Still here…still alive…survived the village, but blogging about it all hasn’t been too high on the priority list lately for what free time we have had. We’ll tell more about our village experience in our upcoming newsletter, but we will also share some of our experiences here.
During the month of May, we lived in the village of Bolnisi where we studied the language and practiced with our hostess Sveta. We learned many things about the Georgian culture and about how tough life can be with very little income, but we also learned how peaceful life can be far away from the hectic atmosphere of a big city like Tbilisi. Life was much more simple with no internet and no street noise from all the cars, trucks, and honking. We found ourselves looking forward to simple things going on in the village such as soccer games or a small concert, playing games or visiting friends. Overall, it was difficult not checking e-mail and being away from our normal life, but it was a great experience and language learning atmosphere.
The Georgian culture, much of which is based on relationships, was very evident in Bolnisi. With a population of about 4,000, it was larger than most villages but still had a village feel to it. Most of Sveta’s neighbors came by multiple times to visit, some came about every other day. This was great for us because we were able to talk to different people about different things to practice the language. They just stopped to talk and usually ended up having tea or coffee and cake. Sveta and her friends often played Nardi (Backgammon) and taught us to play too. One afternoon, Sveta’s relative stopped by and they ended up toasting each other and us many times with some very strong homemade vodka. We just smiled and thanked them for their toasts to peace, our family, and our many (future) children.
Sveta receives a pension of about $50 per month to live on. Therefore, her yard is her livelihood. Chickens, grape vines, fruit trees, and a full garden of vegetables filled her yard. Every day, Sveta was working in the garden and taking care of the chickens. While we were there, 14 new chicks hatched which almost tripled her flock! It was very interesting to see how she used almost everything for something, therefore producing very little trash.
The old iron, wood-burning stove outside that was used for making bread, khachapuri (cheese bread), and kartopiliani (potato bread) was a treat. We had a great time learning how to make these delicious staples with Sveta. Yes, we also enjoyed eating the finished products! She made enough to feed an army!
We were fortunate that Sveta had a washing machine and then we used a clothes’ line for drying our clothes. Our shower was an old tub in a building connected to the house. Again, we were fortunate to have hot water for showers even though the water was only on for a few hours in the morning and at night. For the first time in our lives, we used an outhouse every day for several weeks. Wade missed having a toilet to sit on more than he missed having internet access…just being honest here folks!
Our main reason for going was to improve our language skills. Thankfully, we both felt that they improved a lot during our time in Bolnisi. We’ve even received some compliments on our improvement (but still so far to go!). We enjoyed our time so much there that leaving turned out to be a difficult experience. Sveta now calls us her kids and leaving her to live alone again was hard. Plus, she fell down the stairs at the neighbor’s house and then we had to leave a bit earlier than expected so she could rest. But thankfully, she is recovering well! She is a strong, independent and spunky lady! We appreciate that she welcomed us into her home and her life.
Perhaps we will have a chance to share some of our other experiences soon. But currently, we are entertaining Megan’s parents who came to visit us in Georgia. It’s their first experience here and what a joy to share it with them! We’ll have to post some more about their visit too.
During the month of May, we lived in the village of Bolnisi where we studied the language and practiced with our hostess Sveta. We learned many things about the Georgian culture and about how tough life can be with very little income, but we also learned how peaceful life can be far away from the hectic atmosphere of a big city like Tbilisi. Life was much more simple with no internet and no street noise from all the cars, trucks, and honking. We found ourselves looking forward to simple things going on in the village such as soccer games or a small concert, playing games or visiting friends. Overall, it was difficult not checking e-mail and being away from our normal life, but it was a great experience and language learning atmosphere.
The Georgian culture, much of which is based on relationships, was very evident in Bolnisi. With a population of about 4,000, it was larger than most villages but still had a village feel to it. Most of Sveta’s neighbors came by multiple times to visit, some came about every other day. This was great for us because we were able to talk to different people about different things to practice the language. They just stopped to talk and usually ended up having tea or coffee and cake. Sveta and her friends often played Nardi (Backgammon) and taught us to play too. One afternoon, Sveta’s relative stopped by and they ended up toasting each other and us many times with some very strong homemade vodka. We just smiled and thanked them for their toasts to peace, our family, and our many (future) children.
Sveta receives a pension of about $50 per month to live on. Therefore, her yard is her livelihood. Chickens, grape vines, fruit trees, and a full garden of vegetables filled her yard. Every day, Sveta was working in the garden and taking care of the chickens. While we were there, 14 new chicks hatched which almost tripled her flock! It was very interesting to see how she used almost everything for something, therefore producing very little trash.
The old iron, wood-burning stove outside that was used for making bread, khachapuri (cheese bread), and kartopiliani (potato bread) was a treat. We had a great time learning how to make these delicious staples with Sveta. Yes, we also enjoyed eating the finished products! She made enough to feed an army!
We were fortunate that Sveta had a washing machine and then we used a clothes’ line for drying our clothes. Our shower was an old tub in a building connected to the house. Again, we were fortunate to have hot water for showers even though the water was only on for a few hours in the morning and at night. For the first time in our lives, we used an outhouse every day for several weeks. Wade missed having a toilet to sit on more than he missed having internet access…just being honest here folks!
Our main reason for going was to improve our language skills. Thankfully, we both felt that they improved a lot during our time in Bolnisi. We’ve even received some compliments on our improvement (but still so far to go!). We enjoyed our time so much there that leaving turned out to be a difficult experience. Sveta now calls us her kids and leaving her to live alone again was hard. Plus, she fell down the stairs at the neighbor’s house and then we had to leave a bit earlier than expected so she could rest. But thankfully, she is recovering well! She is a strong, independent and spunky lady! We appreciate that she welcomed us into her home and her life.
Perhaps we will have a chance to share some of our other experiences soon. But currently, we are entertaining Megan’s parents who came to visit us in Georgia. It’s their first experience here and what a joy to share it with them! We’ll have to post some more about their visit too.
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