Issue #2 (2015) by GZAAT Gazette

GZAAT GAZETTE Issue #2 November 2015

Mr. Donald’s Grammar: Sophomores European Youth Parliament: AnothTreated to a Tailor-Made Unit of English er Step into European Future Linguistics and Usage

Thanksgiving in Georgia: Translating the American Holiday

EYOF : Step to the Future? Tim Blauvelt, director of American Councils Georgia and Thanksgiving host extraordinaire with Georgian turkey and biscuits

Every year, on the fourth Thursday of November, Americans gather around tables full of delicious dishes to celebrate Thanksgiving. Although Georgians do not celebrate Thanksgiving, there are a lot of Americans in Georgia who do. We meet some of them every day in the school. Find out about the holiday spirit of Georgian Thanksgiving from them!

Travel Series: And Round We Go The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) is the top multisport event for European athletes between the ages of 14 and 18. Like the international Olympics, there are both winter and summer versions, which take place in two-year cycles. This year Georgia had the huge opportunity to be the host of this major world event. One of our reporters was there.

Certainly, travel is more than just seeing sights: it is about changing one’s entire worldview. And, thanks to our new travel series, you don’t have to take a flight to familiarize yourself with the corners of the earth. Our travel section will focus on a different destination each issue in hopes of broadening your horizons and quenching your earthly curiosity. We want to look beyond the stereotypes and, instead, try to understand the arts and traditions of dissimilar cultures. Only then will we be able to understand the incredible world we live in.

GZAAT GAZETTE

What is Thanksgiving, and How is it Celebrated in Georgia?

ing: there’s always a lot of food, of course, and it’s usually the one case in which people sit down and actually make an effort to be present and communicate over the course of the meal. Here in Tbilisi, we tend to get together with some of our “mixed family” (Georgian-American) friends. My buddy Tim, who is also married to a Nino, manages to roast a turkey and our kids all run around like lunatics babbling in a mix of English and Georgian. Just like home!

very year, on the fourth Thursday of November, Americans gather around tables full of delicious dishes to celebrate Thanksgiving. It is when families gather to give thanks to God for all of his blessings and mercies to the people throughout the year. The strengthening of the family ties, building up of character, good cheer, and hospitality have always been the distinguishing characteristics of the holiday. This is all clear, but the question is how this originated? Thanksgiving is a national holiday honoring the early settlers and their first harvest feast. The history of this holiday dates back to 1621 when “separatists” moved to Holland. The separatists were English Protestants who broke away from the English church. After 12 years of financial problems, they finally got funding from English merchants and sailed across the Atlantic and settled in North America. In September, 1620 a small ship called the Mayflower reached Massachusetts Bay, where pilgrims began establishing the village of Plymouth. For the first winter, most of the colonists remained on the ship, where they suffered from diseases, but in March they moved ashore where they were greeted by an Abenaki Indian, named Squanto. He had experience with other settlers, so he knew some English. He taught them how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. He also helped the newcomers to forge an alliance with local tribe, called the Wampanoag, and they agreed to protect each other from other tribes. In November 1621, after the pilgrims’ harvest was successful, the governor organized a feast and invited a group of Native American allies to thank them. In many American households, Thanksgiving has now become a holiday based on cooking and sharing a delicious meal with friends and family. Turkey, the staple of the holiday, has almost become synonymous with the word “Thanksgiving”. The first Thanksgiving contained turkey, waterfowl, venison, fish, lobster, clams, berries, fruit, pumpkin and squash. Many of these dishes are served nowadays too. How do Americans celebrate Thanksgiving in Georgia? There are many Americans living in Georgia. We meet some of them everyday in school. Does distance create a barrier for them in celebrating their national holiday? We wanted to find out, so we asked our three American teachers - James Frankenfield, Ken Goff and Anthony Schierman - how they celebrate Thanksgiving. James Frankenfield: I can tell you a bit about different ways I have celebrated in different years. Not always the same way. This year I have no plans yet. Last year two other Americans had a large dinner party. My girlfriend (who is Georgian) was very interested and had fun that was her first Thanksgiving celebration. Usually in the US people gather and eat turkey, cranberry sauce, yams and other things in a large dinner. Often with family but sometimes with friends when family is too far away. And for people alone there are often dinners held at their church or some other organization. Also,

