In Training

We finally went up and saw the Narikalis Fortress and the Kartlis Deda statue above Tbilisi, the giant silver woman on top of the hill.  According to the old man with the homemade water cart at the base of the statue, she is the Mother of Georgia, holding a jug of wine in her left hand to welcome guests and a sword in her right hand to warn off enemies.  He also called her "didi gogo," which means "big girl."  To be fair, he's kind of right.

See?  A very big girl.

As you walk up the hill on the path in front of the Fortress, there is a tree covered in strips of cloth, ribbons, and torn plastic bags.  There is a myth associated with this tree that, if you tie your bit of stuff to it, you can make a wish.  It was Kelsey's birthday, so we all made birthday wishes for her.  And we wished for a man for Sengka.

Dear Magic Tree, please bring me an Official Red Ryder Air Rifle.  And a man for Sengka.

There is a gondola from the top of the Fortress to the Peace Bridge, and it's a really neat ride.  We had lots of nifty views of the city on the way down.  it lets out in the park at the end of the bridge, where we found a giant chess set.  Fortunately, they hadn't been Transfigured to come to life and smash each other to pieces whenever they were captured.

If they had, I think Kelsey could have taken them.

Some little Georgian kid followed me down the street calling, "Hello!  Hello!  Hello!  Princess Leia!"  George Lucas has invaded Tbilisi.  I approve.

We started training that afternoon, and we've been in training all day ever since.  Teaching Methodology, Intercultural Training, How Not to Die in Georgia.  You know; the basics.  And Georgian language classes.  Lots of Georgian language classes.  It's quite a lingual workout trying to pronounce all those consonants right after each other.  At night, we all stay up late studying and trying to cram this language into our heads.

No, really.  This was near midnight on Friday evening.

Georgian is too heavy for John's brain.  He can't even lift his head anymore!

I washed my laundry in the sink this morning.  My grandmother would have been so proud!  We should be getting our placement assignments today, and then we'll be off to the hinterlands the day after tomorrow.  Yay!

Before I go, I'll leave you with this picture of Olly trying to say "khaki pants" with an American accent.

What a daft bloke, talking such rubbish!

Tbilisi on Caffeine and Adrenaline

James (from Wisconsin), Zach (from Vancouver), and I were the only people awake when breakfast first started this morning, so we left everyone else snoozing in their beds and went out for a stroll.  After some very confusing directions from a police officer (which included a debate about the proper marshutka number with a random passer- by pulled into the discussion), we gave up and got a cab.  Since we didn't have an actual destination, we just told the cab driver to take us to Rustavelli Ave, a big street in the historic and touristy region.  One very frightening ride later (Georgians drive like maniacs), he dropped his off in front of a statue.

Who is this guy?

Proving that I have no shame, I asked some guy hanging out in his car nearby.  Basically, I pointed and said, "That.  Who?"  Turns out the cab driver dropped us off in front of the statue of the poet Rustavelli.  Go figure.  It's a very nicely situated statue, though.  We wandered around the  area and saw good things and strange things and some very interesting artwork. 

Charlie Chaplin, according to the plaque

Random saxophone played walking through the wall

One of the coolest things about Tbilisi is the way centuries-old buildings are standing adjacent to ultra-modern architecture.

This bridge is right next to ...

... this really old church.

After a brief return to the hotel for lunch, I headed out again with a bunch of other TLGers to see the markets of Old Tbilisi.  Lots of tea at lunch.... 

We ran into a particularly persistent family of beggars.

The farmer's market was pretty amazing.  Rows of vendors selling fruits and vegetables I've never heard of and can't even pronounce now that I know them.  

I could pronounce those.  Tow-mae-toes.

Olly (from England), Michelle (from New Zealand), and I got lost in a twisting labyrinth of a bazaar under an old round-about, in what looked like an abandoned subway tunnel.  I got a chance to practice my Georgian with lots of vendors down there, and managed to bargain a bit using a pidgin mix of Russian and Georgian.  

