Have I really reached the point where I’m frustrated, not elated by snow days??? I think so…

Pretty tree :)

Well, it’s officially winter in Samtredia now.  We managed to last until February 1 without a single snowflake, but now this snow/rain mix they call tovli here, is ever present in our little town.  Like always, I was extremely excited on the first day of snow.  I woke up and felt giddy as I looked out the window (and then really relieved when I heard that Mishiko came home to drive us to school).  The kids were marveling at the snow all day long so we scrapped all lesson plans and just talked about the snow and fun things to do in it (hey, it was all in English, so it counts, right??).  We even got out early and then I had the wettest, coldest snowball fight I’ve ever had with a bunch of my 8^th grade boys…all the way home.  However, that excitement has quickly (considering it’s only the 16^th) dwindled to pure annoyance. Snow seems to cause this town to come to a complete standstill.  Kids have just stopped coming to school! “It’s too cold out,” “It’s raining/snowing/it looks like it could rain/snow,” are excuses I’ve heard from kids for the past month and as weary as I’ve become of it, I’ve begun to accept that this is how it will be until the snow dissipates.

Students outside school before the bell rings throwing snowballs up at the classroom windows.
Kids over here in Georgia are just as crazy as the kiddos in America! (if not more)

I’m telling you, American children could learn a thing or two from Georgian kids about getting out of school! Some of my older kids will all text each other in the morning and decide whether or not their going to go to school! I don’t think I’ve taught a full set of students for a full week since I got back from Israel.  Let’s just say that it’s been difficult to move forward with lessons.  It’s just frustrating because the teacher’s can’t really do anything about it.  We don’t have control over whether students show up; I accepted that a long, long time ago.  However, the kids that are showing up are getting lots of small group review sessions and help with what they actually need help with.  Plus, we’ve been able to play more games and do fun activities, like make Valentine’s Day cards for each other.  I guess there is a silver lining to every cloud. 

The view of our school yard

We’ve all had lots of extra time on our hands with so much of school being canceled.  You’d think that would have allowed for a lot of blogging, but unfortunately my power cord needed some technical attention and I was without a computer for a week or so.  Luckily, author Stieg Larsson came to the rescue and provided me with great entertainment in the form the three novel saga that follows Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest).  As Michelle pointed out to me, I think I read over 2000 pages in about 3 weeks!  They are simply addicting and I highly 

recommend them if you’re looking for a great read.  

With all this snow, I’ve learned how much I appreciate and miss central heating back in the states.  I love our wooden stove downstairs, but my bedroom is mighty cold!  I’ve learned the art of layering, the necessity of warm drinks and the fact that showering when it’s cold out is completely overrated.  On that note, I think I’ll help myself to another cup of tea.  Hope you all are staying warm, wherever you are in the world!