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it is a four day weekend so some people may just use that to do something. One year I drove from northern Utah to southern Nevada to meet a friend at Red Rocks (close to Las Vegas) so we could do a very long and very nice rock climb. So we did not do anything traditional that year. We chose an adventure instead. Ken Goff: My first Thanksgiving away from home was in 1987, at the Brothers of the Sacred Heart Monastery in Lesotho, Africa. The US Peace Corps had rented its dormitories and dining hall to hold a volunteer conference that happily happened to fall on the last Thursday in November. After having lived by ourselves in isolated villages, dozens of kilometers from the nearest Americans, we were eager to have a chance to trade stories and have a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Unfortunately, the nuns who cooked for us were not accustomed to dealing with frozen fowls the size of those sent to us by the US Embassy. They took much longer to roast than the sisters had anticipated. As a result, the cooked birds arrived on the table two or three hours late, long after the hundred or so hungry young Americans already had disposed of the mashed potatoes, canned green beans, and anything else that was not like the cornmeal porridge and cabbage that we survived on in our villages. When the turkeys were placed before us, we fell onto them like a pack of starving hyenas and tore the meat from the bones with such barbaric enthusiasm that we frightened the good monks and nuns hosting us. Since then I have eaten Thanksgiving dinner more times apart from my family than I have enjoyed it with them. Occasionally, I have gotten together with fellow expatriates to make an American-style meal, when authentic ingredients could be found. Now, I rarely make an effort to cook and go out to eat instead. One of my favorite hangouts here in Tbilisi, the Hangar Bar, has a decent Thanksgiving dinner with all the traditional fixings. However well it is done, how authentic the ingredients are, or how convivial the host, any Thanksgiving dinner in a room filled with plastic model planes and football memorabilia is not as memorable as that one late November Thursday in Africa or those rare times when I can enjoy it with my family. It is never about the food. It is always about the company. Anthony Schierman: Thanksgiving is the one American holiday that I can really get behind. It has yet to be thoroughly commercialized and is generally still about family and friends spending time together. I would also say that Thanksgiving is the most “Georgian” of American holidays and some Georgian supras I have attended have reminded me of Thanksgiv-

Sopo Bakuradze

Gia Kancheli at 80

Gia Kancheli, Georgian composer and public artist had his 80th birthday this year. It was celebrated not only in Georgia, but overseas as well. On August 22, in the concert hall “Konzerthaus Berlin” a concert was held by Georgian National Symphonic Orchestra. The concert was supported by the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgian and the fund DAAD which belongs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany. Many similar concerts are planned by the aid of Ministry of Culture for the future. But the most important and noticeable was the concert on October 23, held in Rustaveli Theatre of Tbilisi in the homeland of the compositor. This concert was the combination of all of his works, and it was led by a famous Georgian singer Nato Metonidze and Latvian trio “Xylem”. It should be mentioned that Mr. Kancheli’s contribution to the Rustaveli Theatre is immeasurable, and he really deserved an evening dedicated to him in the theatre. He started working there in 1972 and created the music for the great plays, such as: The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Richard III and Hamlet. He has also created the music for Georgian films: The Extraordinary Exhibition, Mimino, When the Almonds Flourished and Qvevri. His creative work doesn’t stay within Georgia only. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union Gia Kancheli went to Antwerp, Belgium where he got the “Wolf Prize in Arts” in 2008. He is famous and respected all over the world. It’s very important that even after a huge success in Europe he never forgot about Georgia, and is still in contact with The Rustaveli Theatre today. Vato Kizikurashvili

The maestro receiving his birthday congratulations

Issue #2 GZAAT GAZETTE else entirely. By definition graffiti is Op-Ed: The Graffiti something an illegal, political act done in secret, often in darkness, but always with passion. If you take the Debate aspects of danger and subversion away, it is merely Dear Editor,

veryone agrees that the statement chosen for our first community debate of the year -“Graffiti is not an art form, but an act of vandalism that must be punishable by law” – was an exceptionally suitable one. Unlike many controversial social issues that are the subjects of debates, graffiti is something with which everyone has some experience. It is literally right in front of us every day. However, as much as I approve of this statement, most of the points made by the students, and the, I strenuously disagree with final vote that graffiti is an art form. I think that it is hazardous to consider graffiti art only if it is made with consent and is politically correct. The final vote was the consequence of discussion around two points that served to make graffiti more acceptable. Concerning the first point, some speakers said that graffiti is not vandalism if the landowner permitted having it painted on his or her property. On the second point, others said that a government should preview and approve graffiti to avoid any offensive content. The auditorium’s acceptance of these two arguments led to the final vote. I find both propositions flawed and the implications of each a bit troubling, if you consider graffiti art. Let me address each of these issues in turn. First, a matter of practicality. While some owners would agree to allow pictures painted on the sides of their buildings, I think most would not. Those who would consent could insist the ‘graffiti’ match the color of their curtains, express some of their personal taste in art or music, or even be some kind of advertisement for their business. At best, this would ruin the charm of some neighborhoods. At worst, it would turn Tbilisi’s streets into Facebook homepages.

ornamentation. If anyone cares to take the time to disagree with something I have said, please write your own letter to the editor so the entire school community can hear you.

