Continuation of the Culture Shock Cycle

I’m going to take a break from my weekly recounting of my adventures for this post, since I don’t feel like at this point discussing the misadventures of camping and I think I’ll talk about the trials of teaching enough here so no need to discuss in detail how I’m a horrible teacher.  Instead, I’m going to talk about what I’m thankful for.  I realize that I’m a month early for Thanksgiving.  I also think this might be a result of turning a corner in the culture shock cycle; Georgia is starting to lose its ‘everything is wonderful’ sheen.  It might also have something to do with the fact that the sunny weather is gone, leaving cold, wet, dreary weather in its place, with only the hope of more cold and snow in my future.  Or the fact that it’s been 3 days since I’ve showered, and there’s no hot water, or even lukewarm water.  So that’s number 1.

Things I’m thankful for, either because I’ve learned to appreciate how great they are because I don’t have them in Georgia, or because I do, and I love it

1. Hot showers whenever I want – I am pretty lucky in that we have a hot water heater and I can take regular showers.  However, I can’t take them quite as often as I’d like because some days the hot water indicator has a sad story to tell me, or because the idea of going outside in the cold to go downstairs to shower in the cold just doesn’t appeal.  Also, overhead shower heads like we all have in America are wonderful.  The nice, hot water isn’t so nice when you have to set the handle down to shampoo your hair.  So for those of you with the luxury of hot, comfortable showers, enjoy one for me next time you take one.  Enjoy that luxury.  I’ve learned to live without it, even thought the other day, “I really wish I didn’t have to shower…it’s so much work”, but I will enjoy it once I go home for Christmas.
2. Unlimited high-speed internet-Okay, in truth, I am incredibly grateful for my little USB modem that gives me internet in the middle of a Georgian village.  That in itself is a feat of technology.  Still, I only get 5 GB a month of high-speed internet.  We’re not talking lightning speed here, we’re talking that more than one page can load at once and Google mail functions fully in standard mode.  So, I’ve basically outlawed Youtube for myself and family.  I think about every download I make.  Partly this is neurosis on my part because of my fear of SLOW internet, but it’s also a reality of living with limited resources.  I can’t wait to go home and catch up on old TV shows that I can’t stream here, or actually feel guilt-free when I click on friends’ Youtube links or upload pictures to Facebook.
3. Food I eat in America- This is huge.  I spend way too much time thinking about food here (big shock for all of you, I’m sure).  Granted, in my life in America, I think a lot about food, but now I think about food I can’t have.  Like salsa…and guacamole…and salads…and food with real nutritional value…and whole-wheat bread…and chocolate-chip cookies…and greenish bananas…and pumpkin-flavored fall goodies…Chick-Fil-A nuggets and waffle fries…Chava’s burritos, queso dip, cheddar cheese, hummus, fresh veggies from the Soulard market, tomato soup on a dreary day, Cheesecake Factory cheesecake, Illinois sweet corn (the corn here makes me cringe), okay, I’ll stop torturing myself.  And Georgian food is good, but that’s the signature dishes.  On an everyday basis, the food is much less exotic (and nutritious)…way too much bread (thank God I love it or I’d go crazy, as I eat it at every meal, literally).
4. The fresh food I get in Georgia-while I eat a lot of empty carbs, I also get treated to fresh pomegranates (being one of my favorite foods, this makes me incredibly happy), persimmons, figs, apples, grapes, nuts, etc.  I also appreciate eating food from my host fam helped make, like fresh milk, homemade cheese, honey, homemade jam etc.  It is nice not to eat processed foods all the time.
5. Driving laws-They exist here in Georgia, but not like in the US.  The line dividing lanes (and usually directions of traffic) is treated as a suggestion at best and totally ignored at worst.  Seat belts are now mandatory only in the front seat and wearing them in the backseat is a major insult to your driver (they are still only sometimes worn in the front seat).  Speed limits seem to be more determined by the quality and curvature of the road than by the posted speed limits.  Driving drunk is rampant, despite being illegal.  Driving underage or without a license seems to be fairly common.  Unfortunately, so are accidents.  In short, I wouldn’t last 5 minutes if I tried to drive here.
6. Heat-The wood-burning stove has come out at last so the kitchen is now toasty.  It’s also easier to make tea when the teapot sits on top of the stove all day.  Also, you can bake things.  However, my room is still cold.  The school won’t get heat until November 15^th, and I am not sure how much heat that will be.  The stories I hear aren’t promising.  Yes, we worried about high gas bills back home, and my apartment on Oakland was cold and terrible about keeping heat in.  Still, warm houses are a luxury we don’t appreciate enough in the Western world. 
