And you thought I was not going to be in school while I was gone....

Today was truly an adventure that I was looking forward to.  We got to spend part of our day at a public school in Tbilisi.

We were greeted by students wearing traditional Georgian attire.  These are both tenth grade students.  We would see them dance later.

 Mrs. Westbrook's class--this are your age group of kids.  They have netbooks, but only one set for the entire school K-12.  They stand up whenever a teacher or adult enters the room.  What do you notice that is different about their classroom from yours?

 Alex was just beginning to work on an assignment from his teacher.  I'm not sure that the computers are wireless...the building didn't seem to have a great deal of technology.  In fact, in several rooms, the only lighting was two bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling.

Ms. Hittner, this is a fourth grade classroom.  They sit in neat rows but cannot keep anything in their desks.  What else do you see that is the same/different from your room?

 Another class sang us a song they had learned in music.  Is it familiar to anyone else?  They wanted to sing us about five more songs, but we had to move on to visit other places.

Gym class.  This is all they have for a gymnasium.  No lunch tables, no seating for watching games. The students were playing basketball and soccer.  There was supposed to be an outdoor soccer tournament, but it was raining/snowing there today, so they moved indoors.

 Both of these pictures are of the school cafeteria.  Most of the time, students bring a lunch and eat in their classrooms.  However, they can buy things at the school cafeteria...mostly junk food.  There is no "school lunch"  So, is that better or worse?

We saw these ladies dancing.  They seem to have acquired a monster.  Hmm..wonder where that came from...

Math anyone?  Math is the universal language!

After a delicious Georgian lunch, we headed to the Youth Palace for a meeting.  The Youth Palace was originally built for a Russian dignitary over 150 years ago.  Now it is being renovated, but part of it is called American Corner where teachers and children can go to find out more about America.

This is the mirrored ballroom, where they used to have formal dances over 100 years ago.  Can you see the stained glass and mirrors on the walls where the candlelight used to reflect the dancers?

More mirrors

This hallway is made of wood and leads to the ballroom.  Every floor is a wood parquet floor.

The now empty receiving hall.  Visitors would climb the red stairs to meet the Russian diplomats and others.  It is all marble and inlaid tiles.  

Another view of the grand ballroom.  Those chandeliers were filled at one time with hundreds of candles.

On our way back to our hotel, we wandered by the Georgian National Art Museum and managed to almost destroy a display of Georgian art in books (This is why we always tell you NOT to lean on things...we learned the hard way)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  We tried to celebrate here by going to a pub called The Dublin.  When I wished the waitress "Happy St. Patrick's Day!" she didn't know what I was talking about.  They also had no Irish food (no corned beef, the only potato was french fries) and didn't play any Irish music, mostly 80's tunes from America.

Hopefully, later, when I get a chance to upload, I'll show you the amazing dancing we saw today.  The dancers were incredible!

Tomorrow I'm going to the Embassy and a private school.  I wonder how different the private school will be.