Ken Goff

China’s Western Outpost: 5 Tips on Going Local in Hong Kong

A Panoramaa Experience – Victoria Peak

With blazing neon lights, towering skyscrapers and constant motion, Hong Kong can overwhelm the average tourist. Nevertheless, its intoxicating mix of quaint glamour and 21-st century hustle and bustle manages to lure adventurous travelers. Behind the city canvas explorers are likely to encounter a culture like no other, one that reveals both a British and a Chinese influence. And just like any other city in the world, the people of Hong Kong are a reflection of the metropolitan – energetic and diligent. The average citizen balances religion, work and nightlife in the perfect ratio, proving that the best way to mix with crowd and understand how the city stands is to go local. Drop your travel guides and jaundiced commentary and explore Hong Kong with these 5 tips on going local. Cabs – A Risk Worth Taking

Secondly -- and in my humbled opinion most critically -- art should never be approved by a committee. Art created with the objective of being accepted by the maximum number of people is safe, polite, and ultimately pointless. Art must challenge us. It must make us angry. It must force us to analyze and defend our most deeply held beliefs about our government, our church, and ourselves. Any work that is created only to be liked by its audience is not art, but mere decoration. It is little more than a drawing a child brings home from school that his or her mother hangs on the refrigerator and just as forgettable. In brief, any form of street art created with either the consent of a landowner or the approval of a government is not graffiti nor is it art. It is

strong-brewed tea and condensed milk. A couple of spoons of jelly are the finishing touch, creating a simple, sweet, yet refreshing brew. Other than being thirst-quenching, milk tea is a symbol of Hong Kong’s history, the tea representing it’s Chinese roots and the milk standing for its British culture, that still manages to stick after all these years. If you really want to go local, try this drink at any food-serving location or tea house.

I once waited 2 hours in a “Taxi Line” to hitch a cab, only to find that when my ride finally arrived, the young couple behind me pushed me aside and to steal my cab. When it comes to taxis, there are no rules; there is no order. All you have to do is stand on the edge of the sidewalk and extend one arm out. Then, swing your arm violently and hope for the best. A true Hong Konger goes as far as jumping out at the cabs and threatening their drivers, giving them no other choice but to surrender. How far are you willing to go? Milk Tea A drink that can’t be disregarded. Sure Hong Kong is advertised for its other more exotic beverages, but there’s nothing more traditional than a mug of milk tea. The drink itself is a mixture of

If a single image could encapsulate Hong Kong, it would be the panorama view from Victoria peak. You can see everything – literally everything! Starting from its world-known harbor and ending with traditional looking houses, you won’t get tired of the view. At first glance, Victoria Peak seems like the most “touristy” thing to do when In Hong Kong, although even the most cynical citizen admits to visiting the watch tower at least twice. If you want to get to know the city, this is the first place you should visit to widen your horizon (no pun intended). Speaking With Locals Now this is probably the most difficult part about visiting Hong Kong, especially if you’re not fluent in Cantonese. You’re ought to find the occasional English speaker, but for the most part, the exposure to the English language in this day and time is at it’s minimum. To avoid awkward hand gestures and attempts at translation, use end phrases that suggest that you respect the Cantonese language, Every sentence (in English) should be ended with a Cantonese final particle such as: la, ar, wor, gar. Suggested conversation for practice: “Hong Kong is really great ar!” “Ok gar.” (Translation: I agree. It really is quite great.) Getting Around There’s nothing more embarrassing than exploring a city with tour guides in designated vans and buses. Ditch all means of organized travel and instead, grab an Octopus card. This seemingly magical card grants you access onto public transportation like buses, ferries, trains and trams. Not only will you feel like a local, but you will also view the city from a different angle.

