Around the World with A Book In My Hand: 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...