Oh, how quickly life can change. At one moment I was beginning to fall in love for the first time with a country and its people, and the next moment I was literally being helplessly dragged apart from this love. At first I thought it was a silly analogy when someone compared this situation to a terrible divorce. But the emotions we’ve felt over the past month have proven to be dreadfully similar, I can’t begin to describe.
I won't say much on the situation, other than how terrible I feel for the Georgian people. There was so much hope and excitement, not just for their future in general, but just because we were there. From my perspective as a teacher, for them to have an American and native English speaker as a teacher was very exciting, and I was delighted to be there. After the terrible civil wars and depressions of the 90s, things were starting to pick up and a normalcy was beginning to take hold. And while the picture isn’t always pretty in Georgia, there are the simple things like road reconstruction and a stable flow of electricity that have improved to make life a little more livable. The results of government projects, NGO projects and Peace Corps projects were starting to become tangible. And the children, being as wonderful as children are, had big hopes and dreams for their future. Then a terrible event such as this comes along and changes everything. That is not to say the future is bleak for the children or for Georgia, but oh how quickly life can change.
The hardest part for all of us are the phone calls we receive from our Georgian families and co-workers asking us when we are returning. "The Russians have left our village, the bombings have stopped," they explain to us, pleading with us that it is safe to return. How do I explain to them, in my limited language abilities, that it isn't my decision to return, and that the situation still isn't very safe or stable? Sure, I could return as a private citizen, and many of the volunteers have decided to do just this. But just as life must move on for them, it must also move on for me as well. I even thought about returning to Georgia as a private citizen. But I decided that this would only be a selfish act, and that I couldn't really be of any use. Unlike many of those who decided to return, I don't have the needed language skills, I don't have the contacts or networking, and I don't have the experience of working within Georgia that would make me useful during this trying time for Georgians. I would be more useful somewhere else for now and I think the best thing that I can do for Georgia is to educate others of my amazing experience in this wonderful place.
I hope that some time in the future I will find myself starting over in Georgia, but for now, unfortunately, my life must take a small detour. As I have so abruptly discovered, life can change without notice. Maybe next time that change will be for the better. Maybe someday life's winds will blow me back into Georgia. As the Georgians have showed before, they are optimistic and resilient. A war has happened and the political situation has drastically changed, but eventually they will begin to pick up the pieces and rebuild their lives. I hope that one day I can be a part of this again. One thing is for certain, when I do return, I will be greeted and accepted as part of their family. ჩემი ქართველი მეგობრები, ძალიან დიდი მადლობა. მშვიდობის გაუმარჯოს! საქართველო გაუმარჯოს!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
My Georgian Friends and PCVs
Adami and Levani, walking down our street in Gomi
Me, Shorena, Levani, Adami, Aida, Jessica, Lucy - The Gomi Cluster
Stalin's old house in Gori
Statue of Stalin in Gori
First Post from Georgia
Well, this is my first post from the wonderful country of Georgia. First I’ll just say a bit about what we have done so far and what my average day is like. Also I’ll give some of my first impressions about Georgia as a country, Georgians as a people and Georgian life in general.
First of all, so far I love it here in Georgia. However, our trip got off to a rough start. After being grounded at JFK airport for more than 2 hours due to technical problems, we literally BARELY made it to our connecting flight in Istanbul to Tbilisi. We made it just in time and arrived into the beautiful historical city of Tbilisi all in one piece. However, there were about 4 PCVs who had some/all of their luggage routed to the wrong city (I believe to London). It is supposed to take at least a week before they see this luggage. But we all made it, and so far I think most of us would agree that Georgia is wonderful. Besides the extremely busy and tiring schedule that the PC had for us, our first week in Georgia was more like a vacation. In Tbilisi, we stayed in a top-notch hotel and had the incredible Georgian cuisine for every meal. After a few days we moved to Bakuriani where we lodged in a ski resort in the Greater Caucuses Mountains. This hotel was better than almost every hotel I’ve ever stayed at in the States, and the view was better than most as well. This is hardly the life any PCV should expect, but this was our life for the first week. But despite the amazing accommodations and all the support the PC provides, we still were in a foreign country, and a relatively poor country that most Americans have never even heard of let alone been to. So, this was definitely a time of reflection for many PCVs in our group on whether or not they might want to continue. We’ve already had several who have ETed (early terminated), and I’m sure there will be more who ET in the near future.