Tasia Kucan

GZAAT GAZETTE

Alumni Series

Keti Parlagashvili: There and Back Again

1) When did you graduate from GZAAT? I graduated in May, 2009, which makes me not as old as you probably thought I was! 2) Which university did you attend and what was your major? I studied at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. My majors were Computer Science and Physics. 3) Did you have good classmates at GZAAT? I had great classmates. My overall high school experience was wonderful. In fact, GZAAT is so much more for me than just a high school. There I met my husband, Nika Bachsoliani, and my best friend, Irinka Bukia. Both were my classmates. 4) Are you still in contact with your friends from GZAAT? Apart from the two people I already mentioned, I maintain close relationships with just a few others. You have to understand that I’m not a terribly sociable person, and my experiences don’t accurately reflect my graduating class. Fortunately, most people in GZAAT class of 2009 are much better at maintaining their friendships than I am. 5) How was the educational system at your university different from the one at GZAAT? I attended a small, private, liberal arts college, so I would say the system there is not that much different from the system at GZAAT. At institutions like DePauw University, you get the same kind of individual attention you’re used to at GZAAT. All of my professors knew me by name and were incredibly helpful and attentive. One thing that is different, no matter where you go to college, is that you are responsible for your own learning. I would urge you to be proactive and reach out to your professors if you have trouble with anything. Unlike your teachers, who give you grade reports every three weeks and remind you to come to the academic support hours, university professors do no such things. It is assumed that you are an adult and will take care of your own problems. Of course, unlike high school, you also get to choose what to study. Isn’t that exciting?

6) Can you tell us more about your university professors? I could spend hours talking about my professors, but instead, I will tell you a story of how I ended up with a double major. It will demonstrate nicely how involved my professors were in my education. I didn’t start taking physics courses until my third semester at DePauw University, which made it challenging to obtain a major. There was a required course I could not take in my fourth semester because of the time conflict with one of my computer science courses. I was sad, but I had to give up majoring in physics. Not long after I decided this, Dr. John Caraher, who was teaching the abovementioned required course, contacted me by email and asked to come by his office. He had known that I wanted to major in physics, and decided to work around my schedule to make it possible. So, for the next year, he met with me individually every week. Eventually, I got credit for the course and obtained my physics degree. I would like to stress that Dr. Caraher was in no way obligated to do this. If you go on to attend a small liberal arts institution, chances are you will have similar stories to share in a few years. 7) Could you tell us a little bit about your college friends? I made amazing friends from all over the world. I have close friends from the U.S., Pakistan, Vietnam, Germany, Moldova, Ukraine, India, Ecuador, and many other countries. Since graduation, I have had several reunions with my college friends. I even flew to the U.S. last year to be a bridesmaid in my roommate’s wedding, which was very exciting. I feel very fortunate to have these great people in my life, and I need to admit that DePauw played a significant role in developing these friendships. In general, when people attend colleges with residential campuses, they spend a lot more time around their classmates, which results in stronger friendships. 8) Could you tell the reader about your job at GZAAT? I started in March, 2014 as a substitute teacher in mathematics. For those first three months, I had a pleasure of teaching math to juniors and seniors. It was extremely difficult trying to teach calculus to second-semester seniors, but I like to joke that it made me stronger as a person. For the academic year 2014-2015, I accepted a position as a physics teacher, and I am so happy I did. It was very time-consuming, but rewarding at the same time. 9) Did you like working with the students of GZAAT? I loved it! I miss teaching every day. I wish I couldhave stayed to teach longer, but since I relocated to Germany, that wasn’t really an option.

Keti at the blackboard

10) What did you learn from working with our students? It may sound cliché, but I really did learn a lot from my students. I learned that people have different styles of learning, and not all understand things the first time they hear it. Teaching definitely made me more patient. I would like to thank all of my students who made my time as a teacher at GZAAT an amazing experience. Sofi Javelidze

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Romin’s Study Tips

The Need to Read with Speed

he speed at which students read has never been of any concern in any schools I’ve been to, although the latest studies have shown that successful people tend to read faster on average. Imagine how much more you could get done if you completed your reading assignments in onethird the time? People complain that they have absolutely no time to read, and it’s quite obvious considering the average reading pace is 350 words per minute. One way of reading faster is simply reading more, but there are more ways to increase your reading speed. A) Minimize the number and duration of snapshots per line to increase speed. Instead of reading in a straight line from left to right, read in jumps. Each jump ends with a temporary snapshot of the text. To get a clear understanding of this, close one eye, place a fingertip on top of that eyelid, and then slowly scan a straight horizontal line with your other eye. You will feel separate movements (periods of fixation) B) Don’t back-skip Most people reread for up to 30 percent of total reading time. If you stop back-skipping, you will save much more time. C) Use horizontal peripheral vision span Instead of using central focus, use your horizontal peripheral vision span. Central focus is when you are concentrating on one word. Horizontal peripheral vision is when you look at one sentence as a whole. That way you can perceive 50 percent more words per fixation. D) Break the sub-vocalization habit When you read the words in your head, you lose a lot of time. Instead, you should chew gum. When you give your mouth something else to do while you read, you can disengage the speech mechanism in the brain, allowing what you read to go straight to your conscious awareness rather than being slowed down by your brain needing to figure out how to say the words first.

