Well today (Saturday, May 1st, 2010) I have officially exceeded my expectations. Upon arrival at my PreServiceTraining host family’s house, in a village. I squatted over a hole better known in these parts as an outhouse AND I have taken a bucket bath, all within a 30 minute time period! Welcome to Georgia! lol.
First things first. The past couple of days my PC group has been staying at a hotel in Tbilisi, where we underwent an intense introduction into the Georgian language and culture. YIKES! It is definitely going to be a long and exhausting 2 months.
My roommate Lacey and I suffered from a severe case of jet lag, something I am still showing signs of. While in the COUNTRYSIDE HOTEL I met a lot of interesting people that I’m excited to get to know during my 2 years here.
Our PST village announcements were made and Aaron, Alissa, Emily, Jen, Serena, and I were all placed in a tiny village that can not be named. It's kind of funny because technically we are in a forbidden zone anyway, but our village is so great that they made an exception and allowed volunteers to be placed here.
……continued on May 27th, 2010
Anywho, my host family is great. It consists of my host mom, Maia. She’s 27 and has 2 children (Elene, 2, and Dako, 5) with her husband Shalva. I also live with Shalva’s parents and grandparents. It is customary in Georgian culture for the women to marry and live with their husband’s family. Apparently, it is also customary for the women to bust their ass’ here. The bebia-Elene (which is my “host great-grandmother) is up at 5 in the a.m., already making cheese, herding the cows, working in the garden, or doing whatever else she can get her little self into (this sometimes includes screaming at her husband…have I mentioned how much I LOVE HER?!?!). My host mom is nothing to forget either. Her profession is an English teacher, but she’s definitely a Renaissance woman. She raises the kids, cooks (from scratch), cleans (hands and knees), tutors, and shops for the household items, all the while being involved with Peace Corp and me. Insane! Just reaffirms how lazy I am. lol.
On a lighter note. I’ve been doing some cultural broadening with the men in this household. I’ve watched numerous boxing matched and the Bayern/AC Milan soccer game with my host grandpops. I helped my host dad understand what he needed to do in a video game to get to the next level, and even took over the controls for a brief, yet very satisfying, period of time. I drank beer at their family supra and drank gvino (aka wine) and participated in toasts, all of which women typically don’t do. It’s so weird, and I know this is just the beginning of what will probably be a bizarre 2 years, but it’s mind-boggling that I am able to do these things, yet my host mom, that’s older than me, isn’t allowed or chooses not to. She drank beer with me when we all had our supra, but once she drank her glass she wasn’t offered anymore or given the option of having anymore, while mine was never even halfway empty. Whatevs!
I’m sure there is lots more to come, but right now I’m exhausted and tomorrow is a Hub Day. I have to wake up super early to get the UTKA (G10 term for the Marshutka or mini bus) to Borjomi. Should be fun. Laters!
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