Yeah. Coughing. Totally have a cold. It is not fun. I knew I was coming down with something last weekend but I still persisted to have fun. Since when do I pass on things cause of a simple cold? Not when I'm in another country...I've managed to mostly dodge the runny nose bullet though. Not completely, but mostly. Which is better than not at all.
Although I predicted a quiet week, in truth it's only been semi-quiet. Mostly because of Tuesday. Tuesday during class, I was invited to go on a field trip with the fifth class. The teacher wanted me to go, and it was to see the museum of a poet in Vani. So I said yes.
It turned out to be a little more than just to the museum of a Georgian poet, but also to an archaeology museum with findings of ancient Greek's from that time. The first museum was the archaeology one, so I was a little confused, but I just went with the flow. The museum itself reminded me a lot of a college museum. It was small, with displays labeled in Georgian and poor English. It was rather interesting, but cold. All buildings here seem to have this strange quality of feeling colder than it actually is outside.
After we looked around inside, well, I looked, the students had a guide who gave them a lecture about everything, we took an old metal bridge over the road to some old sites where there were foundations of old buildings. Nothing really spectacular, just a few stones. But it was a beautiful day out, and it was nice to see some of the area.
The next destination was the poet's museum. I was getting tired of being on my feet, so I didn't enjoy this one quite as much. It was pretty landscape, and the student's read poetry in front of the poet's statue. I'm still not quite sure what his name was. They only told it to me and I don't remember it well enough to write down. We got to see his home though, an old shack with dirt floors. More standing there, while they listened to a lecture. Again, another thing that was interesting to see but certainly my seeing interest didn't last as long as their lecture. Then they listened to more lecture in the actual museum building, which was mostly paintings and some writings. Kind of History of the time-ish from what I could gather. At least that one had benches for sitting on!
After that there was a picnic. (Thank goodness...I was starving!) Lots of chicken, and cutting it with scissors, which I passed on. Instead I had lots of hajapuri, which is a type of cheese bread. It was good, but between that, cake, and wafers, I got overstuffed. The scenery there was really pretty though, it was right by a river, and not too cold in the sun. My camera batteries died about then, and I forgot to bring my other set, so I only got a couple of pictures from there. (I think). :(
Anyways, Wednesday was a school holiday. Saint George's day, the patron saint of Georgia. They spent the morning in church, and while I intended to go with, due to my cold I stayed in bed. Which was probably the better choice for me and my sanity. I would've been bored long before it was over, unable to understand a word, and I'm pretty sure they stand the entire time...but it was a quiet day.
Thursday and Friday have been quiet as well too. I actually got to use the internet at night once, which was nice, I got to talk to people! Anyways, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I keep moving between forgetting and remembering that it was Thanksgiving, it's kind of weird.
:)
Friday, November 25, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
What a Weekend
"Oh what's that, you had a quiet week? Well, let's change that this weekend!" - The World to: My Life
Honestly, it felt a little like the world decided to give me a crazy weekend since I'd had such a quiet week.
It all started Friday night. My host family has internet finally and officially....it just requires hooking up manually rather than through wireless. So after school my host sister was playing around some, and then she let me use the internet while she helped her cousin with English. I ate three times that afternoon, the first some soup when I got home. Then later some corn on the cob, with a totally different kind of corn. The kernels are larger, so there's less worry about getting all that silk and stuff caught in your teeth. And then again, when the mother of Natia's cousin came over and brought some warm bread treats, one with a bean paste inside of it. We were eating these sweets when the phone rang and Natia, my host sister, is talking on it, making a few calls and then "Go Kutaisi?" (Kutaisi is the largest city in the Imereti region.) It turns out their relatives in Kutaisi had just had a baby, and so we all crowded into the truck and took off. The mother must've just gotten home from the hospital recently because she was exhausted, and didn't look too well. We didn't stay long, but oohed and aahed over the baby before leaving. It wasn't a very long event but it was exciting.
