NGO Stuff

I received a couple of emails about what I am doing at the NGO right now besides training, so I will talk about what I am learning about the social and political situation about the town and ROG from my NGO. I work at an established and well known NGO in Khasuri, ROG, and globally that specializes in information gathering and distribution, training centers, gender equality, environmental rights, human rights, and the betterment of Khasuri. Yup, they concentrate on that many issues. First, let me give a brief explanation of the situation on NGOs in ROG.

I have heard a lot of numbers being thrown around on the number of NGOs in ROG. Our old NGO program director told us that there is a little over 5000 NGOs in ROG, and the population of ROG is about 5 million. That is a lot of NGOs serving a small area and population. The NGO sector is often referred to as the “third sector,” business and government being the first and second, and has the open support of the ROG government in sustaining the third sector. Over the past decade there has been a large influx of international donors to ROG because it is seen as an area where development is possible. What happened, though, is that with the unemployment rate so high (70% for Khasuri and my host-mom told me about 60% for ROG) NGOs became a great place to receive grants, and therefore salaries. It is also very easy for a person to start up an NGO, and oftentimes one person might have 4-5 NGOs. Another problem with NGOs in ROG is that there are so many NGOs doing the same thing, and since other NGOs are seen as competition there is little to no networking going on in the third sector. Most people working in NGOs are highly educated and professional, and I definitely have gotten this vibe so far at the NGO I am currently working at. Ok, that is what I have gathered so far from talking to my director head at the NGO I work at right now.

I know that it has only been two weeks, but I have already learned a lot about NGO (nonprofits), different ways to analyze situations that seem hopeless, and have been introduced to new ways to think about issues for these organizations. It also helps that I am surrounded by highly knowledgeable, competent, and driven people that help facilitate the learning process.

For example, my NGO group did a community map and then did a very bare-minimum pairwise matrix. This is a way to essentially rank the problems of a city/country/any situation, and even though it was a very quick observatory pairwise matrix, it took us about 2 hours to come up with the top 8 issues that we saw on the surface of Khasuri. I have never seen anything quite like this. The different perspectives that people brought up were, of course, fascinating, but more than that I was surprised by how the matrix that the PCTs made and the matrix that the NGO workers and directors made were so similar. This is the session where I learned the myriad of social problems that face Khasuri—and probably a lot of ROG. The problems range from an unemployment rate of 65%-70% (remember the US has a historical rate of 6%), gender equality and human rights issues, nonexistent infrastructure (plumbing, sewage, roads, you name it and it doesn't exist), struggling budgets of local governments, among other things. During our tea/coffee break one of the translators were talking about the people that were working purely to just eat. A couple of cases had it so bad that they sold their children to wealthier families that wanted to adopt children. To me (and I hope to everyone), I cannot even imagine a situation where if the parents didn't sell the children they would starve—it is so sad. As one person in my group stated, “it seems so…hopeless. Where do we even start?” The difficult thing, in my mind, is that these problems cause even more problems and it seems like a domino effect. For example, the incredibly high unemployment rate causes higher crime because people need money to survive, and with high unemployment the government cant collect taxes to fix the roads, help with unemployment (in that Keynesian economic sense), and provide necessary social services among other things.

As a side note, I’d just like to tell you guys that there is a joke among PCTs about the roads.

Me: “I went off-roading yesterday.”
K: “oh, where did you guys go, in the mountains?”
Me: “no, my host-family just took me for a drive.”

-Roads in villages and even in cities are plagued with holes everywhere. The pavement isn’t even, and the road is literally nonexistent in some areas. I had to, at one point, get out of a car because the road had been swallowed by a small creek and the car needed to speed through it.

Ok, back to the dire situation. The situation here is very bad, but from what I have seen so far the ultra close-knit families and neighbors all look after each other. Kids still go to school, and even though the toilets are scarier than any nightmare I have ever had, they seem to be learning and are very inspired and determined to help ROG grow. I met some of my host-brother’s friends today and went with them to the park to hang out. Just to mention quickly, even though my host-brother looks VERY young, his friends, who are all about 16, all look like they are 30—no joke. Anyway, I was asked about what I thought about ROG. I said it was beautiful and that I was very happy to be here, but when I said that they gave me a look of disbelief. “Why would you leave your home and your family for two-years?” was what they wanted to know. I said I was eager to see ROG grow and help in anyway that I could, and I was hugged by a lot of them. One of them said, “I know that it is very uncomfortable to live in right now. No running water for some, no electricity for others, but the situation will get better and I want to help ROG grow.” Good, me too. Talking to my host-brother’s friends, I realized a lot of things that I didn't see before talking to adults. ROG is VERY proud of its history, its culture is soaked in tradition that will not change easily (and it shouldn't have to), and the people (adult and youth) are desperate and eager for development and change. I really hope I can provide the change in some way.

