Castles and village life

Ok, its been a while since I’ve checked in so I figured that I would give everyone an update on what has been going on in my village.  For the past few weeks I have stayed in Akhuti experiencing the best village life that Georgia has to offer.  My friends Corey and Derrick came in for a whirlwind adventure two weekends ago, which included a trip to a ruined castle and making friends with lots of people in Nogha.

So Derrick and Corey came in after school on Friday, and experienced dinner at my house.  That included lots of food for the guests, and of course lots of Georgian wine.  My family was very much entertained by a group of two Americans and a Canadian eating at their household.  The next day we set off to find some caves and visit the castle ruins.  We could not find the caves, and took a very roundabout way to the castle. 

In our trekking we found yet another example of Georgian hospitality.  We stopped at a house and asked to fill up our water bottles, and before we knew it they had laid out a full spread for dinner complete with shots of cha cha.  From there we were off to the castle.  We made it there and explored it to the best of our ability, but it was time to get going as it was getting late.  In our attempt to get back we got extremely lost in the backwoods of Samegrelo.  It became dark and we were still more than 5k away from home, and not heading in the right direction.  Luckily for us Georgians are extremely hospitable, and a nice older couple put us up for the night.  We made it home the next day, and got some much deserved ribbing from the guys in the village.  Oh well, it was all in good fun and we were the ones who didn’t plan well for the excursion. 

Since then I have been teaching as well as chopping firewood, and peeling dried beans.  There is plenty of work to be done around the farm because it is harvest time for most of the foods.  Everyone is clearly stocking up for the winter.  This weekend it is Derricks birthday, so a group of us are meeting up to celebrate it.  It will be good to get out of the village, as it has been three weeks since I have left.