Job Discussion Forums

JacobTM · Joined: 02 Jun 2009 Posts: 73 Location: New York

Hello,

I'm hoping to hear about some recent experiences teaching in Georgia now that their government has been contracting English teachers for some time. I've read old threads about it, but they are all from years ago, so I'm hoping to hear from someone who's done it recently.

I'm aware the salary is low and I would go with savings, really I'm interested in the experience of staying in Georgia for a few months over making any money.

I've a CELTA and 2 years experience teaching in the U.S. and abroad, so I'm confident in my ability to handle the classes and succeed there.

What I'm interested in is more the specifics of how it works.

Have you been able to choose your city, or is it a roll of the dice?

How has airfare worked, is the teacher expected to buy the ticket and later be reimbursed, or is a ticket actually bought in your name by some third party?

How about living accomodations? The normal deal I see advertised is that you live with a Georgian family, have people had any problems? What is the situation with hot water, food, being able to come and go from the home etc.?

Really, any information and recent experiences from Georgia would be lovely.

Thanks,
Jacob

golsa · Joined: 20 Nov 2011 Posts: 185

jooooooey · Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 65

It's somewhat like the South Korean gig, where they choose where you go, buy you a plane ticket before you leave, provide you with insurance and a place to live and everything. You can request a city if you have health reasons, otherwise where you go depends on when you arive. I came in October I think and the October arrivals went in and around Tbilisi. Although a lot of people get sent to far off villages, a lot of the schools are in the bigger cities.

Regarding saving, I didn't come with any money and I got by fine. Georgia's really cheap. You would be making a good salary by Georgian standards. If you want to travel a lot, you might want to bring money though.

Some people had problems, with their family or where they were placed, but if you talk to TLG they'll move you. Everyone tells you something different. I got placed with a university student in his aparment. I helped out a little on rent and bought my own food except when his family visited. I still had plenty of money. Other people didn't like where they lived and rented their own apartment (I think these people had a little bit of savings). Again, this was in Tbilisi.

Some people really didn't like it, it's a much different culture and there's some problems, especially in the schools, but I really liked Georgia.

golsa · Joined: 20 Nov 2011 Posts: 185

naughtybynature · Joined: 18 Jun 2009 Posts: 15 Location: Georgia

Golsa...

I sense a lot of bitterness...

Yes you do earn a lot less than South Korea. No-one goes to Georgia to save money, but the money you make is more than enough to have a good time in most places. In Tbilisi especially if you have your own apartment then that salary isn't enough.

I personally didn't find Georgians to be xenophobic. They may be ignorant at times but not xenophobic. They were very welcoming and most foreigners get treated very well by the locals. I can't comment on South Korea as I haven't been there.

Hospitals aren't great but the insurance actually gets you better access than most locals. In Gori for instance foreign teachers are treated at the army hospital which locals do not have access to. Granted it'a developing country so resources and standards of practice are low sometimes. I have heard some ridiculous stories from Zugdidi for instance.

Males only really have trouble finding host families in Tbilisi. Elsewhere it is pretty straightforward. Care to provide examples of areas where no males are allowed. Undesirable is subjective anyway. From my friends the happiest guy was someone living in Bolnisi which is not a place desirable to me but somewhere desirable to him. Not everyone desires to go to Tbilisi. If you do want to stay in Tbilisi then just rent yourself a place.

As for the host family thing I had three host families during my time in Georgia. My first was brilliant and my second was less good and my third was decent. All had different pros and cons.Everyone has a different experience with host families and it's wrong to generalise. I was fed very well by all and all gave me my privacy. I know teachers who have had terrible experiences and those that have had wonderful experiences. It's a lottery.

Taking months for males is an exaggeration. There are issues with this process as unfortunately there is no issue with families breaching contract. So if a host family decides they don't want you anymore they can just say so without any consequence. There is no notice period stipulated either which is a negative. That said you are housed in a hostel usually in Tbilisi until a new family is found for you.

And my experience was typical for a TLG volunteer. I was initially placed in Gardabani which is about as non-urban an environment you can have in Georgia, and then Gori which is a lot closer to Tbilisi in terms of standard of living.

But the point about Tbilisi is correct. Males find it difficult to find host families there so most guys I know who want to live in Tbilisi just rent their own places. After your first term you can pretty much move wherever you like. There are always available schools so if you want to move to a new place where there are no host families you can always rent.

Your points aren't applicable to most cases in Georgia. They do happen but they are hardly typical.

I am not going to tell everyone they will have a wonderful time in Georgia. We're all different and our experiences and expectations will be different too. I had a wonderful time in Georgia as do many others. There are also many who don't.

