Karaleti

This morning I got up bright and early at 7:00. After a delicious breakfast of puri (Georgian bread), jam, cheese, and tea, the kids wanted to show me around the village. We walked to the school to which my cluster will be observing classes - Karaleti 1. Since it is the weekend, we got let in by the security guard. Not sure what the kids told him to get us in, but we had free reign.  Here is a picture of the school:

Karaleti 1 School

Past the city center, there is a ruin on a hill that I am told is the "Queen's house". Since Georgia does not have a queen, I don't exactly understand the backstory, but it has a great view of the village and Caucuses:

The Queen's house

The view from the hill (and a cow)

Then we stopped by the church to see it (we didn't actually go to the service - luckily Mari knew that I was an ignorant foreigner and brought me scarves to cover my head and legs with. In Georgian Orthodox, this is the dress code.

On the way back, we stopped to get the "best puri (bread) in town". And they were right - it was delicious, warm, and fresh out of the oven. Here is a picture so you get the idea of how good it is:

puri

One of the most shocking things I have seen so far is the remnants of the destruction from the 2008 war with Russia. Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, and Karaleti sustained heavy attacks. We saw a house on my street that was completely gutted by a fire from the war, and the library in the center was also destroyed, and now stands abandoned. I asked my host brother and sister if they were here during the war, and they said that they went to Tbilisi, but their grandparents and father had stayed behind. I had not realized the extent of the damage that still existed.

In the afternoon, I was roped into a game of volleyball with my host brother and sister, and several of their friends. My host mom and her friend even joined in for a bit. We played with an old soccer ball and a piece of twine tied across to form a net. Activities that are purely physical are much easier to communicate across the language barrier with!

Lastly, I accompanied my host sister to her English lesson - her teacher wanted to greet me. I had delicious cake and hazelnuts and coffee and had a great time observing her tutoring style. I hope to see more of her in the future!

Tomorrow is the first day of training for real - I will leave to walk to school at 8:30 am (about a 30 minute walk from my house)! We have training all day in language and culture and skills development.

Till next time!