. The wave was huge and knocked me on my ass. I barely kept my head above water. Luckily, with the waves being so big, I had some time before the next one hit. I was on my feet and out of the water faster than I could think.
We were shivering and numb as we toweled off. Sailor and Joker had a great time taking pictures of me and Sarah, while we were miserable. P.S. I have lost a lot of weight and looked fantastic in my bikini. I didn’t even mind the pics.
We removed our wet suits from under our towels, put on dry clothes and headed to a café for hot drinks. Since Sailor was hungry, we went to a café that also had food. It was fantastic. I had hot chocolate with Bailey’s. And Sailor’s Greek salad had actual feta cheese. I will definitely be going back there.
After eating, we stopped at Populi, Elit Electronics, and Goodwill. Boston and Kiwi left us after Populi and we split up with Joker after Goodwill. Sailor and I caught a marshrutka home with no problems.
At home, I discovered the power out and upstairs freezing. I took my Kobo and flaslight downstairs and watched Bebia trying to build a fire. The kids were playing and it was a cozy, if noisy, situation. After a while, the power came back on. I had a cup of tea and came upstairs to write and watch tv.
We (the English teachers) are officially a big deal. Bebia just got me to watch a Georgian comedy show, with a sketch about an English teacher. What I could understand of it was pretty funny. I figure once you’ve made the mainstream media (and not just the news) you’ve really made it.
Half of the people left pretty early. When there were only some of us left, Mom made banana pancakes. There was no syrup, but we ate them with nutella instead. They were amazing. We hung out for a little longer, before I had to head into Batumi to meet Boston. She and I had planned to do a Polar Bear swim in the Black Sea. Kiwi came with me, to laugh and take pics and Sailor and Joker came too. We all met at the Sheraton.
After chatting for a while and catching the others up on what they missed from the party, I changed into my suit and we headed for the beach. The weather was not co-operative. It was windy and cold and there had been hail earlier. But to the beach we went.
At first, we just took pictures of the waves, because they were huge and really cool. While Boston and I worked up our nerve, Joker and Sailor went closer to the water. A huge wave caught them off guard and soaked them from the knees down. Joker was wearing rubber boots, and the water got inside, but poor Sailor was just wearing jeans and sneakers.
Boston and I gave our cameras to the others and stripped down. It was freaking cold! We approached the water cautiously, not wanting to get caught off guard. I was wearing my crocs (wanting something to protect my feet from the stones) but after the first wave almost removed them, I threw them back at the others. We stayed in the water for a few more waves. I was really cold and decided that the next wave would be my last. Boston agreed. The wave was huge and knocked me on my ass. I barely kept my head above water. Luckily, with the waves being so big, I had some time before the next one hit. I was on my feet and out of the water faster than I could think.
We were shivering and numb as we toweled off. Sailor and Joker had a great time taking pictures of me and Sarah, while we were miserable. P.S. I have lost a lot of weight and looked fantastic in my bikini. I didn’t even mind the pics.
We removed our wet suits from under our towels, put on dry clothes and headed to a café for hot drinks. Since Sailor was hungry, we went to a café that also had food. It was fantastic. I had hot chocolate with Bailey’s. And Sailor’s Greek salad had actual feta cheese. I will definitely be going back there.
After eating, we stopped at Populi, Elit Electronics, and Goodwill. Boston and Kiwi left us after Populi and we split up with Joker after Goodwill. Sailor and I caught a marshrutka home with no problems.
At home, I discovered the power out and upstairs freezing. I took my Kobo and flaslight downstairs and watched Bebia trying to build a fire. The kids were playing and it was a cozy, if noisy, situation. After a while, the power came back on. I had a cup of tea and came upstairs to write and watch tv.
We (the English teachers) are officially a big deal. Bebia just got me to watch a Georgian comedy show, with a sketch about an English teacher. What I could understand of it was pretty funny. I figure once you’ve made the mainstream media (and not just the news) you’ve really made it.
Oct. 30 - Party in the sakhlshi (aka house)
The storm was still goin’ strong and the winds were crazy. I didn’t want to go anywhere. I had originally wanted to go into Batumi a little early and try to buy costume pieces. But the weather was too bad to wander the unfinished streets of Batumi. So I lay in bed and read for most of the day. My costume degenerated from goddess to shark attack victim (inspired by my book), which only required my bikini, a roll of tp and a red marker. As soon as I left my cozy bed I decided that it was too freaking cold for a bikini and decided on the lamest costume ever; a small child, requiring only pj’s, and pigtails.
