Saying "Goodbye" doesn't mean forever...

Do you remember that last day of summer camp?  You know, the one filled with all of the group activities but a sense of melancholy that this was all ending just lingered in the background.  Everywhere you went, you had the feeling that this was the LAST time you were going to do this.  The last swim in the pool, the last campfire, the last sing-along, the last time you were going up this particularly hard hill on your hike.

Today felt like that to me.

Although we only arrived last Thursday, it seems like forever that we have been here.  I've become accustomed to the cobblestone streets, uneven under my feet,  but decorative and beautiful.  I've learned now to really look both ways when crossing the street, even a one-way street.  I can use the complicated stair structure at St. Andrews to find any room in the building.  I know when Mama Shoo plays with his beard, he is thinking a profound thought about the work they do here and I should listen. To quote Into the Woods "I know things now, many valuable things that I never knew before..."

Today was the last day that I would spend with these wonderful people.  The last time I would mime English words to help students understand "fat, fatter and fattest"  The last time I would be mobbed in the hallway for a hug or a picture with "the Americans," the last time I would hear the shy "hello" or "how are you" from students who had never used those words to communicate before, just knowing them as an academic exercise in a class.  So many lasts in a place that I experienced so many firsts.  My first true supra, my first time teaching students English when I was the one who needed to learn their language, my first experience in seeing REALLY old stuff, my first experience with traffic laws that seem to be optional, my first experience in finding a place without a map or GPS (it involves rolling down windows a lot and asking total strangers where to find something), my first visit to the Black Sea or a rocky beach.  So many firsts and so much still to learn.

Tonight we had a dinner with Mama Shoo and some teachers from the school at Nino's house (she is our host teacher) and it was delightful.  Full of laughter (especially about the sign in English downtown that says a restaurant will feed you, give you wine and "sleep with you" in its attached hotel), stories of childhood in an era gone by, stories of students(the universal language of teachers everywhere),  and toasts to everyone and anything we could think of.  It was like a hundred dinners I've attended over the years at friend's houses, during the holidays--people getting together to share their humanity, their stories, their lives.

So, although I have said "Goodbye" to these wonderful souls, it will not be forever.  They will live in my heart.  I have discovered one basic lesson during my time here in Batumi.  Although the Georgian people may not have as many computers or shining new classrooms or any of a million things we are so used to in American schools, they do have the most basic thing they need.  As one dinner guest said last night, "The one thing in life that is important is love."  Love, my dear friends, they certainly have in abundance.  And to quote an old song by the Carpenters, "Love will keep us together."

If not in body, certainly in mind.

And now on to the pictures!

These are of the docks at Batumi.  It is a major shipping port for Georgia and the sea is how many here make their livelihood.

This statue is of Ali and Nino, a famous pair in Georgian literature.  At night it lights up and the statues move apart and together.  Check out my picture below and then go to YouTube to find video of them moving.  Truly remarkable!

A very old church in the center of Batumi.  I would have taken pictures, but we were summoned to the bishop's house early..which kinda felt like being sent to the principal's office early...were we in trouble?  Turns out...no!

Here is the bishop's house.  We had a very nice reception with him where we discussed issues around schooling children.  He has beautiful art he has made in his house.  It is nice, but he used to live HERE!

Personally, I still think it is pretty...

A little political protest, anyone?

Monster needed a book!

I think this is an interesting English translation!

Kids are the same everywhere.  Here they do Socratic circles.  See, students, it isn't something we force you to do--it is someone EVERYONE gets to do!

Nino teaches class...she is an amazing teacher!

 Typical Georgian architecture

Typical Georgian architecture

Tomorrow, back to Tbilisi and then home on Saturday!

Teaching is hard work...

I don't have any great photos today or explanations of amazing places I went because, while I am in a completely amazing place, today took place in the same place most of my days occur...school.  Today was spent in doing what we came here to do...work with children and teachers and we certainly did a lot of that today.

First some reflections on how schools are different here.

1) There is no cafeteria.  Students have a fifteen minute break in the morning and they go outside to buy food from street vendors or have a snack from home.  They come at 9:00 in the morning, so no breakfast at school and they leave by 2 p.m., so no need for lunch.  It is definitely a space and time saver, but it seems weird to me to always be in class with no lunch time.

2)  Students don't move classrooms, the teacher does.  Teachers come in and out all day long but the students stay put.  There is no elementary teacher...the math teacher teaches elementary as well as secondary math, the science teacher teaches all grades of science and so on.  In addition, there are no special areas of the classroom, no room for reading groups or for individual work.  Teachers don't even have desks of their own anywhere.  The walls occasionally have posters up, but many do not and they are just blank walls.  And the students sit in rows.  No groups, no tables in squares but rows.