This is Olly, disappearing into the maze.

So, I survived a ride in a Tbilisi taxi, was jerked out of the path of a speeding marshutka by a particularly alert Georgian, nearly got caught in a closing door of a moving train, and spent about twelve hours traipsing about the city on no sleep and lots of tea.  I am going to bed now.  Before I go, please enjoy one last parting image of Georgia.

This is how Georgians mark pedestrian crossings.  This is how we have to cross Georgian streets.

This city is incredible.  I know bodishi (pardon me), gamardjobat (hello), and gmadlobadt (thank you), and everyone I meet is my friend if I know those three words.  Navkhamdis!  (good-bye)

There!

Greetings from Tbilisi!  I arrived here Wednesday morning, completely intact with all of my bags.  This trip is off to a miraculously good start.  

In the airport in Chicago, I had my first authentic deep-dish Chicago pizza and ran into a couple other TLG volunteers, Kelsey and Tom.  Confirmation that this whole program is not a scam!  Or, if it is a scam, we've all been scammed.

Kelsey and Tom

The flight from O'Hare to Attaturk was ten hours long, and I slept through almost all of it.  The people directly in front of me had two small children with them, and I think they watched Happy Feet 2 throughout the entire flight.  Every time I woke up, I saw dancing penguins...

In the airport in Istanbul, I had authentic Turkish delight (without the soul-stealing side effects!) and met up with Danny and John, also Tbilisi-bound.  More confirmation that I either haven't been scammed or I've been taken in by a very clever scam that has also scammed all of these people.

It's blurry, but Danny is on the right and John is on the left

The plane from Turkey to Tbilisi was almost entirely filled with TLG workers.  We were met at the airport Wednesday morning by several ladies from the program and shuffled into marshutkas to the hotel.  

Taking off my shoes and showering when I got here was absolutely amazing, and I'm still rubbing my toes on the carpet in the bliss of freedom.  Because everyone has been travelling and sleep-deprived for so long, we have the rest of the day off before we start training on Thursday.  At this point, I'm afraid that I'll sleep all day and be jet-lagged all week if I take a nap now.  Some other TLGers and I have plans to walk around the Old City in a few hours.

This is the lobby of the hotel where I'm staying.  Poor me...

Testing, testing.... Is this thing on?

     Hello, one and all! I am Kathleen, and this (as you might have guessed by the url) is my blog.  In a few days, I will be leaving our fair shores and heading off into the great unknown with the Teach and Learn with Georgia program, teaching English in the Republic of Georgia.  It's the country on the Black Sea, not the state below South Carolina.  Go check it out; I'll wait.

That Georgia.  Right there.  That's where I'm going.

     I'll be updating this blog as often as I can while I'm in Georgia, but the great unknown truly is a great unknown at this point.  I don't know where I'll be or what my situation will be over there.  At the moment, I don't even know in what part of the country I'll be living.  Makes it a little difficult to pack, I can tell you.  The climate in Georgia varies so much among the different regions that I could be living up in the mountains where it snows non-stop six months out of the year, or I could be living down by the Black Sea where snow never sticks for more than a day.  Snow boots or bathing suits?  Both!

     People keep asking me why I decided to take a job halfway around the world.  Well, the short answer is that I was bored with the job I had (insurance, very boring stuff).

See how boring my life is?

     I'm sitting here now, eating peaches and smelling magnolia and trying to imagine what I'm going to miss while I'm in Georgia.  Pizza?  Pho?  Chocolate chip cookies?  Arlie.  Definitely Arlie.

This is Arlie.  Isn't he cute?

     Hence the title of this blog.  I promised Arlie I'd come back again.  I will see Georgia and learn Georgian music and dance Georgian dances and meet Georgian people and eat Georgian food, and I will come back to Arlie.  

Plus, I'm going to miss out on seeing The Hobbit when it comes out in theaters.  Bummer.