It was on Saturday June 21 where our lives changed and we were finally thrown into actual PC life. This was a nerve racking (and exciting) day because we woke up that morning all knowing only about 4 words and 4 phrases in Georgian. But this was also the day where we would finally meet our host families that we would be staying with for the next 3 months during our pre-service training. Until this day we know absolutely nothing about our host families. In Georgia, it is common for a household to be quite full. Often there are both grandparents, mom, dad, children, and sometimes other extended family. Many volunteers were placed in exactly these types of homes. I, however, am living with just a wonderful 68 y/o grandmother named Julieta in a small village called Gomi. Gomi is a sweet, but poor village located not too far from Khashuri and Gori, the birthplace of Stalin. There are 5 of us volunteers in Gomi and we all get along pretty well, which is good since we have to see each other so much.
We have now been in our villages for over a week, although it seems like a month. Our day begins at 9am with language classes and ends at 6pm, Monday-Saturday. Then when we return home it’s another 3-6 hours of speaking to our host families and neighbors in a language we barely know. Needless to say, we are all permanently exhausted. The language barrier is the hardest part that we have to deal with constantly on a daily basis. Georgian is a very difficult language and the sentence structure is nothing like English, which makes trying to understand my host mother almost impossible. For example, a translated Georgian sentence can be set up like this: “Work about yet not I think, two small children I have.” This sentence is supposed to mean “I don’t yet think about work because I have two small children.” Needless to say, I’m quite often lost in my homework, understanding Georgian’s sentences, and absolutely useless in communicating long coherent sentences to others. Georgian is also very hard to pronounce. It has about 7 more letters than the English alphabet and several more sounds that we don’t have in English and are very difficult to pronounce. Georgian is also infamously known for having many consonants in a row without having any vowels (consonant clusters). Example: gvprtskvnis (He is peeling us). This is boggling for most English speakers, and especially for me. Before coming here I thought having to learn the alphabet was going to be the biggest barrier for me, but this has actually been the easiest part. I can now read almost any sign and documents, but just don’t understand what the hell any of them say. Georgians also speak incredibly fast, especially drunk men. But we are slowly learning, one day at a time.
But the children here are amazing, they are able to understand our frustration and difficulty with the language and are able to put complex ideas and sentences into simple phrases and one-word packages that we can understand. Also, I think it is fair to say that all of our lexiconebi (dictionaries) have become our best friends. If all other forms of communication fail, we end up having to point to the key words in the book. But we must all sound like idiots. Our conversations go essentially like this:
Me: Shorena! Hello! How are you?
Shorena (neighbor): I am well, you?
Me: I am good. Tomorrow, me bathroom? (Can I take a shower tomorrow?)
Shorena: Yes.
Me: Time?
Shorena: 7-3-0 (7:30am. We don’t yet understand how to say any hour in between, so they have to explain every number separately. )
Me: Ok, good bye.
Or another popular conversation:
Me: Julieta, tomorrow, school, 9 hour (9am). Marshutka (a minivan and Georgian form of public transportation) and in Khashuri (nearby town) 3 hour (3pm). House, 6 hour. (I’ll be home by 6pm)
Julieta: blah blah blah (extremely fast Georgian).
Me: I don’t understand.
Julieta: blah blah blah.
Me: I don’t understand.
Julieta: blah blah blah (frustrated Georgian with a frustrated laugh)
Me: I’m sorry!
So the language barrier is very difficult, but thinking back to a week ago when we first arrived in Gomi, we have all progressed considerably and VERY slowly, our sentences are becoming a little more coherent. Also, even though we can’t understand what the hell anyone is saying, every once in a while we can pick out the words we know and sometimes even understand a general idea of the conversation. And even though our language is indescribably awful, the fact that we are learning Georgian, trying it out, and every once in a while succeeding in speaking impresses Georgians. They love to teach us new words. The kids especially are great resources for discovering how to say something. They are also great translators, not necessarily between English and Georgian, but in understanding what we are saying in our simple sentences and translating into coherent Georgian for their parents, and for putting what their parents say into simple and coherent Georgian for us. The kids here are great.