Romin Salikov

Issue #2 GZAAT AAT Sponsors National Teacher’s Conference During the spring of 2015 Guivy Zaldastanishvili’s American Academy in Tbilisi held its first inter-regional teacher conference. The conference was a great success and all of the participating teachers were satisfied. The program included team-building activities and raising teacher qualifications in their particular subjects. This school year, in November 2015, GZAAT conducted a second conference in Zugdidi. It again seemed to have pleased all 42 of its participants. Five GZAAT teachers attended the conference. Ilia Mestvirishvili spoke about the GZAAT online academy and its future in Georgia and affordable hands-on activities in physics; Tamuna Gvaramadze on information literacy; Goderdzi Pruidze on inequalities and estimates in mathematics and interdisciplinary mathematics; Natia Chachua on the scientific method and designing experiments; and Ken Goff on effective writing, and reaching beyond the textbook. We interviewed two teachers about the conference: Mr. Goff and Miss Nana Gabelia, who was the conference organizer. Interview with Mr Goff: -What was the goal of this particular conference, and was it achieved? -The major goal of this and the last conference has stayed the same. We want to increase the quality of education in Georgian schools and not only in private schools. What was different about this particular conference was that we actually went out into the regions and we met with a group of teachers who didn’t have the opportunity to come to Tbilisi to undergo this kind of training. We were trying to build partnerships with schools around Georgia to improve the level and quality of education. It was the first time that some of these teachers had had any kind of professional development. I focused on using modern methodologies of teaching English, specifically writing, and for going beyond the textbook to make their classes more interactive. The teachers were very excited to receive this information and were eager to use this knowledge in their classrooms. -Were there any teachers from Abkhazia? -We had teachers who were registered from the Gali region. That was actually one of the reasons for us choosing Zugdidi, because it is close to Abkhazia. -What were the activities during the conference? -In my course it was an interactive workshop. One of the most important things is to establish good relationships with the teachers, and we seemed to have done that. I asked them what challenges they have faced in their classrooms, and then presenting them with some materials that they could use during their lessons. -Could you tell us about the place itself ? What does Zugdidi look like, any places to visit? -It was my first time being there and I was impressed with the size of the town. It was much larger than I have imagined and the infrastructure was actually very nice. They had a McDonald’s which is not something that you see in every Georgian town. Our hotel was quiet nice. On Sunday

GAZETTE

AAT Students Participate in European Youth Parliament

AAT faculty and administrators with conference participants in Zugdidi

before we left we had a tour of the Dadiani palace which was wonderful. -Could you tell us about your future plans? -In March we plan to have another conference in the school, and we hope that teachers from the last conference and this conference will attend. The wonderful thing is that the more contact we have with teachers in the region the better we understand their needs and the more we are able to meet them. It is a very good beginning for something we hope will last for a long time. Interview with Ms. Gabelia: -What kind of cooperation was there between our school and the school in Zugdidi? -We worked with the St. George Academy in Zugdidi. The contact person there was Manana Nachhebia and she was completely happy with the idea and was very helpful. She asked a lot of questions and was working on ways to make the conference as comfortable as possible for the teachers and how to make everything better. She was completely open-minded and delighted, and she was thankful that we chose her school and not any other school. She was very helpful and welcoming in every aspect. -Could you describe the school and the situation there? -The situation there compared to our school is quiet... different and in a way shocking. The school itself is a building which was previously occupied by refugees from Abkhazia, so it is not very well furnished and still needs some renovation. It doesn’t have a centralized heating system and in every room there is a small electrical heater. Classes are not as technically advanced, they don’t have computers in every room like our school does, but it is one of the better schools in Zugdidi, maybe the best. But there are obviously a lot of things that need to be changed, and they need financial help which they cannot get as the school is free of charge and students study there for free. In conclusion, our school is trying to make a difference in the educational system of Georgia. Our teachers are working very hard not only to share their knowledge with their students, but to share it with the whole country. This is only the first step of something that could become a very important activity throughout Georgia, so let us hope that these conferences will continue, and our school will be able to help the country we all love and cherish. George Bekuridze