Friday night while I was out, the other English teacher, Natalie, who is from England, texted and called wanting to know if I wanted to go to Kutaisi on Saturday. I did, and that ended up being an adventure to get started. In the typical Georgian way of I have no clue what is going on, Natalie's neighbor was going to come and get someone to drive us, but she disappeared on Natalie, so it turned into a rush out the door to catch the Marshut'ka to meet Natalie in Samtredia to go to Kutaisi. That went smoothly, we didn't have to wait long to leave at all because we were right on time.
We both thought we were going to get to go sightseeing. Natalie had been in the hospital, and had made friends with one of her nurses who was going to meet us in Kutaisi. The meeting up plan worked pretty easily. However, Natalie's friend, Ana, and her plan involved going back to her house and hanging out. It was quite fun in its own way. Compared to my host family, Ana's was wealthy, they had their own house which was three stories, and they had a flat screen tv and a nice computer and sound system. They fed us some snacks and we danced some. We also went over to the neighbor's and had some warm pumpkin type food. I gained a newfound respect for translators there. My brain has been kind of language haywire since coming to Georgia. When someone tries to talk to me, my first instinct is to reply in what little Georgian I do know, and then to fill in the answer with German, rather than English. So when the neighbor knew German and was talking to me in German, my brain went "oh dear". It ended well and I understood because it was a pretty simple conversation, but switching languages takes a minute, my brain just isn't prepared for the new gear.
Anyways, after we hung out with the neighbors it was time to head home. The marshut'ka to and in Samtredia stop running after 6, so it doesn't leave all that much time. We had been snacking so I was starving when I got home, luckily my host family is always ready to feed me once I get back from being out anywhere. They had guests over, I'm not sure who, family, I've met them before but can't remember all their names. I'm not quite sure why, but there was big feast later after I'd eaten. Hinkali (Georgian dumplings), bread and cheese were what I ate. They also have this delicious ketchup not ketchup type sauce that I would eat all the time if it were our ketchup. It's tomato based, but with herbs, like onion and ginger and I'm not sure what else. It's very mildly spicy, you need to eat a lot of it to notice, but it is goooood. After that I spent about an hour trying to get Natia's new webcam's mic to work. She's as happy to have internet as I am, she's on all the time in the evening! (Skype is her favorite).
Sunday was an early day for me. Natalie and her neighbor were going on a walk in the hills, and I was invited. I just had to get up early. It was a gorgeous day, blue skies and sun. We ran into a couple other TLG teachers taking the Marshut'ka to Batumi when we got on. We weren't going all the way to Batumi, but it was interesting. It was a long walk we took, Natalie's neighbor estimated it at about 6 kilometers, but it was gorgeous. Not the mountains, but we got to go up into the hills and walk along them. We had a great view of the area and Samtredia and the mountains across from us. Although it was a little misty which made the visibility a little off. It was just nice to get out away from the cities and go on a walk. We ended up at her neighbor's friend's house in the country, completely isolated. The road was all dirt and gravel and quite a bit of mud. Again we were fed and given wine. Luckily we were able to get a ride back to Samtredia. Walking back would just have been not fun. :( After that it was back to a quiet evening and a quiet day today, but for once, a lot to talk about and in only three days!
Honestly, it felt a little like the world decided to give me a crazy weekend since I'd had such a quiet week.
It all started Friday night. My host family has internet finally and officially....it just requires hooking up manually rather than through wireless. So after school my host sister was playing around some, and then she let me use the internet while she helped her cousin with English. I ate three times that afternoon, the first some soup when I got home. Then later some corn on the cob, with a totally different kind of corn. The kernels are larger, so there's less worry about getting all that silk and stuff caught in your teeth. And then again, when the mother of Natia's cousin came over and brought some warm bread treats, one with a bean paste inside of it. We were eating these sweets when the phone rang and Natia, my host sister, is talking on it, making a few calls and then "Go Kutaisi?" (Kutaisi is the largest city in the Imereti region.) It turns out their relatives in Kutaisi had just had a baby, and so we all crowded into the truck and took off. The mother must've just gotten home from the hospital recently because she was exhausted, and didn't look too well. We didn't stay long, but oohed and aahed over the baby before leaving. It wasn't a very long event but it was exciting.