So back to what one of the volunteers said, “it seems so…hopeless. Where do we even start?” Well, anywhere and everywhere. If a situation pops up, help out in any capacity that you can. Sure it is hard to stay motivated and even more difficult to not feel overwhelmed by the problems here, but if the people here are willing and able to help facilitate change, then I am more than happy to be here and try to share my knowledge (whatever that may be) in order to help. It’s superhero work, and as any superhero would do when faced with adversaries, you just have to suck it up, look at them in the face, and be so awesome that they are scared by your awesomeness (I hope that I am just that awesome).

So, I just want everyone to know that I am training to be just that awesome. I’m honing my skills everyday to find out what my real superhero power is so I can beat at least one adversary while I am here. All I know is that I’m here by invitation, and I’m not going to insult my hosts by not doing anything.

Holla~!

News Magazines

Hey, if anyone can do this...

i feel VERY detached from the world right now because i do not have a regular chance to surf the web and read news websites and things. also, the news channels here in ROG tend to be in...guess what, georgia...so i dont understand a word of it. anyway, if anyone can send me newsweek, time, economist, or anything news related i would VERY much appreciate it! ok, thanks!

yuta

-->address is on an earlier post.

PCT and Adrenaline filled Morning Runs

My first week at my training site has just ended, and I am SO happy about the thought of a break after two weeks of constantly moving from country-to-country, village-to-village, classes, meetings, briefings, and constantly being told to eat and then eating. I don't know if it relates to something Sumiko told me before about how “corporate” meetings and what not are so long and draining that the only way to keep everyone awake is to keep feeding everybody—I think this is the case with PCT even though the events are very engaging. The briefings, meetings, and other events are really informative, but it definitely makes it hard when you have 4 hours of language in the morning, then 3-4 hours of stuff (NGO stuff for the same volunteers as me and TEFL for the other volunteers) later in the afternoon. Cake, tea, coffee, snacks, huge lunches, etc., the mantra so far has been “eat-eat-eat.” I know what you are thinking—just don't eat the food. To be honest, though, if I’m not constantly stuffing my face, there is a slight chance that I might tune out for a minute and miss something important, and I think eating and paying attention is far more beneficial for me in the future. Not that the food is bad, the food has been good, but I haven’t had much time to work out so I am a little worried about that. An interesting thing that I heard during our security briefing was from a current volunteer here in ROG. The meeting was about security and safety in ROG, and we learned that ROG is ranked critical in terms of crime (this information can be found on the CIA world list or something. On a unrelated note, I think the high crime rate can be directly correlated with the unemployment rate here, something I will get into later on in this entry). Anyway, a couple of PCVs were invited to this meeting to talk about their various experiences (and one person who has not had anything happen to him yet) to give us an idea of how things might be for us. So one PCV was on a bus from Tbilisi to Poti—a town on the west side of ROG right on the Black Sea—and once her marshutka (minibus that is the main mode of transportation) was in a really remote area two men put on ski masks and hijacked the bus. No one was hurt, all their things were taken, and they were all ok in the end, but the thing I found interesting was that the hijacker Georgians were very polite, hospitable, friendly, and nice during the hijacking to the PCV because she was a guest to the country and they apparently loved Americans. The hijackers told her that they have been unemployed, and had applied to work for NGOs, but with the current unemployment rate it was near impossible to find a job—now with their hijacking record I think it will definitely be impossible. They took her wine, opened it, and as is Georgian tradition, toasted to her for being here in ROG doing good works—good for them. Also as a “gift” to her they gave back her credit cards and passport, and this all happened with her tied up with package tape—cool, huh? Anyway, apparently the westside of ROG is unstable and politically active than the eastside, and there are also other differences from the east and west that I found to be pretty entertaining. It’s kind of like how it is in the US right? People in NYC are so uptight, on the go, and all that stuff, and people on the Westside are all laidback, healthy, and happy apparently. All stereotypes, but I think it is funny how these things come up. Anyway, moving on.

I’ve learned a couple of things about my job and PC policies during the past few days. All the PCTs are still under evaluation, so there is a chance if I don't learn the language well (my LCF has informed me today that I am doing extremely well though—yay!) or if I don't meet the main competencies of a PC NGO volunteer that I will be going back to Georgia—boo. Pressures on, but it seems that all the PCTs find it hard to find time to study because everyday everyone’s schedule is packed. We are all at school from 9am-12:30pm for language, then an hour for lunch (my favorite part of the day because in Khasuri we get to get together with the TEFL trainees and we go to this house where a lady makes us lunch everyday. Apparently there is only one “restaurant” in Khasuri. so PC found this lady willing to make us all a huge and delicious lunch everyday—think supra), 3-4 hours of work/training at the NGO office we work at, and then I get to go home. Once I’m home, however, I go change and I am immediately told to “chame chame” (eat-eat), so I go downstairs and eat the meal that the housekeeper made for us. Usually it is just me and my host-brother eating dinner together because the host mom and dad are always working, but sometimes my deda da mama (host mom and dad) or friends/family members of the family join in on the dinner . After this some more family member drop in to meet me, and it is followed by about 2 or more hours of conversation (me trying to speak Georgian, and them speaking incredibly fast Georgian where I just nod), and then I am told that it is time for tea. “chai/qava? (tea/coffee?),” is what I am asked, and when I insist that I am tired and I need to go do some reading and homework they tell me to wait another 20 minutes. This then ends up with me being downstairs talking until around 10:30pm. It is great meeting all the family members and trying to speak Georgian, but I’m afraid that I wont get to do all my work. I felt a little better when yesterday at the community meeting (this is when all the PCTs come together just for Friday,, and it is held here in Khasuri) I was told that this was the case with everyone.

