Gilotsavt Giorgobas

Happy St. Giorgi's Day !!!!

Also, happy 2 year anniversary of the Rose Revolution!!!

Also, YAY NO SCHOOL!!!

We were not supposed to have school today because its a holiday. My school decided that that means WE don't have school all week. So I am just sitting around at home half studying georgian, playing way too much solitaire, and enjoying sitting under the covers with my heater.

Recently we had our all volunteer conference in Tbilisi. We discussed what would happen in case Bird Flu breaks out here. Basically they get us out if they can. If they can't, they barracade all of the volunteers in the office in Tbilisi. That means 70 volunteers locked up in one building together for an indefinate amount of time while the rest of Georgia dies of bird flu. Sounds awesome huh?

We also had our Thanksgiving dinner since we were all together already anyway. It made me miss America a lot more than I thought it would. Thanksgiving might actually be one of my favorite holidays. I guess thats not hard to guess since its the only one that centers around food. Anyway, we actually had turkeys that were sent over frozen and cranberry sauce and everything. It was awesome.

Now, I need to address a problem. Some of you have become VERY spoiled in expecting posts. Whatever happened to thinking i would only be able to get to internet every couple months. You guys think my life is exciting enough to post everytime I get online, but it really isnt. For example, the highlight of my last three days was washing about 15 pairs of underwear because I was completely out and turning my underwear inside-out (don't make that eeewww face, all the volunteers do it! laundry is way too much work here) was no longer going to work. I now have clean underwear. I am sure you are all happy to know that. Lets just say my hygiene standards have been greatly lowered since coming here. I have become completely used to showering about once (sometimes twice) a week. And now, even when a shower is available, I say things like, "psshh I just showered 3 days ago." You don't even want to know how often (or not often) I brush my teeth.

So now that I told you all that, Do you REALLY want me to post everyday?

mkay then

Power situation seems to have resolved itself. I am not sure if all the neighbors have power, or if we pay for ours, but we have it and we have taken the paper off the bathroom windows.

I have been having a lot of drama at my school dealing with a teacher who doesn’t seem to care for me (for lots of reasons out of my control). After I decided that I didn’t want to teach her class anymore (I told her that it was because she clearly had a method of teaching that worked for her, and I felt like I was more in her way than helpful), I felt a lot better. Then, a few days later, she comes up to me—looking like she is about to go mental and break things—and says, “Erica, the director told me that the PC called and said that you don’t want to work with me, you hate working with me, and if you have to work with me you will go home.” I never said anything to PC at all about school, so I have no idea what she is talking about. I go ask my director and she tells me not to worry, she told her that, because she knew I didn’t want to teach that class. But the pc didn’t really call. This is the most Georgian ever: to lie about something even though the lie makes the situation way worse. Very strange.

It turns out that my host mother called, after talking to my host siblings, and told my director that I couldn’t work with this teacher. So many people doing things I never asked them to do and butting into my business. Oh Georgia.

So then there was all this insane drama among all the teachers. All of them came up to ask me if I really hated her and then confessed to me that they hated her too. All the while I haven’t said anything of the sort.

I think it has been worked out, but I don’t really know how. What is really weird is that this is how it is all the time. Everyday someone says something to someone and everyone gets involved and there is lots of crying and yelling and then everyone goes home and forgets about it the next day.

My host sister’s birthday is this weekend, should be fun. I bought her a present that I think she will like, but I am always worried that I just will be way way off about what people here like.