Reflections of Georgia

This is somewhat of a reflection piece. Don’t worry…Michael and Renee will update the blog soon and fill in all of the gaps from our trip. And trust me, there are good stories to be told!

I just wanted to add some thoughts about what occurred. First of all, I had the opportunity to be with four amazing students for two week. Everyday I learned more about them and was continually amazed at their knowledge, excitement, and truly giving souls. I can honestly say we have all bonded as a team more than any team I have ever been on. I guess traveling across an ocean will do that for you. We all got really good at knowing when to step in and help each other and when to push each other’s buttons (again, funny stories…right Princess Stephen?).

I am so proud to call these students “mine.” When they were teaching and interacting with the students at FFG camp as well as on our school visits, I was like a proud Momma hen…

Each one of these guys brought a different dynamic to our team. The amazing thing (as a leadership professor) is that each dynamic offered made this team stronger. It was truly group member roles at its best.

As our trip progressed, it was fun for me to see the growth in these guys. I am proud to say that there was little complaining when the "facilities" were not what we are used to here in the States (having to chase chickens out of the outhouse) or when the roads were so bumpy that we all turned a bit green (stopping a couple of times for a break). These students were troupers. I can only say that I hope they will keep me around a bit to watch them change the world!

Day 3: Adventures beyond Stalin Street

Gamarjoba! First of all I would like to say thank you for all the thoughts and prayers you have sent our way to Eastern Europe! They have been greatly appreciated as our travel thus far has lent us plenty of rocky dirt roads, and roads without navigational lines, literally, yet we have been safe, warm, and happy, so thank you again.

I would like to apologize for not having any pictures this blog, but I have taken over 350 personally, not counting Dr. Jenn, Heather, Renee, and Stephen, so they will be posted shortly.

Now that we have seen some sights, it was time to learn about Georgian Education and witness it first hand - by visiting schools in the rural parts (which is most) of the country outside of Tblisi. Our first destination was the village of Chala, a semi-self-sustaining (say that three times fast) agricultural community that had one of the premier schools (k-12) in the country. On our way there we witnessed something very strange, a middle-aged lady walking down the middle of the road on the opposite side of the highway from us. A small group of people were watching on the side of the road from their vehicles. Our translators, Teona and Sescilly, were quick to inform us that the mountain above the hgihway was where Joseph Stalin was born. I guess even when he been dead for almost 60 years, he still has a cult following, but if they don't get out of the road soon they're asking for the "suicide cult" title. This theme awas once again revisited as we turned unto the main road in Chala, Stalin Street. I'm glad we can say that no people were walking down the middle of this raod, however we almost did hit 3 chickens, 2 dogs, 5 head of cattle, and a goat.

The school in Chala was large with chain-linked fence surrounding it. The first man we met was Archil, the school's principle; he ushered us inside, and after a bathroom break we began touring the school. The very first place he took us was a second fllor classroom that as we approached we began hearing familiar words like "light", "Black", and "down" being sounded in unison. We turned the corner and...Third Graders! Learning English! I could only manage to mumble one word, amazing.
They were being taught by a U.S. peace Corp Worker named Jess. She was from Pennsylvania and said she "wanted a challenge." She picked a good one. Blessed be.
We concluded the tour with a trip to their greenhouse, that included full stands of cucumbers and tomatoes. Now to Archil's house for our first Supra (a feast of food including mandatory toast). Once again, our plates ended up stacked three high on the table and Stephen, Curt, Heather, and Myself toasting our hosts and hostess to health, personal success, and relationships. It was quite and experience to say the least.

I'm running short on time, but will be back as soon as possible with pictures and stories from the camp. It should prove even more exiciting as the high schoolers have been waiting for this moment since last year's camp.

Day 2: Travel in Tbilisi/ Who wears short shorts?

Gamarjoba! chemi sakhelia Mikhal Pisciotta. (Hello! my name is Michael Pisciotta to all my friends and family back in the United States). I hope everyone that is reading this blog is doing as well as I am right now. And even though the Republic of Georgia is 8 hours ahead of us, I still have managed to stay up to 1 A.M. Georgian Time. Seems no matter if I travel 6500 miles away, I will still revert back to my all too familiar Athenian night owl mode. We still have our busiest time still ahead as the camp will be the 13th-16th, but so far we have managed to remain in fifth gear. As Renee mentioned previously we were all extremely tired after a large Georgian meal, so we did not hesistate to crash into our beds as soon as we returned to the cozy british (mari) house at 11 P.M., G-Time. After a solid 9 hours of sleep, we started the day with breakfast at our hotel - Eggs, Bacon(which was very good), Georgia's famous fresh bread(I'll talk about this later), and pear jam. After much fellowship, we decided to hit the town to trade in the good old' American Dollar for the Georgian Lari (1.42L=$1.00). Now we're ready to see the sights, and what better place to start than the National Orthodox Cathedral. It was one of the most amazing structures I have ever laid my eyes. It was surrounded by a serene garden, a goliath chapel bell, and a few smaller chapels (Some dating back all the way to the 12th Century).