One important thing that makes the language barrier bearable is that most of the people here are amazing and very hospitable. In an age where being an American abroad is a liability and safety hazard, and where it is in your best interest to not speak in English and to lie and say you’re Canadian, living in Georgia is absolutely refreshing. America is generally loved here by many Georgians. We constantly hear about how great of friends America and Georgia are. President Bush has a higher approval rating here than he does in America. The main road from the airport going into Tbilisi is even named “George Bush Avenue” and has a giant mural dedicated to him and to America. It’s absolutely embarrassing and unfortunate that most Americans have never even heard of this country before (but what can you expect from a country that doesn’t even know where New York State is on a map??).
But the fact that we’re American isn’t the reason for their hospitality, they are just famously and genuinely nice and accommodating people. And to show their love for guests, they LOVE to prepare absolutely amazing meals and push food on you. I sometimes don’t even feel like I am in the Peace Corps because of the crazy amounts and varieties of delicious food we eat every damn day. The vegetables here are the best I’ve ever had in my life with no exaggeration. I guess it is quite common for PCVs in Georgia to gain weight, and I am no different. Already, 2 weeks in country, and my pants are starting to become tight. Ugh….
Georgia is also famous for their wine culture, and the crazy numbers of liters the men drink in one sitting. Almost every family makes their own recipe of wine from grapes grown in their backyard. I have had a few different kinds of wine and it is delicious and nothing like any other wine I’ve ever tasted. But the wine, their drinking culture and their cuisine is a subject for another day….
So this is my impression of Georgia so far. Life is extremely too busy and exhausting right now to be homesick or think about anything else. But I do wish I had better access to communication with the outside world. There is absolutely no internet within our village. The closest town with possible internet is 30 minutes away. We visit there once a week for weekly PC sessions, but our day is packed so full we usually only have 15 minutes to log on to the turtle speed wireless connection on our breaks. Having 30+ laptops logging onto a single connection doesn’t help. So not being able to keep in contact with friends or family is a little difficult, but something I might have to get used to. I would revert to actual snail mail, but it apparently costs almost $3.00 or so to mail a single letter. Ugh….. Also, I haven’t read a newspaper in two weeks and have absolutely no clue of anything that is going on. This is also very difficult, but something I will have to get used to.
Anyway, I’ve been a little long winded, but a lot has happened and I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to post next. I hope everyone is doing well back home and I hope to hear from everyone, even if it won’t be for a while. And I apologize if I don’t reply right away, please understand that I appreciate all emails! Until next time….nakhvamdis! (Good bye!)
First of all, so far I love it here in Georgia. However, our trip got off to a rough start. After being grounded at JFK airport for more than 2 hours due to technical problems, we literally BARELY made it to our connecting flight in Istanbul to Tbilisi. We made it just in time and arrived into the beautiful historical city of Tbilisi all in one piece. However, there were about 4 PCVs who had some/all of their luggage routed to the wrong city (I believe to London). It is supposed to take at least a week before they see this luggage. But we all made it, and so far I think most of us would agree that Georgia is wonderful. Besides the extremely busy and tiring schedule that the PC had for us, our first week in Georgia was more like a vacation. In Tbilisi, we stayed in a top-notch hotel and had the incredible Georgian cuisine for every meal. After a few days we moved to Bakuriani where we lodged in a ski resort in the Greater Caucuses Mountains. This hotel was better than almost every hotel I’ve ever stayed at in the States, and the view was better than most as well. This is hardly the life any PCV should expect, but this was our life for the first week. But despite the amazing accommodations and all the support the PC provides, we still were in a foreign country, and a relatively poor country that most Americans have never even heard of let alone been to. So, this was definitely a time of reflection for many PCVs in our group on whether or not they might want to continue. We’ve already had several who have ETed (early terminated), and I’m sure there will be more who ET in the near future.
It was on Saturday June 21 where our lives changed and we were finally thrown into actual PC life. This was a nerve racking (and exciting) day because we woke up that morning all knowing only about 4 words and 4 phrases in Georgian. But this was also the day where we would finally meet our host families that we would be staying with for the next 3 months during our pre-service training. Until this day we know absolutely nothing about our host families. In Georgia, it is common for a household to be quite full. Often there are both grandparents, mom, dad, children, and sometimes other extended family. Many volunteers were placed in exactly these types of homes. I, however, am living with just a wonderful 68 y/o grandmother named Julieta in a small village called Gomi. Gomi is a sweet, but poor village located not too far from Khashuri and Gori, the birthplace of Stalin. There are 5 of us volunteers in Gomi and we all get along pretty well, which is good since we have to see each other so much.