Friday night while I was out, the other English teacher, Natalie, who is from England, texted and called wanting to know if I wanted to go to Kutaisi on Saturday. I did, and that ended up being an adventure to get started. In the typical Georgian way of I have no clue what is going on, Natalie's neighbor was going to come and get someone to drive us, but she disappeared on Natalie, so it turned into a rush out the door to catch the Marshut'ka to meet Natalie in Samtredia to go to Kutaisi. That went smoothly, we didn't have to wait long to leave at all because we were right on time.
We both thought we were going to get to go sightseeing. Natalie had been in the hospital, and had made friends with one of her nurses who was going to meet us in Kutaisi. The meeting up plan worked pretty easily. However, Natalie's friend, Ana, and her plan involved going back to her house and hanging out. It was quite fun in its own way. Compared to my host family, Ana's was wealthy, they had their own house which was three stories, and they had a flat screen tv and a nice computer and sound system. They fed us some snacks and we danced some. We also went over to the neighbor's and had some warm pumpkin type food. I gained a newfound respect for translators there. My brain has been kind of language haywire since coming to Georgia. When someone tries to talk to me, my first instinct is to reply in what little Georgian I do know, and then to fill in the answer with German, rather than English. So when the neighbor knew German and was talking to me in German, my brain went "oh dear". It ended well and I understood because it was a pretty simple conversation, but switching languages takes a minute, my brain just isn't prepared for the new gear.
Anyways, after we hung out with the neighbors it was time to head home. The marshut'ka to and in Samtredia stop running after 6, so it doesn't leave all that much time. We had been snacking so I was starving when I got home, luckily my host family is always ready to feed me once I get back from being out anywhere. They had guests over, I'm not sure who, family, I've met them before but can't remember all their names. I'm not quite sure why, but there was big feast later after I'd eaten. Hinkali (Georgian dumplings), bread and cheese were what I ate. They also have this delicious ketchup not ketchup type sauce that I would eat all the time if it were our ketchup. It's tomato based, but with herbs, like onion and ginger and I'm not sure what else. It's very mildly spicy, you need to eat a lot of it to notice, but it is goooood. After that I spent about an hour trying to get Natia's new webcam's mic to work. She's as happy to have internet as I am, she's on all the time in the evening! (Skype is her favorite).
Sunday was an early day for me. Natalie and her neighbor were going on a walk in the hills, and I was invited. I just had to get up early. It was a gorgeous day, blue skies and sun. We ran into a couple other TLG teachers taking the Marshut'ka to Batumi when we got on. We weren't going all the way to Batumi, but it was interesting. It was a long walk we took, Natalie's neighbor estimated it at about 6 kilometers, but it was gorgeous. Not the mountains, but we got to go up into the hills and walk along them. We had a great view of the area and Samtredia and the mountains across from us. Although it was a little misty which made the visibility a little off. It was just nice to get out away from the cities and go on a walk. We ended up at her neighbor's friend's house in the country, completely isolated. The road was all dirt and gravel and quite a bit of mud. Again we were fed and given wine. Luckily we were able to get a ride back to Samtredia. Walking back would just have been not fun. :( After that it was back to a quiet evening and a quiet day today, but for once, a lot to talk about and in only three days!
Friday, November 18, 2011
English
It's been a very quiet week for the most part. For a couple minutes I was having trouble thinking of a tittle for this post. And then I remembered the high point of my week, which was, by far, last Friday.
Last Friday, I finally got to meet with the other English teacher in the area. She contacted me on Friday, letting me know she was free, and we met up. I ended up going over to her host family, after taking the Marshutka into Samtredia. It was very nice to actual be able to converse. To be able to say pretty much anything and be understood, without having to break it down so much that what I wanted to say was lost. Complex ideas? Those just don't work on a language barrier. We had a lovely conversation, along with some tea, wine, Georgian dumplings and a pie cake sort of thing. Her experience is quite different than mine, her host family lives in an apartment with a mother, father and two brothers, both in school. The apartment is very small, especially compared to my host family's house and they have people coming and going all the time, a few neighbors stopped by while I was there. Her teaching experience is much different too, she has more than one co-teacher and her classes are closer to 30. I can't even imagine it.
