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.
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