Boston, Joker, Lush and I were meeting at the Georgian restaurant for dinner before catching a ride to the party with Lush’s co-teacher. Gent’s house is in a village outside of Batumi, which we could get to by marshrutka, but if you can get a ride, take it. Since we weren’t meeting til 4:30ish, I left my house around 3:30, so that I had time to stop at Goodwill for provisions.
HD arranged for me to get a ride with his brother in law into Batumi. He dropped me at Goodwill and I quickly found everything that I wanted. As I was getting in the checkout line, I saw Joker, so I waited for him and we checked out together and headed across the street to the restaurant. We met the girls and ate and then stood outside in the pouring down rain waiting for our ride. With minor difficulty (and one wrong turn), we made it down the dark, narrow, twisty mountain road up to Gent’s house.
We all changed into our costumes and greeted the other party people. Everyone was dressed up and had creative costumes, especially given that there’s not a lot of costume pieces in Georgia. Since the speakers and plastic cups came with us, the party couldn’t really start until we’d gotten there.
But start it did. Mom (pretty self-explanitory, she's the responsible one), who’d done most of the organizing, had made super delicious brownies and arranged for everyone else to bring snacks and whatever they wanted to drink. There was tons of fantastic food, and I decided to have a screwdriver with ice cream. It was pretty delicious, but it seems my body can’t handle alcohol any more, because my stomach started rolling. So that was my first and last drink of the evening. That was fine, though, because other people more than made up for my lack.
When we got there I explored the house. The main party room was connected to Gent’s bedroom. There was a double door, with both sides propped open. I spent the first part of the night saying hey to everyone and catching up with people that I haven’t seen in forever. Then, everyone gradually seperated into cliques and I found myself hanging out with Boston and Joker (oh darn *snap*). We were typically catty and horrible and hilarious.
The music was pretty good and we were dancing and having a good time. Many pictures were taken and everyone was having a good time and probably drinking too much. Sadly, when Lush’s co-teacher was ready to go, Boston and Joker had to go with her. A few other people left too, but they didn’t bother me as much.
A while later, Hammer was no longer holding her alcohol. She puked and we put her to bed in Gent’s room, so that we could keep an eye on who was near her. I the tried to figure out sleeping arrangements for the 10 other people who were spending the night. Gent was useless, except for complaining about Hammer being in his bed.
While I was talking to the other sober people about sleeping arrangements, Lush and Chanchal were arguing with 2 Georgian guys in the corner and Gent decided to go to bed. Everyone gradually drifted to their respective beds and went to sleep.
Boston, Joker, Lush and I were meeting at the Georgian restaurant for dinner before catching a ride to the party with Lush’s co-teacher. Gent’s house is in a village outside of Batumi, which we could get to by marshrutka, but if you can get a ride, take it. Since we weren’t meeting til 4:30ish, I left my house around 3:30, so that I had time to stop at Goodwill for provisions.
HD arranged for me to get a ride with his brother in law into Batumi. He dropped me at Goodwill and I quickly found everything that I wanted. As I was getting in the checkout line, I saw Joker, so I waited for him and we checked out together and headed across the street to the restaurant. We met the girls and ate and then stood outside in the pouring down rain waiting for our ride. With minor difficulty (and one wrong turn), we made it down the dark, narrow, twisty mountain road up to Gent’s house.
We all changed into our costumes and greeted the other party people. Everyone was dressed up and had creative costumes, especially given that there’s not a lot of costume pieces in Georgia. Since the speakers and plastic cups came with us, the party couldn’t really start until we’d gotten there.
But start it did. Mom (pretty self-explanitory, she's the responsible one), who’d done most of the organizing, had made super delicious brownies and arranged for everyone else to bring snacks and whatever they wanted to drink. There was tons of fantastic food, and I decided to have a screwdriver with ice cream. It was pretty delicious, but it seems my body can’t handle alcohol any more, because my stomach started rolling. So that was my first and last drink of the evening. That was fine, though, because other people more than made up for my lack.
When we got there I explored the house. The main party room was connected to Gent’s bedroom. There was a double door, with both sides propped open. I spent the first part of the night saying hey to everyone and catching up with people that I haven’t seen in forever. Then, everyone gradually seperated into cliques and I found myself hanging out with Boston and Joker (oh darn *snap*). We were typically catty and horrible and hilarious.
