Reach to Teach: Teach English in Georgia

After having read the reviews prior to applying for the Teach English in Georgia program and now having been in Georgia for 2 fulls months, I can confidently say that I am very glad I chose this program.
After spending the first week here in training in a wonderful city, Tbilisi and a week with my host family getting myself oriented, I was then able to dive in to school. The kids are great! Teaching methods are quite different here than what I'm used to. And with three co-teachers it's quite the variety. My three co-teachers have been trained in Russia, Georgia and Armenia. It's fun and difficult at the same time to work with each other them. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. After a month and a half of teaching with them and really getting involved in the school, not just grades 1-6, but also upper levels as well, and throwing my spin on things, we have all come to smoothly operate with one another. At first it was difficult to adapt the the Georgian way of interaction between the students and teachers. I found their way to be much to forceful and abusive at times. However, with a little bit of finesse, lots of smiles and really connecting with the students, I was able to get my co-teachers to create a more jovial atmosphere in the classroom. I think my co-teachers were just feeling a bit over worked and having a second pair of hands, eyes and ears has helped a lot in the classroom. I have been able to form different relationships with my co-teachers and classes. Needless to say, despite the sometimes aggravating situations that come with every job, I really enjoy the variety of levels, challenges and fun that I have from day to day. It definitely keeps me on my toes and thinking about what's next.
The Georgian people, despite their cool outer shell, are a very welcoming people. One "dila mshvidobisa" or "garmajobat" and their face lights up! They love staring, but it's more out of curiosity and wanting to get to know you. I have found that as long as I keep a smile on my face, listen with an open mind and don't say anything too definite, everyone will have an enjoyable time.
I will have to say that the Georgian people are definitely a very emotionally driven folk. Behind every word, they throw all their feeling into it. I have found this, at times, to be a bit much. I myself and a very outgoing and gregarious person, but I believe I have met my match in good and bad ways. I have learned that being able to calmly reply to any given extreme situation will often help calm things back down. At the same time, being able to equally react with excitement or sadness is also good. They are a prideful bunch and want to make sure that you are experiencing a good time or that you understand fully what is going on. They want to make you feel as included as possible. Which I have felt from day one. Just stay clear of the politics.
My host family is amazing. I have a Deda (mom), Da (sister), Dzma (brother), Dis kanonit (sister-in-law) and a Dishvili (nephew). I really feel like part of the family. We bond over toasted sunflower seeds a few times a week, Deda and I eat dinner together and are the first ones to begin the morning over a cup of tea or coffee. My Da is also my school's director. She has been great. At first I thought it would be awkward, but school time is for school and at home, we are sisters. My Dishvili is 14 and acts every bit the teenager. Since I have a 17 year old brother back home, he makes me feel like I'm back home listening to my brother argue with my mom. Aside from walking around the house in my house shoes with no socks and wearing chacos to school until the weather started cooling down, we've gotten along fantastically. They just think I'm crazy and will die from having cold feet. I love that they care. It's what makes it special.
Borjomi is one the the larger towns in Georgia. I applied to the program not caring where I was placed. I love everything from the city to the village. Borjomi is perfect. I often visit my sister-in-law's village outside of Gori with her and I love it there too. Despite the turkish toilets, less than warm showers and interesting food choices in the villages, I love spending time there. It's a breath of fresh air. In Borjomi, I have been lucky to have 2 western toilets, hot showers and access to internet, although I do try to stay away from the internet so that I can enjoy my host family, surrounds and school more.
Even though this is my third time living abroad, I believe it will be an extremely memorable one. This time is different. This time there are different ups and downs to experience in a completely different culture uniquely its own. I'm soaking it all up and learning what I can. Just rolling with the punches and enjoying what I can.

Critical Feedback:

As far as Reach to Teach is concerned, I have no complaints! Very helpful and communicative the whole way through.

My boyfriend and I were looking for job opportunities in Korea. After weeding out many scams and inattentive recruiters, John at Reach to Teach was the first person to really talk to us personally (he called us personally and we talked to him for about an hour the first time we made contact!). He was frank and very helpful, saying that it might be best for us to wait until a more opportune time to apply to East Asia and for now go to Georgia for a couple of months with TLG - Teach and Learn with Georgia. Although we knew nothing about it, we decided to jump on the opportunity and Reach to Teach was there every step of the way.

We got there and as I write this I'm actually in a little village in Georgia, taking a break between teaching and living with a host family. It's nothing like what we were expecting, and it's challenging sometimes, but it's an experience I would never take back. Georgia is a fascinating place that is really starting to change. It has an obscure, beautiful language and a very unique culture. We're indebted to John and the rest of Reach to Teach for getting us here and we'd happily recommend them to anyone looking to teach abroad (they don't only recruit for Georgia - they also can get you to Thailand, China, Chile, Taiwan, and Korea).

It is not bad. The pay is better than in villages or towns, but mediocre if it is in a big city in Georgia. This below describe my village conditions and possibly other people's situations.The students can be out of control and disrespectful. Many students are either not interested to learn or had disinterest in the prior experience. The teachers are often very rigid and focused too much reading and writing. Depending on the host family, food can be very lacking and difficult to get protein and other nutrients. Often many places in village will not have easily accessible hot water and plumbing in toilets. The food can be expensive though on local income.
Although people are friendly and sometimes will invite you for supra/party. The natural scenery is very nice. The staff is pretty supportive.
If you like living a simple life with outdoor stuff to do, this is for you. If you like your standard western urban lifestyle, this might not be for you unless you are willing to pay/work extra.

We are living in Odishi, near Zugdidi, and we have no Internet connection in our village, so we must travel to the city to send emails, etc.

Our host family is amazing. They had a volunteer last year so they know how it goes. They are very friendly, generous and our living conditions are fine.

We have loved learning the language and practicing on family and at eateries.

School is going well. My two co-teachers are pretty good. One speaks great English while the other teacher's English abilities are okay. I have four days a week teaching and 3-4 classes a day so the work load is minimal. I have been running an after school English club which seems to be going well. This is extended to anyone who wants to come so I have some older kids coming to that. As you probably know TLG volunteers now only teach grades 1-6.

There has been many opportunities to travel and we have been hiking in the mountains for a week, on the Black Sea coast around Batumi and Sarpi, and up to Sihgnagi in wine making country. We were so fortunate to be in the training group we were in and we have made many great friends that we have been travelling with.

TLG arranged to take us all down to Batumi to see the opera which was held at a newly decorated theatre. The event was attended by the president. The president sat just behind us and we were on tv, much to the delight of our host family who saw the whole thing on the news. We were put up in a 5-star hotel, taken out for restaurant meals and travel was all sorted. We REALLY appreciated this as we aren't paid much. It was nice to have this opportunity to sweeten the deal.

Regarding photos and such, I'm sure you will understand that given the lack of Internet availability that this will be difficult for us. I hope this email is of some use. Feel free to quote me or rewrite my thoughts. I don't mind at all !

Cheers to Rick at Reach To Teach Recruiting and thanks again for all your help in getting us here. We are having a fantastic adventure!

Best,

Eric & Anna Murray

Disclaimer: This review was posted by a Reach To Teach staff member on behalf of Eric and Anna, who have limited access to the Internet. We received their permission to post this review.