Teach in the Republic of Georgia

The food in Georgia is not really the best, although the wine is great.
The people are very friendly, but at the same time very nosy.
There is very little to do as far as night life outside the two major cities. But the country offers great natural landscapes.
The weather is a bit extreme; namely, cold and snowy in the winter and very hot in the summer.
The pay is more than sufficient.

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!

The program that Greenheart recruited me for was aptly named "Teach and Learn With Georgia." I taught English to Georgian children, and learned some Georgian myself. I taught Georgians about American culture and ways of life, and learned all about Georgia and its people. I also learned a great deal about myself and that I can do whatever I set my mind to, no matter how daunting it may be at first. Greenheart made this experience possible for me, and for that I am incredibly grateful. The application process was painless and they answered all of my questions quickly and thoroughly. I would undoubtedly recommend to them to a friend.

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.

As an experienced teacher, teaching in Georgian schools can be frustrating but working with Georgian children is extremely rewarding. Be prepared for lack of classroom management, teaching methodology and Soviet era teaching attitudes. Despite this the children are energetic, enthusiastic and will be happy to see you.

Overall, the experience has been enjoyable and has provided the opportunity to see and be a part of things that you would never see anywhere else. If you come in the winter be ready for cold and mud-bring lots of layers!

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.)

Teaching is Georgia takes a lot of patience. There are little to no teaching resources (ie copy machine, printer, paper, chalk...), teachers have not been trained in classroom management and students are often out of control. However, kids are kids and Georgian children will love you and will teach you as much as you teach them.

Georgia is an incredibly friendly country-I am always being given gifts, food, wine and warm wishes from total strangers on the street.

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.