Peace Corps life continues to be an adventure. Fortunately it hasn't gotten too cold yet, which I'm very thankful for. Some of my fellow colleagues are very high up in the mountains, and I've heard reports of snow. My approach to whenever the family talks about winter is to say "shhhh, be quiet or you'll wake it up". Denial is a wonderful, powerful tool.
At school we are struggling to learn grammar. The TLG who was here before me did a great job in getting the kids to learn a fair amount, but when it comes to grammar they still have trouble. (to be fair though, I have a lot of trouble with Georgian grammar.... but I haven't been studying it for 11 year like some of these kids). The main stumbling block these days is the difference between present simple (I work at school) and present continuous (I am working at school). every day we review, and every day they seem to forget. Who knows what will happen when I give a test on October 9th... well, I have an idea, but it isn't a good thought.
On Sunday my host father announced that the white grapes were ready to be harvested, so all the able bodied people in my family (5 of us including me) set about the task of picking grapes, and hauling them to the storage area to be processed into sweet sweet Georgian wine (it'll actually probably be dry white when it's done, but you get the idea). After about 4 hours of work, we picked 1142 pounds worth of grapes, which should make about 650+ liters of wine total. The wine is meant mainly for the family, so you can imagine what my winter is going to be like... oh dang it, I said its name. Please don't wake up!
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| After the first 30 minutes |
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| Final Haul |
Wine is a spiritual experience here in Georgia (pun intended) and before we were allowed to start the harvest, or start the pressing of the grapes, we all had to cross ourselves three times, and my host father muttered something indecipherable that I can only assume was a blessing.
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| My Host father Malkhazi harvesting grapes |
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| Working the field. Note the sweet Russian hat |
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| Me working the field |
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| They were talking about this picture for hours |
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| My host mother Medicho |
My main contribution to the pressing was being tall, and so my job was to lift the bucket of grapes that my host brother filled up into the grinding machine, while my host father cranked away. Neither Tedo nor I were allowed to turn the machine crank at all because we "weren't professionals". It took us til about 8:30 to finish, so the total work time was 9 hours. It wasn't the most restful Sunday ever, but I definitely appreciated the cultural experience, and my host dad was very happy to have another man helping out with the work.
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| yes, this machine required a professional |
This weekend I'm going to Borjomi, which is famous for its mineral water. Should be a good time!
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