Since the beginning of the project we have been asked to fill reports every month. One of the questions is about personal development and milestones and this question is a good way to reflect about the experience. Today I wanted to use the blog to reflect on the last 7 months and figure out what I still want to experience before leaving.
A big reason for coming here was to experience living fully abroad, to discover an unknown country, to meet new and interesting people, to get out of my comfort zone. Did I manage that ? I think I mostly did.
First let’s talk about discovering Georgia and its people. We can’t say that I improved my Georgian that much. I know how to read the strange letters but I mostly don’t have any idea what the words mean. However, I find it way easier to understand basic sentences and context. This helps a lot with working with the kids at school or even exchanging a few words with locals at the shops.
I noticed the amount I learned about Georgia when my parents and friends came to visit. I was able to tell them about the habits, the culture and the places to go. I could also speak about real basic history. For the real deal Lia, my Georgian roommate and coordinator, was the person to turn to. I hope to go back sometime in the future with my sister and boyfriend and still be able to show them around the country and the places I lived at.
I can say for sure that I lived abroad and didn’t experience it “just as a tourist”. I got the habits of the city, the shops, the people and the places. I will miss the landscapes, the food, the people and even the smells (maybe not the sulfur one). I think the fact that everything is so new and different makes you feel the strongest emotions toward everything you encounter. I can already tell that I will miss Rustavi as strong, or even stronger, than I miss the streets of Grenoble (where I spent 5 university years). It might also be due to the further distance and the fact that coming back to Rustavi will be way harder than going to Grenoble for the week-end.
About the comfort zone, I feel like I did get out of it in the sense that I made the full decision of moving abroad, that I was scared but I didn’t back out of it at the end, even if I asked myself the question multiple times. However, once you get there you don’t have a choice and every human will find ways to adapt, their own habits and comfort places. But the months I spent here were a great opportunity to “reinvent” myself. Everything was new and I could ask myself what I wanted to spend my free time doing.
I decided to focus on social times with my fellow volunteers, we went out all together multiple times, exploring Rustavi and Tbilisi beautiful places, restaurants and bars. We also went on a few adventures along the rest of the country. In the 7th months I was able to visit north, east, west and south of Georgia and discover landscapes I never saw before. I will go back to France with beautiful memories and pictures.
I also focused on “personal growth”. I read psychology books that I wanted to study before starting a Job in the field, which allowed me to feel more secure in my own capacities. I did more sports than ever before, going swimming every monday, running regularly and hitting milestones. Last week I successfully participated in a 12km trail race in Tbilisi and was really proud of myself. It makes me change how I see myself and what I am capable of. It gives more motivation to keep going in this way.
Last but not least, I learned a lot by working in the scout center and with the volunteers. Team work, project management and confidence in leading games or events. The most fun was participating in a Live Action Role Play and I hope I will be able to do other events like this in my life.
I feel like this whole experience, living close to 6 other people for multiple months in a place and a language you’re not familiar with is really fulfilling. It taught me new things about myself, my personality, my strengths and weaknesses and the person I want to be.
Did I figure out what I will do with the rest of my life ? What job to seek ? What city to live in ? Not fully but I feel more ready to figure it out. The first step is to live in the present. I will enjoy the time left here and whatever is waiting for me in France. I know that when I will come back people are waiting to help me figure it out as I go.
See you soon for what might be the last time :)
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