WOW - what a weekend!!

My travel partner, Kellie, and I had a full weekend of activities scheduled for us while we are here in K'ut'aisi. First of all, the weather did not cooperate with us!!! On Thursday when we traveled to K'ut'aisi it was beautifully clear and cool. On Friday it was overcast and misty. This morning (Saturday) it was cold - about 40 degrees - and rainy. But, we continued on. So, we started off the morning at an English Teachers Association of Georgia meeting held at K'ut'aisi University. There were about 20 in attendance and the two of us presented a little lesson about our schools and the American system of education and we modeled some different types of teaching strategies that the teachers could use in their classrooms. 

It was here that I had my first experience with a Turkish toilet.

Yes, it is essentially a hole in the floor and one stands over or squats over it to do your business. Then, you just flush like usual.
Talk about a new experience!!!! Well, moving on....

After the meeting we walked the three blocks to the school where we were met, in the rain mind you, by 5 or 6 students and joined by 4 of the other English teachers from St. Nino's. They were all taking time on their Saturday to join us on our rainy sight-seeing trip. We boarded the transportation of choice in Georgia, an 12 passenger mini-van called a matrushka and we headed just out of the city, up on the slope of a big hill / small mountain to visit the Bagrati Cathedral. Bagrat III, an ancient king of Georgia, built Bagrati Cathedral in the 10th century. It was a UNESCO world heritage site for quite a long time until a recent Georgian goverment decision to restore it. There were some questions about some of the choices in the restoration so UNESCO withdrew their designation. However, it is still a national treasure and one of the most beautiful buildings I've had the pleasure to visit. 

Bagrati Cathedral

The view from Bagrati over the city of K'ut'aisi

Some of my new Georgian friends!!

The tragey of Bagrati is that the Soviets painted over the 10th - 13th century frescos when they were in control of Georgia. The UNESCO designation was an attempt to save it, but the damage was already done by that time. 

Parts of the original stone work on the floor have been preserved under glass and they give the impression that the original building was more than just impressive - it was regal, as befitting a king of Bagrat's status. 

Original stone work on the floor of the cathedral

We left Bagrati Cathedral and headed to another nearby site - Gelati Monastery. Gelati was already a protected site and thus was spared the attention of the Soviet government. It too was built in the 10th - 11th centuries, started again by King Bagrat and was originally an academy or school. It is currently undergoing the first modern restoration the building has seen so there were parts we could not see. Nonetheless, it was a wonderful place to visit. 

View of the valley from the grounds of Gelati Monastery

St. George's chapel at Gelati Monastery

Inside there are wonderful frescoes, many of the colors still quite brilliant. The whole place is so serene.

There are also a couple of really fantastic mosaics.

These two beautiful girls are both named Nino, after the patron saint of Georgia, St. Nino. She is credited with bringing Christianity to Georgia in the 3rd or early 4th century. St. Nino arrived in Georgia and all she could find to fashion a cross from was grape vines. So, she wove two pieces for a cross from the vines and she used her long braided hair to bind the pieces together. As she traveled the cross piece was not strong enough to stay straight, so the arms of the cross drooped. Consequently, the cross of St. Nino has arms that droop down.

After our afternoon in the cold and rain visiting such beautiful sites and spending time with such beautiful people I headed back to the hotel for a little rest. Little did I know how much I was going to need that rest as I was attending a supra hosted by a prominent K'ut'aisi family Saturday evening. Supra is the Georgian word for feast and let me tell you - they are not kidding. The photo below is what was awaiting us on the table when we arrived at their home. There were at least 10 more courses!!!!! 

Chicken, pork, fish, a variety of salads, cheese, bread, kachapuri, vegetables. More was still to come!!

We ate and ate, little bits of many different dishes, for a few hours. Food just kept coming from the kitchen!! Even though I don't drink, everyone else did and no one was offended when I toasted along with everyone else drinking flavored lemonades. It was an unforgettable experience and I can't believe I was lucky enough to have been a part of it. When we finally got back to the hotel I was too tired to even think about posting this blog. At this point I'm also too tired to continue on and will catch up on the Sunday blog post on Monday afternoon.

