So, what are your impressions of Georgia ?*

I have been in Rustavi for 1 month now and if I am not homesick, I still don't really feel at home here. But actually I kind of like it because every day comes with its challenges and I am slowly adapting to this new environment and its weird weather. Yes, weird, because we had a little survey of spring in February and then, suddenly, the big white snow came. Only for one day. After that the sun came back and as I am writing today, the rain is pouring its sadness down on us.

My opinion of this city is kind of divided. If I like its old part with its nice architectures (even though some of the buildings are almost falling down) I don't really appreciate the new Rustavi. But I think that it's something common to most of the cities, the old town is often nicer than the new one.

My Georgian is really really reeeeally limited for now and it's too bad, not only because it makes it difficult to ask for something in a shop or whatsoever, but mostly because sometimes you want to talk with people even if it's about something irrelevant. Every time someone tries to have a talk with me I feel completely helpless because I can't give them any answer, I would like but I can't.

Well, enough of this melodramatic mood. Every time a Georgian asks me my impressions of Georgia, they expect me to say that I don't like, for instance, people staring at me, being rude or anything else. But the truth is that it's the same everywhere so it's not the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about Georgia. When I say that I like this country, some of them are surprised. I mean, it's quite normal for me to appreciate its beautiful landscapes, its dishes (I'm in love with the lobio), the nice people I meet, and all the little things which remind me that the life here is a bit different than the one I have in France, those are some of the reasons for why I am here.


*question people asked me a thousand times

Are we there yet?

A little bit of prehistory:

So here I am, an ordinary 23 year old girl, trying to think of whatever it is to just finally get out of her shell and enjoy life to the fullest. Simple as that. Good thing that some damn lucky people can actually enroll to one of these programs for the young and go to places that normally be out of reach for us. So, as of right now, I'm officially an EVS volunteer in Georgia. FOR A WHOLE YEAR! And here it is. My life awaits. After a very long time of organizing things and trying to get everything in order my experience begins. And let me just say, that I'm not going to try to sugarcoat anything. And hey, whoever might be reading this, I hope one lost soul (with a cute little rebel, dying within) can find another one. Hey you, yes you, I like you already!

Day of my arrival to Georgia, Tbilisi. October 2, around 4:30 am. Three other (local) volunteers Nini, Maxo and Rosto, that will be our mentors come to pick us up from the airport. We wait for another volunteer from Slovakia, Livia, to come and then head straight back to our apartment. Aaand here it is! My new home. The city of Rustavi, which in the past (Soviet times to be precise) used to be an industrial city, built just for factory workers. The part where I live seems like a time capsule and reminds me one of those stories that my mum or my granny used to tell. Let's just say (and I'm going to be honest about it)... well I guess in times it's going to be grey. While the city is actually divided into the New and Old Rustavi and turns out to be not so small of a city, there is something right there in the air, and you can feel it. The city needs life. It needs to live again. Or just finally start living. You can feel this in people's eyes when they try to look at you with this curious look, asking "Who are you?" and "What are you going to do in here?".

I share a flat with two other volunteers, Lembit, who comes from Estonia and is an extremely smart guy, and a girl name Livia, who I feel sometimes is my lost twin sister. In the next few days we went out to explore the city, and gosh, let me just tell you how excited I actually was! One small thing though, when you do travels like this one, well, not really travels, but living experiences, or how should you call them (?) it's important not to get your stakes too high. Simply because a) cultural shock does exist, and is in fact not a myth b) you're actually dealing with life. Not just super fun trips around the country or big parties (FYI, I do not consider myself a party person). Not at all. It's life, people. Life with ups and downs. Anyway, our trip to the supermarket was in fact the funniest moment of all. So far.

Can you imagine you walk to a SUPERmarket, and there's no electricity. Like no electricity. Like cashiers working with candles on and things like that? One thing I love about Georgians is their ability to adapt to these practical things. No electricity? Fine, I'll just get a candle. No water today? (Yes, it happens) Fine, I have some over there in kitchen; I've filled all the empty buckets just last night. Wonderful, isn't it? Let me just say, that so far my experience with people is very limited, but yes, if you ever heard about Georgian hospitality and how helpful people can be, yes, it's true. I'm sure there's much more to people and I'm sure so many life lessons await me. I just hope I'm ready. So much of chaos within an order. So much of order within a chaos. But hey, you can't have everything, can you?

Or take the amazing trip to the Istanbuli bazaar, where people go to buy everything. Such a rush, I'm not even kidding! Maxo helped us figure things out there, but the amazing part was him introducing us with his friends and family on the way to the market; stopping to say hi, or wave a hello to everyone he knew. I mean normally you would just go to the market in your neighborhood and that would be it. You might say hi to a friendly face, but not more. Well, at least for me that would be it, nothing more. Instead, we were politely introduced to everyone and even had a friendly ride with a car, making our way shorter. Such a friendly guy, I'll tell ya that.

And then there was Tbilisi... God bless this city, it's amazing, y'all. So amazing :). And hey, Tbilisi is a very beautiful city, did I tell you that? Loved it. Totally took my breath away. Just like that. But I guess I will be needing a separate post for that.

We finally started learning Georgian, which for me is the most difficult language ever, especially the pronunciation. But the mentors that we have are really nice to us, they're really helpful and thoughtful when it comes to understanding us.

Next week I will begin teaching, which for now is my main task in here. So far I'm just trying to prepare and see how it goes. I don't know much about Georgian mentality, but a guy name Erekle, who will help me with Spanish in here once said that Georgians are proud but shy. I didn't experience that myself, but I guess time will show.

