Mondo´s volunteers in Georgia

I am Elena and I am from Italy. I selected this project because it was one of the few that allowed me to be in contact with the beneficiaries and because I have always been curious about living in an eastern country. The first days here were really hard for me. Before moving to Georgia, I was afraid of the potential linguistic difficulties. Then, when I arrived, I found that all my fears were real. Most of the people of Zugdidi don't speak English, except for the youth. My main problem is that, during my daily life, I have to interact with mean age or old people who usually only speak Georgian or Russian. I also live in a family with two old people and their son. Communication difficulties strongly frustrated me. Despite this, they pushed me to find the few expats who live here.  I know these manners of saying which really expressed my mood and feelings: “drink or drown” or “when life gives you lemons, make a lemonade”. A good idea was to go to the library where, at the American Co...

I came to Zugdidi on January 31st. Together with Elena, the Italian volunteer who has been travelling with me since the day before, I met Olga, our coordinator. She took me to my future home where I met Tika, the owner. She showed me the room, prepared me some food, and we chatted for a few hours, amidst her uncertain English and my tiredness after the long journey. I thanked her, went to my room, layed down on the bed, and gazed at the ceiling. Despite the whirlwind of emotions, I was happy. It has been a month since that day, and even though I had ups and downs, the feeling of satisfaction has been constant. I’m part of an exciting project, the women from the NGO are kind and helpful, step by step I'm creating new connections with locals and expats, and my host family has been incredibly welcoming from the very beginning. Honestly, I couldn't be more satisfied. I'm not saying there are no difficulties! Language barrier is a big problem (few people speak English in Zugdidi...