St. Nino's #3

My first day at St. Nino's #3 was just wonderful! We arrived a few minutes after 9 and were taken in to see Mr. Tomas, the principal. We visited with him for about 30 minutes. He told us the history of St. Nino's #3; it started as a girl's school in (I believe he said) 1848. After being a girl's school for a while it became an all purpose school and it continues as that today. There are about 1, 450 students at St. Nino's and Mr. Tomas and his deputy are the only administrators. The school has an open enrollment so students come from all over K'ut'aisi to attend. When spots come open siblings of current students have priority and then new students are allowed. They are working on becoming a school that is known for and specializes in English instruction. I must say - the English department is wonderful and welcoming in every way. We walked around the school for a bit and then we headed for our host's 9th grade English class for a round of presentations about Georgia as well as Georgian sights, traditions, and food. I must say, they did so well presenting in English! They seemed so nervous - there were so many adults in the room, but they were troopers and pulled it off beautifully!

Later throughout the day my partner and I presented about our schools and the students were delighted to see what we had to show. One young man was really struck by how big Caney Creek seems to be compared to his school, and it's true that CCHS is much bigger. They were also impressed by how many different activities we have to offer for students. At St. Nino's they are quite focused on academics and do not have the facitlities for many types of activities. They do have a well equiped computer lab, a decent sized library, and a gym for some PE for the younger grades. 

After our long day we returned to our hotel to blog and get caught up on email and such as that. All in all it was a really great first day of teaching here in K'ut'aisi and I really loved it. Our weekend is filled with activities and I'm so looking forward to all of them.

Getting caught up!

My goal on this post is to get caught up on the days I was either too tired or too tired (LOL, sorry) to post while I was in Tbilisi. I've posted about our adventure on Monday and now on to the rest of the week. Tuesday started with a meeting the purpose of which was to explain the Georgian system of education. In a nutshell, they have a fairly centralized education system where the Ministry of Education and Science has the final say in all important decisions as well as some mid-level decisions. (*note - I have since found out that principals do have a certain degree of autonomy in their schools) 

We left this meeting and went to visit our first school. This was Tbilisi Public School #165. It serves grades 1 - 12 in one building. As we entered the school we were greeted by this pair. Little did we know how important they were going to be to our day!!

We went throughout the school, observing classes in every grade. As we entered each room the students stood and, in their finest English, said "Good Morning" and "Welcome". Delightful! After a while we went into a meeting room where we were able to visit with some of the grade 10, 11 and 12 students who were eager to answer our questions about the school and ask questions of their own. 

After a while of visiting with the students we were directed down to the school's small stage. We actually sat on the stage because the performance we were about to see needed the extra floor space. Boy - were we in for a treat! The PS #165 is home to a very well known traditional dance troop that performs all over Georgia and the region. They had just returned from a performance in Egypt and were back in time to treat us to their talent. 

These are super talented young people and one of the other teachers recorded portions of their dances. You can see the traditional wedding dance here: https://vimeo.com/122453805  and you can see the other traditional men's dance here: https://vimeo.com/122482849  Both videos are simply wonderful, so please take the time to show them in class!

Afterward I got to visit with students in the 11th and 12th grade English classes. They had all sorts of wonderful questions about American schools. I was so impressed with how well they all speak English and how much they practice with each other. 

When I showed them the class photos I took of you guys before I left they all smiled and said, basically - "WOW, your students look just like us!" 

We left the school and were off to a panel discussion with Georgian educators at the American Corner office nearest to us. This meeting was quite informative and they answered all our questions freely about the positive and negative aspects of the Georgian education system and some of the plans the Ministry has for the future.

On Wednesday morning we were off early to visit a private school. It is the Georgian - British School and it's interesting. The Georgian students who attend are on one track and the British and other foreign nationals are on the British track. This school is also serves grades 1 - 12 and we saw some really cute classes. At the end of our visit I had the BEST conversation with 4 young ladies in the 6th grade. Their English is so good and they are so poised and confident, I was impressed and delighted to spend time with them.

After the school we were off to the US Embassy where we met with the folks who promote teaching English in the schools, offer exchange programs and other types of activities. We got a surprise visit from Ambassador Nolan, who congratulated us on being in Georgia and who reminded us that we were better Ambassadors than him because we would be making memories with Georgian people. 

After the embassy we had a quick lunch and then we were off to the Ministry of Education and Science for a meeting to update us on future plans that have been developed for continued progress within the Georgian education system. After that, one last presentation and last round of questions before our travel day on Thursday.

I really have only a few photos from Thursday. After we arrived in Kutaisi we were led on a brief tour of the area where we're staying. It was a simply beautiful afternoon; sunny and cool - perfect for a nice, long walk.

The local fellow above was very nice to let me sit beside him for a photo - LOL. That's all until tomorrow!

