Greenheart Travel - Teach in the Republic of Georgia

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience in Georgia. I made lifelong friends and now have a second family in Georgia. The only complaints I have were the lack of teaching materials (I understand this is most likely a financial issue) and the perceived lack of awareness on TLG's behalf of the volunteers' difficulties accessing certain necessities (topping up a phone, cellular service and public transportation). Other than that, I thought the experience was invaluable and I would recommend it to anyone.

I signed up for one semester in Georgia and ended up staying for three. I didn't know too much about the country before finding the TLG program, but spent a few months researching all about it before going.
Many people who consider applying have misconceptions about Georgia. While it is a developing country it is far from living in a mud hut. You will likely have somewhat comfortable accommodations with a family. Day to day life can be somewhat slow moving with school, going home and giving family lessons, but the weekends are usually filled with celebrations or traveling to other parts of the country. It's a beautiful country but the Georgian people are the best part of the experience. They will welcome you like a friend and find a place in your heart quick.
Yes the food can be a bit repetitive or lacking in certain spices or food groups, you will see things that might bother you like traditional gender roles, litter all over a beautiful field, or mistreatment of animals. But overall, it was a great experience and I just hope people who go there have an open mind and go knowing we can learn as much from Georgians as they can from us. Gaumarjos! (cheers)

Critical Feedback:

I would make better use of TLG teachers, have them teach more grades, don't let them come in the summer if there is no need for teachers.

Good things: plenty of turtles, nice hiking trails left by cows and sheep, if you are a man you will be invited to drink wine or cha cha at any time of the day (that is if you like to drink)

Some bad things: experiencing the Georgian family life means enduring screaming children who enjoy picking on their host (small children like to punch in the genital area, large children like to put things in my bed, such as saliva-covered candy) while waiting for things that never happen, Georgian teachers don't understand co-teaching even if you speak to them in Georgian, listening as parents scream at each other

This is a pretty capable program in my estimation. The staff is pretty on-the-ball with the support and everything is put on front street with them. There's not even a semblance of underhandedness. They're pretty forthcoming with all the intricacies and less-than-palatable portions of volunteering. And for that, they're a neck above other programs.

Highlights would have to be the community you're working in. I've been placed in a fairly small village and everyone is congenial and cordial to one another. The students are genuinely interested in learning English which makes my job a pleasant stroll in the park.

Another highlight would be my host family. Maybe I just rolled the dice and came up with sevens in regards to my placement but they've been a dream. There's always a party or event to attend. They're also in the habit of whisking me off to cultural locales and such to take in the sights. I couldn't ask for better accommodations.

I suppose the facilities and the materials could be perceived as a minor setback. You're not drowning in resources here in Georgia unfortunately. I mostly just have chalk and a board at my disposal. But with a little creativity and tenacity, you should do just fine.

All in all, I highly recommend this program.

I went to Georgia to figure out if teaching was what I really wanted to do and to finally experience life abroad. The program met my expectations, but like anything it's not perfect.

First, going through Greenheart was a good choice. They had access to a lot of resources from the members already in Georgia and could get a speedier response from TLG (Teach and Learn in Georgia) than an individual can, trust me. The most useful pre-trip event was a conference phone call with the Greenheart representative and everyone else going to Georgia at the same time.

Georgia is itself one of the most beautiful and welcoming countries you'll ever go to. You'll hear this over and over again from anyone who's been there and Georgians themselves. It isn't false praise by any means. You'll be invited to a number of Supras or feasts, a cultural highlight. There are plenty of historical and natural tourist spots to see. TLG even provides the opportunity to travel with other visiting teachers from your regions to some of these areas. I went to the Sataplia caves with many new teachers who had just gotten to the region towards the end of my contract. We exchanged teaching ideas, vented about classroom struggles, and reminded each other about all the things we missed from Western culture and life.

I taught in the port city of Poti. My school was pretty well off material wise. Everyone had desks, there was a computer lab and projector that were used semi-frequently, and my director was willing to work with me not against me. My co-teachers had very limited English skills. This was probably the biggest challenge. Co-teachers were supposed to be the bridge between TLG teachers and the Georgian school system. Most of the them can only carry on basic conversations. One of mine would even correct me on pronunciation of English words, like mountain, she just had been saying wrong for forty years. You have to be willing to be very patient when doing lesson plans or working with co-teachers.

Patience will also be needed when communicating with TLG. Getting plane tickets home took months of communication and they were still late when I left at the end of my contract. TLG is working very hard to coordinate with a growing number of native English speakers working in the country. It's not an easy job. They just still seem to be grappling with Westerners desire to have plans made quickly and efficiently.

If you are looking for a program that will challenge you and your willing to make sacrifices in your standard of living, this is a great choice. You need to be creative not necessarily the best teacher. You need to be willing to learn a new language (unless, you already know Russian or Georgian). You need to be willing to let go and enjoy life and friends and family.

I would go back in a heartbeat!

Let me just start by saying this: you will get sick. Georgia (especially the capital) is a VERY dirty place. Everyone got sick. Whether you had something mild like constipation or IBS, or something more severe like contracting an STD (I know three people who did. One of whom was sent home), you can count on getting some form of illness while you are there. However, though I had the worst flu of my life, slept in a room without heat for 6 months, and had to go to the hosptial becuase of a terrible bladder infection, I wouldn't change one thing about my experience. Georgia changed my life. The people I met there changed my life. The culture and hardships you will face will rock you to your core and with every moment that you spend there you will never be able to understand or even come close the fathoming how much you are growing and learning. So, if given the choice I would reluctantly do it all over again because I am a better, more compassionate, intelligent, patient, and stronger person because of that country. However, my ambivalence only stretches so far and I still can not bring myself to recommend Georgia to any of my friends, but for someone who needs a life change and is searching for themselves like I was, then yes. Go. You will return with a very strong understanding of what kind of man or woman you are.