Your generalisations don't help potential teachers to make an informed decision.

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naughtybynature · Joined: 18 Jun 2009 Posts: 15 Location: Georgia

Golsa...

I sense a lot of bitterness...

Yes you do earn a lot less than South Korea. No-one goes to Georgia to save money, but the money you make is more than enough to have a good time in most places. In Tbilisi especially if you have your own apartment then that salary isn't enough.

I personally didn't find Georgians to be xenophobic. They may be ignorant at times but not xenophobic. They were very welcoming and most foreigners get treated very well by the locals. I can't comment on South Korea as I haven't been there.

Hospitals aren't great but the insurance actually gets you better access than most locals. In Gori for instance foreign teachers are treated at the army hospital which locals do not have access to. Granted it'a developing country so resources and standards of practice are low sometimes. I have heard some ridiculous stories from Zugdidi for instance.

Males only really have trouble finding host families in Tbilisi. Elsewhere it is pretty straightforward. Care to provide examples of areas where no males are allowed. Undesirable is subjective anyway. From my friends the happiest guy was someone living in Bolnisi which is not a place desirable to me but somewhere desirable to him. Not everyone desires to go to Tbilisi. If you do want to stay in Tbilisi then just rent yourself a place.

As for the host family thing I had three host families during my time in Georgia. My first was brilliant and my second was less good and my third was decent. All had different pros and cons.Everyone has a different experience with host families and it's wrong to generalise. I was fed very well by all and all gave me my privacy. I know teachers who have had terrible experiences and those that have had wonderful experiences. It's a lottery.

Taking months for males is an exaggeration. There are issues with this process as unfortunately there is no issue with families breaching contract. So if a host family decides they don't want you anymore they can just say so without any consequence. There is no notice period stipulated either which is a negative. That said you are housed in a hostel usually in Tbilisi until a new family is found for you.

And my experience was typical for a TLG volunteer. I was initially placed in a remote village, and then an urban environment in my second term. I also stayed with host families for my whole stay in Georgia.

But the point about Tbilisi is correct. Males find it difficult to find host families there so most guys I know who want to live in Tbilisi just rent their own places. After your first term you can pretty much move wherever you like. There are always available schools so if you want to move to a new place where there are no host families you can always rent.

Your points aren't applicable to most cases in Georgia. They do happen but they are hardly typical.

I am not going to tell everyone they will have a wonderful time in Georgia. We're all different and our experiences and expectations will be different too. I had a wonderful time in Georgia as do many others. There are also many who don't.

Your generalisations don't help potential teachers to make an informed decision.

[/quote]

golsa · Joined: 20 Nov 2011 Posts: 185

White ice · Joined: 28 Aug 2012 Posts: 37

interesting stuff.

golsa · Joined: 20 Nov 2011 Posts: 185

What's the worst part of the gig in Georgia?

It's a toss up between watching the local teachers keep their jobs after hitting students, which is illegal under Georgian law, and your contract provision that effectively states that you're not a real teacher and your job is only to provide encouragement to the local teachers and students. Yes, one of these is obviously worse than the other, but it shows you what a charade the entire operation is.

The entire operation is a joke and everyone knows it. Oh yea, posting negative comments about the TLG program is even against the contract. I hope that I'm not jailed and abused with broom handles as Georgian prisoners were recently subjected to.

naughtybynature · Joined: 18 Jun 2009 Posts: 15 Location: Georgia

I am not a fan of TLG myself from my own experience but I find that far too often there are those who are either exaggerate how good the program is or exaggerate how terrible it all is...its difficult to find a balance...

500 Gel isn't enough in places like Tbilisi and is a struggle once you don't live with a host family but if you want to live in the capital you have to find additional work. One friend of mine left Zugdidi to move to Tbilisi and made 500 Gel a month from private work. I myself found a second teaching job because I wanted to make more money.

I lived with host families so am not going to disagree with your figures. 500 Gel isn't enough to enjoy yourself while living out.

Georgians are overly nationalistic but I maintain that my experience wasn't xenophobic. We had a local place we would go to and the waitresses used to fraternise with us without a problem. The customers had no problems with us and male friends of the waitress weren't hostile to me but simply shared their chacha with me. I have taken Georgian girls out without incident. So your experiment didn't work in my case. All people have different experiences after all.

You mention what some locals say. Georgians aren't a single entity.

On the medical facilities I agree with you. They aren't great but then I knew that when I got here. However it's worth noting that the low life span of the average Georgia is 77. I can't comment on the major operation point. Do you have something to back up that point?