It was also her birthday on Wednesday, and some of her neighbors demanded she show off her presents. It sounded like she had a great birthday, she went to a restaurant with her family. I was a little jealous, but I know my birthday was just terrible timing. Anyways, it was wonderful to speak in English and connect with someone else. Definitely the high point of my week.
Other than that, it's been a quiet week. Just class and the usual lounging at home after. My host family finally has internet at home though! Maybe I can actually get some pictures uploaded, who knows. It's nice just to be writing this at home rather than at school, where, by the time I'm done teaching and get to use the computer room, I'm chilled, and the computer room is cold. My hands aren't nearly as cold as they could be!
Have a lovely weekend everyone!
Last Friday, I finally got to meet with the other English teacher in the area. She contacted me on Friday, letting me know she was free, and we met up. I ended up going over to her host family, after taking the Marshutka into Samtredia. It was very nice to actual be able to converse. To be able to say pretty much anything and be understood, without having to break it down so much that what I wanted to say was lost. Complex ideas? Those just don't work on a language barrier. We had a lovely conversation, along with some tea, wine, Georgian dumplings and a pie cake sort of thing. Her experience is quite different than mine, her host family lives in an apartment with a mother, father and two brothers, both in school. The apartment is very small, especially compared to my host family's house and they have people coming and going all the time, a few neighbors stopped by while I was there. Her teaching experience is much different too, she has more than one co-teacher and her classes are closer to 30. I can't even imagine it.
It was also her birthday on Wednesday, and some of her neighbors demanded she show off her presents. It sounded like she had a great birthday, she went to a restaurant with her family. I was a little jealous, but I know my birthday was just terrible timing. Anyways, it was wonderful to speak in English and connect with someone else. Definitely the high point of my week.
Other than that, it's been a quiet week. Just class and the usual lounging at home after. My host family finally has internet at home though! Maybe I can actually get some pictures uploaded, who knows. It's nice just to be writing this at home rather than at school, where, by the time I'm done teaching and get to use the computer room, I'm chilled, and the computer room is cold. My hands aren't nearly as cold as they could be!
Have a lovely weekend everyone!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
The Cold
It's that cold time of year. Although we have not been graced with snow in the town of Samtredia, Tbilisi and other parts of Georgia have. It's cold too. It's been staying above freezing, but there is this huge thing called lack of heating that presents a problem. The kitchen area is the warmest in my host family's home, they don't have a heater but they do have a stove. When people are home, the four burners are going even with nothing on the stove. It ends up feeling chilly still, but if you go upstairs and then come back down...oh the warmth.It makes me glad that I am not staying past December, into the coldest part of winter. The school isn't much better...most of the classrooms don't have any source of heat. The younger kids have wood stoves that help keep the room warm. It sometimes feels like I'm revisting history. But I'm not. I've managed to get away without wearing a coat in the classroom, but sooner or later I will cave and then...I will hit my maximum warmth. It won't be warm enough. :(
I realized after I went home last Friday that I completely forgot to mention Tuesday afternoon. (I blame it on Thursday being more recent.) One of the teachers had a death in the family. After school, almost all of the teachers climbed into a Marshut'ka and off we went, to Vasli. (Or something similar) I didn't have my camera but it was very pretty, a nice, rocky and bumpy ride into the hills. (Never I will never drive on those types of roads myself) Once we got out far enough it was all gravel and dirt and I was sure we would get stuck a couple of times, but we didn't. It's just very disconcerting. We went to the house of the relative, where his coffin sat in the room, everyone walked around, and then we sat, just being comforting I guess. Reflecting, paying our respects. It was another experience, just a bit more somber than others.
