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December in Rustavi – between winter feelings, Christmas and new experiences

Hard to believe, but true: I've been here for almost two months now, and time has flown by. It feels like I've only been here for two weeks. 

December here is really quite different from December in Germany. Compared to my home country, it's surprisingly warm—it was above 10 degrees Celsius for most of December.

It was a real adjustment for me that Christmas is not celebrated until the beginning of January here in Georgia. Of course, that also means that the Christmas atmosphere is completely different. 

So it was all the more wonderful for me when the Christmas tree was finally lit up on December 14. It was a really special event. I have never seen so many people in one place in Rustavi.

I was there with Annika and Mao, and it was just really nice. There were little huts where you could buy hot food and drinks, but also stalls selling hats, scarves, and jewelry. Soft Christmas music played in the background.

Then came the moment before the tree was lit up—and it was truly magical. First, a house was illuminated, and children began to sing. Meanwhile, the tree was lit up with laser pointers to build excitement. When the song ended, all the lights on the tree came on, accompanied by a big fireworks display. Afterwards, a group of dancers danced around the tree, which was also very beautiful. As we walked through the market and admired all the Christmas lights, there was even some live music in Georgian.

It was really special to be able to take part in such a tradition. This event was the moment when I slowly started to get into the Christmas spirit.



But what else did I do in December?

December got off to a very eventful start, because our German cultural evening took place on the very first day. I was quite nervous beforehand, because I don't really like giving presentations in front of large groups. But it was really nice: the young people and a few adults listened intently, and after our presentation we had some typical German food. Everyone said it was really delicious.

The next event took place in the same week. We organized a day camp at the Scout Center with the theme of the environment. There were different stations where the children could learn about environmental protection. The whole thing was linked to a little story in which I played the “bad boy” who wanted to build a big factory on the site—and the children had to stop him. It was a really nice day, even though some of the children thought I was really evil. 😂

Another small project was a visit from a school in Tbilisi that wanted to learn more about scouting. There was a short presentation, a tour of the grounds, and then we divided the children into two groups. One group made bracelets, while the other joined us outside on the obstacle course. The children had a lot of fun, and it was wonderful to see.


Manglisi

First, we went on a hike there on December 9. I actually like hiking, but somehow everyone else was so fast that I was bringing up the rear. But that wasn't a problem, because the others kept waiting for me. The nature there was simply beautiful. There was already snow on part of the trail—the first snow I've seen this year. Of course, we couldn't resist having a little snowball fight. It was just wonderful to spend time in nature, without my phone.


When we arrived at our destination, the camp house in Manglisi, dinner was already prepared. It was a very nice way to end the day.

But why were we in Manglisi?

We were there to check out the location because a week later from December 19 to December 21 a camp was taking place there. A group of children from Tbilisi came to us for a class trip. We had prepared many different activities. We started with icebreaker games, but that was only the beginning. There were numerous workshops in which the group was repeatedly divided and changed stations after a while. 

The workshops included first aid, abseiling, learning knots, making a fire, and even how to pitch a tent—all things that are very important when going on an outing in nature.

In the evening, we first organized an escape room where the children had to find out who the marshmallow thief was. On the other evening, we had a small German-French cultural evening, and afterwards we celebrated a little, as it was the last evening – and also Lia's birthday.

On the last day, we did two more workshops and then went on a hike together. The landscape there was beautiful again. We walked to a place where the Georgian “Robin Hood” is said to have lived.


After a feedback session, it was time for the young people to go home. It was a really nice time with them, and some of them didn't want to leave. But I think it's really nice when young people remember you – or at least the trip. I still like to think back on my school trips myself.

After a wonderful but exhausting weekend, we had our winter vacation. Unfortunately, Oriane and Vincent left us because their project here had come to an end. It's a great experience to meet new people, but at the same time it's hard to let new friends go.

I started this entry with the theme of Christmas—and what could be better than spending Christmas with your family? So I spontaneously booked a flight home and spent Christmas and New Year's with my family and a few friends.

December was very eventful, and I hope January will be too.

See you soon!


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