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.

Tbilisi Day One

After a short rest (about four hours), we decided to go  out and have some brunch.  On the way, though, we saw some familiar things...recognize any of this?

We had traditional food for lunch:  Khachapuri (Georgian: ხაჭაპური) which is Georgian Cheese Bread  and Khinkali which is a type of Georgian Dumpling filled with pork sausage and spices. 

After lunch, we took a tour of Old Tbilisi.  Some highlights

This statue represents the founding of Tbilisi.  Rumor has it that a king was hunting with his favorite falcon when it disappeared.  When they finally found the falcon, it was boiled alive in the warm springs of Tbilisi and he found the springs healing and started a hunting lodge there.  It's likely not true, but a fun story.  You can see the falcon here.

These are the roofs of the hot springs.  People say they have curative powers and pay lots of money to go and bathe in them.  They are sulfur hot springs so they do smell a bit.

This is the stream that leads to the hot springs and baths.  It isn't that hot but it does smell.

After the Russians conquered Georgia in the early 1920's, they got rid of all of the mosques in town.  This is the only surviving mosque's minaret.  And for those of you who are familiar with the divisions between Sunni and Shia, this is one of the few mosques where they worship together because there is no other mosque anywhere around.  If you don't know about why these two groups don't get along, ask a parent or your social studies teacher!

The spring that feeds the hot baths.

Locks on a bridge.  In a custom that is common in Europe, when you get married, you write your name on a lock and place it on a bridge.  As long as the lock stays there, you will be happily married.  Yeah, I don't exactly get it either....

Georgians are famous for their hospitality or taking care of others.  This statue represents the patron of hospitality.  Note he has a ram's horn in his right hand.  Traditionally, the Georgian host will drink wine from this horn as he entertains.  Guests may also drink from horns as well.  I'm not sure who that interloper in the brown jacket is, but the guy in the back is our project host through the state department who keeps us in line.  See, even teachers have to follow someone's directions.

History buffs:  This church is at the site of the prison where Josef Stalin was imprisoned and met several of the people who would eventually help him rule Russia (he was imprisoned for bank robbery)

This is the statue of the person really credited with founding Tbilisi.  Can you find out his name and what it has to do with wolves?

We had a traditional Georgian feast for dinner.  The floor beneath my feet, however, was clear, so you could see down four stories to a little garden.  Kinda weird, no?

The final picture before I go to bed tonight.  

This was the main course of a five course meal at our traditional Georgian feast.  Sturgeon, beef, chicken and pork were all ready to be roasted.  Sure beats school food!

Finally here!

Well, I'm finally here in Tbilisi.  It is 5:54 in the morning and we just got to our hotel.  It was an adventure getting here, that is for sure.  I left Omaha at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning and headed to Chicago, where I hung out waiting for some other teachers to join me.  We were supposed to fly to Washington, DC, meet the rest of the crew and then head to Munich.

Unfortunately, the airport in Washington lost power so we had to change plans and fly all night from Chicago to Munich (about 11 hours).  Here are some of the things we did in Munich yesterday/ today:

 I ate a traditional meal of  sausages and sauerkraut at one of the oldest restaurants in Munich.  It is mostly famous for where Hitler held many of his meetings and inspirational speeches.  We were interested to find out that all restrooms are marked WC (for water closet).

We also saw the Glockenspeil (I'll post those pictures later)


We saw St. Peter's church, the oldest church in Munich which was completely destroyed in December 1944 during World War 2.  They were saying Mass there, so we weren't allowed to take pictures.

We only had six hours in Munich before heading to the airport.  My monster friend courtesy of WMS Art was very popular at the Munich airport.

 This is my friend Turte (yes, that is her real name)  She works on a reservation in New Mexico.

 This is Kelli.  She teaches middle school social studies in Boston.  Apparently, there is a lot of snow there....

This is Anya.  She teaches students who don't speak English well in Brooklyn, New York.

This is the airport when I arrived. Already I'm loved!

Well, friends, I have a meeting in six hours and I have slept about six hours in the last three days so I am headed to bed. Tomorrow we take a tour of Old Tbilisi.  Anything you want to know?

Ready to Go!