3)  Students attend the same school from 1-12 grade.  There is no elementary or secondary school.  It is all the same school.

4)  All students learn a foreign language (usually English) daily since first grade.  They are expected to learn another language, usually outside of school.

5)  Often music and art are taught after school in clubs.

6)  The teacher teaches from the front of class and is respected so much that all students rise when the teacher, or any adult, enters the room.  Hands are raised with two fingers and a bent arm to get the teacher's attention.

But teaching here, like teaching everywhere, is hard work. I taught a lesson on the deserts of America and Peter worked with students on both understanding English literature and how American education works.  This afternoon we headed to Batumi State University so Peter could explain trends in contemporary English literature to English philology students (Don't know what that is...look it up or ask someone!  That was one of the messages from his presentation)

This evening we were treated to a musical concert from the students.  They shared traditional Georgian song and dance.  I wish we had something as cool as that.  When the boys dance it is in imitation of fighting--I'm sure you'd enjoy it too.

 I'm exhausted and ready for bed so I'm headed there.

Hopefully, I will be able to share pictures of the school and classroom tomorrow.  Once again, the internet is being wonky.  Tomorrow I do my last lesson with students and Peter will teach a lesson on Harrison Bergeron.  Should be an exciting day...we get to meet with the patriarchal bishop.  One more day and then we head back to Tbilisi to prepare to go home...

Edited to add...here are the pictures!

All of the outside of St. Andrews

The school doesn't have a cafeteria so students go outside to this little bakery for a snack between classes.

Student music performances.  Can you tell which adult is the teacher by the way she is constantly addressing children while we are taking pictures?

The video is poor but the music is awesome.
And below my colleague Peter is presenting at Batumi State University.  He is a very well-read and intelligent person who I'm honored to know.

Back to work!

Finally, sun in Batumi.  It seemed like it would never come!

If this weekend was all about exploring the history of this country, today was all about teaching it and seeing the future.  I taught a Georgian classroom of second graders some English,  and was so wildly successful, they begged to have me back again on Wednesday.  I observed a 4th Grade English class on the concepts of "bad, worse, worst" and "good, better and best" and helped students learn.

The most interesting lesson I saw today was in a Georgian literature class.  The students had read a short story and discussed the meaning of a character's death--was it fate?  who was responsible? and then watched a video made from the short story during the Soviet Era where the story was turned around to follow a Soviet storyline--of the aristocrats being evil and responsible for bad things and the farmers/peasant people being good.  The students then analyzed the two stories and talked about the meanings.  They did a really good job of thinking through the process, or at least I think they did...I have no idea what they actually said as they said it in Georgian.  :)

I then went to work with the inclusion teacher, who really is just a special education teacher, as they don't include her at all.  She is the nicest teacher and her students wanted to show me what they have learned.  She has so many challenges with so few resources...I keep pondering what I know how to do that can help.

Lunch was with Mama Shoo, which is what they call the head of school.  Here he is with a portrait of him that one of the children made.  He is a driving force behind so much of what is happening at St. Andrews.  He even wanted to make the school accessible for students, so he got a lift out of an old truck and installed it in the school so kids with mobility issues could at least come to school (which isn't the case throughout Georgia)  He is held in extremely high regard by staff and students who are constantly being hugged or joked with or given a blessing.  He has been working with us closely on ways to improve the school.

Mama Shoo and Nino took us to visit an orphanage/children's home for youth who either don't have parents or whose parents cannot take care of them.  I have to say I was rather meh about going, but I have to say it is one of the most beautiful places, spiritually, mentally and emotionally I have ever been.  

It began with a drive up another mountain  one and a half lane road (did I tell you that they are absolutely insane drivers there?)and Mama Shoo jamming with the kids on electric guitar as they played various songs for us  (including "What a Wonderful World")  Then we toured the children's workshop which is...AMAZING!

 Look at the work they are doing on those looms.

 One child designs dresses.  Another group embellishes jewelry.  Another group makes the MOST amazing felting art I have ever seen!  These were professional level works.  They were training the children in these beautiful arts that might help them find jobs when they leave the orphanage/school.  Before we left, we were treated to another amazing Georgian dance, a fruit spread that was delicious and time to snuggle the babies and toddlers.  They thought we were very fun!

As we left, we looked at the new monastery and women's college they were building.  It looked a lot like the ruins we have seen lately, but it was certainly better.

