Last on the subject on my computer, I told you that I knew the charger was not working.  At the time, I was not sure if the charger was bad, if the battery was bad, or if something got fried in the computer.

I got [...]]]> I knew there was a reason I purchased two.

Last on the subject on my computer, I told you that I knew the charger was not working.  At the time, I was not sure if the charger was bad, if the battery was bad, or if something got fried in the computer.

I got to Tbilisi on Sunday and had plans to visit an Apple store right away to figure out what was going on.  Before venturing out, I was explaining to Teona what I wanted to do so that when we got to the store she could translate.  She was coming with me in case they did not speak English.

While going through the things I wanted to do (e.g., try using a store charger, try using a store battery, etc) I remembered that I had the second charger here.  I got it and plugged it in.  I got the same orange charging light that the other charger gave me so I decided to turn it on.  And to my great satisfaction the computer indicated that it was charging.

YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately, it seems that sitting in the cold weather for 3 weeks and not being used has taken a bite out of the battery life.  I can use my computer fine if it is plugged in.  However, after having it off for a day and coming back to it, the battery charge will not be 100%.  Instead it is somewhere in the mid 90s.  At least it is working.  After I am able to save some cash, I will get me a new battery.  Hopefully I will not have to buy two.

For some odd reason, someone gave my host family in Chala a bottle of wine.  An actual bottle and not just village wine in a plastic bottle.  Of course they tried it but did not like it, so it was up to me to drink it.

I [...]]]> Wonder and you will get the answer.

For some odd reason, someone gave my host family in Chala a bottle of wine.  An actual bottle and not just village wine in a plastic bottle.  Of course they tried it but did not like it, so it was up to me to drink it.

I looked at the bottle and saw that it was 12% alcohol.  This made me wonder, what is the family wine alcohol level?  More importantly, what is the cognac alcohol level?  Well, time went by and and my computer died so I did not get a chance to look online to learn how to measure alcohol percentage.

Then one day after I brought the family a bottle of pepper vodka, they bring out a little device that looks like a thermometer.  They stick the device into the vodka bottle and it bobs up and down.  I look closely and see numbers from 0-100.  The device settles down and indicates the vodka is at about 40.  That is 40% alcohol.  Awesome!

I then ask them to measure their own cognac.   It is closer to 50%.  For those of you that gave it a try while I was in the states, now you know how strong of a drink you had.  Ha-ha!

For whatever reason we never did measure their own wine alcohol level.  I will have to get back to you on that.

This is my last post from Chala.  Tomorrow I move to Tbilisi and start my new job on Monday.  I am excited, terrified, tired, and just want it to be here already.

This was my last [...]]]> It is a shame that sometimes you do not realize what you have until you are leaving it.

This is my last post from Chala.  Tomorrow I move to Tbilisi and start my new job on Monday.  I am excited, terrified, tired, and just want it to be here already.

This was my last week at school.  I told the teachers Monday morning and made sure that each class was told when I was there.  (by the way – I did not tell them last week because the Minister closed all schools in Georgia on Thursday and Friday due to the cold weather)  Of course the kids were nice and said the standard good luck, we will miss you, are you coming back to visit, etc.  One girl in 6th grade wrote me a note and gave it to me yesterday at school.  I felt bad because in that class I did not teach her much because I spent most of my time working with the kids that knew very little English.  Apparently, she still thought I was a good teacher.

A girl in the 12th grade told me that her brother in the 1st grade cried when he found out I was leaving.  During the last class with him I caught him looking at me more than usual.  I made sure I spent a little more time with him during that last class and tried to make him feel good about himself and his English.

The teachers put together a little supra Friday after school for me.  While I was sitting there watching them all eat, drink, and talk, I realized how lucky I am to have had this experience with them.  To live with them, teach with them, freeze in school with them, attempt to talk to them, to bribe them with chocolates – it was an amazing experience.  Not always pleasant or happy, but amazing.  Definitely not something that I could have ever experienced in the states.

And tomorrow I start my next journey into the unknown.  I wonder what is waiting for me on this ride.

As I mentioned before, my computer adapter got fried and I ordered a replacement.  I got it on Monday and was happy.  When I finally got back to the village on Thursday and plugged it into my computer, I saw the orange charging light and [...]]]> Luckily, not as bad as the other ‘premature’ phrase.

As I mentioned before, my computer adapter got fried and I ordered a replacement.  I got it on Monday and was happy.  When I finally got back to the village on Thursday and plugged it into my computer, I saw the orange charging light and I did the happy dance.  Yes, I did.

Oooops

When I went back an hour later I noticed that the light was already green, which indicates a full charge.  This would be impossible since I left the battery almost completely spent.  I turned on my computer and saw that it gave me a status of ‘not connected’.  Noooooooooooo!  Not good.

I remembered that the last time my power adapter fried,  I had to do some resets to get it to work.  I tried and no avail.  Sometimes I can get the orange light to come one but the battery is still not being charged.

So what does this mean.  Either the battery completely died while sitting in my cold village room for a week (I did not take the computer with me to Tbilisi) or a circuit board on my computer that controls the charging got fried.  Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing until I go back to Tbilisi next week and visit an Apple store.

So sorry to say that the posts will be light until I get my computer working again.  I am currently using the host family’s computer, but it is pretty much impossible to find time when it is not being used by the teenage boys to play GTA or use the Russian version of facebook.

Yesterday I told you that I got a new job.  Many of you wrote and said congrats and many of you also asked questions.  So here are some answers.

