No way! It’s time to finish it all up and go home. Time flew and 9 months feel like only 2 or 3. It seems that many bullet points of the learning goals were ticked off, while others not. The last three months were productive and adventurous. It’s been more of a busy period for my project with lots of conclusive work to be done.
May
The summer weather is on full in Tbilisi, day heat is followed by evening storms and it’s much nicer to work in the terrace of the office drawing ideas and making plans. In May the Bizlab team was busy testing our games with the university students. Problem-solving game was quite challenging but fun for the students. The group had to upgrade their villages to cities via trade of resources and cards. Imagine “the settlers of Catan” played by 6 teams with extra barriers to trade. It was a game that we had no clue about, whether it will work or not. But it turned out to be lots of fun and negotiating.
In May we also finalized and tested the most anticipated game for us. The topic of the game was financial literacy and it worked pretty well. Of course content-wise we have to make a few minor changes and prolong the game a bit more. There was a funny moment occurred when testing the game. In the game there is an option to invest into various companies and of course share prices go up and down every once in a while. And exactly the moment when share prices of an electricity company went down in the game, the lights went out for real in the room. So we continued the game with mobile flashlights for 10-15 minutes, which was enough to finish a gaming round and invest money again. Luckily, the share prices went back up and guess what? The electricity came back to the room. All this added a few extra effects to the game.
During the month we have been also promoting the L.E.A.P. challenges that have been designed for Droni members that was supposed to take place throughout June. Sadly, there was very little interest towards it. Maybe it has been the exam period or people are in the summer mood already but the idea had to be postponed until later this year. The good thing is that the concept is designed and can be applied at any point. Once back home, we might try to make it in Estonia too.
Another highlight of May was that I have been chosen to be part of a cooperation project with Kyrgyzstan, with my EVS coordinator we got good news that we will be going to a kick-off meeting in mid-June. It was an exciting idea, which can develop into long-term cooperation even after the EVS. This confirms how accidental events (the presentation for the Kyrgyz delegation that I made in my first week of EVS) can lead to new beginnings.
Also May was full of visits – some were surprising, some were planned. One morning I’ve got a Facebook call from my cousin, inviting to join him and 8 other people from Tallinn in a nearby restaurant. It was a huge surprise to see all the guys who decided to come for vacation in Georgia without saying anything about it before. For a few days I took the responsibility of being a city guide and it was lots of fun sharing impressions and stories from Georgia as well as hearing stories from Estonia. Coincidentally my parents also came for a visit during that time so we managed to also have a traditional Georgian “supra” experience all together with lots of stories, toasts and dances.
Mid-May was busy with sightseeing and local tours. We visited Sighnaghi, Tsinandali & Telavi. All of these towns are situated in the wine-region of Kakheti, overlooking the Alazani valley. The drive from Tbilisi is only around 2 hours and visiting the three places makes a nice one day getaway from the boiling hot Tbilisi.
June
With the game tests being finished it has been time to assess the created games and further develop them according to our observations and feedback given by the participants. So we started working on developing designs for our cards, changing specific wording and working further on the rules. This part of the game development stage seems to be the least fun and most detail-oriented. That’s why it also takes longer to finalize. So most of June work-wise was based on meetings & working with texts, cards, visuals for the Bizlab booklet that will come out at the end of the EVS.
We managed to run our communication game again with a group of short-term volunteers who struggled with setting up an appropriate communication strategy and pass on effective messages. However the debriefing after the game was fruitful and they were keen to try playing the game once more towards the end of their project.
In June we have also opened the hiking seasons with a short but very impressive trip to Truso Valley, a place just 40 km away from the famous Kazbegi. The scenery of Truso valley is amazing, snow-caped mountain peaks are combined with green fields and colorful mineral water pools. The valley has two monasteries, ruins of an old castle and even more ruins of old Georgian villages with characteristic towers that you see on many postcards from Tusheti or Svaneti.
With a few other volunteers from Droni we managed to take a long weekend and go for a trip to Azerbaijan. I have been so many time to Georgia and Armenia, so it would have been a shame not to visit Azerbaijan and tick off the last Caucasian country form my travel check-list. Before the trip we have been a bit nervous because of all of the Armenian stamps in our passports, especially after reading lots of mixed posts online, so we were not sure how difficult it will be to pass the border. Surprisingly for us, crossing the border was extremely easy; just one question about our reasons visiting Armenia followed by “Welcome to Azerbaijan” and our train was on the way to Baku. First few days we stayed in Baku, a city with a completely different vibe and architecture. We enjoyed discovering the new and old Baku with its many cafes and restaurants. Once in Baku everyone should visit Gobustan mud volcanoes, a very weird place with mud being spitted out of the ground forming lots of mini volcano looking structures. We have also visited Sheki, a small mountain town at the north-west of Azerbaijan, which has a few old palaces to discover. Lastly we visited Ganja, the second largest city of Azerbaijan close to the Georgian border. Ganja is a mixture of soviet architecture with newly renovated streets and Eastern-looking places like the mosque and sulphur baths. Overall it was a great getaway trip full of positive surprises and meeting nice people.
