Life in Sighnaghi

August 28, 2007

I am officially done with training and ready to begin my 2 years as a volunteer in Sighnaghi! The scenery is incredible. I am surrounded by mountains. The view reminds of visiting my grandma in Utah and looking out her big picture window in the morning in the valley and seeing all the mountains. There really are no words to describe the beauty of the mountains and the view it has to offer. I can hardly wait to see all the trees change colors in the fall. In the states it seems like only occasionally you get to take a day here and there to enjoy nature’s beauty but here I feel like I get to take that time every day.

Life here in Sighnaghi for me is more of a village life-style where Gori was the city life. Things are very simple and basic here. My host family is huge, 7 members. Grandparents, parents and 3 sisters (10, 7 & 3) and not mention it seems there are an additional 7 people in the house right now. You never really know just how many people you can sleep in one house. Adjusting to being a part of a large family is a bit challenging for me as my family in the states is very small and I had lived on my own for the past couple of years. They are a very nice family and very excited to have me has a member of their family. I have always had close friends with large families and could never really understand what it was like to be member of a large family. I am now starting to understand what it is all about to have a large family.

Sighnaghi is being completely rehabilitated by the government in hopes that it will be the newest tourist destination in Georgia. What is complete at this time reminds of Savannah, Georgia. It looks very nice and cozy. There are very few shops and restaurants right now but they say there will be more once the construction is complete. All of the roads have been ripped up and are being redone in stone. I am told that phase one of four is supposed to be completed in October. I have yet to figure out what each of the phases consists of but all phases should be complete by the end of my service.