So 1/3 has been done and mentioned in the previous blog post, let’s summarize the last 3 months here in Tbilisi. Time is still running fast. I am starting to feel that I would like it to slow down. There are still so many ideas that are not made real and the summer feeling starts to overwhelm with all the sunshine putting me in the vacation mode. But let’s look back at each month and see how it was.
February
I finished describing January telling about the deadline craze going on in the office of Droni and in the beginning of February it can be felt in the air. Everyone was filling out project applications; finding applicants; calling for partners; reviewing each other applications. That was a hectic time with lunches provided in the office to keep everyone inside and working – free food always keeps a volunteer happy. The doomsday 15th February brought relaxation to the office and people, biggest deadline of the year was done and everyone seemed happier.
I have met with a headmaster of a school nearby the office to promote the idea of Bizlab and we agreed to make weekly game sessions with the students. So from that moment the pressure was on, we had to create 7 new games and make them close to done in a few weeks only. We have been meeting daily with the Bizlab team and brainstorming, going through ups and downs, reaching creative brick walls and breaking down mentally. The work was going tough but at some point the creative block was broken and ideas started to flow. We created beta versions of 7 games. Some I liked very much, about others I wasn’t fully sure. We finalized 2 games and continued working on other games at a slower pace.
In February I felt like I finally had time to discover Tbilisi’s neighborhoods, smaller streets and find some hidden gems. It is still odd to live in a big city, where you only know a few nearby neighborhoods and there are vast spaces of concrete jungle that you never reach.
February was a great month staying in my memory because of the amount of snowboarding we have done. I finally have the grasp of it. For a flatland guy conquering some mountain peaks (even if others refer to them as hills) is a great achievement. First we went on a weekend trip to Bakuriani, a ski resort near Borjomi. Two days of snowboarding there left lots of bruises on my body but also it was a lot of fun since there was 3 of us having 0 to very little clue how to snowboard. Second trip was to Gudauri (before the ski lift crash, thankfully…) where slopes are more extreme, people skiing and snowboarding more extreme and views more breathtaking. It was a day of trying out more difficult tracks. Definitely a scarier day, as a few falls made me wonder why I am doing this even. All in all it was a great experience and I am concerned of starting to have cravings for more snowboarding. Where should I find affordable mountains near Tallinn?
At the end of the month I hosted another GEEK’n game night with a tournament in NBA 2k17, which didn’t gather a lot of people, but brought hardcore players ready to fight for victory.
March
March was a month of ups and downs. In the beginning of March I have worked on a project idea with Droni’s core team together with Tbilisi youth center and Tallinn Youth Centre. It was a lot of work and hopefully our idea of increasing capacity of local youth centers will come true and we can make some meaningful change in the youth work structure here in Tbilisi. The results we will get to know only in June so fingers are kept crossed until then.
During March we were working hard on the games with the few survivors of the initial Bizlab team. On the first week we successfully tested a game about communication and received very nice feedback from the kids. This motivation boost was followed by 2 times coming to the school and not having games held due to unexpected holidays or no kids being in the school (go figure how that works). But then we managed to test a second game about creative-thinking, which also gave us positive feedback and another confidence boost. It was followed by another disappointment, and not enough students were present. So we had to change the place of game testing and concentrated on working with the local university.
I also had a great opportunity to get some inspiration during a weekend trip to Denmark, where my friends from Dansk ICYE were holding a winter training weekend and invited me to help out. Together we created some sessions about leadership and communication needed for branch coordinators. It was a great experience to meet a group of motivated youth leaders from all over Denmark and share some of my ideas with them. During that weekend I learned lots about organizational management, got inspired to create new games and very importantly learned to play many new board games (which I am craving to buy once I am back home).
Another first experience I received during March is – studying online. I got accepted to an online course about non-formal learning and training done by Belarusian colleagues under a long-term project of the European Commission. I was a bit skeptical about how much I will be engaged in such a format. Surprisingly, I liked it very much. Watching videos, answering questions in comments, reading discussions of other students, submitting own assignments and reviewing work of others was a good way to get more comfortable in the topic. It was also beneficial to get information in Russian language as I am so used to English terminology that sometimes I cannot explain it in my mother tongue. So the first online course was a success.
End of March brought the mid-term meeting and all the volunteers from Armenia and Georgia came together in the same hotel in Misaktsieli for a few days of reflecting on the EVS flow, share concerns, support each other and just to have fun. We managed all of the aforementioned elements. The supra dinner (traditional party with lots of food and wine) that we had at the mid-term meeting will be long not forgotten. Yiiiha!
Last Thursday of March we hosted another Geek’N but the rainy day scared all the potential participants so there were only 3 proper geeks ready to battle.
April
In April we hosted Bizlab in the University library and had a large group of students who study business, economics and marketing playing our planning game. Feedback was positive and the game designed for teenagers raised the mood of even older students. Next plan was to host the problem-solving game for which we are designing hundreds of cards. Another game that is waiting to be tested is connected to financial literacy and we can’t wait to test it with university students. We have also started designing a new entrepreneurial challenge with Droni’s volunteer from the UK. A new L.E.A.P. challenge will give an opportunity for members to test own entrepreneurial knowledge and skills in a set of different challenges.
April also meant the second Erasmus+ deadline coming up. I have engaged in developing a few ideas with friends and colleagues and hope that newly inspired project ideas will be held both in Shokkin Group and in Droni. I am looking forward to hearing good results during the summer.
April was another month of discovering: I discovered new programmes and applied for some long-term youth programmes getting involved in a Twinning Programme with youth workers from Kyrgyzstan. I discovered that in Tbilisi you can find cheap authentic Asian products and started experimenting with Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese cuisines, reading about recipes and ways of cooking. Finally I have dishes tasting close to Southeast Asian food courts. I also discovered courser with free courses on interesting topics and only in a few days finished a course about serious games from Erasmus University.
A bright highlight of April was a visit from my friends from home. Using the good weather opportunity I walked all around Tbilisi with them, showed favorite food places and cafes. We ate lots of khinkali and khachapuri as a proper tourist should. While living in Tbilisi I try to eat khinkali and khachapuri only when some friends visit or else it would be impossible to walk but I would have to roll. Enough about food! During the last weekend we went on a nice road trip to Borjomi, Rabati and Vardzia. It was a day full of beautiful landscapes, fortresses and a cave-city. I totally recommend visiting Vardzia. Besides the sightseeing and touristy stuff we talked a lot about how it is going in Tallinn and, damn, I understood how I miss the city. After my friends left and I had free evening at home, together with my housemates we dug into the foodie treats they brought us. Black bread, Eesti juust, sprats, Kalev chocolates and Mõdu have never tasted better!
Conclusion
The second third of the EVS feels more normal, I am used to the city, to my pace of life here, I even got used to the unorganized organization and try to make the most of my time here to learn and experiment. I am starting to plan some summer trips and hikes as well as putting down plans of what to do in my life after EVS… Do you want to follow my adventures on Instagram? Check out #shokkinevs! 😉