A surprising thing that has happened since I arrived to ROG is the time of day I wake up every morning. I used to always wake up around noon—ok, maybe around 2pm—but now I tend to wake up more around 6am-ish. It really isn’t by choice, but it definitely has been happening everyday. This is how it all goes down, for those of you who are interested in my sleep patterns (and I know all of you are). I am finding myself going to bed around 10-11pm every night because I am so beat by the time I get home (my schedule is noted above). I didn't think the transition to waking up so early would be so quick, but I guess after traveling for three days and going through eight time zones, it messes up your internal clock so you just start automatically waking up. I think it also has to do with the roosters and dogs that starting going ape-shit at around 4am, and also that the sunrise here is about 5am. So I eventually curse at the dogs and roosters that won’t shut up, and I decide to wake up at about 6am and find a way to waste a couple of hours before I have to go to school at 9am.

I know what you are thinking—What do you do with 3 hours to spare? I go running of course. The weather is always pretty cool and breezy, and there is always the fresh scent of cow manure wherever I am going so it can be a love-hate relationship. The scenery, however, is beautiful to say the least. Since I live off of a main road leaving town (the road goes to Borjormi—a national park is located there and is apparently amazing), I run along this road that is lined with the same kind of tree all the way down. To my left and right are fields of wild flowers, strawberry fields, little creeks, little cottages, and ancient churches—really, it’s beautiful. The clouds are sometimes low enough that they are touching the mountains, and the air is so crisp that it feels like the sun shines every brighter than it does back home. (be jealous that I am surrounded by this natural beauty because I am jealous of your high water pressure showers, fabric softeners, and other amenities that are not essential for basic living—jk) I will take a picture sometime and post it when I have faster internet access somewhere. With every positive thing, though, there is always something negative that has to happen—I like to think that it’s the universe trying to balance things out. Every morning on my run, I run with the fear that rabid, stray dogs will attack me. ROG is known for its problem with stray dogs (as a testament to this the very first thing when I arrived in Tbilisi at 2am were stray dogs on the runway—if I had flown delta this probably wouldn't have been the case. jk), and Khasuri is no exception. During PST we were told that if we pick up rocks, or even motion to pretend to pick up rocks, the dogs would notice this motion and get scared and flee—not so. On my very first run I was enjoying the scenery, breathing in the fresh scent of cow manure (yum), and dodging sheep when I made eye contact with a stray dog. “Ok, be cool Yuta. You are a superhero and this dog is just trying to play mind games with you—be cool,” is what was going through my mind, but as soon as I ran past the dog it completely lost it and started running at me with its bright, shiny, and, I have to confess, Jaws-like teeth. In the bright early sunshine I think they looked like they might have been encrusted with diamonds so they could cut my flesh with better efficiency—maybe it was just me losing it at that point though. Not only was this dog going crazy, he brought his friend and thug-in-crime with him to chase me for a good 100m. This is the break down of what happened:

-Dog A comes full speed at me (distance between the dog and me—16 yards)
-Dog B joins Dog A to kill me (distance between the dogs and me—15 yards)
-I pretend to grab a stone to throw (distance between the dogs and me—14 yards)
-Realizing the dog did not flinch, and also realizing I lost at the game of chicken, I really do grab a stone to throw (distance between the dog and me—12 yards)
-I throw the stone (distance between the dogs and me—11 yards)
-Stones land about 2 yards from where the dogs really are, and I mentally confirm that the dogs either are still too far away to hit, that stones were just too small to throw accurately, or the dogs have some superhero-like deflective shield—my aim is perfect (distance between the dogs and me—9 yards)
-I scream like a girl and run like hell (distance between the dogs and me—1 yard and increasing)

This is pretty much my routine in the mornings so far, and I think it will be like this unless it rains. It is good that I have all this time in the morning to run because I have been eating breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything inbetween. Like I said, they just keep feeding us….oh, and my host-brother just came in (it is now 11:02pm) and informed me that they are about to have tea/coffee and pizza. Seriously, they are always feeding me, and it is impossible to get them to realize that I cannot eat my own body weight worth of food.

Until next time, nakhvamdis!

-Email me on what has been going on in the world, in your life, or anything interesting/funny that has happened. I am desperate for some outside news.

quickie

Today was like the first day of school. Everything I saw was new, exciting, scary, and sometimes even frightening. From the fighting dogs and screaming rooster in the morning to the atrocious school toilets, today was filled with bizarre adventures.

