TLG - Georgia

Georgia has been a wonderful experience. The people are very friendly and welcoming. Most of the villages and schools are just excited that they have an English speaker and are very cooperative. Georgia has its share of discomforts: most volunteers are placed in smaller villages (mine has about 1000 people); bathroom facilities are low tech, which means showers once a week and sometimes Turkish toilets; schools are limited in what materials they have, expect little to no technology used in classrooms. All of that said, the people more than make up for these minor discomforts! Everybody in my village talks to me when we meet. I've received three bouquets of flowers this week already and I got more apples and nuts than I could eat during the fall. The teachers in my school got some useful phrases translated and hung them in our coffee room. And it's always great to hear kids improve their reading and become more confident. The little boys I live with delight in using their English, like yelling from the bathroom "I want toilet paper!" to saying "Let's go!" as we leave the house. Even now they are hovering around, asking me what I'm doing. I would not trade my time in Georgia for anything.

A note about Reach to Teach. Compared to the other volunteers in my orientation group, I felt very prepared regarding all paperwork (medical documentation, contracts, etc.) I had everything I needed with me.