Adventures continue

Hello again, here’s another update about my ESC in Georgia. It has been 7 months since I first came to Georgia. I have learned and seen a lot more.

First of all, the language. I learned it for about 3 months with my coordinator. But I droped it. Don’t get me wrong, it is a beautiful language. I know how to read the alphabet and a few basic words, but I  think that’s enough for now. There are only 5 months left before my project will end and this language will be of no use to me. So I decided to focus on something that I can actually use in the future - Spanish. Now I have lessons every week with a very dedicated teacher. I only just started recently and still have nothing to show, but I have hope that soon I’ll be able to at least understand a little bit.

Also, I traveled quite a bit. Georgian winter is very strange to me. Around the capital Tbilisi there is no snow, but if you travel outside of this region (to the mountains for example), in some places snow can reach your knees. I learned this by traveling to Gudauri with a few friends. Together we climbed and hiked on a mountain that for me (I’m from a very flat country) was a high one. We just chose a random mountain close to a skii resort, but the view that opened up at the top of the mountain, on the other side of it, was truly breath-taking. Our next destination was a monument. A beautiful monument that is near a very deep valley. It is officially one of my favourite monuments I have ever seen. Next - Stepantsminda. It’s a town that has nothing special at day-time. But when the sun is setting and all the lights are turned on, watching it from far away is very magical. It might sound delusional or exaggerated to some people because of my choice of words, but I feel like these experiences deserve it. 

I have also visited Sighnaghi, Bakuriani (twice), Sioni lake and Dashbashi canyon. I have made truly dear memories with people that were with me. And I am forever thankful for it. I really hope that I can travel some more, because there are so many places that I haven’t had a chance to visit yet. Places like Ureki, Kutaisi, Racha and Svaneti regions and etc. But that’s for latter.

Since now volunteers are busy with leading clubs and preparing lessons online, we have a fair amount of time at home. I use this time to experiment with food and crafts. To learn how to make something I have never tried before. I share my good and bad food experiences with my flatmates. We even created a quote: “You burn - you learn“. Unfortunately, I use it pretty often.

I’m sure there are a lot of things I forgot to mention, but for now that’s it.

Best wishes and see you latter!

-Erika