Unfortunately, I have nothing fun to report about last weekend. The weather kept me holed up in the house...raining and cold? No thanks on the adventuring front. I can be that adventurous once in awhile but that once in awhile is not now. Although I did get a call from another English teacher and we exchanged numbers. We were going to meet up, but that got cancelled due to her having pneumonia. :(
Other than that it's been another quiet week. I'll make this one short since the last was so long. No promises about this weekend. (I feel so boring.) I have something in mind that I want to do but I don't want to say I will and then feel guilty if I end up not doing it. ...like wanting to get out of bed earlier but ditching that for the warm staying in bed option. You know what I mean. Have a great weekend!
I realized after I went home last Friday that I completely forgot to mention Tuesday afternoon. (I blame it on Thursday being more recent.) One of the teachers had a death in the family. After school, almost all of the teachers climbed into a Marshut'ka and off we went, to Vasli. (Or something similar) I didn't have my camera but it was very pretty, a nice, rocky and bumpy ride into the hills. (Never I will never drive on those types of roads myself) Once we got out far enough it was all gravel and dirt and I was sure we would get stuck a couple of times, but we didn't. It's just very disconcerting. We went to the house of the relative, where his coffin sat in the room, everyone walked around, and then we sat, just being comforting I guess. Reflecting, paying our respects. It was another experience, just a bit more somber than others.
Unfortunately, I have nothing fun to report about last weekend. The weather kept me holed up in the house...raining and cold? No thanks on the adventuring front. I can be that adventurous once in awhile but that once in awhile is not now. Although I did get a call from another English teacher and we exchanged numbers. We were going to meet up, but that got cancelled due to her having pneumonia. :(
Other than that it's been another quiet week. I'll make this one short since the last was so long. No promises about this weekend. (I feel so boring.) I have something in mind that I want to do but I don't want to say I will and then feel guilty if I end up not doing it. ...like wanting to get out of bed earlier but ditching that for the warm staying in bed option. You know what I mean. Have a great weekend!
Friday, November 4, 2011
When the bell tolls...
Another week another blog. Sometimes time feels like it's flying by, and other times, like it's creeping by so slowly that it's painful. This week has certainly been unexpected, with a lot less internet time than I like. As in I've only been able to use it twice so far...once on Tuesday, and the next today, Friday. I'm getting used to it, but still, I like to keep in touch with the outside world a little.
Once again, I didn't manage to go anywhere last weekend. I didn't mind it so much though, because I had some nice bonding time with my host family. That's another thing that makes me less inclined to venture out on my own...I have a wonderful host family that I can spend time with instead of traipsing about by myself.
Anyways, Friday they finished installing a hot water thingy mabobber. Some sort of thing that can heat the water when you want it to...nothing like we have in America just a small little box thing. So of course I wanted to take a shower. Let's just say it didn't go as smoothly as they hoped. Maybe five minutes after I hopped in the hot water went cold...frigid cold. So out I hopped and into a towel, standing there, while my host sister tried to get the hot water to work again. They managed to get a bucket full of steaming hot water, and the water to work for another couple minutes...after waiting for probably ten minutes? Or maybe less. It feels like an awful long time when you start to be well chilled. Anyways the second time I just finished my shower by washing myself with the water from the bucket...steaming hot but not constant enough to help me warm up. Afterwards I was shivering like a leaf, and my host sister, Natia, noticed. She brought me a little glass of tea which was warm and wonderful. And then she insisted on blow drying my hair, which led to her straightening it. It was a good laugh, especially since, once she was done, Natia insisted on taking pictures...and her with a camera. It was like I had a freaking photoshoot. Absolutely hilarious. I even tried a couple of bad mirror pictures of us before I remembered that my camera had a timer on it...it was fun.
Saturday we had an English lesson. Which ended with Natia's concentration ending and me trying to explain why I couldn't come back to Georgia to teach. In addition to trying to explain why I don't have a boyfriend. Simplifying that, and then trying to say it in a way she'll understand? Yuck. "I haven't met the right guy yet." I changed guy to man but that didn't help much...it's a sentence that doesn't translate well at alll. The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful, but it was nice.