It was also during this time, when I realized there are a lot of feral dogs just roaming the streets of Tblisi. All-in-All I counted 12 strays, and took as many pictures of the elusive animals as I could. As a great man once said, "Please get your animals spayed and neutered."

Next, off to Georgia's oldest bakery. "So what's so historic about this bakery?" you might ask. Other than the fact that it is underground, the walls are made off cobblestone, and the bread sticks to the brick oven's wall like it's been super-glued there, there is a underground tunnel that connects the underground bakery to the adjacent cathedral. Yeah, well it might sound pretty crumby (no pun intended that it was a bakery, HaHa), but I enjoyed it.

Now t0 the adjacent cathedral. It was very old, very dark, and I had the faint distinction that someone was looking at me. Well it was not any of the St. Mary, St. Peter, or St. George pictures on the wall that's eyes follow you as you move, but it was the Church's female hymn/worship leader.

Let's gather ourselves for a second. The Republic of Georgia is not exactly a tourist destination, and not saying that foreigners are not welcomed with open arms but you are very easily noticed if you are not Georgian. Thankfully our translator/tour guide/georgian FLEX student Teona keeps us informed about what's going on in the world where we can only understand a few words.

Back at the church: I turn around and I see her scolding Stephen, as well as pointing at his shorts. I knew what was coming when I saw the same lady turn to point at me. Once again, Teona intervened and told me exactly what I already knew, "No Shorts in God's House."

This all made sense - we saw tens of thousands of people today and only 2 were wearing shorts other than Stephen and Myself; Respective ages - 3 and 5.

So we were kicked out of church because only sinners wear shorts in Tblisi, apparently.

Thankfully, Dr. Jenn made me feel a little better by spinning off of the Right-Said Fred song with the line "I'm too sexy for your church..."

We made it!

Hello everyone!

I do not have long, but I wanted to let everyone know we made it over safe and sound. I am in the hotel right now typing this message. We are staying in the British House and we just had our first Georgian Breakfast. We got into Tbilisi early enough last night to enjoy our first Georgian Supper. Everyone who mentioned it was right, catchapori(Not sure of the spelling, I will look into it.) is great! Its a cheese filled deep fried bread.

We met our wonderful translators as well as some of the other FLEX students. We had a great time at dinner, but there were no problems once we reached the hotel in falling to sleep.

We are going to do some sight-seeing around Tbilisi today and hopefully I will have some great pictures to post as well!

Look for our blog for the next weeks as UGA takes on Georgia!

The Final Countdown.

Hello again!

I hope everyone is excited about the upcoming trip to Georgia. I know our group has worked very hard, and we are ready to put that work into action.

We have added a new group member, Stephen from the Griffin Campus. Each UGA Campus is now represented. Michael and Heather from Athens, Dr. Jen and Stephen from Griffin, and myself from Tifton.

The flight leaves this Sunday, June 8th from the Atlanta airport and we will return to Atlanta on June 20th. Throughout the time we are gone we will be facilitating a camp, speaking to school groups, and dining on the very interesting Georgia cuisine.

Here is a plan of our schedule for all of those who wish to follow on the map from the comfort of your homes!



Sun 6/8
ATL

Mon 6/9
Tbilisi

Tues 6/10
Tbilisi

Wed 6/11
Tbilisi to Chala to
Akhaltsikhe

Thurs 6/12
Akhaltsikhe to
Batumi

Fri 6/13
Batumi to Buknari

Sat 6/14
Buknari

Sun 6/15
Buknari

Mon 6/16
Buknari
Tbilisi

Tues 6/17
Tbilisi to Gavazi,Kakheti

Wed 6/18
Gavazi-Kakheti

Thurs 6/19
Tbilisi
Gavazi

Friday 6/20
Tbilisi

Check back soon to read all about our trip!

Renee`