On arrival training

Okay, there is a lot of stuff happened to me in recent times. Some I want to write some not, but what I want to write is my on arrival training at Kabuleti 22.09.18-26.09.18, Georgia. First of all I went there by train which I can surprisingly take my own city, it takes like fourteen hours, but it was better just to take one vehicle and arrive there, than go to Tbilisi and then search another transportation to Kabuleti. It was also a night train so I didn´t  lose any of  my day. I expected that its going to be more comfortable ride then regular Gyumri-Yerevan train but it wasn't ( only for me of course), because others had like long benches where they put their madrases, sheet and pillow and slept, but my seat was really small and had a table so I just put my jacket under my head and tried to sleep. The irony is that I discovered that I was able to turn this table upside town and then I would've got the long bench and I could sleep like other passengers when it was only two more hours to Kabuleti :D silly me :D Also I am now entered and left Armenia car, plain and train so yeey Bingo for me right? :D Anyway yeah I arrived very early in the morning and I knew that train station and that hotel where is the training were very close to each other but my battery was really low and also my phone GPS sucked or I just did not know how to use it properly ( probably the second version is closest to the truth) :D

Anyway yeah I was walking down the street and then one taxi driver helped me and just picked me up and drove me there and he didn't ask for money from me or anything so cool. I arrived very early I think like around seven in the mourning and I discovered that back at our hotel is sea, so yeah really good place, found a good spot and just watched the waves and actually helped to drag some boat to the beach. Then I discovered that I am the only one who arrived this early there and that hotel hadn`t reception desk ( or I just didn't found it, but I didn't saw it whole week that I stay there so yeah, I don't know). Anyway yeah I called our project coordinator that I was there and where was my room and where I had the key and I always thought that she was a woman because her name was Shota Daniela (yeah I know weird right? ) :D And when I called him and he started speaking I heard a man's voice and I asked you are Shota right? And he was like yes I was like ammmm... okay ( because I expected a woman's voice, ya know). :D  Shota was like the coolest coordinator I have seen in a long time, so cool sense of humor and very helpful guy in general.

I shared a room with a german guy who is one of three guys I already knew before ( They live in Ijevan and arrived in september and they visited our office one time to look what we are doing in our town). Really cool guys and also they have very interesting program to do here. ( But only one of them looks like really german guy, blond curly hair and blue eyes, arian race :D ) First of the program was lunch of course, because there is no better way to meet people then eat together right? :D  I met one Latvian girl and when I found out she is latvian I instantly said: „oooo latvian you probably have six toes right?“ And she answered and „You are probably slow right?“ Hah so funny :D I didn't eat in the same table with her( probably because I was too slow :D ) Anyway yeah I wanted to call her thunder girl, but she didn't get that joke so I didn't but I think it was a good one ( who is slow now huh? ) :D In the first day I figured out that I am probably done my ESC longest time, that latvian just started (literally just started) she just flied to Georgia went her living place and came to the training and I.... have been here in that time over four months. ( I was right, I have been the longest in that training group, but the average time in generall was I think two moths). Truth to be told I supposed to go earlier like when I was here two moths but it was cancelled because there wasn't enough people. It wasn't entirely bad though, my main goal was to just meet new people who is doing their volunteering work Georgia and Armenia ( Caucasus area). Also we did a lot of games and stuff what I already had done before in my „Be a mentor“ training, because there we also talked a lot how to be a good mentor so you kind of have to know volunteers point of view too, so yeah I prepared myself already with this course, but I when I came yeah I didn't even knew that I am already doing it instantaneously maybe ( I always thought oh, I am so good volunteer because I didn't have any huge problems when came and started living here full-time ) But it was still really cool training and I enjoyed it very much.

