When I left the United States in 2012, I didn’t have self-reliance in mind. The plan was to break out of the cycle of poverty I’d been living in by starting a career teaching English overseas, bouncing around the world as a global nomad. If I landed a good paying ESL job somewhere like the… Continue reading The Self-Sufficient Writer: What I Learned by Leaving the Country
Tag: Teach and Learn in Georgia
A Letter To My 2011 Self
Dear Joe, Well, 2011 has been an eventful year, hasn’t it? It sure didn’t feel like it when you were down in the trenches, but now that it’s over, you’ve got to admit, you sure came a long way. You’ve discovered a lot of things about yourself since January. In your quest for economic security,… Continue reading A Letter To My 2011 Self
This Week
I was listening to the latest episode of This American Life yesterday, and at the end of the podcast, Ira Glass mentioned that this week’s episode will be themed “this week”–in other words, things that all happened in just the last seven days. Well, things haven’t been too eventful out here in Georgia, but I liked… Continue reading This Week
I cannot tell you…
…how much I’m looking forward to being back in Georgia. My flight leaves from JFK on Saturday and arrives in Istanbul at about 6 am on Sunday. The flight to Tbilisi doesn’t leave for another seven hours, so I plan to take the tram downtown and see some of the sights. I’ll arrive in Tbilisi… Continue reading I cannot tell you…
Last day of school
So today was the last day of school in Georgia, with all of the craziness that that entails. It was kind of sad to say goodbye, even though I’ll probably be coming back to the same school in September. In the meantime, I’m going to miss being a rockstar to all the 7-12 year olds… Continue reading Last day of school
მოტაცება, or how to bag a wife–literally
მოტაცება (pronounced mot’atseba) is the Georgian word for bride kidnapping, as opposed to regular kidnapping, which takes a different word. It’s an ancient practice in the Caucasus region that doesn’t happen as much as it used to, but still happens, especially in the rural areas. Today, most Georgians condemn it, but there’s still a whole… Continue reading მოტაცება, or how to bag a wife–literally
Q1 2012, or what writer’s angst looks like
Actually, this last quarter wasn’t quite so bad as the title might make it seem. For the first part, I was on roll, writing almost 25k new words a week. But then I finished that project, started a new career, moved to the other side of the world…yeah, my writing took a hit. Or at… Continue reading Q1 2012, or what writer’s angst looks like
Staying in Georgia
So I’ve decided to stay here in Georgia for another semester. Things are working out really well, I enjoy teaching English, and for the full experience I think it will be better to stay for a full year. I’m not sure if I’ll stay in Kutaisi yet, though. It’s a convenient place to live, but… Continue reading Staying in Georgia
Winter in Kutaisi
From what I hear from my friends, it’s been a pretty mild winter back in the States. Here in Georgia, though, it’s been a much different story. I think we’ve had only three sunny days since I arrived here in Kutaisi almost four weeks ago. The natives tell me that this is highly unusual. The… Continue reading Winter in Kutaisi
Getting settled in the land of the Kartulis
About three weeks have passed since I came to Georgia, and I’m starting to feel comfortably settled in this new place. I like it a lot out here: my host family is great, I get along really well with everyone at the school where I work, the kids are so crazy eager to learn it’s… Continue reading Getting settled in the land of the Kartulis