Evening feast - it's called a supra

Before the evening feast, or supra, we went on a walking tour of the Old Town part of Tbilisi. It was raining. It was cold. It was almost miserable. LOL, but hey - no one wanted to waste any of our precious time here, so off we went. In the rain. And cold. OK - enough of that. The first thing we learned when we got out of the van was that you do not have to cross the street at a cross walk. It simply doesn't matter - they will run over you anyway. Consequently - people just cross where they want and there seens to be a great deal of "one-finger saluting" going on.  LOL - anyway, we arrived in Old Town and were greeted by these lovely textiles.

Textiles, I think rugs, in Old Town Tbilisi.

Signs in Old Town, Tbilisi

Just across the street from this was the most curious domed building. I was suprised and delighted to find out they are bath houses. The area is famous for the hot sulpher springs and these are still used today, I believe that's what our guide said. 

Right beside the little bath houses is this little space with a statue of a falcon. There is a legend that goes along with the falcon that is so much like the legend of the eagle on the cactus in Mexico that I was instantly struck by the story. The story goes like this: The founder of Tbilisi, the king at that time, was out hunting with his falcon one day and it disappeared. When he tracked it down it was in this beautiful place by the side of a river. However, the falcon and it's prey were both dead, boiled in the hot water. Nonetheless, the king was so struck by the beauty of the place that he built a palace here and later on called it his capital. This little statue is dedicated to that falcon.

We continued along our path, beside a stream, and the guide was telling us that all along the top of the ridge ahead and on the other side was the botanical gardens of Tbilisi. They are known for several sulpher springs that form waterfalls and we were headed to see the nicest of them. So, as we're walking I keep seeing these locks on the railings of the bridges we keep crossing. 

The story is actually quite charming: When couples decided that they are together for the long run they go to their favorite bridge and put a lock on the railing then throw the key into the river or stream. This symbolizes being together forever. Some of the locks are engraved with dates, initials, or names.

Then, we got to the waterfall and it was quite lovely. However, we were all getting quite wet and cold by this time so I don't think any of the group really appreciated how pretty it really was. 

We walked on around and down another street until we came to this friendly fellow.

Of course, there is a story behind this. At the Georgian feast, called a supra, there is one man who acts as a "Master of Ceremonies". His job is to keep the toasts, storys, drinks and food flowing. This man is known as the Tamada. This is the Tamada Man statue, with his never empty drinking horn. 

Finally, we made it to the restaurant for our own supra and our Georgian guide, who had kept us entertained, in the rain and cold all afternoon, acted as Tamada. The food looked wonderful and tasted oh so good. 

The appitizers - first of about 6 courses of food. 

Tarragon flavored lemonade. No, really - it's lemonade!!!

Georgian food is on FIRE!!!! LOL

That's all for now. Tomorrow is mostly meetings and a visit to one of the public schools in town. I'll write more and get caught up later. 

Travel, travel, travel and arrive

After more hours of travel than I care to think about any more our group arrived in Tbilisi. I always take some type of photo in the air for my grandson, so this is the one from my departure from DC.

I don't think there is much that is more exhausting that being confined on an airplane for too many hours, over night, and getting no sleep! We arrived in Tbilisi around 4 AM on Monday (remember, I left on Saturday morning) and were able to get through customs fairly quickly.

There is some sort of Youth Olympic thing going on here soon and there are signs every where. I decided that is was so nice of them to put up signs welcoming us to Tbilisi. LOL Typical American, right? 

So we arrive at the hotel - we're staying at the Radisson, right on the river that runs through the city. After too many hours on an airplane and too little sleep, we decide to take a nap and re-assemble at noon for lunch. 

Noon came and 8 of us arrived at our meeting place in the lobby. We started walking down the street and within two blocks we come across this:

Notice how the seats face each other - LOL. The big bike to no where. Our group kept walking for a bit more and we came to a curious little restaurant that, at first glance, looked a bit like a Hobbit hole!! The door (no pic, sorry!) looked like an over-sized round wine barrel. The interior was all woodsy and rustic. Loved it! OH - and the food was super as well. 

Interior of the restaurant - all the wood was just wonderful!

Cute carved chairs.

So, the waitress arrived with menus in Georgian. We were lost!!! They had two menus in English that we shared and we ended up ordering some wonderful, traditional Georgian food.

Kachupuri - traditional cheese bread served all over Georgia.

Kinkali - another very traditional food. This was awesome!!!! The filling was this savory ground pork YUMMY!

By the time we had eaten all this food I headed back to the hotel. I needed coffee and to catch up on email and communicate with my family. Later I'll post about the tour of the old part of Tbilisi and our big "Welcome" feast, called a supra, and what types of sights we saw.