I have to tell that one game where you have four teams and everybody have to choose one color green or orange we had example and green is like safe color which gives you one point for sure, but if you chose orange then you have a chance if other teams doesn't chose that color you will have like three points basically and you also have some meetings with other teams when you agree what are you going to do what color and stuff and my previous group (be a mentor training group)  we chose only the safe color (I was the only in my group who wanted to betray other groups and win the game, yeah I am evil :D In my previous group it didn't work out but in that group we betrayed others and it made everybody go crazy  (like literally CRAZY ) and truth to be told I enjoyed every last second of it, okay maybe I made things little bit over the top when the last meeting and all group representatives walked past us and I told them „Losers are walking“ Yeah I am nasty :D C'mon it was just a game so.... don't go crazy :D and again truth to be told the game point was that we are really all one team and if we play „safe“ we will get a result which is the highest and if somebody betrays we lose, but yeah I knew that but I just wanted to see what happens if we betray because as I said last time we played that everybody played safe and for me it was boring (sorry). And yeah we won!!! :D And thanks to us we had that discussion so you are welcome :) I don't know if you even get the game, but I hope some you understand. 

Other exercise what we did was that we divided us 5 groups like one guy and two girls and then we leaded a room where girls had to take off their shoes also guys sit and girls had to sit on their knees next to the guy ( before you will call the feminist, read it to the end, okay?) :D  then there was an eating ritual where girls feed the guy one piece of bread and then gave some water to drink and then girls eat by themselves. It was actually some tribe ritual and actually the girls were more important than guys because girls took off their shoes becuse they had to ability to contact with the mother earth and also why girls eat guys is that men are so dirty and they could not touch the nature gifts (food and drink) and women were so kind to feed men so yeah! Opposite huh what you thought :D But I think just that one guy just made up this beautiful story for the women that they are like more important in spiritually, but men just wanted that somebody will feed them :D But I liked the meaning on this exercise that you see that one thing that girls are feeding the men and they sit and girls don't, but actually men were the weaker side. 

There were many exercises and stuff what we did, but I cannot write all of unfortunately. Most of the stuff I really enjoyed and had a great time, there was also a sea next to our hostel (as i mentioned before) so I swimmed couple of times there (so salty water, the taste is still in my mouth) :D One night when the official part was over then we decided to go to the beach and some wanted to swim also at it was pretty late that time and we went to the beach and then some random guy who was obviously drunk came to the beach and stand in the beach side and took his phone and put the flashlight on and lit up the water  and then we asked that what a hell is he doing there he said that he is the beach lifeguard and he is watching that people in the water don't drown (yeah, true story) and he  has been drinking all day, but only  like bottle of whiskey and ten bottles of beer, but he is  still ready to save us ( what a dedicated worker huh? probably the most responsible and dedicated worker I have seen :D ) We talked about life and german cars little bit and then he left, he didn't give us lot of trouble but there is always one drunken guy at the beach and we found her so yeah for us :D 

We also went to Batumi, we had some free time and I saw that basically in the center is the skyscraper which has a ferris wheel build inside of it ( yes, you read it correctly inside of the building) First it was built to do there a university (yes, cool right?), but then the Georgian president whose personal project it was got changed and they never finished it and it has been just like that like two years just waited to someone finish it and now its going to be a hotel there I found out. Also I had me first supra ( Its like Georgian traditional fest where you can eat and drink and have a good time and drink wine and say toast) but not like typical toast like one word like let's drink to friendship or something like that, it has much deeper meaning so it was really cool (actually I made also one toast myself) :) And middle of supra our cool coordinator just stand up and there was a live band and he just dance some Georgian dance I think it was the most Georgian thing I have seen. So yeah it was really good night and I don't mean it just because there was wine :D ( or am I?) No I don`t :D I wanted to take the train to Kabuleti-Tbilisi (I wanted to see my old friend who lives in Tbilisi) I went one day before the train station to buy my ticket (I thought there is a ticket machine because it's common I bought my Gyumri-Kabuleti ticket just one hour before I went to the train). I asked for the ticket and the customer service lady just said to me one word: ничто ( nothing) Yeah... I think she was also the worker of the month candidate for me, but she has to share it our „wonderful drunk“ lifeguard :D And big thanks to Shota ( cordinator) for getting me the bus ticket to Tbilisi :) 

It was really cool five days and I hope some of the participants more than just that one training :)  I also made a small video of that week so you can see that also :) 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B-7P4xORpGt_gpECAOwkLEehaJ8ooHUz/view?usp=sharing

Until next time :)