And not to forget, one thing that was beyond expectations in Azerbaijan – the food. The food was amazing starting from very well made kebabs and shashliks, to qutabs with cheese or camel meat, tasty dolma dishes and a huge variety of various pilau’s. One of the specialities is shakh plov – an fragrant pilau with lamb, dry fruits and peaches wrapped and baked in lavash. My mission once back home is to visit every Azerbaijani restaurant in Tallinn.
In June I and my coordinator had the opportunity to visit Bishkek and Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, where we were part of a kick-off meeting of a long-term Twinning program “Prospects 4 Youth”. During our week in Kyrgyzstan we had the chance to learn about various organizations working in Europe and Kyrgyzstan, strengthen partnership with a Kyrgyz organization and develop own cooperation idea connected to youth related issues. After productive days of work we will have upcoming visits in Tbilisi, Tallinn and Bishkek. Hopefully this will bring a long-lasting cooperation under various programs. Let’s see that. Apart from all the work done it was great to dive into Central Asian culture with learning lots from colleagues and their stories as well as trying new drinks like kymyz (horsemilk drink), maksym (brewed wheat drink), tan (a mix of ayran & mineral water) and dishes like beshbarmak (noodles with horse meat) and manty (steamed dumplings with chopped lamb).
July
Last month of the EVS was pretty intense. During the last month you want to manage all the things that you didn’t have time for yet. So my last month was a mix between lots of work, travel and reporting. There was still so much I wanted to do. Firstly, we continued working more on our booklet, finalizing the game outlines and experimenting with our very modest design skills. I started also filling out the Youthpass, writing some report parts and reflecting on what has been happening since early November. It also took ages to print out game cards and laminate them for future use. I also spent a lot of time planning meetings and re-launching membership in Shokkin Group, assessing everything I have seen in many organizations this year and choosing what should be the best steps to develop the organization. A lot is to come in August.
But it was not only office work in July, we went on a long weekend to Armenia, to visit our friends. The trip was amazing and very revitalizing. Every time I visit Armenia and my friends there it feels that you are full of energy and inspiration. This time we have went around discovering more of Yerevan and its outskirts, had lovely family dinners together and went on an amazing trip to Tatev monastery with lots of stops on the way. From beautiful waterfalls, to cave towns and amazing valleys it was a great trip full of music, laughter and nice moments.
Almost straight after returning from Yerevan, I was yet on another mission to Kyrgyzstan as part of the Twinning program. On behalf of several organizations I came to learn from the Institute for Youth Development and also share my knowledge about games for entrepreneurship and employability. During the week I got to know the team and activities of the partner organization; had the chance to see how citizens of Bishkek want to develop their city through “New Bishkek” contest; observed training of youth leaders from Chuy and Naryn; Led focus groups on the topic of career guidance; Delivered a two-day training about game-based learning; Brainstormed ideas for an educational board game; Ate lots of tasty food; And of course gazed at the majestic mountains. It has been great to find inspiration from the twinning partner, being able to share own passion and learn through a new perspective. I also had a chance to finish my trip in Kazakhstan, discovering Almaty for a bit more than 24 hours before returning to Tbilisi.
Then there were last days in Georgia, moments of surprising confusion. On one hand I really wanted to come back to Tallinn and start working, but on the other hand the time passed so quick that it seemed too early to leave. Last days I finally managed to visit Kazbegi and see one of Georgia’s most famous highlights (would be a shame to leave without seeing it), spend some quality time with my housemates, who have been so great and accommodating during the months and catch up with all the closest people who have been making time in Georgia so good. The final day before leaving we even managed to go on a mini road trip for some rafting in Ananuri, followed by a farewell khinkali party.
Conclusion
Wow! I cannot believe it is over and these months passed so quickly. It seems that I could do more at some times and in other times it seems that I have done so much, that I was postponing for months. So I can conclude that it was definitely worth coming to Georgia and turning observation mode on, experimenting with own skills, trying out new ideas and challenging myself. EVS when you are turning 30 seems to be a very different experience, when socializing and traveling does not play the main role, but reflecting and planning future takes up a bigger space in your mind. At the end of it all I want to thank my housemates for being the best housemates ever, friends from Georgia who have been caring, other EVS volunteers with whom it was so much fun to work and travel and my coordinator who provided space for me. Last thought to everyone who reached the end of this blog: Go discover the world, do volunteering activities and take part in the local life, it will enrich you more than you can ever think!