Hey, and about time - time runs differently when you're away, you know that, right? Every minute of it is just screaming different things at you, saying "Life is so odd and beautiful, go out there!".


Bye for now. Or as Georgians say, nachvamdis.

Here Comes the Sun.

After the cold Winter and rather iffy Spring, I’m glad to finally be soaking up the Summer Sun. Rather surprisingly for an introvert and recluse such as myself, I have been spending a decent amount of time outside in the “fresh” Rustavi and Tbilisian air. My trips to the capital are becoming more frequent and longer, the usual peruse around the Dry Bridge market and nearby shopping centre is always a welcome break from Rustavi.

The English conversation club has finally finished after many months of thinking up new topics for talking about with the locals. I believe that me and Ania have made a difference and an improvement, even if it’s only a small one.
by Elliott Cunningham

A week or two ago was my first visit to the GYE Eco-village called Pona, I was rather surprised and impressed by the size of the place. Three buildings, a camp site and a huge amount of land seems to be owned by GYE and a few of the locals. The task set for myself and our Estonian short-term volunteers was to continue the construction of a fence to cordon off the land. The first day was very successful but I underestimated the power of Georgian Sun and consequently ended up resembling a roast turkey.

Skipping forward a few days, I headed off to catch up with other Caucasus EVS volunteers for our Mid-term meeting in Bakuriani (a skiing resort to the west of Tbilisi). It was fantastic to see the “On-arrival-lot” again and to see some new faces. I’m mildly ashamed to say that I got absolutely plastered on the first night and was wearing sunglasses indoors for the next day. On a more sober note, we we had a fantastic trip on the local train down the mountain to Borjomi Park for a walk around in the real fresh air.

The most recent adventure here was our trip to Racha for a camping and sport weekend in the mountains. Some GYE volunteers, our Coordinator plus two bus loads of Georgians and a few other interesting characters in a camp, competing in Rafting and Kayaking. The weather was fantastic (I used SPF 50 this time so remained my pale self) and the atmosphere was great. My team and I paddled hard and destroyed the opposition in rafting .

Finishing off the weekend by chilling with a group of Georgians round the table and campfire was wonderful. We left the camp the day after, bodies aching from exertion, minds and phones full of new memories and contacts.

The Taste of Georgia

by Jana Ďaďová 

Life is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you're gonna get.

When I came to Georgia, I couldn´t imagine what would be waiting for me here.  And my experience was really like tasting various chocolates.  I like chocolates but not all kinds.  I love the ones with caramel, nuts, cappuccino and coffee flavours very much.   And I dislike chocolates with marzipan, cherries and mint.

I will always remember Georgia as a country of peace, beauty, life, sunny days, untouched nature, amazingly hospitable people, breathtaking dances, colourful bazaars, unbeatable spirit, Supras and great values...

On the other hand I could also see Georgia as wild, cruel and unpredictable - a country full of dust, strange conservative people, streets with rubbish and limping dogs, grey houses, resigned faces, hidden meanings, unfulfilled promises...

Behind every word there is a story of my experience that once I might write or talk about. But usually we want to remember and to tell others just what we enjoyed very much.  So my short story will be about the best „chocolate“ I tasted in Georgia.

For me it is Supra - a traditional feast with lots of Georgian food, tasty wine, music, dancing and singing, merry people, endless toasts, ghosts of the past and mainly Georgian hearts ready to accept you as a friend.

My last Supra was (for Georgia not typically) planned weeks in advance and until the last minutes I didn´t believe it will happenJ.  But a marshutka full of excited people arrived at Achiko´s village on time, the table with food was already prepared and we could feel the scent of baking khachapuri in our empty stomachs.  Then first toast, wine, food, second toast, birthday wishes, wine, food, third toast, wine, white Lada, fourth toast, wine, dance, more toasts, more wine, more dance, more delicious food... and finally care of Achiko´s fantastic grandma who was like our own mother J.

So much good atmosphere, joy, laugh, emotions, excited people and good wishes at one place I haven´t witnessed for very long time and I can just say I love Georgia and the hearts of Georgian people. I feel grateful for this experience and for all friends I found here.

And after all that, I can just add: Georgia is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you're gonna get.

PS: Achiko, thank you, your grandma and the rest of your family again for this damned-great experience and the best birthday celebration everJ.

First impressions of French volunteers

by Marine Helfer

April, the 2^nd: arrival during the night, after a fifteen hours travel… We really didn’t know what will happen the first days, so we felt excited, a bit afraid and curious. But we were especially tired!

After a good night in our new beds, new rooms, new flat, we unpacked the 40 kilos of luggage we brought with us. 

Actually, the welcome and the help of other volunteers have been very helpful since the beginning of our adventure! All we needed we could ask them, they were available and so lovely. That’s why the transition between France and Georgia hasn’t been as hard as we imagined.

First shopping, first cooking, first walk around the city… Everything came quite naturally. The only thing not so natural was to speak English. As French people, our level of English is for the moment quite ridiculous but of course in 6 months we’ll be bilingual... Or maybe trilingual with the Georgian classes?! We’re looking forward to these classes to learn some words which can be helpful in the everyday life. “Pardon”, “Au revoir”, “Non merci”. There are so many words I would like to remember in order to integrate into the local culture and to be able to understand more or less all it’s written in the street. For the moment, “Gamarjoba” and “Madloba” are the only words I can say in Georgian. Better than nothing…    

For the moment, my activities in the association are only Sapovnela and a Spanish class so I think it’s not enough to give me a real picture of GYE. I can only say that I’m glad to have a lovely mentor and that the French evening was a good idea because it was a good way to integrate ourselves and to present quickly our country to others. Now, I’m looking forward to discovering our new country, Georgia.