But before I get into all that let me preface this by a quick introduction of my host family. Since most of my host family is currently MIA in the capitol, today was spent mainly with my host mom. My host mom, who I will call “T,” is married to my host dad, who I will call, “J.” They have three children, two of whom live in Tbilisi, named “TA,” “E,” and “D.” I have only met D and T so far. Today after “talking” (which was really just a lot of hand gestures, smiling, and drawing) to T for about 5 hours, I found out some more information about my host family. Yesterday during dinner there was a deluge of people coming in to see me (the strange and scary American apparently), and I wasn't sure who was family and who was not. It was difficult to differentiate who was family and who wasn’t because I only had two days of language lessons before yesterday. Now, with three lesson under my belt, my understanding of the Georgian language has improved exponentially—not really—and I cleared up a lot of things that I didn't understand yesterday—really. I finally figured out what they do for a living, and, from what I understand, they own the shop next door which sells everything from homemade furniture, wallpaper, toilets, pots and pans, ice cream, little trinkets, all the way to light fixtures. T is also a director of a dance studio, which explains why the kids can all dance the traditional Georgian dance, and she is also currently building a hair salon. This explains many things that didn't make sense. For instance, three of the people that came by last night for dinner were, in fact, workers at her store and not family members. One of the workers who said she was 18 said she was married, but she pointed to the direction of the shop and I thought she pointed to a 55 year old man, so I was really confused as to why a person of her age would marry someone that old. Today I found out that the 18 year old (I still don't know her name and I think I’ve missed the window of opportunity to ask) is married to another worker at the store who makes furniture—he is 20. The fact that they own this store also explains why they own a washing machine, two ceramic toilets with plumbing, and two showers. Another thing that I found fascinating was that my host dad built this house and the store. The incredible thing to me is that it has apparently been 15 years since they started living in this house and it is still under construction—talk about dedication. The house is incredibly nice, and I feel so honored to live in such a humble abode.

This morning I woke up at around 4AM to the sound of dogs fighting outside and a rooster being murdered (no, just kidding. It sure sounded like it though). I tried to go back to bed for the next 4 hours, but the dogs kept fighting and the rooster kept on getting murdered. Yes, roosters can die more than once in ROG. If this ritual persists I will become a morning person—something that I never thought would happen. I went downstairs to take a shower, but my host mom kept telling me something about not enough time for a shower because you have to pump the water form the well to the water heater (which is heated by a wood stove), so I gave up and just washed my face, brushed my teeth, and shaved with cold water. It hurt. (as a side note, I also learned later that I will not be taking showers in the morning here because my host mom thinks that if I shower in the morning I will get sick because it is “cold” outside in the morning. ROG is slowly changing my ways). Since today was my first day of classes at the local school (we have a classroom to ourselves for the duration of PST) my host mom had to walk me to class. The schools here are in desperate need of upgrades. The floors, stairs, walls, ceilings are all uneven and falling apart, and the toilets are outside outhouses and I am convinced that they must violate about 200 public health codes. Another interesting thing that kept happening was the curiosity of the school children. They all saw us going into the one room, and during their recess all of them would come to the door and try to open it to say hi. This was very cute for the first 50 times, but then our LCF (language and culture facilitator) locked the door shut, and the night of the living dead started. They came to the door with hopes of catching a glimpse of the Americans, and when they found that the door was locked they started kicking the door frantically. I have to admit I’ve never felt so scared of 8 year olds in my life.

Anyway, four hours of language training later we went to meet up our fellow volunteers in the town (they split up the English and NGO group) for lunch. We learned that lunch for the next 9 weeks would be at this house where the PC has hired a local lady to cook lunch for us because there are apparently no good restaurants in the city of Khasuri. To get there we had to cross a wire rickety wire bridge, go under a shady railway, and cross a huge intersection (remember, no pedestrian rights). Everyday looks to be an adventure. The lunch was good, and it was nice to compare notes with everyone else about host families, weird experiences, and interesting happenings.

One very interesting thing that I found out today from another PCV was that one of the education PCVs had a big surprise waiting at her host family’s house last night. Apparently her host aunt just passed away, and when she first arrived at her host family house the corpse was sitting on the kitchen table for a wake. So, as one PCV put it, “she got there and it was like ‘oh, hello, it’s the aunt.” The aunt laid there the rest of the night, and supposedly the embalming liquid smelled so bad that they all had to sleep with the windows open that night. Cuh-cuh-cuh-crazy.

Afterwards we split up again and my group (NGO) met our NGO that we will be working with for the next 9 weeks. The facility was surprisingly good, and the organization was really well organized. Honestly, I don't see what exactly we can do to help besides network and schmooze with foreign organizations to get more money. After getting to know everyone there (they are all very professional and smart people), all of our host family members picked us up. It was exactly like the first day of school. I even ended the work day by saying “see you guys tomorrow! ::waves::”

Something that I realized today was how good I (you guys) had it back at home. I used to think that the toilets at the schools that I went to were absolutely disgusting, and I even vowed that I would never use them. After seeing the crappers they have here, though, I am now VERY appreciative of the taxes that everyone pays for “clean” public restroom toilets and all the amenities like toilet paper, a toilet that flushes, toilet seats, and janitors. In fact, the taxes that everyone pays for keeping roads in good condition, electricity that runs, nice government buildings, sidewalks free of horse dung, payment of public officials (police officers, etc.) are ALL worth it. Rules/the law is also a good thing. ROG is notorious for being a place that has absolutely NO traffic laws. My host mom picked me up from work today and drove me home, and put simply, I thought I was going to die. I also thought I was going to die walking to class today. Pedestrians do not have the right of way, cars drive on the wrong side of the road without any hesitation, and apparently if a car hits you it is your fault. In all honesty, though, I am really glad that I am in ROG right now. Some things are hard to swallow, but even just one week here has opened my eyes about the clear inequalities and differences that the world has. America has it SO good, and it is really amazing to think that there is such a huge difference. Still, people here are very happy, families are incredibly close, and they even take vacations to the beach and mountains. Lesson learned today: you don't need all the luxuries to be happy—I thought I’d never say that.