I'm sitting in the airport in Omaha, ready for my flight to be called.  Apparently the entire marching band for Millard North is going to Orlando for a week so the place is crazy crowded.  It took me almost an hour to get through security.  Two young ladies behind me told me that the kids from Millard North were taking five flights throughout the morning to head to Florida plus they had to bus kids to Kansas City to catch flights there because there were no  more open seats from Omaha (apparently it was the percussion kids--poor misunderstood percussion kids)

It seems odd to think the next time I will be staying anywhere for a length of time is 5:00 Monday morning in Tbilisi, Georgia.  From here I head to Chicago, then to Washington DC and then to Munich.  After a layover in Munich, we head to Tbilisi.  When I get to Washington DC, I will reunite with the twelve other teachers who are going to Georgia with me--they are from all over the nation...from Brooklyn, NY (Hi, Anya!) to San Juan Capistrano, California (Hi, Pete!).

I'll try to update when I get to Munich and after we've had time to explore the city.  I hope you all are sleeping right now and enjoying the beginning of a beautiful weekend!

Less than a Week to Go...

It is hard to imagine that a week from today I'll be in Georgia, hanging out in the capital of Tbilisi.  The world around me will be changed, but the rest of you will be doing what you always do on a Monday morning.

I'm asking my students this week to do a bit of research about Georgia and find out some advice for me in traveling  and some questions I need to ask.  I'm excited to see what information they have for me.

The truth is, though, I will miss them.  They are some of the funniest, most creative and wonderful young people I have had the honor to know.  I will miss them reading aloud from Nothing But the Truth with silly accents and the fact they love to read that book.  I will miss our discussions over our daily ethical question--they are not afraid to share their opinions.  But most of all, I will miss them...in their squirrelly, middle-school way, they are becoming sone incredible people who are going to change the world.  Part of the reason I am taking this adventure is to lead by example.  If I, a middle-aged teacher (not as old as Narwin, though) who hasn't really been out of the United States can do this...what can they accomplish with their youth and enthusiasm?

I can't wait to see what is ahead for them and for me...

(and if you want to check out what my teaching partner is excited about...his blog is here and he's listed all of our events for our trip)

http://libguides.smes.org/content.php?pid=656363&sid=5437099

Home again, at least for a while....

This post didn't post apparently two weeks ago...I'm still new to this blogging thing...

It seems weird to be home again after the DC adventure.  And what an adventure it was....  Some wonderful highlights...

--Meeting my fellow Georgia travelers.  I am kind of in awe of the people they are--the experiences they have had and the perspectives on life that they have.  They are certainly the best of the best when it comes to teaching.
--I tried Ethiopian food!

There are no forks or spoons...Everything is eaten with a flat bread that you tear into pieces and use to pick up the food.  The texture was different--because you don't cut things, more is pureed.  The flavors were fantastic, though!

--I had extra time to visit the monuments in the snow--a rare occasion in the DC area.  Nobody was there and it was so peaceful to see the war memorials in the snow.  It made them seem more momentous than they usually 

 Walking along the reflecting pool made it feel like they were open just for us...

 You couldn't go up the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial...They were too slick!

 Turtle got some awesome pictures.

The Washington monument enclosed in snow.  It did get a little cold on the way back (we weren't exactly prepared for the weather!) so we hailed a cab, but it was certainly an incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I also had a little time at the Smithsonian due to my delayed flight home.  It was good to see DC but good to be home again.  Three weeks until our big trip!

A Quick Update

I know some of you have been checking this blog to see how things are going and I apologize for not updating more regularly (I will be doing better in Georgia).  Getting ready to go and trying to tie up lose ends both personally and professionally seems to be taking every extra moment of time.

I have a few updates to tell you about.  I found out that I will be going to Batumi, which is located on the Black Sea.  My host teacher, Nino, has set us up in a wonderful hotel (the wonderfully named Hotel Elegant) and I am blessed to have as my traveling companion Pete Clark, a high school English teacher from San Juan Capistrano, California.  Pete has amazing international experience and I am very much looking forward to learning from him as we go on this adventure.

It is a bit over a week until we leave and it seems like it will never come and that it will be here in just a few moments.  Time both slows down and speeds up at incredible rates.

I will take some time this weekend, after all of the birthday parties, to give some updates on our plans, where we are going and how we are planning on learning about the country of Georgia.