We have now been in our villages for over a week, although it seems like a month. Our day begins at 9am with language classes and ends at 6pm, Monday-Saturday. Then when we return home it’s another 3-6 hours of speaking to our host families and neighbors in a language we barely know. Needless to say, we are all permanently exhausted. The language barrier is the hardest part that we have to deal with constantly on a daily basis. Georgian is a very difficult language and the sentence structure is nothing like English, which makes trying to understand my host mother almost impossible. For example, a translated Georgian sentence can be set up like this: “Work about yet not I think, two small children I have.” This sentence is supposed to mean “I don’t yet think about work because I have two small children.” Needless to say, I’m quite often lost in my homework, understanding Georgian’s sentences, and absolutely useless in communicating long coherent sentences to others. Georgian is also very hard to pronounce. It has about 7 more letters than the English alphabet and several more sounds that we don’t have in English and are very difficult to pronounce. Georgian is also infamously known for having many consonants in a row without having any vowels (consonant clusters). Example: gvprtskvnis (He is peeling us). This is boggling for most English speakers, and especially for me. Before coming here I thought having to learn the alphabet was going to be the biggest barrier for me, but this has actually been the easiest part. I can now read almost any sign and documents, but just don’t understand what the hell any of them say. Georgians also speak incredibly fast, especially drunk men. But we are slowly learning, one day at a time.
But the children here are amazing, they are able to understand our frustration and difficulty with the language and are able to put complex ideas and sentences into simple phrases and one-word packages that we can understand. Also, I think it is fair to say that all of our lexiconebi (dictionaries) have become our best friends. If all other forms of communication fail, we end up having to point to the key words in the book. But we must all sound like idiots. Our conversations go essentially like this:
Me: Shorena! Hello! How are you?
Shorena (neighbor): I am well, you?
Me: I am good. Tomorrow, me bathroom? (Can I take a shower tomorrow?)
Shorena: Yes.
Me: Time?
Shorena: 7-3-0 (7:30am. We don’t yet understand how to say any hour in between, so they have to explain every number separately. )
Me: Ok, good bye.
Or another popular conversation:
Me: Julieta, tomorrow, school, 9 hour (9am). Marshutka (a minivan and Georgian form of public transportation) and in Khashuri (nearby town) 3 hour (3pm). House, 6 hour. (I’ll be home by 6pm)
Julieta: blah blah blah (extremely fast Georgian).
Me: I don’t understand.
Julieta: blah blah blah.
Me: I don’t understand.
Julieta: blah blah blah (frustrated Georgian with a frustrated laugh)
Me: I’m sorry!
So the language barrier is very difficult, but thinking back to a week ago when we first arrived in Gomi, we have all progressed considerably and VERY slowly, our sentences are becoming a little more coherent. Also, even though we can’t understand what the hell anyone is saying, every once in a while we can pick out the words we know and sometimes even understand a general idea of the conversation. And even though our language is indescribably awful, the fact that we are learning Georgian, trying it out, and every once in a while succeeding in speaking impresses Georgians. They love to teach us new words. The kids especially are great resources for discovering how to say something. They are also great translators, not necessarily between English and Georgian, but in understanding what we are saying in our simple sentences and translating into coherent Georgian for their parents, and for putting what their parents say into simple and coherent Georgian for us. The kids here are great.
One important thing that makes the language barrier bearable is that most of the people here are amazing and very hospitable. In an age where being an American abroad is a liability and safety hazard, and where it is in your best interest to not speak in English and to lie and say you’re Canadian, living in Georgia is absolutely refreshing. America is generally loved here by many Georgians. We constantly hear about how great of friends America and Georgia are. President Bush has a higher approval rating here than he does in America. The main road from the airport going into Tbilisi is even named “George Bush Avenue” and has a giant mural dedicated to him and to America. It’s absolutely embarrassing and unfortunate that most Americans have never even heard of this country before (but what can you expect from a country that doesn’t even know where New York State is on a map??).