Anyway, I think this is what my everyday life will be like for the next nine weeks. Sorry for the long posts, I know that posting pictures is easier and a lot more interesting, but it is hard to upload anything right now because the NGO only has dial-up. Another PCV and friend, Kevin, told me that there is an Internet café in Khasuri that was set up by the American embassy, and that Americans can use it for free. I will go check that out either tomorrow or this weekend.

Interesting things that happened today:
-I found a popular laundry detergent that is called—no joke—BARF.
-I got to pet a cow
-I got to eat the ROG equivalent of a bean quesadilla—very good.
-I got to eat wild strawberries and they were delicious (you can get a bucket of strawberries here for about 25 cents! You organic freaks would be paying up the wazoo for this stuff)
-I was told to not go running outside because I might get run over by a car
-Two PC staff members told me that I looked so familiar that I must have been in a movie or been a model. How flattering!
-Got incredibly excited that even after one extra day of language lessons I was able to communicate more effectively than yesterday.
-I got my water filter to work, but I think I got a used one so I don't know whether or not to use it or not. Safe or unsafe, what do you think?

Ok, until next time, PEACE out!

Khasuri

A lot has happened in the last few days. I was placed to my training site—khasuri—which is the hub center for the training area. The placement of our training site was a little nerve racking. They line every up and call out your name one by one to which city you are going to train in. I, however, was second to last to be called up, and it felt like elementary school where you are getting picked for teams. (of course, I was always first in the picking—seriously, I was) in the end, though, everything came out alright and I am glad I got Khasuri. The people in my group are all great, and from what I gather, Khasuri is a nice place.

During the entire calling of the names event, I was very nervous about a couple of things. I wanted a hygienic place where there wasn't a high instance ruralness. I was also very nervous because we had this whole segment on diarrhea and hygiene, and it seemed like there was a high instance where PCV’s get some type of bacterial, viral, or some other disease. The health advisor said that 90% of PCV’s in Georgia get diarrhea at some point in their service, so I’m hoping to be in the 10% that doesn't suffer some serious bout of diarrhea. Anyway, enough about bowel movements—moving on.

Apparently 25% of the population of ROG has hepatitis (not sure which kind), and so we were told not to drink the tap water—ever. This is all good, but it is difficult to brush my teeth, rinse, rinse my toothbrush, and do all that with a small amount of water. Yes, this superhero is roughing it a little bit. PC issued all of us water filters, but this has put me in an awkward position. Since my Georgian language skills right now consists of two days of classes I cant express lots of things. I know how to say “I am an american PC volunteer,” “I like music,” “I can’t eat dairy,” and also can only count up to 5. It is a hard language, but I hope to master it soon. Anyway back to the water situation. When my host mom saw me at dinner tonight with my bottled water she excitedly pointed to the well outside and told me that I could fill it up and that the water was “kargia” (Georgian for “good”). I believe her that the water must taste lovely, but I don't want to risk getting hepatitis since I haven’t gotten my vaccine for that yet—my first shot for that is this Friday. So the dilemma is how do I tell her politely with my limited Georgian that I cannot drink the water from the well yet. Blah, I feel like a newborn not knowing the slightest bit of Georgian.

So here is how today went. After going to breakfast (yes, I’ve been eating three meals a day of, from what I am told is, russian cafeteria food. Basically it consists of potatoes, meat, cabbage, and lots and lots of bread) we had our security meeting on what to do if there was a natural disaster, social revolution, or anything that might endanger us. Afterwards we had an hour and a half to pack, but since I was done packing already I went on a run. After getting back it was the big moment of finding out whom our host family was going to be. I think PC has this policy where it seems that a lot of things are on a “need to know” basis, but this might just be me being too anxious to find out all the information I can. When I got my information sheet I noticed that it said “apartment” with a six-person family and one dog living in it. The sheet also said that there was one dog, and had some other information such as name and age of every family member. To my surprise when I finally met my host mom who came to pick me up, with the limited language skills that we both had we figured out that there were only 3 people currently living in the apartment. When I arrived I learned more about the apartment I was going to stay in for the next 9 weeks. Not only was the apartment not really an apartment but a house, but it also had TWO western style toilets, a washing machine, and a ceramic shower—SCORE! The place even has a constant flow of electricity, I think I am in Georgian heaven—all the beauty without lacking in many amenities. All the PCVs were laughing at me when we were talking about our desired host families because I was desperately praying and hoping that I would get a place with a western style toilet and bath, but I think it is safe to say that I came out on top this round! HOLLA! A really cool thing about my host family’s house so far that I have seen are the grape vines outside which are used to make homemade wine. Now, it is against PC policy to drink, but it is really cool that they make their own wine, and my host brother showed me where they keep it in the basement. It is literally in these huge drum cans and giant glass bottles. They also can their own vegetables, but I was advised never to eat home canned vegetables because there is a high instance of bacteria and other stuff I can get from eating home canned vegetables. Boo.