7. American schools-I never fully appreciated parts of my education, like schools providing books.  Some kids don’t have books here.  As the books are incredibly interactive, this causes problems.  Some kids want to resell their books/workbooks, so they won’t write or color in them, which also deters their learning.  How do you expect kids to do pages out of their workbooks for class when several don’t have them or won’t write in them?  I never thought this would happen in America.  I also never questioned the availability of a CD player to play audio.  Or heat in the schools. 
8. Discipline- While my classes are usually pretty good, other volunteers have horror stories about the lack of discipline.  Throwing kids out of the classroom is not always allowed here.  There aren’t classroom structures like class rules and consequences for not following them/behavior charts/incentives to be good.  Respect seems like a foreign concept with the way these kids can act in class, although I know it isn’t absent from Georgian culture.  Teachers seem to yell or pull on kids’ hair, neither of which seem overly effective.  Kids frequently hit each other and are generally far more violent than any school I went to would ever allow.  The kids also run wild in the halls. I like watching kids enjoying their childhood until I am afraid they’re going to run smack into me.  Obviously, the government wants us to help change these behaviors, but it is a very slow process.
9. Academic integrity-Teachers tend to teach to the best kids and call the rest stupid or bad or just ignore them.  With teaching little kids, it seems heartbreaking to dismiss kids at this age.  If kids aren’t made to learn these fundamentals, they will be lost forever in English.  Instead of asking teachers to slow down or go over things again, kids just copy off each other to pretend like they understand, that is, if they haven’t resigned themselves to being stupid or lazy.  I actually had a kid today tell me he couldn’t write out “one, two, three, four, five”.  Granted, he’s way behind the others, knows Russian more than Georgian, and sits at the back, so he’s easily dismissed, but he did write out the words when I went through it with him letter by letter.  Perhaps just causing fewer kids to be marginalized in the classroom is enough of a goal for me here.  Trying to reform grade inflation and cheating is a much bigger battle someone else will hopefully one day conquer.
10. The ability to walk-Obvious, I know.  I can walk here in Georgia, and do a lot.  On Sunday, that was called into question after pushing my body too hard while hiking.  I also had a pretty sweet limp since I strained a muscle or something when I fell trying to go downhill.  I felt about eighty and walked as slow.  On Monday, I was incredibly sore, and every move hurt.  Today I can walk like normal, which is so nice.  Be kind to your legs and appreciate them-they’re amazing!
11. Old friends and family-I’m trying to be better about communicating, and I’m doing a better job than I normally would do because I crave updates on your lives/contact since I miss you all.  I also appreciate whenever you talk about enjoying the blog or the pictures I do post to Facebook.  It’s nice to have a good support system and people who miss you despite the fact that I routinely leave you for places you can barely find on a map.
12. Expat friends here-I’m not sure what I would do without them.  While I love talking with friends and family from back home, there are some things that you all will never fully appreciate, but my expat friends here do.  While we come from different countries and different stages and walks of life, being native English speakers and foreigners here is an extremely strong bond.  Between being able to share our experiences and speak normal English with each other, these people help me keep my sanity.  They also make great travel buddies, which I will surely miss once my weekends are not almost entirely devoted to traveling.
13. My host family-I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  They’re great.  Even though now I will make my own tea/get myself some food in the rare event I’m hungry, my host family still serves me food and takes such good care of me.  They also look at all my travel pictures with much more interest than I ever would.
14. Park rangers and workers at Borjomi-Kharangauli National Park-Let’s just say that without them, my friends and I would have spent a very miserable night off the map somewhere in this massive Georgian forest.  Instead, we had a great night instead of a roaring fire inside a park ranger’s station and got a free guided tour back down the mountain.

Okay, so I think this is probably way too long for most of you to read in its entirety, so I’ll sign off now.