But the fact that we’re American isn’t the reason for their hospitality, they are just famously and genuinely nice and accommodating people. And to show their love for guests, they LOVE to prepare absolutely amazing meals and push food on you. I sometimes don’t even feel like I am in the Peace Corps because of the crazy amounts and varieties of delicious food we eat every damn day. The vegetables here are the best I’ve ever had in my life with no exaggeration. I guess it is quite common for PCVs in Georgia to gain weight, and I am no different. Already, 2 weeks in country, and my pants are starting to become tight. Ugh….
Georgia is also famous for their wine culture, and the crazy numbers of liters the men drink in one sitting. Almost every family makes their own recipe of wine from grapes grown in their backyard. I have had a few different kinds of wine and it is delicious and nothing like any other wine I’ve ever tasted. But the wine, their drinking culture and their cuisine is a subject for another day….
So this is my impression of Georgia so far. Life is extremely too busy and exhausting right now to be homesick or think about anything else. But I do wish I had better access to communication with the outside world. There is absolutely no internet within our village. The closest town with possible internet is 30 minutes away. We visit there once a week for weekly PC sessions, but our day is packed so full we usually only have 15 minutes to log on to the turtle speed wireless connection on our breaks. Having 30+ laptops logging onto a single connection doesn’t help. So not being able to keep in contact with friends or family is a little difficult, but something I might have to get used to. I would revert to actual snail mail, but it apparently costs almost $3.00 or so to mail a single letter. Ugh….. Also, I haven’t read a newspaper in two weeks and have absolutely no clue of anything that is going on. This is also very difficult, but something I will have to get used to.
Anyway, I’ve been a little long winded, but a lot has happened and I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to post next. I hope everyone is doing well back home and I hope to hear from everyone, even if it won’t be for a while. And I apologize if I don’t reply right away, please understand that I appreciate all emails! Until next time….nakhvamdis! (Good bye!)
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
First Actual Post
Well, this is my first actual post for this blog. I've never had a blog, mainly because I never had much to say and there aren't too many people who would care what little I did have to say. But now that my life is about to take a 180, I figured a blog would be a good way to chronicle my new life experiences. Not only that, but it's also an easy (and apparently trendy) way to stay in touch with friends and family. But first, a small warning: I tend to ramble and will do my best to keep it short and hopefully interesting, but no guarantees!
So, for my first blogging post, I suppose I'll start with the basics. As I'm sure everyone who took the time to open this blog knows, my new life's profession for the next two years will be teaching English in the Republic of Georgia. I leave for Philadelphia on June 12 where we have three days of staging and paperwork. We then will leave for Georgia on June 15. Feel free to click on one of the links on the right to check out a country profile of Georgia, as it is small and seemingly unknown to many Americans. The most common reaction I get when I tell people that I'm going to the Republic of Georgia is, "You mean Atlanta, Georgia?" (This is apparently quite common for everyone going to Georgia!). But there are a lot of interesting events happening in and around the country and we might start to see more of it on the news and radio. Georgia is a die-hard friend of America where President Bush probably has better approval numbers than in his own country. America, too, has repeatedly put its weight behind President Saakashvili and the Georgian people and has even officially stated that it would stand behind Georgia if anything were to happen with the separatist regions or with its more powerful northern neighbor, Russia. It is truly a very exciting (if that's even the right word?!) time to be living over there, and I'm looking forward to these new experiences and way of life.
Anyway, I've been busy getting ready and preparing myself for June, both physically and mentally. My last day of work was on Friday (I worked at Border's in St. Paul, for those of you who didn't know). That was kind of sad, I didn't work there that long (I started in January of this year), but it was a fun job for the most part and everyone I worked with was great. I really hope to keep in touch with them. But oddly enough, over the last three months, I had helped three different customers who were parents of PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers). I am not sure how we even got on the subject, but something sparked it each time. Even on my last day of work, I was talking to a co-worker about what I would be doing and where I was going, and another customer overheard our conversation. It turns out that her daughter is a PCV who was also leaving around mid-June for Tanzania, Africa. We had a good conversation, but it just made me wonder how many other parents of PCVs or returned PCVs I had helped without even knowing it!