My experience in Georgia was terrific, due mainly to my Host Family and school placement. I was in the village of Dighomi, just outside of Tbilisi. The school is the 2nd largest, in Georgia, with 900 students. I had 400 students in 14 classes and I conducted each class, on my own, with some translation assistance from my Georgian co-teachers. My host family consisted of 2 sons in their 20's, parents and one grandmother. All members of my family were university educated. They cared for me as a member of their family; giving me the true Georgian guest treatment--wonderful food, inclusive visits with their relatives and friends, assistance with my transportation and needs--they are some of the most interesting, kind and strong people that I've ever met. I remain in contact with my Georgian school teachers and my family, even now.
For someone going on the program, I'd recommend overpacking as you do not know where you'll be placed--this is the biggest drawback of the program. You'll want to be prepared for respiratory and stomach illnesses so it is best to bring anything that you may need to feel better. Although I didn't get any stomach illness, I had a couple of respiratory infections (as did everyone I encountered, from the program.)

I have loved my time in Georgia though it is coming to a close soon. I have been here 7 months and have found that your experiance here is only what you make of it. Signing up for this program is a little like a game of roulette. I asked for a village and was placed in a tiny city while friends who asked for cities were placed in villages. The program does provide new host families if you are not happy where you are placed. But for the most part, I have loved it here. My host family has chickens and cows that sleep in the back yard, and the street isn't paved, but a two minute walk takes me to paved roads and my school. If I walk another 5 min or so, I am at a big church with a great park, and another 3 min takes me to one of the 3 cafes with english menus and free wifi. There are many other volunteers in my city, which is great and normal for a city, but not normal for a village, which is where the majority of people are placed. Fortunatly, there are easily used (once learned) systems of public transportation that can take you to a central town to city to hang out with other native english speakers if the village life is getting too much. They also provide cell phones which have free calls to all the other volunteers, so you are very rarely without people to talk to.
But you have to be more than willing to spend a lot of your time sitting in a room full of people who are speaking another language that is honestly very difficult to learn and that you probably will not be able to converse in in three months, no matter how good your language skills are. You need to be able to self entertain yourself. I have an e-reader, but it made my family feel like I was cutting them out, so I have taken up knitting.
I am very flexible and go with the flow, and that is very much the georgian way. If you like to follow and strict schedule, Georgia might not be for you. Things change at a moments notice and no one thinks to tell the Volunteer, so you might go to school one day to find that they have pushed back the school day by half an hour, or there just is no school today. Learn to laugh at that, and accept it as "Georgian". You are there to teach English and western culture, but you are also there to learn about Georgian culture. The eating, the drinking, the religion, and the relaxedness. I have reccomended it to friends, they have come over, and we are still friends, so yes, I would reccomend this program for anyone who wants to get out and see a completly different way of living.

TLG offers you a chance to immerse yourself in Georgian society, to experience the ups and downs of this country and to really be a part of the local scene. As a teacher at a local school you will quickly become known in your community and people will be very happy to invite you to cultural events, parties or celebrations. The hospitality of Georgia is immense, from the teachers who give you small gifts, to the random strangers who invite you for khinkali (Meaty ravioli) and Chacha (spirit made from grape residues). The teaching is varied and as challenging as you want it to be, you can stimulate the school with extra lessons, fun after-school activities or even field trips. The salary is more than competitive and the living conditions (vary a great deal) are mostly comfortable and enjoyable. So get involved in this project, I have been here for 8 months and I can't get enough of Georgia. The Greenheart program gave me advice and sound support throughout my time pre-departure and during the program.

I always wanted to live overseas but never got the chance, so when I was job searching I always had the idea of teaching abroad as an option. I researched many programs, but found Greenheart Travel advertising for Teach and Learn with Georgia and decided this would be the program for me. I did as much research as I could, read several blogs that were provided to me by Greenheart staff, and went through the application process, which was fairly easy.
I arrived in Georgia last January and originally lived and worked in the East. When I arrived it was very cold, I was in a village where wood was the only source of heat, and in my room there was no heat at all. There was a week where I wore the exact same thing for 5 days because I couldn't imagine getting undressed and there were times I thought I would never be warm again. But the weather improved and soon Georgia turned into paradise, where the mountains provide the backdrop for mile after mile of vineyards, beautiful gardens, fruit trees, and flowers like you've never seen before.
The easiest thing to fall in love with in Georgia is the Georgian people, who automatically love you for coming to their country and speaking a little bit of their language. You get one week of language and cultural training before being placed in a host family, and then most people continue learning after that. Georgian is difficult for me to learn, but the basic phrases and alphabet are all essential to an easier life here.
By far the most challenging part of Georgia is the school. The Ministry of Education is working on sweeping reforms and we are right in the middle of change in action, which means there are times when the school seems to be stuck in time with teaching methodologies (some teachers still ascribe to "read, memorize, recite" theory. However, there is nothing better than the students who adore you and treat you like a celebrity. You will be greeted each day with enthusiastic "Hello Teacher!" over and over.
There were many challenges, but overall I would wholeheartedly recommend both Greenheart and TLG to interested participants. I would just strongly urge people to do their research before coming, as it's definitely not for everyone. You have to come with an open mind and flexible attitude. If you have those things, you will likely love Georgia and Georgia will love you right back.