In this interview, you’ll hear from Ella Tascher Morrison, a Peace Corps Education volunteer in Georgia. Ella shares what daily life looks like, the work being done, and how service has shaped their personal and professional growth. You’ll learn about housing, cultural differences, project work, language learning, and what it’s like to live and work in a new country. This interview offers a real look into Peace Corps service and what future volunteers can expect.
Table of Contents
- Volunteer Experience and Motivation
- Surprises and Challenges
- Advice and Support
- Practical Tips and Language Learning
- Social Identity
- Final Thoughts
Volunteer Experience and Motivation
1. What do you do as a Peace Corps Education volunteer in Georgia?
I teach around 20 hours a week alongside another English teacher, do lesson planning/development, lead some youth development workshops/camps, and work with organizations like GLOW, American Councils-FLEX program, and recently the Believe Foundation. My daily tasks at site are somewhat varied depending on the needs of the community. I have led writing workshops, creative writing clubs, some theatre clubs, a few “job preparedness” workshops, and try to spice up activities in the classroom. We have done role-plays, group projects, American holiday celebrations, and even some more international celebrations like Dia de los Muertos and Bastille Day to bring some diverse history into the classroom.
2. Why did you decide to join the Peace Corps and serve in Georgia?
I originally applied to PC Cameroon since I have a high level of French but after some medical detours, I was given the option of Eastern Europe. I chose Armenia, passed the interview, and was offered a position, but later found out I needed one more semester to complete both of my undergraduate degrees. After communicating this to the Peace Corps, they offered me two positions with a later start date, and I finally chose Georgia.
I am incredibly happy the universe threw me in this direction; this has been one of the best experiences of my life. Plus, I was asked to serve in a minority community where I have had the option to learn both Georgian and Armenian, so the universe has a sense of humor. I got what many people would call “the best of both worlds,” living with an Armenian family and working in a Georgian school.
Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
3. What is your housing like in Georgia?
I live with a host family in a somewhat large town. I wouldn’t quite call it “urban” but it’s definitely not rural. It is remote however. I live a little over three hours from the closest volunteer which is saying a lot for a country that is only a little bit bigger than West Virginia. I love it here though, and don’t mind being far from other volunteers.
As for my daily comforts, my host family makes delicious Armenian and Georgian food, sometimes we go to restaurants, and we live in a modern house like most volunteers in Georgia (running water, central heating which is important in my region, inside bathrooms, etc..). The only part I had trouble with was the washing machine which is in Russian. I don’t read or speak Russian well so that required some help at first.
4. What moments or interactions stand out during your service?
Every morning my students are so excited to see me, which always makes me smile. They are also very pleasant to have in class and enjoy the games, activities, and projects we prepare for them. On marshutkas (minibuses used as local transport), I always have the loveliest conversations when I choose to be even a little talkative; people are kind and have a magnetic energy, and they like to exchange stories even with a complete stranger. Additionally, I have had many students email me, or just approach me in town, saying how much they learned or enjoyed a camp or workshop I did and ask when the next one is, which makes me feel like what I am doing matters.
Surprises and Challenges
5. What has surprised you most about living or working in Georgia?
I was surprised by the attitudes towards education since it seemed to mix the strict Soviet style with the more relaxed Georgian culture which appeared as an oxymoron at first. Many schools threaten but do not use strict punishments, and the rules around homework and classroom work vary depending on the school, region, headteacher, and class. I have worked in schools before, mostly in Morocco, which has many of the same elements but the way Georgian schools operate is unique to the culture and history here in the Caucasus region. It was a challenge to learn to work with it at first, and even now a year in there are still surprises. However, I really enjoy working in the schools, with my students, and counterparts especially, I have learned a lot.
Additionally, I was challenged with integration when I first arrived at site since I had only experienced Georgian culture and language during training, and then was placed in an Armenian village. However, this challenge soon turned into many fun and interesting learning experiences during weddings, coffee time with neighbors, fun little family excursions, and multilingual/multiethnic lessons once school started. People continue to show me their warmth, understanding, and positivity.
6. What challenges have you faced in your Education work, and how did you respond?
I have faced some challenges with teaching kids in Georgia, specifically in my region since the kids are a mix of Georgians and Armenians who don’t all speak the same language. However, this has offered an opportunity to advance their English education since English is quickly overtaking Russian as the new generation’s lingua franca. When they don’t speak the same first language, they will switch to English.
Despite this slight advantage to teaching, there is still the reality that since this is a Georgian school (that being the language of instruction), Armenian students who do not have exposure to the language before they start in 1st grade must play catch-up to their Georgian peers. This means many children in the younger classes are more confused and require extra support in Georgian and even more in English since they are learning their third or sometimes fourth language through their second or even third. Despite all this, it is a pleasure to teach my kids and work with them through their language learning journey.
7. What secondary projects have you worked on during your service?
I have had the opportunity to work with organizations across Georgia from American Councils, GLOW clubs/camps, and NGOs/foundations. This past summer I was an orientation teacher for the FLEX program, an international education and exchange program where Georgian students are sent on scholarship to the US for the academic year and live with host families while attending public high school. It is a great chance for students to utilize their English, experience another culture, and add to their academic resumes. Working with the program and these kids was an absolute joy, it was wonderful to see them succeed and all their hard work pay off.
Over winter break last year, I spent a week working with GLOW (Girls Leading Our World), a Peace Corps project turned localized NGO that holds regional clubs and 1-2 camps per year depending on funding. Students accepted to this year’s camp spent a week learning about physical/mental fitness, budgeting, financial literacy, and social activism/volunteering. I was a guest speaker for several of the sessions, alongside finance professors from a local university, and some local women CEOs. We discussed a range of topics with the girls and then helped them prepare projects to take back to their respective villages and towns. Their individual projects included: starting GLOW clubs, creating workshops where they taught local girls what they learned, and promoting volunteering/social activism in their communities.
