So, yesterday, host mum & the director picked me up from school and we drove out to Gverdzineti. The roads were good, then bad, then terrible, then good again, and then terrible. I don't think there has been much road maintenance since the Soviets left (no $...or...the $ is spent in the cities, leaving the villages to suffer). But, we drove through gorgeous countryside, basically through a valley filled with various farms and orchards. Despite the light rain, it was a good drive, and it was weirdly comforting to be in a CAR.
This photo was take on a patch of good road. We had to dodge these cows, which were being transferred from (I assume) the fields back to their master's home for the night. Every morning, you will see folks driving their cattle from their back yards, where they spend the night, out to the fields to graze during the day. They drive them back home in the afternoons. During our drive out to Gverdzineti, we also encountered the following animals in the middle of road:
- A donkey (No human around, so not sure where it was headed.)
- Lots of chickens (Most people have chickens, and they have pretty much free roaming rights, and they somehow know how to get home when that's where they want to go. These are not small-brained Perdue chickens bred for short lives and giant breasts. These are some smart, heritage chickens!)
- Two geese and their goslings, of the domestic sort
- Dogs -- always lots of dogs. Side note about dogs in Georgia -- street dogs are EVERYWHERE. The most common "incident" experienced by PC volunteers, especially the runners/joggers, in Georgia is dog bites. Everyone keeps dogs as guard dogs, and it's pretty important that (a) you never show fear or look them in the eye and (b) the neighborhood dogs KNOW you. They hang out in the street. In this picture, you can see one such dog just (far left, white dog) just lounging on the side of the road, without a care in world. Neither the cows nor the car will disturb him. He seems to have found a nice patch of dry pavement. Actually, most of the dogs are probably pretty friendly...but there's no way to know which ones are! And I seriously doubt many (if any) of these dogs are, let's say, vaccinated!
The school was quite large and in very good shape. (In any case, it was in way better shape than the public school in Kareli where we go for PST language & other classes!) The amazing thing was that there were only about TEN students in the school (various ages, from maybe about 7 to 13 or 14) and at least as many teachers! So, about one teacher per student!
Below are some pics of me at the school. I felt a bit like a celebrity. They were very excited to meet me. I don't think they get a lot of foreigners. All of the students had me sign their notebooks. So, I signed them with my name in both Georgian & English, and then wrote something like "Nice to meet you" or "Hello".
In this picture, you see me, the English teacher (far left), my host mum (next to me), the school principal, and the kids (7 of them anyway). The English teacher, Nana, is very sweet. Thank goodness she was there to help translate! Although, really, she speaks German, and her English is spotty at best. But, it's better than my Georgian, so we managed.
After meeting with the kids, we went to what I think was the teacher's lounge/office for a little get together with just the teachers & administrators. Here is the director/principal and the table, set with cake, soda, and khatchapuri (delicious Georgian cheese-bread). We also had coffee. And then my host mom got out the (homemade) wine she brought. She always brings wine!! :)
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