Living for the Plot

I am the type of person who love to end up doing random activities in random part of the world on a random Wednesday on January and that's exactly how I ended up in Rustavi! My name is Jacopo, I'm 27 and I come from a small city in Italy next to Milan, and after I graduated in my master in Asian and African Studies, as often happens nowadays to people of my generation I had absolutely no idea what to do with my life. My idea was to get a job, but surprise surprise nobodies wants you if you have no previous work experience, and apparently IA lately is taking all the entry level jobs so how am I supposed to get experience? The question has still no answer - will it ever?- but once of the few path I can take with my amazing useless humanistic degree is working in a NGO. Also, I love living abroad and I like travelling, so why don't do all of this together? And as a passionate of hiking in the mountains and history Georgia was an easy choice to make.

Me climbing on the Como Lake wondering why I am not drinking my Aperol Spritz with all the tourists

Since I have arrived here on the 14th I feel like life has been going fast and slow at the same time. On the weekend with the other volunteers we managed to visit to Tbilisi, Gori, Mtskheta, to ski in Gudauri and to cook Georgian food with local mentors.

Gudauri!

On the week, you know, the reason I am here, work. Many Google sheets, many "Lia sorry, I don't remember how to do this". Apparently there is an endless bureaucracy behind every action you take, so far, but things should change from this weekend: finally all the planning in the office are gonna see a result with the opening of the Scout Center, the real and final reason I'm here. I'm sure it's gonna be such a big skip from sitting in a office to be surrounded by many happy screaming children. So far about all the activities we have planned for them I know how to do maybe about...2? Learning by doing is the scouts' motto. But learning doesn't end at the office door, there's a whole world outside which is different in everyday life. Grocery at the supermarket, driving a car, buses that follows their own rules. A life which is slower. A language which I don't speak. I'm gonna stay in Rustavi for 8 months, months in which I'll have to learn how to feel at home is someone's else home as a momentary host in this lands full of history.

P.s. I do love cats and here is full. Happy Jaco

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