Cuttino's Georgian Life

A journal of my Peace Corps service in the Republic of Georgia, 2006-2008.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Meet the (Host) Parents

Gamarjoba everyone!

I hope you all are doing well. Life here in Gori is becoming more and more normal. I've managed to not be sick for an entire week now! Gori is a nice town with lots of winding streets and back ways; every house is covered in grapevines. A giant fortress stands on top of a hill in the center of town. Hopefully I'll get to climb up there soon.

The family that I will probably be living with for two years is quite nice. Dato, my host father, does a lot of odd jobs and I usually don't see him at the house during the day. My host mother, Irma, works in a grocery store. Nino, my host sister, is an English-language student in Tbilisi. Vaneko, my host brother, is 17 years old. He doesn't talk much, but from what I can gather, he likes soccer and sleeping. I have a bebia (grandmother), she spends most of the time doing the house work and often walks around the house grumbling at my host family. Our house is average, not as big as the training family's house in Khashuri (I had to say goodbye to my ten- foot ceiling). Also, we have a squatter toilet, something which is taking me a while to get used to!

Yesterday, my host family and I travelled to Ateni, a village outside of Gori. It was very beautiful and surprisingly village-like, considering it was only 10 kilometers outside of Gori proper. Dato's family is from there, and together we travelled to a church high in the mountains before returning for some food with chacha (homemade moonshine) and wine. All in all, a good evening out. Here's a picture of the church, dating from the 7th century:


Click here to see more photos of the host family and our trip to Ateni. Have a great weekend!

1 Comments:

  • At 4:10 PM, Blogger Jennifer M. Manis said…

    Hey Cuttino!
    Your pictures are beautiful! Glad to read and see that things are going so well and that the parasites have left : )
    A little love and peace from D-ham,
    Jenn

     

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