Permanent Site Announcements

It was a nice Thursday in Borjomi. A Hub day. All the PC Trainees waited anxiously for the announcement of their permanent sites. I was excited just as everyone else was. We were all finally going to see where we would be living for the next 2 years of our lives.

Upon our arrival to the Restaurant for lunch, a life size map was set up in the parking lot with random cities, our prospective sites. After lunch, we were all given an envelope with someone’s name on it. Everyone stood around Georgia and called out a person’s name, told them their site, and then the process continued. As I listened and anticipated my name being called, I was insanely excited. In prior classes and hub sessions we were warned that though more of us were in the west, we would still be spread out. I kept seeing person after person being placed in the west and not far away from others. Some people even got site-mates. HELL YES! This is going to be a great 2 years!

Then I hear my name. I grab my envelope and then start looking for Vardisubani...”where is it?” I turn to my left and look in the west…NOTHING, then I turn to my right and there it is. There farthest city located on the Eastern border of Georgia. Miles and hours away from all my new friends. Plus, it’s in the east. My asthma has already been crazy weird here and now I’m in the East where it is much colder than in the west and much more dry, which leads me to think that the air will be much thinner in wintertime. I’m freaking out!

Fast forward a couple of days. I’m still apprehensive but I’m trying to look at the positives in this situation:

1. I am close to G9s who are experienced and can provide a lot of insight to what’s going to be happening and what I should expect in day to day life.

2. I’m closer to Tbilisi than the others (roughly 3 hours away) which means I can experience city life and non-Georgian food. 

3. I’m in a valley surrounded by mountains. Even though I’m more of a beach person, this will be something new and different and I’ll be able to see breathtaking views every single day.

4. Supposedly I have an amazing counterpart and school director that are really excited to work with me.

5. My family situation seems fairly small, with only 1 man, which means the frustration of day to day gender role issues will be limited.

6. I get to experience wine season!

 

However I am still freaking out…so the cons are still weighing heavy on me:

1. I’m so far away from my group. There are no TEFL people near me (the closest is 4 hours away) and the closet of the 2 BSEs is more than 1 hour away.

2. The closest friends I’ve made are a minimum of 8 hours away, at least.

3. I wouldn’t mind being that far if travel was easy, but it takes a minimum of 8 hours to travel coast to coast in a country the size of South Carolina, and that’s if everything is on time. On top of that if I choose to just got see everyone for only once a month, I will be spending at least 30 Lari alone on travel, not including expenses, which will be a large chunk of my stipend.

4. My asthma. They don’t want to put me in humid or heat, but I’m used to that. Hello, that is Charlotte during summertime. The ONLY time I have ever had any issue (asthma attack) was when I was high in the mountains, it was January and snowing, and I was snowboarding. I understand that they are preparing for the worst, but I am far more worried about my mental sanity and psychological well being than I am about having asthma issues.

5. I am 1 of 3 in my group that has an outhouse. Now I know I said I’ve come to terms with my outhouse situation, but I’d be lying if I said I won’t mind if for the next 2 years. I really do enjoy sitting on the toilet. And if one more person tells me I’m going to have great thigh muscles, I will punch them in the face. They’re only saying that because they won’t be walking out to a dark field with a flashlight in the dead of winter…lol. No, but really I will have great thigh muscles!

……

It is now July 2nd and since the previous post, I had a little talk with my Program Manager for the moment, Teo. She was incredibly gracious and helped break down the questions and whys that I had. I got some reassurances and explanations and basically the reason I am in the east is primarily due to my “asthma”. So yeah. I’ve pretty much accepted the fact that I’ll be far away from my fellow G10s, but hopefully I will be able to see them every once in a while. At least I have some good places to stay when I am able to visit the coast. The school director that I’m working with is a really savvy lady. I think me and her will have a good relationship. The teachers at my school all seem really cool and fun, so I look forward to working with that. I had to change host families. I liked my host family a lot. They had a plethora of peppers and the bebia cooked me a kickass stir-fry with eggplant, tomatoes, onions, and SPICY PEPPERS. It was scrumptious.  But yeah, the mother was having a baby and her sister, the Deputy Director, and my Director thought it would be too much added pressure if I were to stay with them. I just hope that they are not upset or hurt by the fact that I won’t be living there with them. Instead I am staying with a smaller family that is only a couple and their daughter. The host dad is a vet, which ROCKS. I’m thinking that maybe I can get a dog, he can give them the shots it will need, and then in 2 years I can figure out a way to take it back with me when I go to America.

Other than that everything has been going so fast. I haven’t really had time to think about much. This past week, we all threw SUMMER CAMPS. Tezeri’s ended up being a hit. The first day only 20 kids showed up, then Tuesday there were 50. Other than some situations with some older boys from out of town, all the kids really liked it.

Today was the G10s last Hub session. It’s all a little bittersweet. On one hand I’m excited to become a volunteer and really get settled into what I’m going to be doing for the next 2 years, but at the same time I am already settled into my life here. I love Tezeri. I love my host family. I’ve even gotten used to my outhouse. The other volunteers have also become fast friends of mine. I was looking forward to getting to know the people that were not in my cluster, but even so, I’m going to miss the hell out of the Tezeri group. Then there’s the staff. I really like Manana (our technical trainer) and I like Teo (my Program Manager until September).  It’s funny because it’s not as though I had a lot of one on one time with either of them, but in some way or another they reminded me of my 2 favorite aunts and they made Georgia familiar. Manana reminded me of my Aunt Nan. She’s always so warm and like my Aunt Nan, regardless of how much time has gone by or how long it’s been since you talked last, she always feels safe. Teo reminds me of my Aunt Becky. She seems very sassy, but in a understated way. I don’t really even know her, but I do know that she’s an incredibly intelligent, no nonsense woman in a male dominated society. She definitely can hang with the big boys and if I had to put money on her or a man, I’d bet her 10 to 1, yet she is so caring and helpful. The LCFs that all of us have grown so accustomed to seeing are also going to be taken out of our lives. Nana was our liaison into the Georgian world as were Marika and Tea. We learned how to speak and exist in this brand new world. It’s so crazy that I won’t be going to class and that I won’t be seeing them on a daily basis.  Anyone that knows me knows that I’m not huge on change, so the fact that I’m going to have to readjust again without any constants and without having the people who have made this a warm and inviting place, is going to suck. lol. I guess only time will tell.