I feel like all I have is disappointing news lately. For all my Halloween lesson ideas, I didn't actually get to implement any of them. Trying to plan lessons with my co-teacher is hard. She's nice, but as soon as class is over she's in a rush to catch the Marshut'ka home. I guess I just need to be firm about needing to talk. In one of the upper classes, the book she wants to use, only one of the students has. I don't know why, if they have it at home, or if they don't have them at all. The only thing I managed to get for the trouble I went through of asking was a blank look, and then my co-teacher was ready to leave. Either way that task is a huge one that I have looming over my head...talk to her about lessons for that class. It doesn't work trying to teach from that book at all...it's like teaching only two students in the class and the rest of them are just kind of out of luck. Learning doesn't work like that. Or at least it shouldn't.
On the positive side, Natia has reinforced for me how much of a useful tool songs can be for the langauge. Her sister and brother-in-law came to Samtredia this week and she got a new song off their phone. Unfortunately, it is a Selena Gomez Love Song I think it is. Not a song I care to have drilled into my head, but I ended up going over the entire song for her and writing down the lyrics. (See where the internet would come in handy?) But after that we had to go through and practice the words so that she could sing along to the entire song and not just the chorus. It's great for her to practice her pronunciation and listening, and it's something that she'll stick with because she loves the song. I just need to be more firm and aggressive.
Another positive thing, my co-teacher told me that she actually has the CD and DVD for the lower level kids, but no laptop and the school doesn't have anything remotely close to a portable CD player. So she was super excited for me to bring in my laptop so she could actually use the CD/DVD for class. It is helpful, but there's still not nearly enough of the students speaking.
Aaaand then we get to the title of this blog. So, I ended up not going to school yesterday if school was even in session. My host mother is a teacher at the same school so that made me feel not as bad. Yesterday morning the church in Samtredia which had been under construction was, I guess, blessed and reopened. It was a huge event. I went with my host mother and I'd say at least 3/4 of the town. The Patriarch came which made it a big deal, press and police swarming everywhere. But every time the bell tolled a crowd of people crossed themselves. Waiting for the Patriarch to arrive, the anticipation was palpable. Everyone was looking for him, necks craned. I didn't actually see him, between police and the crowd my view was always blocked. They had speakers so the people outside could hear the ceremony. At first the chanting was really cool to listen to but after a couple of hours I just got bored...and tired of standing. As soon as the Patriarch left there was a rush to get inside the church. I went with my family and let's just say I haven't been so badly sardin-ized since Taiwan. And this was still nothing compared to Taiwan. Still, it made me really want some personal space again. Like a nice big protective bubble. It was pretty cool though, to be a part of a big community event. Watching the news last night, Samtredia and its church were featured as a story!
I'm not gonna pretend that I have grand plans to go traipsing around this weekend. I just hope I can make a day trip to Qutaisi, the nearby city. I want to go to the bazaar and just explore. Maybe another day trip to Zugdidi...I'll have to ask if that's a day-trip sort of thing though. But next weekend! I want to head to Svaneti region before it gets too cold and then after that Batumi. I know I said I'd try and live without plans...but I'm way too addicted to plans to give them up now!
Catch ya on the back end of next week! Much love!
Once again, I didn't manage to go anywhere last weekend. I didn't mind it so much though, because I had some nice bonding time with my host family. That's another thing that makes me less inclined to venture out on my own...I have a wonderful host family that I can spend time with instead of traipsing about by myself.
Anyways, Friday they finished installing a hot water thingy mabobber. Some sort of thing that can heat the water when you want it to...nothing like we have in America just a small little box thing. So of course I wanted to take a shower. Let's just say it didn't go as smoothly as they hoped. Maybe five minutes after I hopped in the hot water went cold...frigid cold. So out I hopped and into a towel, standing there, while my host sister tried to get the hot water to work again. They managed to get a bucket full of steaming hot water, and the water to work for another couple minutes...after waiting for probably ten minutes? Or maybe less. It feels like an awful long time when you start to be well chilled. Anyways the second time I just finished my shower by washing myself with the water from the bucket...steaming hot but not constant enough to help me warm up. Afterwards I was shivering like a leaf, and my host sister, Natia, noticed. She brought me a little glass of tea which was warm and wonderful. And then she insisted on blow drying my hair, which led to her straightening it. It was a good laugh, especially since, once she was done, Natia insisted on taking pictures...and her with a camera. It was like I had a freaking photoshoot. Absolutely hilarious. I even tried a couple of bad mirror pictures of us before I remembered that my camera had a timer on it...it was fun.
