The next afternoon, all of the volunteers packed up and congregated in the hotel lobby. The members of our host families had a quick orientation, and then they joined us. The volunteers lined up on one side of the lobby; and the Georgians on the other. Tamara, our orientation leader, called out our names, and we met in the middle. I had had butterflies in my stomach all morning, and I was relieved when I finally met my host mother. We took a taxi to a marshrutka, or mini-bus, station, and while we waited for it to leave, I showed her a picture of my family to break the ice. We then used a Georgian phrasebook and lots of pointing at questions and words to communicate. She asked me all of the typical questions: How old are you? Do you have a boyfriend? Are you a Christian? Are you a Catholic? Do you have siblings? I found out that she is 39 years old and teaches justice/law/public education at the school. I also discovered that her son is a student in Tbilisi, so he doesn't live at home.
The marshrutka ride was two hours, if that, and the ride was very pleasant. I didn't want to advertise that I was a foreigner, so I didn't take pictures of the mountains, but believe me, they're breath-taking. When I arrived at the house, I met Bebia, grandmother, and Babua, grandfather. My room is actually bigger than the one I have in the States. It has a large bed, a small table, four chairs, a bureau, a wardrobe, a mirror, two windows, and a little stove. I was excited to see that my family has a modern washing machine, but I was a little stressed when I discovered that the Western toilet doesn't have a seat or toilet paper and is only for peeing. Number one and number two mean the same thing in Georgian as they do in English. There is a Turkish toilet in a little outhouse with toilet paper.
My first evening with my host family was stressful. No one spoke any English, and I was counting on being able to communicate with the son, who was in Tbilisi, and the daughter, who was absent. The family was welcoming. They made sure that I had enough to eat and that I was warm enough, but on the inside, I was freaking out. In all honesty, I cried the first night and wondered what in the world I had gotten myself into.
The next morning was a little better because I triumphed over the Turkish toilet. My biggest fear was peeing on my pants or shoes, and that didn't happen. Huzzah! Also, I finally met my host sister in the afternoon. English had never sounded sweeter, and I knew that everything was going to be okay when she put on an Eric Clapton song. We spent the whole day listening to music, watching traditional Georgian dances, and just getting to know each other. Yesterday was actually International Women's Day, so we didn't have school.
Today was even better. The school is only five minutes away, and I walked there with my host mother and my sister. The school has three floors and 205 students. I met all of the teachers, and they were very welcoming. I spent most of my time with the English teacher, but in the middle of classes Babua took me, my host mother, my sister, and three of her friends to Sighnaghi for a Magti modem. Now that I have the Internet and a few people to speak English with on a daily basis, life is good.
I'll post more about my home, toilet, village, and school later, but this was the fastest way to update everyone.
I'm happy that you are getting more comfortable each day and warming up to the environment... I want my Caitlin to be happy even though there is a western toilet with no seat!
ReplyDeleteCaitlin, hi my name is Jonathan. What was Kakheti like?
ReplyDeleteHi Jonathan, I was only in Kakheti between March and June, but I found the weather in Kakheti to be lovely from late April through June. There was maybe a week or two of humid heat in May, but aside from that, it was warm, mostly dry, and lovely.
ReplyDeleteI imagine that Kakheti gets a bit uncomfortably warm as the summer goes on, but that's only my guess.