My host mom is a very pretty lady probably in her mid-40s, and my host brother is a very, very, very young looking 17 year old. I misunderstood him when he told me his age and thought he said 11, which I can definitely see, but later on he wrote down his age and I was shocked. This kid really looks 11—no joke. I thought for a second that maybe he has a parasite (first nature to think that now because of my health information sessions), but I don't think that is necessarily the case. My host dad right now is in Tbilisi so I think I will get to see him tomorrow. I haven’t met my host sister and other host brother because they live in Tbilisi. I think we’re going to make a weekend excursion there sometime to meet them, and I’m very excited about the prospect of going to the capitol to sight-see and have a good day of fun.

The way I think about a couple of things has now changed. For example, my host family has three dogs (even though it said one dog on my information sheet), and usually I’d be ecstatic to be able to pet dogs and play with them, but since getting my rabies vaccine (which really doesn't make me immune, just slows down the process) I am hesitant to get near any animal. Also, I am paranoid about the tap water and any fresh vegetable that may have been bought at the bazaar because it might contain unknown bacteria. So I’m thinking that these health information sessions have either made me into a hypochondriac of sorts or a very cautious and even more health conscious person. Anyway, all is well here and the weather is beautiful as usual so I cant complain. As Georgians would say “kargi amindie!”

Here is a list of things I wish would come true:

-dry cleaning near my host family house
-central heating/air
-hot water that comes out fast
-for me to learn Georgian quickly
-to have one day where I didn't have to be up from 8-midnight (today I woke up at 4AM because of jetlag and I’m still going like an energizer bunny)
-smaller, softer pillows
-tap water I could drink
-dove soup
-wireless internet at home…or anywhere for that matter
-increased knowledge of how to be useful for an NGO (still in training for this)


anyway, I am very happy with my first host family, and I look forward to living with them for 9 weeks. ok, so so tired so I’ll leave it at this for now. More later on how my language skills are hopefully improving. Write me mail, email me, or do both!

Likanshiiii

I’d first like to start off this journal by talking about my running experience that I just had since it is still fresh in my mind. This was the second time that I have been running in the last couple of days, partly because I have been busy, but also because I have been very busy with traveling and getting adjusted to the time, weather, and sleep pattern that is Georgia. Yesterday I got a lot of stares while I was out running, and I think it is because of my flashy nikes and because I am probably the only asian person that these people have seen in their lives. I was told by my LCF (language and culture facilitator) that if an asian person were to be here they would either be a Japanese tourist—although they tend to gather only in the capitol—or refugees from other countries like Uzbekistan. So I’m guessing that seeing me go on a run they thought that I was a refugee because we are far from the capitol—cool huh? Yuta “refugee” Masuda. I like the sound of that. I was talking to Eve—another PCT in my group who has been out running—about this problem with people staring, but she seems to have it much worse. Women apparently do not go out and exercise that often, and they also are not seen in shorts or sports bras, so Eve, being the culturally sensitive girl that she is, braved in the heat wearing long sleeves and long sports pants. Eve, you are a brave woman. Today was also her second day running and she said that she said “screw it” to the cultural sensitivity and ran in shorts and a t-shirt, and today she said that she got stares, finger pointing, and giggles. I don't know if it was because I had my mp3 player blasting, but I did not hear any giggling at me so I think I still have it better than her for now. Also, another interesting thing that happened on my run was I found a cool little trail that leads to this clearing in the woods where the river opens up to this valley, and the sight is so beautiful because the mountains just soar from there in the background. The sky is crystal clear, the air is crisp, and there is a little miniature vineyard in the background—this Georgia is really beautiful. I also ran past the presidential summerhouse today and ran past two men carrying machine guns—they waved friendly at me.

Today was my first day of language classes, and I am glad to say that I am pretty comfortable with the language so far. I don't want to get too far ahead, not only because we only learned how to introduce ourselves and because I know that once I am with my host family my confidence in the language will diminish within the first 30 seconds of conversation, but if it keeps up like this I think I will be somewhat O-K in a year. Gamarjoba! Me var AmeriKeli, tkven?! (translation: Hello! I am an American, you?!) Crazy, huh? My name has also now been changed to OoTa. This is because they don't have a “y” sound in their language so I have been left with only the U-T-A. Some people in the group had to add “ee” to their names because names cannot end in consonants. For example, a guy named Shane in our group now has the name Shaney—like a girl. A guy in my group named Amil now has the name Amelie, and he commented that he “always wanted a name of a hot French girl.” I am glad his dream came true.