The music was pretty good and we were dancing and having a good time. Many pictures were taken and everyone was having a good time and probably drinking too much. Sadly, when Lush’s co-teacher was ready to go, Boston and Joker had to go with her. A few other people left too, but they didn’t bother me as much.
A while later, Hammer was no longer holding her alcohol. She puked and we put her to bed in Gent’s room, so that we could keep an eye on who was near her. I the tried to figure out sleeping arrangements for the 10 other people who were spending the night. Gent was useless, except for complaining about Hammer being in his bed.
While I was talking to the other sober people about sleeping arrangements, Lush and Chanchal were arguing with 2 Georgian guys in the corner and Gent decided to go to bed. Everyone gradually drifted to their respective beds and went to sleep.
Oct 29 - No sickness like home sickness
Things here have settled into a routine and I’ve been homesick lately. I’ve come to realize that in spite of the smell of leaves and woodsmoke in the crisp air, the colours are all wrong. The leaves here don’t change, or if they do, it’s just to yellow or brown as they die. With Thanksgiving and Hallowe’en not being celebrated, I’m really missing home and familiarity. In school, this has been manifesting in me having no patience with the kids and yelling a lot. I finally started feeling healthy on Wed., but then emotionally I’m a bit of a mess.
I’ve been going from my house to school and back since last Saturday. Thinking that isolation may be a contributing factor to my homesickness, I decided to go into Batumi for Italian dinner with Boston and Joker. Before I met up with them, I ran some errands. My friend Gent (called because he is a Southern Gentleman) is having a Hallowe’en party tomorrow so I was looking to pick up some costume pieces. I decided to re-use my Greek goddess costume, figuring that all I needed was a bedsheet. Couldn’t find one, so the plan needs to change.
When I was finished with my errands, I still had some time to kill, so I headed to the Sheraton to meet Joker. He was finishing his workout, so I read for a while in the lobby. While we were leaving, we ran into Sailor, so we made her come with us for dinner. Boston was waiting for us in the pizza place and she told us that Lush (the girl likes to drink) was also going to join us.
I hadn’t seen anyone in a really long time, so it was great to hear the day to day stories. It was also good to find out that everyone’s been dealing with homesickness lately. For some reason, it’s easier to go through, knowing that everyone else is going through it too. Also, knowing that tomorrow we’re going to have and entire night to hang out with a bunch of other foreign people.
Sailor and I rode the marshrutka home together and she missed her stop. Since it was dark and stormy, we decided to share a cab, stopping at my house first and then going on to hers. We made tentative plans to do a slumber party at my house sometime soon. We didn’t want to try for definite plans, because Georgia hates advanced planning and would probably smite us.
At home, I secured myself in my room (preferring to remain isolated from many things Georgian) and got absorbed in a book. It wasn’t new, but it was English. More and more I find I’m missing real books. E-books give me stories, but they don’t give me the physical sensations of holding, and smelling, and reading a real book.
I’ve been going from my house to school and back since last Saturday. Thinking that isolation may be a contributing factor to my homesickness, I decided to go into Batumi for Italian dinner with Boston and Joker. Before I met up with them, I ran some errands. My friend Gent (called because he is a Southern Gentleman) is having a Hallowe’en party tomorrow so I was looking to pick up some costume pieces. I decided to re-use my Greek goddess costume, figuring that all I needed was a bedsheet. Couldn’t find one, so the plan needs to change.
When I was finished with my errands, I still had some time to kill, so I headed to the Sheraton to meet Joker. He was finishing his workout, so I read for a while in the lobby. While we were leaving, we ran into Sailor, so we made her come with us for dinner. Boston was waiting for us in the pizza place and she told us that Lush (the girl likes to drink) was also going to join us.
I hadn’t seen anyone in a really long time, so it was great to hear the day to day stories. It was also good to find out that everyone’s been dealing with homesickness lately. For some reason, it’s easier to go through, knowing that everyone else is going through it too. Also, knowing that tomorrow we’re going to have and entire night to hang out with a bunch of other foreign people.
Sailor and I rode the marshrutka home together and she missed her stop. Since it was dark and stormy, we decided to share a cab, stopping at my house first and then going on to hers. We made tentative plans to do a slumber party at my house sometime soon. We didn’t want to try for definite plans, because Georgia hates advanced planning and would probably smite us.
At home, I secured myself in my room (preferring to remain isolated from many things Georgian) and got absorbed in a book. It wasn’t new, but it was English. More and more I find I’m missing real books. E-books give me stories, but they don’t give me the physical sensations of holding, and smelling, and reading a real book.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)