Teach in the Republic of Georgia

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.

First, let me say that this program provided me with my first opportunity to travel outside the U.S. and for that I am truly grateful. Second, Greenheart's application/interview process was thorough and efficient. Third,the TLG staff here in Georgia are always working for and communicating with their volunteers.
TLG placed me with a great host family. They really listen to you when you have specific issues, mine was smoking, and they found me a non-smoking family. I'm with a couple and their 12 year old son. His mother teaches Georgian and I teach in his English glass. In a happy coincidence he is obsessed with martial arts in which I have an extensive background. Almost every Friday the boys have a San Da (Chinese freestyle sparring) class, which I attend.
The village that I'm in is about 3 hours drive west from Tblisi. Nestled in the Lesser Caucasus' it is absolutely beautiful here, especially now that Spring has arrived. I'm from Southern New Jersey (highest point 232 ft. above sea level) so the terrain here is very different to say the least. I really enjoy hiking in the surrounding mountains, and I'm fitter now than I have been in years.
Teaching here is difficult sometimes, with few resources, cold in the winter, power outages and unruly children but the challenges are truly what make it worth coming here. And I'll be honest I have not come up with many grand solutions to the problems we face here, but every day I try to the best I can.

I'd say more but I have to go to school now.

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.

What do you look for in a volunteer opportunity? A rewarding challenge? An interesting culture? Welcoming people? I found this in the Republic of Georgia. The local teachers were very professional and welcoming to the co-teacher program and it was very easy to jump in and start teaching.

The host family was very respectful, generous and kind. Tutoring was enjoyable with the host-mom and the host-sister and I was placed with a family that genuinely cared about me. They planned and took me on weekend trips and even to new restaurants in Tbilisi. I was placed near Tbilisi so we had a lot of cultural options including going to movies, concerts, and museums.

Greenheart Travel was also great to work with and they were very transparent. They managed expectations and represented the program in an honest and forthright manner. I would recommend volunteering in Georgia and using Greenheart Travel.

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.

I'm currently a teacher in The Republic of Georgia and I love every minute of this experience. I'm actually in school right now, doing this review before class begins. I highly recommend for everyone to experience this beautiful and beautifully challenging country. My journey began with finding a "Teach in Georgia" program link through Greenheart Travel.

I simply followed the steps provided, gave all of my required documentation, had my interviews and was swept away to this very foreign country. I hold a Bachelor's degree and teaching certifications so the process for me was fairly easy, also due in part to Greenheart Travel for streamlining the process for me. You don't need the qualifications I have in order to come to Georgia.

I arrived in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, for a 7 day orientation with Teach Learn Georgia (TLG), the flagship program that is hiring all of the English teachers. They gave us Teaching Methodology and Georgian language lessons as well as providing some intercultural training. From there I was given my assignment, the beautiful coastal village of Bobokvati near Kobuleti city. Most teachers get placed in rural villages and other in larger cities. This is where the true adventure began.

Since then I have been eating amazing Georgian food, which consists mainly of beef, chicken, bread, cheese, lots of veggies and herbs. Almost everything is grown by the villagers in their gardens and it's extremely fresh. I have also tried the famous Georgian wine, which also is made by most Georgians: Georgia is the birth place of wine after all!!

Teaching here is rewarding and challenging. Since Georgia is still a developing country, your teaching materials such as projectors and the like will be rare or not even seen at all. You have to get creative with your lessons but TLG does provide you with new English lesson books through MacMillan publishers. Bring any kind of teaching material you can, books, pictures, posters and even learn some songs to teach your students, they go crazy for songs. The kids are some of the most eager I've seen and love to have English teachers in their schools.

As far as packing is concerned, pack for everything. I wish I had brought lots of medicine because as with any country, it will take some time for your body to adapt to the local climate and food. I would also recommend bringing laptops and movies and music to occupy some of your time. Traveling in this country is extremely cheap and I have already seen all of the country. I try to travel every weekend with my fellow TLG friends. You get to meet lots of wonderful people and fill up your picture albums for Facebook!

All in all the Georgian people are very welcoming and friendly and it's not unheard of to get invited into strangers homes for some food and wine. Georgian hospitality is bar none the best I've ever experienced. My local community was very welcoming and my co-workers here at my school have been amazing at helping me with everything I need. Greenheart also continues to provide my with all the assistance necessary and I can get help whenever I need it. I have definitely learned a lot while being here, become more open to meeting new people and learned that it's not what the country has to offer you, it's the people in it that make the experience.

You should come to Georgia, have the experience of a lifetime and enjoy everything Georgia and it's people have to offer! You get paid more than most teachers do but it's a modest sum compared to what you are probably used to. Still, it's more than enough to travel the country, eat what you want and enjoy your life in the unique and rewarding place.