Saturday we had an English lesson. Which ended with Natia's concentration ending and me trying to explain why I couldn't come back to Georgia to teach. In addition to trying to explain why I don't have a boyfriend. Simplifying that, and then trying to say it in a way she'll understand? Yuck. "I haven't met the right guy yet." I changed guy to man but that didn't help much...it's a sentence that doesn't translate well at alll. The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful, but it was nice.
I feel like all I have is disappointing news lately. For all my Halloween lesson ideas, I didn't actually get to implement any of them. Trying to plan lessons with my co-teacher is hard. She's nice, but as soon as class is over she's in a rush to catch the Marshut'ka home. I guess I just need to be firm about needing to talk. In one of the upper classes, the book she wants to use, only one of the students has. I don't know why, if they have it at home, or if they don't have them at all. The only thing I managed to get for the trouble I went through of asking was a blank look, and then my co-teacher was ready to leave. Either way that task is a huge one that I have looming over my head...talk to her about lessons for that class. It doesn't work trying to teach from that book at all...it's like teaching only two students in the class and the rest of them are just kind of out of luck. Learning doesn't work like that. Or at least it shouldn't.
On the positive side, Natia has reinforced for me how much of a useful tool songs can be for the langauge. Her sister and brother-in-law came to Samtredia this week and she got a new song off their phone. Unfortunately, it is a Selena Gomez Love Song I think it is. Not a song I care to have drilled into my head, but I ended up going over the entire song for her and writing down the lyrics. (See where the internet would come in handy?) But after that we had to go through and practice the words so that she could sing along to the entire song and not just the chorus. It's great for her to practice her pronunciation and listening, and it's something that she'll stick with because she loves the song. I just need to be more firm and aggressive.
Another positive thing, my co-teacher told me that she actually has the CD and DVD for the lower level kids, but no laptop and the school doesn't have anything remotely close to a portable CD player. So she was super excited for me to bring in my laptop so she could actually use the CD/DVD for class. It is helpful, but there's still not nearly enough of the students speaking.
Aaaand then we get to the title of this blog. So, I ended up not going to school yesterday if school was even in session. My host mother is a teacher at the same school so that made me feel not as bad. Yesterday morning the church in Samtredia which had been under construction was, I guess, blessed and reopened. It was a huge event. I went with my host mother and I'd say at least 3/4 of the town. The Patriarch came which made it a big deal, press and police swarming everywhere. But every time the bell tolled a crowd of people crossed themselves. Waiting for the Patriarch to arrive, the anticipation was palpable. Everyone was looking for him, necks craned. I didn't actually see him, between police and the crowd my view was always blocked. They had speakers so the people outside could hear the ceremony. At first the chanting was really cool to listen to but after a couple of hours I just got bored...and tired of standing. As soon as the Patriarch left there was a rush to get inside the church. I went with my family and let's just say I haven't been so badly sardin-ized since Taiwan. And this was still nothing compared to Taiwan. Still, it made me really want some personal space again. Like a nice big protective bubble. It was pretty cool though, to be a part of a big community event. Watching the news last night, Samtredia and its church were featured as a story!
I'm not gonna pretend that I have grand plans to go traipsing around this weekend. I just hope I can make a day trip to Qutaisi, the nearby city. I want to go to the bazaar and just explore. Maybe another day trip to Zugdidi...I'll have to ask if that's a day-trip sort of thing though. But next weekend! I want to head to Svaneti region before it gets too cold and then after that Batumi. I know I said I'd try and live without plans...but I'm way too addicted to plans to give them up now!
Catch ya on the back end of next week! Much love!
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