Lastly, I have just this week started collaborating with the Believe foundation which works with kids to develop practical skills and promote educational opportunities with guidance and support.
Advice and Support
8. What advice would you give to future Education volunteersf in Georgia?
Work very hard on learning the local language early on so your integration and projects run more smoothly, and always ask your counterparts for advice. Asking for constructive criticism can be difficult, but in the long run, it makes everything work more cohesively. Ask early on what you can do to make their classes better and complement their teaching. Observing the first week and offering project or activity ideas is a great place to start.
9. How did Peace Corps training prepare you for service?
I felt well prepared post-PST. My only regret is that I could have worked harder in learning Armenian since it was kind of hard in the first few weeks with my host family. I could communicate basic needs, but getting to know them required some charades and some unreliable Google translations.
IST and MST (In-service and mid-service trainings) were both very enjoyable for me and constructive. We learned more advanced Georgian grammar and were tested at our current level. Overall, I felt very supported by our lovely Georgian teachers and staff; over the course of just three to four-day trainings, my understanding of Georgian grammar greatly improved.
Additionally, the technical trainings and practicums were helpful in understanding how the education system functions in Georgia and the kind of work that needs to be done. We learned how to design and implement lessons using the present, practice, and produce method, and created mini lessons for each other. The skills we learned in training directly impacted my day-to-day work and helped me improve my ability to work effectively in the classroom.
Practical Tips and Language Learning
10. What would you tell future volunteers to pack—or leave behind?
I packed very light coming here, bringing only things I needed for training: business casual clothes, four different pairs of shoes (fancy-ish low heels, sandals, sneakers, and boots), all of which I was happy to have, and additionally some books in English since I am a big reader.
I have since bought more clothes, but my style while at site is still business casual. I have never worn a t-shirt to school since it would be somewhat too casual – all women wear pantsuits, blazers, or just look very professional. My fashion has, in a sense, gotten better since being here, since all the teachers I work with look very put together and beautiful.
I haven’t found it at all difficult to buy clothes or shoes, although my site is a bigger town, so this could be a different reality in the villages. That being said, however, most sites have some kind of big town or city nearby, which can be visited on weekends to buy necessities. And if you really can’t find what you are looking for, then Tbilisi has everything from malls to cheaper second-hand shops. If you get good at bargaining, that can also be an extra fun side quest at the bazaars. I have found very cheap and comfortable shoes and various clothing items this way.
Overall, pack for training and take comfort in the fact that many things will be available.
11. How has language learning been for you in Georgia?
It has been lovely! I have really enjoyed learning Georgian and Armenian thanks to the very helpful and knowledgeable LICFs (Language and Inter-Cultural Facilitators), basically our Georgian teachers during pre-service training. They helped, and continue to help, with our language learning journey and our cultural integration.
During training, we studied everything from the etymology of Georgian words and fun Georgian toasts (important!) to grammar structures and the correct pronunciation of Georgian letters (hard!). The textbooks we were given are thorough and easy to follow, and the structure of our language classes made learning relatively easy.
Learning Armenian was easier than Georgian for me, even though I got less training and official classes than I did with Georgian, because Armenian uses many of the same letter sounds as Georgian. I didn’t have to relearn a whole new phonetic system, just an additional alphabet. In comparison to the 11 weeks I got with Georgian, I only got five weeks with Armenian, and even with that, it was only two hours a day instead of four. Nonetheless, I felt prepared enough to go to my permanent site, which really shows the dedication of the teachers to get us up to speed with the language.
Social Identity
12. How has your personal identity shaped your service experience?
I am a 25-year-old woman. My personal identity has made my integration fairly easy; most people think I am Georgian since I am blonde, fair-skinned, and have good Georgian pronunciation.
However, I am Jewish, so that creates a lot of interesting opportunities, specifically with my students, to learn from each other. While I don’t consider myself a religious person, the question of whether I am Christian does come up a lot and usually leads to nice conversations on Abrahamic faiths and other religions as well. It’s a good teaching moment where students are encouraged to be curious and ask questions.
13. Did your identity lead to specific challenges or situations?
I haven’t had many identity-related challenges, but since Orthodoxy is such an important part of Georgian culture, the inevitable question about faith always segues into conversations about literature, history, and the bible, which I enjoy. One of my majors in University was religion, and I find these conversations to be grounding and interesting, and also a great way to quickly engage in dialogue that allows you to learn more about a person.
I have had many wonderful, although sometimes challenging, conversations with students who are eager to share Christianity with me and also learn more about Judaism and even Islam!. For many of my kids, these are topics they’ve never thought of, so they are really just curious and ask a lot of good questions.
14. What advice do you have for volunteers who share your identity?
Get really good at Georgian and see how long you can make it in a conversation before someone questions your nationality! And know that any seemingly off-putting questions come from a place of curiosity. Also, learn more about religion and culture; kids are always ready to discuss these topics.
Final Thoughts
15. What final advice or thoughts would you share with future volunteers?
Be yourself and try to balance your own life with your host family’s. Participate as much as you can, even if people are just sitting on their phones or watching Turkish dramas. Reach out to organizations and NGOs; you might accidentally get involved in a lot of fun projects. Take your time, be kind to yourself in the integration and language learning process, and get to know your counterparts!
Are you thinking about joining the Peace Corps? If you’re curious about service and ready for something new, apply today. Like Ella, you can live abroad, work with communities, and grow in ways you didn’t expect. Apply to the Peace Corps and take the next step.
The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or Georgia Government.