I got the power adapter for my computer today.  I can use my computer again.  Yea!

In other news, I accepted an offer for a new job today and I start in two weeks.  I will be working in Tbilisi, the capital, and will make at least 4 times what [...]]]> It’s time to celebrate!

I got the power adapter for my computer today.  I can use my computer again.  Yea!

In other news, I accepted an offer for a new job today and I start in two weeks.  I will be working in Tbilisi, the capital, and will make at least 4 times what I am making now.  Yep-yep!  I interviewed for the job on Friday and from the questions they were asking me I could tell that they were interested in me.  Today I got the call and found out that I was correct.

The job is to be the lead developer for a small NGO called Jump Start Georgia.  This group was responsible for collecting the multitude of GPS data and submitting it to Google so Georgia would have more than the outline of the country in Google Maps.  During the interview, I thanked them for doing that.  They also work with local NGOs to help create maps of data that they care about and/or other kinds of websites.   I will write more about the organization as I learn more, but that is pretty much it for now.

I have two weeks of teaching left and then I am moving on up to the big city.  To be honest I am in a bit of a daze right now.  Hasn’t really sunk in yet.  I guess it will sink in more when I tell the school and my host family on Wednesday.

Oh, yes, I did get a bottle of champagne to celebrate.  And no, I did not shoot my eye out.

I do not teach on Fridays so I stayed home and did some work online looking for jobs, homes, and such.  A neighbor was doing some work of his own that involved a powerful power tool.  Something like a saw or a sander [...]]]> This is not something that I wanted to keep track of.

I do not teach on Fridays so I stayed home and did some work online looking for jobs, homes, and such.  A neighbor was doing some work of his own that involved a powerful power tool.  Something like a saw or a sander that I could gather from the noise.  At one point he must have really been stressing the tool for the lights in our home started to flash and make unpleasant noises.  I immediately disconnected my laptop from the power adapter and watched the spectacle until the light had enough and blew out.  I decided that it was just better to run on battery power the rest of the day until the neighbor was done.

When I finally got around to plugging my laptop back in, I noticed that it was not charging.  Insert your favorite curse word here.  Or a few.  I tried different outlets to make sure and it still did not charge.  If you were paying attention in the last paragraph, you will remember that I disconnected the cable from the laptop, but not the cable from the wall.  The power adapter stayed plugged in and it got fried.  For the second time in a little over a year.  Ah, village life.

I looked online to see how much they cost.  There are a couple of Apple (probably not-official) stores in Tbilisi and they wanted 280 lari for a new one.  Ouch!  That is about $150.  I went to my favorite online mac store, macsales, and found the same adapter for $45 for a refurbished model.  Better yet, they had a ‘repaired’ model for $20.  I bought two and I should have it in about two weeks.  Thank you USA2Georgia for being an awesome, reliable shipper.

In the mean time, I will be using the family computer.  But to be honest, I do not know how often I will be able to get online considering the two boys already fight over who gets to use the computer.  Maybe this will help them find time to actually study and do homework.

There is some make-over show out of England that is being shown on a Russian station that my family has started to watch.  Basically, they take someone that has an inch of [...]]]> Just an example of living in a country that is very religious and has been fairly closed off from the western world.

There is some make-over show out of England that is being shown on a Russian station that my family has started to watch.  Basically, they take someone that has an inch of makeup on their face, short or tight clothing, and looks like they should be at some sleazy dance club.  We have only seen it a few times and tonight was the first time a guy was the focus of the makeover.

He was clearly gay and a flaming gay at that.  His head was shaved around the sides but the top had very long bleached hair that was curled and hair sprayed into a blonde helmet.  Then he also wore blue eyeliner, sticky gems under the eyes, and on and on.  You get the idea.

So after he comes on my family thinks that it is a girl.  Or at least, they are asking if it is a girl and I have to tell them no.  It takes them a while to figure it out.  And I call tell that they are appalled.  Why would a man dress like that and have feminine gestures like that.  Especially a big guy like that, weighing clearly over 250lbs.

Sometimes it really does feel like I am living in the 1950s culture in the states that has a glimpse to 60 years into the future.

Tonight, at about 10pm, bread, cheese, jam, and tea was brought out.  There really was no dinner for we ate lunch at 1600.  Malkasi, the dad, asked if I wanted cognac.  I jokingly stated that I wanted five shots.  Oh, that was [...]]]> The fact that I can even write this is a bad sign.

Tonight, at about 10pm, bread, cheese, jam, and tea was brought out.  There really was no dinner for we ate lunch at 1600.  Malkasi, the dad, asked if I wanted cognac.  I jokingly stated that I wanted five shots.  Oh, that was a bad idea.  Five shots later, I am feeling pretty good.  On the plus side, I should sleep very well tonight, jet lag be damned!  On the down side, I have been told that it is going to be cold tomorrow so cognac will be served at breakfast.  Awesome!

When I am teaching the 1st and 2nd graders I have to kneel down so I can be eye to eye with them, instead of being a huge giant monster, and my knees are starting to hurt more and more at the end of the day.  I need a [...]]]> Man, getting old freaking sucks.

When I am teaching the 1st and 2nd graders I have to kneel down so I can be eye to eye with them, instead of being a huge giant monster, and my knees are starting to hurt more and more at the end of the day.  I need a portable stool.  Preferably something that just magically appears whenever I have to bend over to work with a student.  Can someone find that magic stool on Amazon and ship it over?