he European Youth Parliament is a nonprofit organization that helps raise awareness of various political issues among the youngsters throughout the area of European Union. It organizes many events in different countries so that youngsters can learn about global problems and find possible solutions for them. It improves the collaboration and teamwork skills of the participants, which are very essential for their future life. They can also learn how parliament works and how to speak in front of a large audience efficiently. There are two kinds of forums: regional, national and international. The international forum is much rarer, but is a much more interesting because there are many delegates from different backgrounds and cultures in once place. Those who wish to participate should have an interview with event officials. Afterwards they will be informed by an email if they are accepted. A delegate is then assigned to one of the committees, which includes approximately fifteen people and has one problem to solve. The whole process takes four days. On the first day, delegates have ‘teambuilding’, which encourages them to get to know each other better by playing fun games. On the following two days, participants have committee work when they actually start to debate their topic and try to find the best possible solution. On the fourth day General Assembly starts in the parliament, where the committee starts to present the given problem and prove the effectiveness of their resolution. If one committee gets more votes for than against the resolution is considered as passed. From my personal experience, I can say that words cannot describe the wonderful memories and the useful skills I acquired from the EYP session. I encourage youngsters to participate in this event and understand the spirit of the EYP by themselves. Dasha Lochoshvili

GZAAT GAZETTE

Learning Donald’s Grammar

ne of the founders of GZAAT, Mr. Donald Thomas, returned to our school this fall to teach a special English grammar program to the Sophomores. Throughout this month, students learned functional grammar and usage with the help of special, individual books in which they could write anything that was necessary. Of course every rule written in the book was discussed and explained in detail and during each class, all students were active and involved in the lessons. The students’ knowledge of the material was tested with quizzes and the results turned out to be quite encouraging. The idea of having separate English grammar lessons at GZAAT didn’t come out of nowhere. Mr. Donald explained that this idea first appeared last spring when he was here for graduation. Mr. Cruz asked him about teaching writing to student. Since grammar is essential for writing well, Mr. Donald thought that this was a logical place to start:“I thought throughout the summer and decided it would make sense to start with grammar. I’ll be talking to faculty about writing, but grammar is fundamental.” There are many students in our school, all with different levels of knowledge. Although initially it might seem logical that Freshmen would have more time to study and memorize grammar rules, Mr. Donald believes that it is important for Freshmen to spend a lot of energy getting adjusted to life at the Academy. Sophomores, meanwhile, are “On the right level to use this knowledge. It’s early enough and useful for them”. Of course, there’s no guarantee that students will remember everything from this program. This might lead us to ask whether learning these grammar rules actually has any use, but Mr. Donald is quite confident about what he’s doing: “I know it will be useful. How much or whether they’ll remember is difficult to say, but the reason to give them this grammar book is that they can keep it and use it as a reference.” There are numerous ways in which grammar can be taught and Mr. Donald chose a very specific approach. He created a unique text based on a program developed by one of his old friends: “The grammar which we are using was written by one of the teachers with whom I used to work and I encouraged her to write a grammar book.” The result is that each Sophomore is now the proud owner of a copy of “My Grammar” created by Mr. Donald and his colleague Maurine Tobin, and printed right here in Tbilisi. Along with the creation of this textbook, Mr. Donald also has other ideas about making such lessons more effective. The prevalence of computers makes it feasible to create an electronic version of the book: “When I was here as the director in 2013 I had our faculty working on professional development and one of the ideas was online instruction. I think that, although we can teach our students here at the Academy quite well, pupils in other cities would also be able to learn grammar. After all, the purpose of our school is to provide proper education to the Georgian nation as a whole. Our

physics teacher, Mr. Ilia Mestvirishvili is working on this project.” Overall, these grammar lessons have been quite effective for the Sophomores. They learned how to punctuate correctly, which word should be in a particular situation and basically, how to read and write without making mistakes which have always confused them before. From here derives the question, whether Mr. Donald has had some kind of experience in or outside of our school and this is what we found out from his words: “Before I came to Georgia, I taught English grammar in a public school in the USA. Also, in 2005 when I was preparing one of the senior classes for their SAT exams, I asked them about grammar and it turned out that they didn’t know much about it, so I decided to teach that too”. As we can see, just like in all the other subjects, grammar requires hard work from both students and their teachers and the more experienced is the teacher, the better he will help the students understand the content of the information which they have to absorb. And students will learn better if they write the rules down themselves and not just merely memorize whatever is written in their books just in order to forget it all in a short amount of time. Ana Sandler

