From the classroom to Armenia – my February

The clock is ticking, ticking – and another month has gone by. I don't know why time passes so quickly here.

A lot has happened at work this month, and at the same time we've been on some wonderful trips.

But where should I start?

This month, I visited a public school for the first time and helped out in German lessons. Every Thursday, I now spend three hours there supporting three different classes.
Keti, the German teacher, is incredibly nice and very motivated to teach the children this language.
The first day was special for me in two ways. On the one hand, I was very happy to support the children in their learning. It was also really funny that they treated me like a superstar on the first day – just because I come from Germany. This made me realise once again how highly regarded Germany is here in Georgia. I particularly enjoy seeing how motivated the children are and how quickly they want to learn.
On the other hand, I was a little shocked by the condition of the school. I always thought my old school wasn't up to the best standard – but here I was proven wrong. At the same time, I was impressed by how lovingly most of the classrooms are decorated and how much joy the children still take in learning.

Scout School

The Scout School opened on 7 February. I planned this event together with some Georgian volunteers – and it was a complete success.
The following weekends were also very nice. There aren't that many children in my group, which isn't a bad thing, but it would definitely be even livelier with a few more participants.
I also visited the Edu Step School twice this month. I really enjoy seeing how much fun the children have learning English there.

Team spirit

We started doing a team-building activity every month – and I got to kick things off.
My idea was to create a vision board or a ‘becoming board’. Even though this is something that is usually done at the end of December or beginning of January, I didn't care. I think it's important to have your goals in mind – especially when you're far away from home for six months or more and leading a different life here.
After Scout School, we met in the office, I explained the idea – and then we got started. It was nice to just sit together, not talk about work and see what goals and wishes everyone has for this year.
And no – that doesn't mean we don't do anything else together
We spend many evenings together in the kitchen, cooking, watching films or playing games. Sometimes we go shopping or sit in a café, chatting and doing our Georgian homework on the side. Every now and then, we also go to Tbilisi for a relaxing weekend at the cinema.
But the best thing is travelling together and discovering new places.

Our trips in February

We went on several trips this month – and each one was more beautiful than the last.

Uplistsikhe & Ksani Fortress

At the beginning of the month, we decided to rent a car to visit two destinations that are difficult to reach by marshruka.

Unfortunately, I couldn't join them on the first day because I was helping out at school – but at least that meant everyone could fit in the car. I joined them on the second day.

Our destination was the cave town of Uplistsikhe. On the way, we stopped at Ksani Fortress and walked up to enjoy the view and take photos. Afterwards, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Gori.

The cave town itself was impressive – it's hard to imagine that people lived there many years ago.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mao and Jaco once again for driving us there and back safely.

The Rainbow Mountains

A week later, we spontaneously decided to take a trip to the Rainbow Mountains. The only problem was that there was no public transport there. So we tried our luck hitchhiking – and sure enough, after a short while, a man stopped and kindly gave us a lift, even though it wasn't even on his way.

At first, we walked what felt like forever through a desert-like landscape until we reached the mountains. But the view was worth every effort. I had never seen such colours in nature before.

Of course, we wanted to go up – and yes, it was exhausting, especially at around 20 degrees. But the view from the top was simply incredible.

Yerevan – A new city off the bucket list

Our last and longest trip took us to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.

I was incredibly happy to finally discover not only a new city, but also a new country. Now I can tick another item off my personal bucket list – and I also have a new stamp in my passport.

After Scout School, we first drove to Tbilisi and changed to a minibus there. The journey took almost six hours.

The next day, we explored the city, had a nice breakfast in a café and visited many sights – with plenty of breaks to really enjoy everything.

A day later, we drove just outside the city to the Garni Temple and the Symphony of the Stones. And again I asked myself: how can nature create something so beautiful?

My return journey to Georgia was also a little adventure – but that would be beyond the remit of this article.

I would love to include lots of photos – but they would hardly do justice to the beauty of these two countries. The best thing to do is to come here yourself and see everything for yourself. Whether you're here on holiday or doing volunteering work, you can meet so many special people here.

It's crazy that I've only known some of them for a month, yet it feels like we've known each other for years.

I hope I've been able to give you a little insight into my February. And I'm already excited to see what March has in store for me.

See you soon – and have a good time!