A few weeks ago, about two-thirds of the way through our Pre-Service Training, we finally learned where we will be living and working in Georgia for the next two years! I am delighted to report that, in July, I will be going to the city of Kutaisi to live, and I will be working at the organization RICDOG.
About Kutaisi: It is the second-largest city in Georgia. In fact, it used to be the capital city -- it was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Colchis as far back as 2000 BC. Jason and the Argonauts travelled to Kutaisi to retrieve the Golden Fleece with help from Medea. Medea, a Colchian (?) princess and granddaughter of sun god Helios, married Jason and returned with him to Greece. But, when Jason left her another woman, she killed her sons and herself in a murder-suicide. There were various others killed in her revenge plot, too. (Some) Georgians view her as a sort of hero for being such a loyal, strong-willed wife. (Not sure I entirely agree.)
Today, Kutaisi is hilly, hot, and relatively well-developed. There is 24-hour water service in most of the city (although not all), and there are some very nice, touristy downtown spots in which you (almost) feel like you're in a European country!
About RICDOG: Please check out the organization's website at www.ricdog.org. The NGO is called "Research Intellectual Club - Dialog of Generations". I think that when the organization started, it was focused on bringing different generations together to share ideas to improve civil society in Georgia. That's still a goal, but it does sooo much more today. Today, in my opinion, the organization functions as a sort-of meeting place/club/community center for (mostly) youth to get together and engage in different kinds of activities that build their civic engagement (& other) skills.
This is a picture of the building in which RICDOG's office is. It is a house, actually, and we have the entire first floor, plus two rooms upstairs. The upstairs veranda is very big/wide and a great place for mid-morning coffee!
Most of my colleagues are pretty young -- check out the Board page -- almost everyone is in his/her 20s. So, it's a youthful, energetic, and optimistic place. I think it will be very interesting, challenging, and fun to work there! I hope that I can keep up with them! Here they are:
This is the Board of RICDOG, minus one member who happens to be my host brother. They are cool, aren't they????
UP NEXT:
We have only two more weeks of Pre-Service Training now (yay!). This week, the individual/organizational development volunteers will be doing practice trainings for their host communities. My training is called "Addressing Common Workplace Challenges". Others are doing things related to personal budgeting, project development, defining needs vs. wants, financial literacy, employability skills, CV/resume writing, etc. These are the kinds of trainings that most of us will do on a regular basis once we get to our permanent sites.
On Saturday, we will have a big 4th of July picnic at a nearby riverside -- volunteers, staff, and host families. PLUS, there will be a congressional delegation coming through GE this week, and our little picnic made it on the delegation's spouse's schedule...so there will also be some "dignitaries" there with us. We have been asked to behave, and admonished to please NOT ask for references for getting DC jobs when we return to the State. (Apparently, this has happened in the past -- Imagine! Some folks have no shame... even PC volunteers...)
I hear that there will be hotdogs, hamburgers, and cake. American stuff! (Except, since it is an official event, there will be no alcohol. The My cluster (five of us) is planning to bring chocolate chip cookies and maybe also oatmeal-raisin ones or snickerdoodles.
Next week, we have language reviews and our final language exams. I'm hoping to achieve "intermediate mid". When we had our mid-PST language exam, I got "novice high", so I'm hoping for two levels up next week. We'll see... Sometimes, I think I'm doing well with my Georgian, but some days, I feel like I have hit a wall. I'm pretty sure this mostly has to do with how exhausted I am at any given moment.
THEN...on July 10th, we have our "Swearing In" ceremony in Tbilisi, where we officially become volunteers and are handed off to our new host families.
Here are some pictures of recent happenings here in GE:
Borjomi, Georgia -- a view from the cable car going up the mountain into Borjomi National Park (top) and a view (bottom) of the surrounding area from our hotel (super-super swanky!) during our "Supervisor's Conference", at which we met our future NGO (or school, for the education folks) directors. The hotel was very nice; staying there, even for only one night, was a real treat. It reminded me a little bit of what we all gave up to become PC volunteers, and also highlighted just how simply we are all now, quite happily and easily, living on a daily basis.
In Kutaisi, at Bagrati Cathedral, an 11th century GE orthodox cathedral in Kutaisi. This is a picture of several priests who happened to be there when we were visiting. I did ask them if it was ok for me to take a picture.
In/around Kareli, my (current) town:
This is the family "birja", basically, a collection of benches in the neighborhood where everyone gets together in the evenings to hang out and talk. The kids are playing (literally) in the street off to the right of the picture. The ladies and grandpas hang out early, and later, it's mostly just (drunk) men! Georgians (men, specifically) do a lot of drinking. A lot.
One morning while I was waiting for the PC marshutka to take us to a nearby city for a meeting, I enjoyed watching neighborhood chickens in the city park in front of the government building.
Last Sunday, I made tacos for my host family! I had taco seasoning from the US, but the rest of the stuff was readily available here. I made homemade flour tortillas! We used Georgian cheese, which is pretty similar to Mexican farmer's cheese, so it worked very well. Salsa was made from local tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, and cilantro from the garden. They were great.
ERISIONI National Georgian Dance Company Concert:
We had the great fortune of being able to attend a concert of one of the top traditional Georgian dance companies in the country. It came to a nearby city, and we got tickets, with a little help from PC staff. There is no such thing as Ticketmaster or StubHub here! The process for getting tickets was hilarious -- it involved several calls to a guy at the theater, then picking them up from a third party in our village. We were supposed to go to the pesticide shop to pick up up (?), but were told when we arrived there to go across the street to the furniture shop to get them instead, from yet a fourth party. I'm amazed that they (1) didn't cost us more than the face value, and (2) they were genuine tickets. The theater was Soviet-era, crumbling, hot, and pretty uncomfortable, but the performance was spectacular. Here are some shots.
And... a selfie of me and my fabulous clustermate and friend Christine.The performance:
