Mondo´s volunteers in Georgia

Sometimes, easy can also be complicated. Honestly, since being here, just three months or so, I feel like it has made me stop and think, and actually get to a point where I understand a little more about how things are going around here. Kids go to school, then after-school activities, then some other activities that parents think they need in their lives, and there we are. Packed for the whole week, with barely any time to breathe. And then there I am, with my activities, thinking I am adding one more thing to their already packed schedule, when actually all they seem to need is a space to breathe. So here is the space. They sit. They talk. They create. The Georgian language is still an issue on my end, but they do understand English, and the best part is that  they talk. Youngsters having completely random conversations while making some crafts. Because, honestly, that is about my level of communication with them sometimes. I teach them by doing, and then they do something compl...

 What I Learned From a Summer School I Thought I Was Planning... When the summer school started, I had a pretty clear idea of what I was expecting. Or at least, I thought I did. After days of planning, reviewing, changing plans, changing them again, and occasionally wondering why I had decided to organise a summer school in the first place, we finally got there. And then something happened that I probably should have expected, but somehow didn’t: the community became the most important part of it. What started as a one-week programme turned into friendships, long conversations, unexpected questions and a lot of moments that made me think just as much as the young people themselves. One of the things that really stayed with me was the question of how people can be the same age and still see the world in completely different ways. During the week, I met young people who were close in age but had very different experiences, personalities and ways of understanding things. And then the...

 So... where should I start? I wanted to write my first blog after a week in Georgia. Then a week became a month, and somehow now it's been almost two months since I arrived in Zugdidi . Somehow, I am still surprised by this place every day, which is probably why it has taken me so long to sit down and write. My first impression? It felt just like home... and not like home at all. /// For a bit of background: I'm from Romania, and as soon as people hear that, they usually assume I speak Russian. I don't. The frustration is often visible, but a few Georgian words I've picked up along the way usually save the situation. Learning Georgian has definitely been a challenge, but the people around me have been incredibly patient and helpful. Honestly, that's one thing I've learned quickly here: people make all the difference.                            And let me tell you, Georgia is simply breathtaking. The landsca...

I'm writing this final blog from Kutaisi airport, as I wait for the flight that will take me back to Rome. It's hard to sum up everything that has happened over the past few months and draw any final conclusions, but I'll try to share my reflections. WORK Without a doubt, this has been the most rewarding part of my experience. I had the privilege of working almost exclusively with the same group of beneficiaries, which allowed me to build strong and authentic relationships over time. Initially, I was worried that some of them would drop out after the first few meetings and wouldn't want to commit to a long-term project. In reality, out of the 12 women who started, only two dropped out, while the others continued until the end. The greatest satisfaction came from hearing their feedback at the end of the training: many of them remembered and appreciated aspects that I thought hadn't fully sunk in or might have been forgotten. They also expressed a desire to delve deep...

Before arriving here, I knew almost nothing about Georgia. I barely knew its location on the map and the name of its capital, Tbilisi. But once I got here, I discovered a whole new world. A world of people who, with great effort, are trying to free themselves from the burden of Russian occupation and who desire so intensely to join the EU that they protest for months, day and night, to prevent their government from passing a Russian-style law. I discovered that Georgian food is unexpectedly delicious, that people always give thanks for what they have, even if it's very little (and unfortunately, many people live in extreme poverty). I learned that food is taken seriously here, especially the Supra, the traditional Georgian feast (it's no coincidence that there’s even a special role for the "toastmaster," the Tamada). I discovered a country surrounded by woods and forests that hide small earthly paradises, and, last but not least, I met incredibly welcoming people, whe...

The last few months were strange for me and I had to find some coping mechanisms to deal with the stress of the situation. For several weeks, Georgia faced some political changes (very hard to explain and impossible for me to summarize). This situation worsened the working climate and many things were really difficult to understand here. From the beginning it was not easy for me to settle in such a different cultural environment. I found hard to understand such a different mentality and lifestyle. Several times I asked myself if it was better to remain in Zugdidi or to go back home, but with all the effort made and all the time spent to join this project I decided not to give up and to try to find a meaning in the situation around me. I was lucky to find a supporting social context which helped me overcome the difficult moments. My friends tried to show me the reality from a different point of view and they offered me the opportunity to share moments together. Furthermore I decided to ...