Job Discussion Forums

[Qaaolchoura]

So I'm applying for a job teaching English in Georgia, which is at a country I've always wanted to visit. It seems to be a government program--I've found programs with almost identical details on several sites. I've got a few questions I'll ask after the interview, but I've also got some questions about the homestay portion of it, which might be difficult to ask. I doubt many people have experience with Georgia, so this is more about homestay experiences you may have had or known someone in, particularly in newly industrialized countries, and/or neighboring countries.

My mother enjoys hosting foreign students, and so we'd had kids from Japan, Korea, and I think some European country (though that was when I was little), so while I've seen "homestays" from the perspective of the host, they are very different from what I'd be doing (aside from the fact that I'd be an American in a foreign country, rather than a foreigner in America). For our family, the visitors were usually children, the longest visit was a couple months, and these were part of language/cultural programs that children paid for, while I would be paid to go there (I'd be nominally a volunteer, but in addition to housing, paperwork and plane fare, I'd have a $300/month stipend).

So I'll start with the most awkward question first and work my way down:

1. I'm not particularly good with girls, though I'm getting better. I have a friend from college who works East Asia because he claims that Chinese girls really like Americans. From what a classmate from Georgia told me, it's a very religious country, which doesn't stop premarital sex in Georgia anymore than it does for observant Catholics here in Massachusetts. So while there's really no guarantee that I would find a girl in Georgia willing to date me, much less sleep me, I'd really hate to rule the idea out based on my living circumstances. (I speak conversant, if choppy, Arabic. People keep asking me why I don't try to find a job in the Arab world. This is the biggest reason I don't give them.) How much of an issue is it likely to be if, teaching on a homestay I bring back a girl? And/or what are the other options I might have?

2. What kind of living conditions would I expect? I've heard that Georgian culture is supposed to be hospitable (but I don't think there's a culture I haven't heard that about, except the developed parts of Europe and Russia), so I would imagine they're likely to do everything they can, but I'd imagine that both the style and standards of living are very different than in the US. What might I expect in terms of room size, natural light, and furnishings? What about the shared living area? (Here I'd really like to hear from people with experience in Southern/Eastern Europe or the Middle East, since while Turkey or Russia will certainly be different from Georgia, I'd expect they'd be much less so than Germany or China.)

3. One of these ads mentions the homestay providing board, one doesn't, and both mention the cost of food to show how far the stipend will go. I'm a picky eater, though most of my complaints are about cabbage dishes and pasta, both of which seem to be mercifully absent from Georgian cuisine. But all the same... if they are supposed to feed me, can I, as an adult, handle this by nicely explaining that there are certain things I don't like to eat, and insisting they really don't have to accommodate me? Or alternatively, can I take a page from the Japanese student who stayed with us and ate heartily when we served certain foods, but insisted he wasn't hungry when we served others? He only had to keep this up for a month rather than a year, and my mother wouldn't have cared if she noticed (I didn't ask), so I'm not sure if this is a formality in parts of the world where people are more tactful than Americans, or simply unique to this kid.

I think my other questions are really Georgia-specific, but they're mostly less awkward, so I can safely ask the interviewer about them directly.

Thanks and regards,
~Q

[Lukas]

Hey there. I've never been involved in a home stay one way or another, but I'm just going to tackle your first question from what I consider to be a common sense point of view. First of all, I've seen the program you're talking about. Since the Georgian participants of the home stays are government investigated and certified, I'm assuming that many of them are family based. Secondly, you are living in someones home essentially for free. You are a guest in their home. That being said, you should be less focused on what is awkward for you than what is awkward for them. Finding your house guest in, ahem, flagrante, definitely falls into the realm of awkward. So my advice is strongly against "bringing a girl home" (which I interpret as you meaning having sex with the woman and having her stay over). If you just want to bring her over for dinner or something I'm sure that would be fine, as long as you get approval from your host prior. Otherwise, just find a woman with her own apartment, or get a hotel room.