Now that I am unemployed, I'll have more time to devote to actually getting things ready. My number one thing that I want to accomplish is to see everyone at least once before leaving. This past memorial day we had a family get-together where most of my mom's side of the family was in attendance. This side of the family is huge and these family functions always consist of a huge pool of cousins running around. This function was no different, and it was great. I truly am going to miss these family functions. So, it was awesome to see everyone one last time, but saying goodbye to everyone kind of made this Peace Corps thing a little more real. This is no longer something that is going to be happening to me sometime in the future, it starting to become more and more in the present. My flight arrangements are now all made and I am starting to receive more and more information in the mail from the PC. So, here goes nothing.
One of the other things I've been doing to prepare myself is to attempt to learn the alphabet. The alphabet is quite unique and definitely will take some time and effort to learn. There are 33 letters in the alphabet, with some of the letters looking very similar, and some of the pronunciations sounding very similar. So this is going to quite challenging to learn, but I'm looking forward to it. I've been working with it off and on for the past month and have learned how to say and write the first half of the alphabet. Not too bad of a start.
I have also been corresponding with a few other PCVs who will be going with me to Georgia. This is very helpful to be able to talk someone who is going through the same pre-departure jitters as I am. This will be quite a change of life, so it has been fun to share it with them. Plus, these will be my friends for the next two years, so it has been nice to get a small jump-start on getting to know them. I look forward to meeting them in person in June!
There isn't too much more to say yet, but I will hopefully try my best to keep this updated. Since this is my first blog and first desire to even think about owning a blog, I am not yet sure what kind of blogger I will be. Hopefully I'll be the kind that keeps it interesting and keeps updates when possible. But who knows. I'm not quite sure what to expect of anything in my life in the next two years. And when it comes down to it, I really don't mind the unexpected or the challenging.
So, for my first blogging post, I suppose I'll start with the basics. As I'm sure everyone who took the time to open this blog knows, my new life's profession for the next two years will be teaching English in the Republic of Georgia. I leave for Philadelphia on June 12 where we have three days of staging and paperwork. We then will leave for Georgia on June 15. Feel free to click on one of the links on the right to check out a country profile of Georgia, as it is small and seemingly unknown to many Americans. The most common reaction I get when I tell people that I'm going to the Republic of Georgia is, "You mean Atlanta, Georgia?" (This is apparently quite common for everyone going to Georgia!). But there are a lot of interesting events happening in and around the country and we might start to see more of it on the news and radio. Georgia is a die-hard friend of America where President Bush probably has better approval numbers than in his own country. America, too, has repeatedly put its weight behind President Saakashvili and the Georgian people and has even officially stated that it would stand behind Georgia if anything were to happen with the separatist regions or with its more powerful northern neighbor, Russia. It is truly a very exciting (if that's even the right word?!) time to be living over there, and I'm looking forward to these new experiences and way of life.
Anyway, I've been busy getting ready and preparing myself for June, both physically and mentally. My last day of work was on Friday (I worked at Border's in St. Paul, for those of you who didn't know). That was kind of sad, I didn't work there that long (I started in January of this year), but it was a fun job for the most part and everyone I worked with was great. I really hope to keep in touch with them. But oddly enough, over the last three months, I had helped three different customers who were parents of PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers). I am not sure how we even got on the subject, but something sparked it each time. Even on my last day of work, I was talking to a co-worker about what I would be doing and where I was going, and another customer overheard our conversation. It turns out that her daughter is a PCV who was also leaving around mid-June for Tanzania, Africa. We had a good conversation, but it just made me wonder how many other parents of PCVs or returned PCVs I had helped without even knowing it!
Now that I am unemployed, I'll have more time to devote to actually getting things ready. My number one thing that I want to accomplish is to see everyone at least once before leaving. This past memorial day we had a family get-together where most of my mom's side of the family was in attendance. This side of the family is huge and these family functions always consist of a huge pool of cousins running around. This function was no different, and it was great. I truly am going to miss these family functions. So, it was awesome to see everyone one last time, but saying goodbye to everyone kind of made this Peace Corps thing a little more real. This is no longer something that is going to be happening to me sometime in the future, it starting to become more and more in the present. My flight arrangements are now all made and I am starting to receive more and more information in the mail from the PC. So, here goes nothing.
One of the other things I've been doing to prepare myself is to attempt to learn the alphabet. The alphabet is quite unique and definitely will take some time and effort to learn. There are 33 letters in the alphabet, with some of the letters looking very similar, and some of the pronunciations sounding very similar. So this is going to quite challenging to learn, but I'm looking forward to it. I've been working with it off and on for the past month and have learned how to say and write the first half of the alphabet. Not too bad of a start.