Literature and the New World Order: What Paris Means to Me Paris is one city that always seems to come alive in literature. The Paris moment I often think back on with nostalgia took place in 1993 during my second trip there. After graduating college, I set out to see the world with a backpack. I’d recently devoured A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway’s gossipy memoir of 1920s Paris, and, being young enough to embrace the ethos of the starving artist, when I reached the city I felt compelled to seek out some of the locations mentioned in the story. One of these is the now-legendary bookstore “Shakespeare and Company”, located on the Left Bank just across from Notre Dame. “Shakespeare” is something like the Platonic form of a bookshop. It embodies the history of the expat literary experience, and the shelves overflow with well-chosen texts. Cats prowl the aisles and the upstairs, along with more books, is (well, was – since its second owner, the artist George Whitman, died in 2011, it has been remodeled slightly) crammed with threadbare, overstuffed furniture and features

Issue #2

windows overlooking the Seine. To a reader, it is a place which automatically seems like home. I first entered “Shakespeare and Company” on a rainy late-November afternoon, as the light was fading. I’d recently traveled across Asia by train and I was looking for a novel, as well as a way to re-connect with the Western World. I found both things as soon as I opened the door. I was the only person in the front of the store, save for an elderly man sitting by the cash register. He looked up from his reading, saw me with my backpack and, after a brief moment of thought, said: “So, I suppose you’re looking for a place to stay?” This, it turned out, was Mr. Whitman, the owner, and it was that simple: in exchange for a few hours of work each day, I could sleep on one of the couches upstairs. I spent the next week living at the bookstore, shelving books and chatting with customers during business hours. The nights were spent reading and talking literature with the other like-minded refugees who’d converted the cluttered second floor into a no-rent literary salon. Lots of bread, cheese and red wine and, for that one week, I belonged to the city: when I walked the neighborhood around the bookstore, it felt like it was mine; like I was part of a tradition, connected to something greater than myself. For me, there’s nothing like travel: it’s a reason for living. Had I been born later, would the emergence of modern terrorism have caused me to focus on other pursuits? Perhaps. But the fact remains that, in my experience, travel is the most intense form of education, and as a teacher I value any opportunity I might have to show my students the world. Four years ago, when I visited Paris with a group from AAT for the first time, my nostalgia was again awakened. The day we found “Shakespeare and Company” I watched with a mixture of pride and longing as the kids rushed inside to scan the shelves. We’d read some chapters of A Moveable Feast together in class and their excitement at finding a familiar place was palpable and infectious and many of them emerged from the shop clutching books which had been stamped inside the front cover with the “Shakespeare and Company” seal: the ultimate Paris souvenir and a small but significant connection to a tradition which values the expression of ideas and beauty above all else. Most of my travel was done during a time which, looking back, seems more innocent: it was pre-9/11 and pre-ISIS. Based on more recent developments, perhaps the world has changed so much that, despite the massive increase in communications technology, we are destined to live in ever-increasing isolation. After all, travel seems to become less attractive with each successive terrorist act. My Juniors recently composed essays on how the use of the telephone in The Great Gatsby (written by an American who spent more than his own share of time living in Paris) serves, ironically, as a disconnecting and alienating social force. In this regard, Fitzgerald’s novel seems quite prescient: disembodied voices (and now, faceless attackers) breaking into our consciousness and sowing havoc. So, perhaps – to borrow a phrase from Fitzgerald – this is a story of literature after all: travel is one way to connect with the world, and stories are another. In this way, through reading and discussing and writing, we develop and maintain the value system we cherish, and in doing so, contribute to and, ultimately, defend it.

Anthony Schierman

Issue #2

GZAAT GAZETTE

Exporting Georgian Viticulture: Where Do We Stand?

Traditional Georgian wine cellar with qvevri

ine is not just an alcoholic beverage which gets people drunk. Since ancient times it has been a sacred drink that has been used very widely for religious purposes. In modern times, it has become more of an indulgence, a tasty drink to chat over with our friends, or to enjoy alone. The creation and selling of wine in modern times is very interesting. That’s why we decided to share some information about it with our readers. There are two general categories for the wines produced in the whole world: old and new world wines. Old world wines are in countries like France, Spain, Italy which have been in the business of winemaking for many centuries New world wines include new players like Australia, New Zealand, Chile and others. The competition between these two is heating up and has become very tense during last couple of years. To everyone’s surprise, the new world wines are slowly but steadily taking over the marketplace, as they have new technologies and breeds of wine that catch the eye -- if not the tastebuds -- of the buyer. Based on the eight-millennia-long history of Georgian winemaking, our wine might be considered to belong to the first group. But our long history cannot make up for the lack of development and instability in this field for the past few centuries. Our exceptional qualities and ancient traditions cannot be fully disregarded either. Over five hundred different breeds of unique wine makes Georgian wine an unarguable opportunity to become a meaningful player on the world market. Georgian wine society is waiting to be named as a landmark by the UN for being the birthplace of wine in December of 2015. But sharing all these amazing achievements is the problem. By 2016, Georgia will be exporting wine to only 33 countries, which compared to the other numbers seems to be a relatively small number. However, the current state of Georgian wine export is not all that bad. Georgian wine was included in the New York Times list of “20 wines under $20”. Interesting taste and the low prices easily attract the customers, and the most important thing is that once they try the wine, they get hooked.

