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The Neverending Story - January 2026

Seriously! This month felt so long, I thought it would never end, and I don’t even mean that in a bad way. I experienced all the ups and downs and in betweens in only 31 days- so let’s recap, shall we? “I want to die – but I want to eat Khinkali” The whole month started off slow and dark in the literal sense. It was just dark outside, and all my flatmates were either home for Christmas or travelling around Georgia. So, I just spent my time finding out how to entertain myself without going insane, talking to myself and the voices. Luckily, my motivation entered soon through our apartment door in the form of my two flatmates returning from their vacation. What do you think three volunteers with free time, who live in a country rich in beautiful landscape and colourful culture, do? Correct - a lot of cooking. We all suddenly discovered we are able to create nearly anything from scratch and even invent vegan versions to traditional dishes. It usually ended in us starting random baking or c...
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Samtskhe-Javakheti beauty in spring

  In May I went back twice to Samtskhe-Javakheti, my favorite region of Georgia ! Borjomi, Bakuriani, Vardzia, Akhaltskhe, Akhalaki I really need to tell you about this amazing region!  I already went to Borjomi in December. The whole city was under a good layer of snow, which gave it the feel of a nice vacation village. I spent some time in this town, very close to Bakuriani, to enjoy the ski resort at the start of the season. It seemed like a nice place, but I didn't really take the time to explore it. I just remember slipping on the ice, somewhere between a fit of laughter and a fall. A nice memory, but I was super happy to go back again and see this city with my flatmates. Borjomi is the georgian city of water, it’s known for its mineral sparkling water -don’t ask me if it is good I don’t like sparkling water. It is a pretty town located on the banks of the Kura River also known for its thermal baths. In short, it’s the “water capital” of Georgia. Speaking of water, it’s i...
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May - a Memorable Marathon

You know these time periods in life when everything suddenly happens all at once? When time just decides to move at lightspeed and once something started it’s already over? Yeah, welcome to my May 2026 – that was a fever dream in the most beautiful way and while I cannot paint a full picture of this month for this blogpost, I will most certainly try my best!  Don’t wanna sleep Since May meant that the final month of our scout school program had started, we wanted to do something special for our participants. For some time now we have wanted to invite our kids to spend the night camping at the scout centre and learn about star-constellations as well as outdoor cooking. While the stargazing turned out to be quite difficult due to an abomination of clouds also showing up to our party – we did manage to almost bake through some of the stick breads and not burn all the potatoes. I call this an amazing success!  An honourable mention is the fact that all kids found a shelter in stab...
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Summer, sunshine and travel in May

 This month has been all about reflection and doing the things I still need to get done before my volunteer program ends – and that’s coming up pretty soon. That means I still have loas of things to tick off my list. This month we had to decide when we wanted to leave, and that really made me realise that I don’t have much time left with my friends here, as some of them are leaving as early as the middle of the month. And I already know that I’m going to miss them terribly. Camping im Scout center Right on the first weekend, we went camping at the Scout Centre as part of the Scout School. That meant we pitched our tents and organised activities for the children. One of these was making bread on a stick. What I didn’t know was that sitting around a fire and baking bread is obviously a German thing. Everyone else only knew about marshmallows. But I thought it was really cool and it took me right back to my childhood. To be honest, I have to say: spending a night in a tent isn’t one ...
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I only have pictures of cats

When I return to Italy and want to show my Georgian adventures to my friends, I fear my gallery might not be of much support since I have more photos of kittens than historical monuments, and this is especially true this May. Sadly today I also don't feel particulary inspired about writing so probably I'll just talk about cats! May has been a very chill and fast month. I've been sick for the most part of it so not much has happened. MVP of the month was for sure Vardzia!! It's been so long I wanted to go there without being able but finally with the boys (actually, the girls) we managed it for a 2 and half day trip. Overall, it was a really nice trip. The weather was nice, and we had a great chemistry. The Vardzia region has a really relaxing landscape for me. On the way back, we stopped in Borjomi, the city of water, where indeed there was no running water on the first day, and on the second day, there was even too much running water falling from the sky.  Sadly that w...
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CHAPTER 7: SLEEP CAN WAIT

Over the past six months, I’ve had a few opportunities to explore Georgia, though not as much as I would have liked (Garbani on my very first trip, then Gori, Mtskheta, Sighnaghi and Gudauri several times, as well as Armenia and Turkey). This month, I’ve stayed within the country, well, almost... May 11–13: Armenia part 2 Scout school left me pretty exhausted. After traveling quite a lot lately, I was imagining a few quiet days off, with no new adventures on the horizon.  On Monday, the weather is beautiful and sunny. Around noon, Inga asks if I want to go to Armenia by hitchhiking. At first, I’m not particularly motivated, but eventually I reply, “Okay, let’s go!” At 2 p.m., we set off towards the Armenian border. Along the way, we catch rides with two different vehicles, including a truck. We make it through the border controls fairly quickly. Once on the other side, we continue our hitchhiking journey, excited to see what this new adventure has in store for us. "Cross ...
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The cleanup activity with Scout School

  Latvians have long had a tradition of talka – the work that neighbors, relatives, and friends do together. In English we can use the word “cleanup” to describe talka, but still, it doesn't encompass the full meaning of the tradition as it skips some of the vital parts. The request "nฤc talkฤ!" (come help!) remains in everyday language and is used when help, participation, or joint action is needed. Historically talka follows the rhythm of seasons and land. The word itself is phonetically similar to terms in neighboring languages: Lithuanian: talka; Estonian: talgud; Polish: tล‚oka; Hungarian: kalaka; Ukrainian and Belarusian: toloka. Is there such a tradition in Sakartvelo? As talka is included in the list of non-material cultural heritage of Latvia , we give extra attention to preserving the tradition – in this case a massive, decentralized and official main event once every year. By the inspiration of our neighbours Estonians, and to celebrate the 90 years since creati...
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A Culinary April

April started in good company around a great supra we hosted in our flat on the fifth day of the month. It’s a chance to spend time with friends, to laugh, but above all to enjoy some great food. In fact, this month has been very rewarding for my little recipe book — I’ve already mentioned my newfound passion for cooking since I’ve been here. So you can imagine what a great opportunity a supra is for cooking traditional Georgian dishes. Now that I’ve mastered lobiani (and the ten hours of patience it takes to rehydrate the beans), I’ve decided to make some nigvziani badrijani (eggplant with walnut filling). Nothing could be simpler: you just have to find some good eggplants (why do we call this poor vegetable like this by the way?), cut them into thin slices, and bake them with some oil. The filling is made from grilled and crushed walnuts, garlic, vinegar, and khmeli suneli (Georgian spices). It is delicious! After that, and since my boyfriend was still there, I decided to let him try...
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Lost in Armenia: Part 2

April: Facts we know about this month – 30 days, including 7 days of Easter holidays, two hikes, two cool events and changeable weather.  I have to say, the weather was mostly lovely and warm outside. The last few days of April in particular were lovely and perfect for wearing a T-shirt. Easter and a week off work Easter fell at the start of April this year. Easter is actually a holiday I always spend with my family, with a few traditions such as painting eggs – and NO, I haven’t gone On the first day I had off that week, I didn’t do anything; I just relaxed and went for a walk in Rustavi. On another day, I met up with my new mentor in Tbilisi for the first time. We walked around the city a bit, had an iced coffee and had a long, nice conversation where we got to know each other better. She’s really cool and I’m glad I’ve met her. I also took a trip to a small town near Tbilisi because there’s a Svaneti Tower there and I wanted to see it. In the end, there really wasn’t anything...
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