Thursday, March 17, 2016

Day One in Akhaltsikhe

This morning, my travel partner, Joe, and I parted ways with the rest of our cohort to go to our different host teachers' regions. It was bittersweet, as we really have become a close bunch! We are so excited, though, to finally meet our host teachers in person and begin our work in the schools. On our four hour drive to Akhaltsikhe, we had an awesome driver who pulled off the main road twice to show us some bonus sites! One was the resort town of Borjomi, known for its naturally carbonated spring water. Our driver filled his bottle and gave us a taste...warm and salty (yuck!) I am glad I tried it though! He also drove us up a mountain to the Green Monastery. We were the only people there, except for the monks who live there. In one tiny building were the skulls and bones of monks killed during the Ottoman Empire. Inside the monastery were beautiful religious relics and the haunting sound of chanting monks.
Our driver getting us some famous Bojomi water!

The dirt road to the monestary
Green Monastery

Skulls and bones of monks killed during Ottoman Empire
Finally, we made it to Akhaltsikhe where we got to meet our host teacher, Lela! Lela gave us a tour of her school and we got to meet some of the children who were still in the building for aftercare and dance class. We also got to meet the school director and many of the teachers, who all welcomed us warmly. Later in the evening, Lela took us up to the top of the hill to Rabati Castle, which was an important destination on the Silk Road. It was eerily quiet and we had the place to ourselves, as tourist season is not until the summer. On the walk back to our hotel, Lela told us fascinating stories about her childhood growing up in Georgia when times were very difficult for all Georgians. She had no electricity or running water until the new Georgian government took control in 2003. We had delicious dessert and tea at a small cafe and talked more about our cultures, our families and our profession. Joe and I are so excited to spend the day in Lela's classroom tomorrow, where the students will be presenting for us!


Students: Research Akhaltsikhe and tell me one interesting thing you learned!

Lela, the school director, Joe and me!
Georgian dance


Dance students

Queen Tamar (called King Tamar because she was such a strong leader)

Rabati Castle

View from the top






24 comments:

  1. It seems like you are having a great time!

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  2. What an exciting trip and wonderful opportunity! Thanks for updating this blog!

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    1. Thanks so much for checking it out, Ms. Weinstein! This has been such a life changing experience!

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  3. You will be making lasting friendships.

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  4. Hey Mrs.Morales looks like its a lot of fun.

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    1. Yes, Allie. It' exhausting, but also such a valuable experience!

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  5. Hi Ms. Morales! Make sure to say hi to the Georgian kids for me tomorrow! It seems like lots of fun there, and I actually think I would try the spring water if I was there too! Thanks for keeping us updated and have a fun time tomorrow!

    Nick D

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    1. Hi, Nick. Yes, it was gross, but I am glad I tried it. Today, I tried holy water from the Vardzia cave city/monastery. It was cold and delicious, thank goodness :)

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  6. Hi Mrs.Morales i hope you are enjoying your trip I miss you how was that water was it good and i would try it to.wow the Vardzia cave is beautiful i hope your having fun have a blast!

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  7. Hi Mrs. Morales, We all can´t wait for you to come back to Bayshore. The dance looked awesome did you do it. Luke W 2-3A

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  8. It was very cool to see these pictures and videos. It gives me a decent picture of what the country looks like. I am glad that I got to see these pictures; they are very interesting and visually pleasing.

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  9. It was very cool to see these pictures and videos. It gives me a decent picture of what the country looks like. I am glad that I got to see these pictures; they are very interesting and visually pleasing.

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  10. These pictures are so cool. Its so awesome to see what your doing there and it looks really interesting and looks like your having fun. The views also look really good.We cant wait for you to come back. -Madison c 1-2 A

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  11. Is the air more "fresh" there? Is there anything in particular that is different there that is extremely different from America?

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  12. After researching this town a little bit I found that the name translated into english actually says "new castle".

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  13. What I found after searching Akhaltsikhe a little is that there are a lot of old fashion buildings that look very unique. I hope you having a good time!

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  14. Hey its Jason hope it is been fun can't wait until you get beck but if you can tell me how it was so far

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  15. The castle looks awesome with the snow, it must be cooled up there.

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  16. Georgia looks like an amazing place to visit. It must be really cool to get to see Georgia. Can't wait for you to come back.

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  17. The carbonated spring water looks really I would love to try it. Make sure that you tell them about us and what we are doing here can't wait for you to explain it all to us in person!

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  18. I really liked the Georgian dance! It looks really cool and fun. The dance students are also very cute and are great at what they do.

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  19. Georgia looks very interesting. It looks like there is lots of rich culture, and it seems like it is great to visit.

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  20. Georgia looks very interesting. It looks like there is lots of rich culture, and it seems like it is great to visit.

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