I find out tomorrow where my training site will be. I really hope that it will be in Gori because it is a University town—and also the biggest city of the training sites—but I suppose I will be happy with whatever I get. I think the Georgian Soccer team is here training at our compound where we are staying, and I have talked to a couple of them (well, attempted to talk) and they seem like very nice people. I wish I knew where they practiced so I could go and see, but the funny thing is I’m pretty sure that there is not a soccer field on this compound. Also, a little bit on the food I have been eating here. It has been very starch, carb, and meat heavy. I haven’t had much in terms of vegetables. They also serve these interestingly luke warm drinks during our meals, but they have been a little bit bland—and also sometimes gelatinous—so I haven’t really had much of that. The vegetarians are definitely having a hard time here because there is not much selection at this point, but my LCF and other PC people told me that the meals they serve here is more Russian food than Georgian food. I’m looking forward to the host family Georgian food, but I’m still hoping that it will be light on the dairy. As a side note, I’d like to say that we had a lesson on diarrhea right before lunch; the power point had bathroom sound effects and made it very graphic but definitely entertaining. The tap water is apparently also contaminated so I have been brushing my teeth with bottled water, and I read a statistic that 25% of Georgians have hepatitis—still not sure what hepatitis does though. Don't worry though because I’m getting my vaccination for that soon. I am now also risk free from rabies too. There is a problem in Georgia with stray animals, so for precautionary measures all of the PCT’s had to get rabies shots—I now join the ranks of my dog in vaccination types.

More tomorrow on where I will be going for the next 9 weeks—woot!

Speedy update from NGO

I have officially just finished my first day of orientation having arrived in Borjomi after a 2.5 hour bus ride from Tbilisi. We thought, for some bizarre reason, that our luggage would be loaded on the bus for us because it was a coach service—we were wrong. After hauling about 120 lbs worth of luggage onto the two-decker bus, we started trucking our way—albeit slowly—to Borjomi. It was a painful ride because they were handing out bottles of 1.5 liter water, and being the selfish person I am, I took one and chugged it down. With about 30 minutes left to Borjomi I started getting stomach pains because I drank so much water that my bladder felt as if it were about to explode—kaboom! I got up and went downstairs to practically beg the bus driver to stop somewhere so I could go to the restroom. After trying to convey this desperate message to the driver for about a minute, I realized that he did not speak a word of English, and I do not yet speak any Georgian, and I was getting no where. I went to talk to the program director to see if he could get the bus driver to stop, and I am glad to say that my bladder is still intact. During our restroom break (at around 5AM) I saw my first site of what I hoped to see when I got to Georgia—two cows crossing a busy road. It was very cool to see that because I felt like I finally was somewhere that was rural, and though rural doesn't always mean exciting, to me it is something new so I was personally very stoked to see cows crossing a busy road—don't judge me. I mean, COWS? Sure I’ve seen sheep cross a road (in Wales), but never a cow. I now hope to next see a herd (are they called herds) of wild bores roaming the city streets. Georgia is a beautiful country from what I have seen so far. Borjomi is in the mountains, but we drove through valleys on the way here, and it is amazing to see how the sky looks in this part of the world. There is a constant breeze (maybe it is just now, but I hope it keeps up), and the air is crisp and the sunshine is beautiful how it pierces through the clouds. The mounts have pines and other deciduous trees growing, and the weather is in the mid-70s for the highs. The compound we are staying at is also interesting. It is where the summer palace of the Romanov family (that is the czar of Russia for those of you who don't know) is, and now where the President’s summer home is located. It is situated right next to a beautiful river, and the town of Borjomi is said to be famous in eastern Europe for its natural spring water which we have been drinking (bottled) nonstop. There is a place where you can go and actually drink the spring water in its purest form, so Sue and I went to try that, but as expected it tasted like sulfur water. Natural, unbottled, spring water is not all that it is made up to be, but still it was an interesting experience. On my first sip I felt like it tasted a little like tonic water, but then I realized it wasn't fizzy, but rather was bitter and sulfuric in taste. I’ve been told not to drink the tap water here, but I guess it is safe to drink sulfur water.

As a side note, everyone was so excited to sleep in real beds and see the Georgian countryside that no one really slept that much during the entire ride. Instead, we talked about diarrhea, tapeworms, ringworms, rabies (yes, I have to get vaccinated for rabies—how cool), and other potentially hazardous things we might get during our service here. Orientation was as expected, and I’m glad that I got to talk to a lot of people about hopes, fears, anxieties, and things like that. When we split off into English education and NGO development volunteers, I learned more about what I will be doing here. Although I don't want to specify exactly what in my blog yet until I get to my site, it sounds like a very challenging situation that I will be placed in. Apparently there are over 5000 NGOs in Georgia (with a population of about 5 million), and if you think about it, it is a lot of NGOs for a very small country. So the question remains of how to fund 5000 NGOs with a limited amount of funding. I have my ideas, so I’m eager to share them soon as we break out again and talk in the NGO group, in the mean time I am pumped that I will be getting my vaccinations and shots. I’m not a masochist by any means, but I think it is safe to say that I would rather get my vaccinations than foam at the mouth and die of rabies. I have posted some pictures of what the place I am at looks like. Also, one of the welcome packets we received had a funny part to it so I have also posted an excerpt from that as well. Hope all is well there, and things are going well here so no worries.