I have also been corresponding with a few other PCVs who will be going with me to Georgia. This is very helpful to be able to talk someone who is going through the same pre-departure jitters as I am. This will be quite a change of life, so it has been fun to share it with them. Plus, these will be my friends for the next two years, so it has been nice to get a small jump-start on getting to know them. I look forward to meeting them in person in June!
There isn't too much more to say yet, but I will hopefully try my best to keep this updated. Since this is my first blog and first desire to even think about owning a blog, I am not yet sure what kind of blogger I will be. Hopefully I'll be the kind that keeps it interesting and keeps updates when possible. But who knows. I'm not quite sure what to expect of anything in my life in the next two years. And when it comes down to it, I really don't mind the unexpected or the challenging.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Testing Again
Newspaper Article from Reuters, May 27, 2008 (http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL19939280)
FEATURE-Georgia rebels ready for war, hope for prosperity
Tue May 27, 2008 3:56am EDT
By Christian Lowe
SUKHUMI, Georgia, May 27 (Reuters) - In the capital of Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region, the sea breeze rustles the palm trees and beneath them a group of teenage schoolgirls in camouflage gear rehearse marching drills.
"If, God forbid, a war starts, girls should be able to defend their country just like the boys," said Astada Chkado, a 16-year-old pupil at Sukhumi's Middle School No. 4.
Fifteen years after Abkhazia won a war to throw off Georgian rule, tensions over the region are close to spilling over again into an armed conflict.
A U.N. report says at least three unmanned Georgian spy planes have been shot down over Abkhazia since March -- one by a Russian jet, according to the United Nations, though Moscow denies it -- and Russia has sent in extra peacekeepers to counter what it said was an imminent Georgian attack.
Tensions subsided after a round of diplomacy this month, but observers warn the conflict could flare again at any time. Even if it does not, it could hinder Georgia's ambitions to join NATO because the alliance does not want to get embroiled.
The conflict has global implications. It has pitted former imperial power Russia, which backs the separatists, against the United States, which supports Georgia, a vital link in a Washington-endorsed oil export corridor from the Caspian Sea.
"We have reached the final threshold, when any careless step can lead to war," said separatist foreign minister Sergei Shamba in his ministry -- a few rooms at one end of a corridor in a building missing many of its window panes.
Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast, used to be a favourite destination for Soviet holiday-makers. The conflict has taken a heavy toll.
In the semi-tropical heat, plants sprout through deserted buildings with bullet marks on their walls. Just off the seafront, a massive concrete pier designed to look like an ocean liner is now a derelict shell.
Abkhazia runs its own affairs, though no state has recognised its independence. Tbilisi has vowed to restore its control and bring back hundreds of thousands of ethnic Georgians who were driven out in the fighting.
Today, there is no evidence of Georgian rule. Instead, Russia's influence is everywhere, from the sanatorium in Sukhumi where officers in Russia's nuclear rocket forces are sent for rest cures to the pensions Moscow pays to all local retirees.
This year Russia went further, scrapping economic sanctions and establishing semi-formal ties with the separatist authorities. It sent extra troops and firepower to strengthen the Russian peacekeepers based here since a 1994 ceasefire.
The top separatist official in Gali region, on the tense de facto border with Georgia, said Russia's intervention prevented a likely Georgian attack, though Tbilisi denies any such plan.
"It frightened them (the Georgian government)," said Ruslan Kishmaria. "They understood that the time when they could dictate their terms to us is over."
BRIGHT FUTURE?
Russia's backing has given Abkhazia the confidence to start looking to a prosperous future.
The memoirs of Singapore's former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew take pride of place on the bookshelf in separatist president Sergei Bagapsh's office. He sees parallels with his own region.
"Singapore found the strength to develop and join the world's most developed countries," Bagapsh told Reuters. "It is not a big player in world politics but it resolves internal issues for its own people."
"I would say (to potential investors) ... come to Abkhazia while everything is still not too expensive."
Abkhazia's economy does indeed seem to be picking up. Budget revenues are now $1.7 billion, the government says, up from $400 million four years ago.
