Viva Svaneti !

Hello everyone, I am back with my little blog. I heard somewhere that some people from far away land might be interested to come see Georgia. And in that case my blog could be useful from them. So let’s dive in my month of April, one of the best of the whole volunteering.

The month started really nicely with our coordinator, Lia, organizing teams activity that were amazing. Everyone in the team enjoyed them. We had first a “scout” training day, in which Kemo and David taught us how to climb make nodes, put a harness etc. We had a lot of fun and were joined by our friends Mariam and Natia. The day was astounding, we discovered a new thing and I made a vlog, in which my sole and only purpose was to cringe everyone else the maximum possible (not really hard for me) (I am not cringe, just funny). The next week, we gathered again for bonfire night. We grilled sausages and had some snacks/beers/juice with Lia and Kemo. Just before we introduced to the workshop of Kemo, in which he produces anything related to leather. He is also a tattoo artiste and an ex-commando guys = really cool guy.

He showed us how to light a fire and keep it alive, a very difficult exercise, but worth it once you can grill your sausages and marshmallows (with biscuit YUMMY).

During the rest of month, life went on as usual. I am going to summarize it really fast here. Basically, I start the week with going to Kesane. It’s a center made for disabled persons. On monday I go there to sing with them, and on Tuesdays I am joined by Renée for arts and crafts. On monday once I am finished I go to the office, where I plan my next activities and personnel projects. On tuesday I usually have english classes with teachers from school of innovation. I organize debates, and discussion there with some game to make them speak and practice english. Wednesday and Thursday are office days. Friday is a big day : at 12:35 I join the other volunteer in SOI to give English classes to 7th grader then 8th grader. After that, I give French classes to teenagers at the scout center. Sometimes I go to Edustep in New Rustavi where I once again give english class (it’s fun though). I really enjoy giving those classes working with people from every age group, adapt to them, find new ideas, try new things.

Then the biggest thing I did was go on a road trip for 4 days with all the volunteers. We rented a car named MIMIMI, a Mitsubishi Outlander that can fit 7 people, and we went for new adventure !!

First stop Zugdidi, North West of Georgie near the border of Abkhazia. After 5 hours of driving, we finally arrived in this charming city. Small but really cozy, and beautiful. Looked modern and green, maybe because the sun was up in the sky after a rainy period (and it’s feeding my delusion and manipulating me) but I don’t know Zugdidi had an undescribable charm. Let’s be honest, though, there is no much to do in the city. We tried to visit the local dynastie castle, which was closed. So we decided to enjoy the rest of the day by going to Anaklia. And what a fabulous choice we did. Anaklia was a crazy, special place. Beautiful, mysterious, futuristic. This city near the beach is full of old construction (modern style) made by the Saakashvili government to attract tourist and that were abandoned when GD took power. It’s a really special place, and we really had a lot of fun there. We even swam together in the Black Sea !!!

We then went back to Zugdidi to enjoy our Airbnb. It was a funny night with the school trip vibes. The next destination was Mestia… We drove for 3 hours (more if you count the pauses) through the mountains with questionable road, but god it was worth it. The mountainous regions of Georgia are exceptionally beautiful, and Svaneti (maybe Tusheti too, but it’s really hard to get there) hold a special place in the ranking. Mestia the capital of the region and our destination is famous for it’s tower, and it’s beautiful landscapes. We had a really nice hotel. We enjoyed the city as much as we could (hell yeah we did) then hit the road again for our last destination, Tsalkubo. Imereti and Kutaisi are one of my favorite places in Georgia. There is so many things to do and everything is just so beautiful, YOU CANNOT GET BORED.

The song of this trip : Mimimi Cerbère

The location of the trip : Mestia, Anaklia

Best accommodation : Tsalkubo

Best food : This specific family restaurant in Mestia, but if you find it you will know that you found it (Vichnashi).

Best people : the day of the dead guy and Giorgi

Best road/landscape : Mestia

Best vibe : Bar in Mestia

Yes that’s pretty much all.

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