HOLLAAA~!

This is probably going to be my last journal entry in about 9 weeks because I will be at training. The last few weeks have been really crazy, but I’m happy that I got to see a lot of friends, family, and what not before I left. I don't know if I finished everything, but I did finish the important stuff like paying my credit card bill, paying my last month of rent, among other things. I have been off at staging, and I’ve been thinking about things that I will miss most while I am gone for the next 27 months.

Here is my list so far:

-My sonicare toothbrush. Nothing like hearing that ::buzzzzzzzzz:: while brushing your teeth for exactly 2 minutes—you will be missed sonicare.
-The yuta-mobile
-Japanese food
-My dog
-air conditioning
-washing machines
-anything electrical
-family and friends

There are more I’m sure, but I can’t think of anything else right now. I’m downstairs in the midst of all the volunteers surrounded by all of our luggage. The staging event has been pretty cool. Although it is far from glamorous and exciting (and actually reminds me of something of just general job training), I am having a good time here. I have met all the people in my training class (I think it is about 45 people), and they come from all over the US. Hawaii, Ohio, Florida, New Jersey, California, Oregon, among other places. It is kind of a fun guessing game when talking to someone for the first time and getting to know their background because it leads to a guessing game of what type of volunteer they are. NGO? English Education? Everyone seems very qualified, and I have to say I am really intimidated by the NGO volunteers. Most of them have masters degrees and have lived all over the world working for NGOs or have done some other type of superhero work. Yes, I have competition to become the number one superhero—I will win. We’re finding out more and more of what it’s going to be like being a PCV, and I think the initial panic has set in. One thing that is comforting, though, is that other people are freaking out much worse than I am. Well, I’ll figure it out eventually. One of the things that I find crazy is how people just quit their jobs or other obligations and came, or how people were selling off all of their goods like cars and other valuables right before they came to the staging event. As a side note, I am happy to say that I didn't over pack too much. When I saw this one guy at the lobby when I was checking in with only one big backpack I was, needless to say, amazed. He is clearly the embodiment of something I should have packed like, but I kept reading things that said “professional dress” so I packed a lot of nice clothes and shoes. Either way, anything I did forget I’m sure I can live without. Despite packing a lot, however, I definitely was not the one that packed the most. We’ll see how it goes though.

Ok, I think we’re about to go. I’ll talk to all of you later, and here are some pics later of people in my group. I cant find the cord for my camera right now...

Holla at me and leave some love!

Superheroes have homes too

Real quick update:

I will be in training from now for 9 weeks, and I am told I wont have access to email so I'll leave the snail mail addy. Mail me lots because much love and fanmail is appreciated!

Yuta Masuda
Peace Corps Volunteer
P.O. Box 66
Tbilisi 2, 380002 GEORGIA

one week--right on!

I have a week before I officially leave for Peace Corps. My time in california was lots of fun, and involved lots of eating, shopping, and hanging out. I dont know if it is just me, but people out there just seem so much prettier. I think it's the bright sun, and I actually felt that the sun was brighter there than it was in Georgia. The weather is also perfect, no humidity, a light breeze from the ocean, always sunny, you really couldnt ask for a better place. One thing that I found kind of funny is when we went to this pool party at Sumiko's neighbors, and he was an older guy (prob around 30-40s), and he would say 'Right on!' Two kids, a job, wife, and mortgage payment and he says 'Right on!'--i love it. california, i love you.

Anyway, after beautifying myself in california for a week, I am now back in Georgia finishing my time here before I am off to Peace Corps. I did a ton of shopping there, getting things like jeans, new dress shoes, more dress shirts, etc., but I think in retrospect I felt a little weird about how I will be wearing seven jeans and kenneth cole shoes for the peace corps. One girl on the Yahoo Groups for Georgia Volunteers was freaking out about how she had nothing formal/semi-formal to bring to the Peace Corps, and even said that she had only put on make up twice in the last two years. I think lots of people think that the Peace Corps is going to involve a person digging holes in a jungle and living in a mud hutt, and I think it suprises them when they hear that I am not going to be farming or doing anything that is manual labor. From what i gathered so far, my job will involve a lot of networking, semi-formal/formal events, sitting at offices, and getting to know my community and their needs--right on!

My list of things just keeps on getting bigger, but I'm not too worried about it. One thing at a time, and if i dont get it done then that is that. I just hope that I will get my digi-cam and new package of colonix in the mail before I leave. It would really suck to not have my camera with me when I'm there seeing that it is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and the consequences of not getting the colonix is, well, self explanatory. One of the many things that i got and i am excited about getting is my new mp3 player though. It uses AA batteries and has a 40 hour battery life--right on!


Ok, off to Athens tomorrow to finish up some business. Gilly, if you are reading this, and I know you are, you need to come out with us on either thursday or friday--holla! All I have left to do now is buy more stuff, pack, clean, and hang out with fam and friends--right on!