Natalie Milovanova, boss of the "Yug" real estate agency, said that three years ago a two-room apartment in Gagra, Abkhazia's poshest resort, would sell for $1,000. Now the average price is $80,000.
These signs of progress are a vindication for Milovanova, who says her husband was killed in the war with Georgia.
"For 15 years, we have been able to live independently. We took the rough with the smooth and did the best we could. But we did not become degraded. We are developing," she said.
"I cannot even imagine that in my lifetime or in the lifetime of my children, Georgian influence over Abkhazia will be restored. This victory cost us too much for that."
FEATURE-Georgia rebels ready for war, hope for prosperity
Tue May 27, 2008 3:56am EDT
By Christian Lowe
SUKHUMI, Georgia, May 27 (Reuters) - In the capital of Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region, the sea breeze rustles the palm trees and beneath them a group of teenage schoolgirls in camouflage gear rehearse marching drills.
"If, God forbid, a war starts, girls should be able to defend their country just like the boys," said Astada Chkado, a 16-year-old pupil at Sukhumi's Middle School No. 4.
Fifteen years after Abkhazia won a war to throw off Georgian rule, tensions over the region are close to spilling over again into an armed conflict.
A U.N. report says at least three unmanned Georgian spy planes have been shot down over Abkhazia since March -- one by a Russian jet, according to the United Nations, though Moscow denies it -- and Russia has sent in extra peacekeepers to counter what it said was an imminent Georgian attack.
Tensions subsided after a round of diplomacy this month, but observers warn the conflict could flare again at any time. Even if it does not, it could hinder Georgia's ambitions to join NATO because the alliance does not want to get embroiled.
The conflict has global implications. It has pitted former imperial power Russia, which backs the separatists, against the United States, which supports Georgia, a vital link in a Washington-endorsed oil export corridor from the Caspian Sea.
"We have reached the final threshold, when any careless step can lead to war," said separatist foreign minister Sergei Shamba in his ministry -- a few rooms at one end of a corridor in a building missing many of its window panes.
Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast, used to be a favourite destination for Soviet holiday-makers. The conflict has taken a heavy toll.
In the semi-tropical heat, plants sprout through deserted buildings with bullet marks on their walls. Just off the seafront, a massive concrete pier designed to look like an ocean liner is now a derelict shell.
Abkhazia runs its own affairs, though no state has recognised its independence. Tbilisi has vowed to restore its control and bring back hundreds of thousands of ethnic Georgians who were driven out in the fighting.
Today, there is no evidence of Georgian rule. Instead, Russia's influence is everywhere, from the sanatorium in Sukhumi where officers in Russia's nuclear rocket forces are sent for rest cures to the pensions Moscow pays to all local retirees.
This year Russia went further, scrapping economic sanctions and establishing semi-formal ties with the separatist authorities. It sent extra troops and firepower to strengthen the Russian peacekeepers based here since a 1994 ceasefire.
The top separatist official in Gali region, on the tense de facto border with Georgia, said Russia's intervention prevented a likely Georgian attack, though Tbilisi denies any such plan.
"It frightened them (the Georgian government)," said Ruslan Kishmaria. "They understood that the time when they could dictate their terms to us is over."
BRIGHT FUTURE?
Russia's backing has given Abkhazia the confidence to start looking to a prosperous future.
The memoirs of Singapore's former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew take pride of place on the bookshelf in separatist president Sergei Bagapsh's office. He sees parallels with his own region.
"Singapore found the strength to develop and join the world's most developed countries," Bagapsh told Reuters. "It is not a big player in world politics but it resolves internal issues for its own people."
"I would say (to potential investors) ... come to Abkhazia while everything is still not too expensive."
Abkhazia's economy does indeed seem to be picking up. Budget revenues are now $1.7 billion, the government says, up from $400 million four years ago.
Natalie Milovanova, boss of the "Yug" real estate agency, said that three years ago a two-room apartment in Gagra, Abkhazia's poshest resort, would sell for $1,000. Now the average price is $80,000.
These signs of progress are a vindication for Milovanova, who says her husband was killed in the war with Georgia.
"For 15 years, we have been able to live independently. We took the rough with the smooth and did the best we could. But we did not become degraded. We are developing," she said.
"I cannot even imagine that in my lifetime or in the lifetime of my children, Georgian influence over Abkhazia will be restored. This victory cost us too much for that."
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