We then headed further up a different mountain to see the Convent of the Holy Trinity.  It was truly a beautiful sight.  We actually got inside the convent/monastery where few people get to go just because MamaShoo was there and told them to let us in.  We also got to see the inside of the church and the new mosaic, the first new one in a Georgian Church in 300 years. Of course, it was being created by the mother superior who runs the orphanage and creates beautiful art there... View from the mountain.

 Batumi Below

This is where the Russians kept their guns when they occupied the fort as a garrison

View from the church over villages

The uber cool monastery that Mama Shoo got us into (hey, that rhymed!)

This is where the Russians kept watch over the town during occupation.  You can't see it but there are little gun slots in the front.

View from the super special secret balcony at the monastery.

The new icon

Our evening ended with a surprise visit from another Nebraskan.  Jessica is here on a Fullbright program teaching at the University.  It was nice to go out and talk to another American for the evening and she took us to a wonderful European restaurant that served a delicious chicken Caeser salad.

It's midnight here and I have to teach in the morning.  Sorry I've been behind on my posting but pictures are taking forever to upload.

Something Old, Something New...

Things in Georgia are old.  Really old.  In Nebraska, we think anything over 100 years old is a true antique.  In Georgia, it takes about 400 years for anyone to consider something old and worth paying attention to.  There is a reverence for history here that is unique and fascinating to me.  Georgia is a country that values its history and culture, almost above all else.  From the traditional supra (feast) and tamada (toastmaster) to the traditional foods that have held their own against the attempted import of American fast foods, Georgia knows culture is important, especially after all of the invasions and persecutions of its people over the last two thousand years. 

Contrast this sense of history and culture with the  desire the people here have shown to find out more about the American style of education.  As part of our work here in Batumi, we have been conducting teacher trainings (we even made regional tv!) where the teachers are begging to know more about how we educate.  The head of school at St. Andrew the First-Called school, where we have been working, is symbolic of this contradiction.  In his role as head of school, he wants to know how to change his school, how to update it to meet students’ needs.  He wants to be inclusive to all students (you should see the car wheelchair lift he reconfigured and installed in the front entry of the school so children with physical disabilities could attend).  He asked me to present on school change.  Yet, in moral and religious ways, he is insistent that the traditions are right and that change is not necessary. 

I have been pondering all of this as we traveled to visit historical sites over the last two days.  As we went, we saw so much evidence of the Soviet occupation (an ever-concerning threat), in the buildings that are empty and abandoned in the villages,  in the incredibly ugly apartment buildings, in the empty squares where statues of Lenin and Stalin used to stand.  You can’t just erase history so easily, but they are desperately trying in terms of improving schools from the Soviet era.  The staff at our school stayed for two extra hours Friday afternoon, wanting to know more about how to be better teachers.  Nobody complained, (well, at least not that I could understand) about attending and the whole event was voluntary.  Teachers are begging us to just “show me how”  to do this or that…truthfully, more showing than Peter and I could ever get to in the next three days.

This blend of old and new is going to be interesting.  What will happen here is both an open ended question and a fascinating case study in a culture that has existed for more than 2000 years.  I just hope we are helping them to see through another lens into the possibilities for their students.

Now, on to the travelogue! (please note that I am having problems uploading so some of the pictures have been deleted/are missing)

Down at the beach, there is this billboard...

The Black Sea beach isn't a sandy beach, but instead is full of multicolored rocks.  They are all shapes and sizes, worn smooth by the constant movement of water and waves.

While my colleagues Peter and Jared actually took a swim in the Black Sea, I only dipped a toe as it was EXCEPTIONALLY COLD!  In the summer, maybe.  We were otherwise bundled up in coats and long pants.

Jared and our host, Nino.  See how she is bundled up against the cold?

This is called the Devil's Eye.

There is a ferris wheel on the side of this hotel and a roller coaster goes around the outside of the hotel.  It is like Vegas around here (lots of casinos, too!)

I've got some big shoes to fill!

This mini-gym is on the beach.  I can't beat the view for a morning workout!

All around town are stray dogs.  You aren't supposed to pet them because they can be dangerous.  These two followed us on our trek around Batumi.  One of them reminds me of our old dog Zeus.

Various pictures of the seaside town of Batumi...

Interesting architecture...the designer was trying to build a building that reflected all of the eras of Georgian architecture.  What do you think?

These pictures are of Gonio, the oldest fortress in Georgia.  It is older than 2000 years old.

Burial place of St. Mathias

Archaeological dig

Ruins of Turkish bath

 Ancient wishing well.

(They opened up the fort just for us!)

The wishing tree--You write your wish on a ribbon and tie it to the tree and it will come true.

Below is a picture

from the Batumi Archaeological Museum.   It is in a former government building and they are beginning to really collect artifacts.

Note the headscarf...required for all women entering Georgian churches.