I've already stated that I think TLG organise the host families very badly. There is no real protection for teachers. I myself was given a few hours notice to leave my second host family so I'm not exactly someone who supports TLG in this area. That said I still maintain that males were able to find host families. The main issue was with males that wanted to move to Tbilisi. I had friends who changed host families and all the males from my group were provided host families if they wanted them. I don't know if things have changed this term but last term stories like yours were an exception rather than the norm.

Out of interest what kind of locations were your friends turning down and what locations were they requesting?

I stayed in a hostel for over a week till they found me a new host family. I didn't pay for the weekends and I didn't pay for laundry either. So your story is news to me. That said it is frustrating and for reasons I have already stated in regards to how easy it is for a host family to let you go.

For my friends that moved to Tbilisi none of them had problems finding schools. TLG has no obligation to find you schools but they generally don't have a problem finding them. The issues my male friends had in Tbilisi was finding host families. School's were not a problem.

And regarding your final paragraph, that's fair enough. Things are not always going to be rosy but that can be down to a number of factors. There are some that just can't adapt to new cultures or this was their first time away from home and they hated it. There are those who have had bad luck with host families. Some have had excellent co-teachers while others have had some that don't even speak English. Some have made an effort with the language and some haven't. All sorts of things effect ones experience here

Everyone is different and they come across different people. No one persons experience is the same and there are plenty of people in Georgia who have both positive and negative experiences of the place.

golsa · Joined: 20 Nov 2011 Posts: 185

Here are some words about the TLG program written by someone who is married to a Georgian woman and has been with the program since group #2:

mzuri · Joined: 30 May 2011 Posts: 78

I returned to the U.S. in June after a year in Georgia.

Some people have had truly bad experiences in Georgia; some brilliant experiences; most in between. Some had bad experiences through no fault of their own; some had bad experiences because of their attitudes or behavioral choices.

Host families run the gamut from exceptional to miserable.

TLG staff, for the most part, do a very good job under difficult conditions. Sometimes they don't.

Although not without challenges, I had a good experience in Georgia. I was placed in Rustavi and had two host families, both were good.

I see loaded words being used in some of the posts above. "Nationalistic" is one, as in Georgians being "overly nationalistic." From a different perspective - Georgians are honestly, disarmingly proud of their country, culture, and heritage. They love to share it with you, too, in enjoyable ways.

I know the person cited from Group #2 - rather than go by the tiny excerpt provided in the above post re: Neal's feelings/experience on Georgia, read his blog for yourself at http://peripateticpedagogue.wordpress.com/. He has his POV; it is not a universal one. What the poster doesn't share with you is that Neal is the editor of TLG's official blog, hardly the job one would have if he was so negative about the program and the country.

You can look at my experience, too, and judge for yourself the ups and downs re: Georgia: http://livingrootless.blogspot.com/2011/07/first-day-in-rustavi.html.

And here's a guy (a so-called, much-maligned foreign male in Georgia!) who is currently in country: http://sanchezjohnson.wordpress.com/

I was able to live and travel throughout Georgia (with a side trip to Armenia) just fine on my stipend alone. This would have been more difficult if I were placed in Tbilisi. Paying for my own apartment would have made it even more difficult. However, it's pretty easy to get private teaching gigs while there.

To say that TLG is universally despised or is considered a joke by all Georgians. Complete BS.

There's currently a hold on teacher recruitment because of the change in the national administration.

golsa · Joined: 20 Nov 2011 Posts: 185

mzuri · Joined: 30 May 2011 Posts: 78

I don't know how your gossip about Neal pertains to this thread's topic, which is the TLG/Georgian experience.

I think it's an inappropriate and unfair post to make.

Sumbo11 · Joined: 22 Aug 2012 Posts: 10

I spent 8 months in Georgia this past year. I did a 4 month contract with TLG, and then started my own summer IEP outside of TLG. I lived in a very isolated and rural village in the mountains in Adjara.

This experience was one of the best in my entire life. I was with an incredible host family. The entire village was very welcoming to me. If I walked around, it was guaranteed that I would be invited into someone's home to eat and talk.

While I think the program is ineffective, I made a significant difference in the lives of the students. After class I would regularly play games, sports, and cards with the students. In the summer I was invited to many of their mountain homes to stay and relax.

I spent very little time with other TLG volunteers. I came to Georgia to teach in a unique cultural environment. 500 Lari is very little, but I still saved at least 30% of that. This a volunteer program with a monthly stipend.

I never received any harassment for being a male, foreigner, American, or someone who wears shorts (all of the young men wore shorts in the summer, too). If anything, because of those things Georgians were much more interested and open in speaking with me.

I wish I could have stayed longer, and I would like to return and visit my host family and friends in the future.