Job Discussion Forums

[Budapatty]

I really love Turkey, and mean no insult when I say this, but, being from the west, isn't it a bit surprising to hear someone say that Turkey has a better setup than another country? I mean, Turkey is not always thought of as being well-developed. It is trying to join the EU and still has a long way to go in terms of development, but, aside from honor killings, it is far ahead of Georgia, though very much like it in many ways. I can think of mistreatment of women, corruption, wrestling contests, and the food to begin with, as well as the general appearance of the people. However, being that it is a Muslim country which wound up with some land that belonged to Georgia at one time, Georgians still show prejudice towards Turks, although Tarkan is making some inroads! Hooray, Tarkan! But, thanks to Turkey's relaxed visa requirements for Georgians, many are able to go find work there, but a Georgian will not admit it if a female relative is there, even if it his mom doing legitimate trading bringing goods to sell in Georgia, because everyone will say, "She is putanka!" (selling her body in someplace like Trabzon). Turkish products are available in Georgia, and I think Turkey is just fine.

[traveller99]

I've just been reading through the Russia/CIS comments, especially about Georgia, and as I'm now back home after spending quite a while in the area I thought I'd add some of my own.
Yeah, Georgia has its problems but doesn't every country? I can't say I had more problems in Georgia than elsewhere. And I can say that I was never mugged/robbed as I have been in several other countries. I can also say that Georgians are incredibly hospitable and it's not always the "hostage" kind mentioned by Buddapatty. I had Georgians show me incredible kindness just because I was a poor foreigner who ended up on their doorstep in some place where there was nowhere to stay. They didn't force anything on me, gave up their best bed in the warmest room and were generally great. I met quite a few women who hadn't had any problems either, unlike Turkey.
However, living and working in Georgia can be difficult and if you're addicted to all the trappings of the so-called civilised west, then you'll find life easier if you kick the habit.
As for schools, I heard dodgy things about International House and ETI. IH has terrible pay and ETI, even though it's a British company, seems to have useless local administration who can't be controlled by the expat manager. Apparently the last few teachers have left because they couldn't stand it any more. Can anyone verify/add anything to this?
Overall, life in Georgia was great and it's certainly preferable to life in the UK.

[Budapatty]

Just a comment about being addicted to the trappings of the west, I can happily say that I have lived many years in the US without a television, a hairdryer, or computer. In fact, now I live in Budapest with no home computer or stereo, and an old tv that came with the flat, but I only get local channels, no cable, and am not very interested in watching it. I do, however, enjoy a refrigerator. Sure, it's fine to prepare your food from fresh produce every day, but that's not always available in a place like Lagodekhi. And if you are not a big wine drinker and a vegetarian, it's hard to participate in the table functions. Anyway, women are not supposed to get tipsy on wine. Sure, it's fantastic to be a guest in Georgia, but you are never going to see how it really is as a guest. You may not get the chance to be intimately involved in the terrible situation that I was when I discovered that Georgian husbands beat their wives, and no one will help because the wife is under the rule of the husband. Just so you all know that my experience is different and that I was not a happy-go-lucky traveller who was experiencing a new culture with wide-open eyes like a child. I never said tourists were getting robbed. Sure there's crime in every country, but in my town people came into their neighbors' houses and shot and killed mothers and sons, stole school teachers' possessions while they were at work for pay that was months in arrears, one month of which was due to the mayor absconding with the teachers' pay, heroin use was rampant (coming over the border from Azerbaijan), and a couple guys on my street raped an 18 year old mentally handicapped girl then killed her. This in a town of 2000 people. Those are pretty bad odds. I myself had to dodge a rape while changing in the woods after swimming in the river. People thought I had AIDS and was available because I was an American woman. I knew other women who were stalked when they lived alone because men thought they had no "patroni" and could be used by anyone. So now you know where my attitude towards Georgia comes from. I came with a positive attitude. It's a very mafiosi style place, and you can go there if you like, I really don't care, but I can't paint such a rosy picture. Stay in Tbilisi and stick to the tourist areas and you should be fine. Get yourself dug in for a while and really get to know a community and you will see what I mean.