“More and more people are more knowledgeable of Georgian wines,” said one liquor store owner who reported that monthly sales of Georgian wines in his store have grown from one or two cases to 20-plus cases in just two years. The main reason why the world is not widely familiar with Georgian wines was the Russian ban, which was lifted in 2013. After that there has been a 34 percent increase in sales. This means that 59 million bottles worth $183 million were sold last year. The reason why Russia had so much influence on our appearance on national marketplace for wine is that it accounted for 64 percent of total embargo. The situation right now might not seem ideal, but as time has shown, hard work and dedication to the profession, along with preserving culture and tradition are slowly starting to yield results. Georgia might not become a major or the biggest player in the near future, but putting our culture out there is what is important, and slowly everyone will start realizing what a culturally rich and diverse country we have.

Sesili Koberidze

European Youth Olympics Come to Tbilisi

n Summer 2015, Tbilisi was red, yellow, green, blue and black. Everything from city buses to banners in parks and squares displayed these colors in a minimalistic silhouette of a running boy, the logo of the European Youth Olympic Festival Tbilisi 2015. The EYOF included 9 sports: judo, tennis, artistic gymnastics, cycling, athletics, swimming, volleyball, handball and basketball. Over 3,800 athletes from 50 European countries arrived in Tbilisi to participate in the Festival. The even held huge importance for Georgia’s international awareness. However, the goals that were set for the EYOF weren’t achieved and many international visitors were not satisfied with the quality of the event and the circumstances, that they had to live in during one week. Having been a volunteer at EYOF with other several GZAAT students, I decided to write about the positive and negative issues connected to this event. The atmosphere and the situation at the Olympic Village, located near the Tbilisi Sea, was really joyful and bright. However, this setting was created only by volunteers and the athletes. The location itself was really depressing. Visitors, who have never heard of our country before, had the impression that Georgia is just a small territory built of shoddy concrete without a single tree. Actually, they left Georgia with this kind of an impression, because most of them didn’t have any time to sightsee in Tbilisi. The nice part was that the teenagers from different countries communicated with each other and the Georgian volunteers really well: danced, sang, clapped for the ones who became the champions and won medals, supported each other and

had fun. Unfortunately, while teenagers practiced the 21st century’s typical ways of communication: taking selfies, following each other on instagram, etc. the organizing committee was busy arguing and being in panic. Nobody ever knew what to do. If you asked a Transport Manager about the time the bus would for the Swimming venue , he/ she would transfer you to the Schedule Manager. And this process of transferring the volunteers to different departments, was transformed into a continuous, eternal routine. I worked at the Sports Info Desk, where I was supposed to give information to representatives of athletes from every country. The hardest thing was that sometimes we had to answer the questions by deductive logic. The reason was that we just didn’t have the proper information. As I expected, it was a great experience to work with people from 50 different countries. Some of them were really nice and positive, while some of them spent their time sniveling and whimpering that Georgia is full of irresponsible people, Georgia lacks the concept of a clock, etc. Every critical comment was really irritating and painful, but we just had to continue smiling and saying sorry in a really polite manner. But even if we had a chance, would we have had any argument to prove the critics wrong? Being a volunteer is a hard thing to do. The ten days of work had been an absolute kick out from the comfort zone, not only physically, but morally as well. We didn’t complain about getting up at 6 am. We didn’t even complain about working in 39 degree heat, but the moral stress and the huge responsibility that we took was a real burden that we carried. It was difficult to hear teenage athletes talking about an awful Georgian food (they thought, that Georgian national food was the one that was served in their cafeteria: rice, salads, etc.). Few of them even got food poisoning and because of this fact, couldn’t participate anymore. We all were in the peak of Nationalism, proving and persuading people that Georgia is a great country. Some of them believed it, some of them didn’t But the last thing, that one Italian coach told me with that characteristic, full of temperament, Italian accent of his, was: “Our country has the shape of the shoe, and your country has a shape of the slippers, that you wear when you go home.” I smiled. I knew, that in 2017, when I won’t be living in my country anymore, I could watch EYOF from any point of the globe, and think of that Summer in Tbilisi, when everything was red, yellow, green, blue and black, and when I was wearing those comfortable slippers.

Anna Davitaia