[Qaaolchoura]

[Sadebugo]

[Sadebugo]

Forgot to add, you can always go the matchmaking route which is very popular in Georgia. But again, this would imply a relationship with an element of permanence to it:)

Sadebugo
http://travldawrld.blogspot.com/

[Lukas]

Well, honestly your questions on the home stay situation are actually why I decided to avoid this program (not to mention the money, but if you don't have any debt it won't really matter). Like Sadebugo said, it can be either great or miserable. I personally wouldn't chance a home stay being miserable for a program which lasts a whole year. Hell, even if I got on great with the family a year seems too long, I'd worry about imposing, although that's probably just my own neurotic self

So it's really hit or miss as far as home stays go. That goes for housing too, it's just the house of whoever you get assigned to. And of course placement is a big issue. Some of the locations may be in small towns, and naturally a little less fancy. Can't really tell you what it's like with any accuracy, unfortunately. But I heard a rumor that many of the locations for this program in particular are around Batumi, next to Turkey and a port city on the Black Sea, which as far as I can tell is Georgia's second city (after Tblisi). But I don't think they let you pick, particularly at this late juncture (first teachers have already arrived for the program).

I mean, who knows, maybe you'd get assigned to live with the Georgian Fonz who would make it his life mission to set you up with a nice Georgian girl. No way of knowing. Although there was an article in the New York Times today about Georgia, which mentioned how deeply conservative and religious Georgian society is, so I am deferring to Sadebugo's judgment.

But either way, Georgia does sound fantastic, and you'd be in for a heck of an adventure.

[jpvanderwerf2001]

Did you mean to imply above that Russians aren't hospitable? That couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, judging by what you've written, Russia seems a great place for you socially.
Best of luck in any case.

[Qaaolchoura]

Thanks guys, I have decided not to do this program.
The money isn't really the issue, the lack of health coverage bothered me, but the real concern is the homestay.
It's not that I think Georgians are inhospitable. I've only met a handful of Georgians but I've liked everyone I've met. It's just that I really dislike the idea of spending a year in a living situation that I effectively have no control over. I've had only one bad experience with communal living: it was at college--the noise that kept me up and the pot smoke that gave me headaches and though the housing office was completely on my side, I had to move, because there were a lot more of them, and they threatened me when they found out I'd complained. Obviously the issues I would face with a family Georgia would be different, but it's really not something I'd be comfortable trying for a year.

Also, jpvander: Georgia isn't Russia. The only thing the Georgians have in common with Russia is Eastern Orthodoxy and the Soviet Union (under the Tsar Georgia was effectively autonomous). I've got friends who spent time in Russia and loved it, but they were generally half Russian and spoke Russian already. I'm not really comfortable with the idea of living in an autocracy (the other objection I have to living in the Arab world), and I don't really know anything about Russia apart from it's history. My half-Russian friends all grew up in the US, and are all Jews or atheists rather than Orthodox. I knew a couple Russian-Russians too, and they'll all Jews whose families fled when the Soviet union collapsed. They came here as children and none of them has any desire to return. So yeah, Russia doesn't really appeal to me. (The Ukraine is a different story but all the jobs I've seen there are 90 days so they don't have to get you a visa, which seems fishy.) I see you're in Vladivostok, and I've heard the far east is very different from the rest of the country, but still...

[jpvanderwerf2001]

I'm not a huge Russia apologist, I was just saying that the hospitality here is wonderful.
And thanks for the history lesson; I've only spent 5 years in Russia and 2 in Ukraine.
Interesting that you define Russia as an autocracy (which it may well be), but don't count modern Georgia as one. Hm.

[Qaaolchoura]

[jooooooey]

[cks]

Well you said that you have decided not to do this program. I have lived here in Georgia for almost a year and I can tell you this program is definitely not for you. Women are all expected to remain virgins and I have not met a single Georgian girl who will break these laws and in my region women do not even kiss until they are engaged. And they will provide your food in your homestay and you will be expected to eat many portions of whatever they feed you and they will not take no as an answer. Power cuts, lack of Central Heat and A/C as well as lack of running water during many hours will also be the norm.

There are many great things about living here in Georgia and Georgians are perhaps the most warm and loving nationals that I have ever been honored to know, but I living with them would not be your cup of tea.

[Qaaolchoura]