[Budapatty]

I also would like to mention that for eight days at a time we were without water or electricity, sometimes both at once, with the river pretty far away. We usually got electricity (brown style) for about 4 hours a day, either in the middle of the night, or in the middle of the day. After Saakashvili got elected, it would last maybe 8 hours and come on at a regular time, say, from 5 or 7pm to midnight, or at 11 pm or midnight until 7 am, maybe at the same time for a week or so, to where you could expect it until it changed up again. In the summer I took cold showers from a bucket, which I hauled from a spigot outside into the cement outdoor room where I bathed. When it got cold I planned ahead and heated it on the wood stove for about an hour, and it was okay. The wood stove was put out every night and only used in the cold season, but it meant that there was actually no heat when sleeping in sub-zero temperatures. I later got a kerosene heater, but if you don't keep the window open you can die from the exhaust, which always seemed to be operating at a deadly level, as my CO2 alarm constantly showed. Besides that, it was expensive to fuel and there wasn't always kerosene available to buy. Having that heater was my luxury, but not always. So about those trappings, not being thought of as a *beep* when I monitored my own behavior carefully, as in not talking to or making any eye contact with men, not smiling very much, and not being an outward western woman, I still think it's very difficult in Georgia.

[stardoll]

Hello

I have noticed your old post about the language school in Georgia.

I am based in Azerbaijan and am looking for Pamela Kemsley's work address where I could write to for a potential job in teaching english. As I understand this last post of yours is a bit outdated so I would like to know if you know her contacts in Georgia, the ETI website has been changed and there are no contacts for job seekers.

Thank in advance if you know something,

STARDOLL

[cks]

Bumping this old posting for those who are considering the TLG program in Georgia. Butapatty is giving you a realistic approach to the lifestyle in Georgia outside of Tbilisi and for women. She lived there in 2004 when there were bandits and lots of crime; this is not so applicable anymore and to give the president some credit, he has cleaned up the corruption in the police force. But most of the lifestyle is quite accurate.

I have it better than most because I usually have hotwater and electricity for at least 4 hours per day and do not have to take bucket showers or get water from the well, but I have no heat from a stove or heater to warm me at night. Just the electric blanket when we have electricity. Anyway, if you do the program and are not placed in Tbilisi, here is a good description of your potential lifestyle. I know many people with no toilet at all- just a hole outside that is not a private outhouse. But most will have better conditions than what was described. She nailed the female situation down quite well. But some participants will possibly witness the domestic violence in the homes firsthand and you will feel helpless because no one should question the patriarch in the family. He knows what is best! My problem is that yes, domestic violence is in every country worldwide, but it is normalized here. It is so normalized that the hosts do not feel odd or hestitant to beat the wives in front of the westerners because everyone does this everywhere, right?

[Sarcastro]

Im a current TLG teacher in Georgia. I live in a "town" named Ts'ageri, at least that is what the natives call it, but realistically it's a village.

Buda's post though accurate at the time no longer reflects everything as it is today, which is good considering it was written over 7 years ago.

First of all, yes there are still black/brown outs but instead of being for hours at at time, they tend to last only for a few minutes. Though it was a hassle during the summer where there was problems with getting water during the day (found out there were payment issues between the water co and the municipality). When I talked to my colleagues I was the only one having this problem them (2/3s lived 2hrs+ away from major cities).

Men are still treated better here than men and I think that will be true here for many more years to come. With that said, only one of my female colleagues has had major problems with the people here. I think because it's so obvious that she is different. She is African and has had many difficulties with village life. People would stop her constantly, pull on her braided hair, drive right in front of her at the corner and block her way to take a picture, touch her, pet her and all sorts of things that would drive any person who values boundaries and personal space crazy. She lives in Batumi now and enjoys life much more there. Others have had to deal with the occasional creep or obsessive crush but women have to cope through that everywhere.

As far as heating, TLG has required all host families that dont have central heating to provide for their volunteers electric space heaters for their rooms. I currently have one but dont have a working outlet in my room so I am sleeping on the hideaway in the living room . The schools dont turn on their furnaces until mid Nov. and during a year, like this one, when the winter comes early you will not take of your coat for the entire time you're there (though you will only have 35 min periods).

Things arnt perfect here but there have defiantly improved since the early 2000s.