Back in Turkey I was on the phone to my parents saying how I wanted to spend a while in Georgia because I’d heard such good things about it, and they suggested doing a workaway there. It was a great idea and I found three that I liked the look of. Two weren’t taking volunteers now that it’s winter, and the third replied that they’d love to have me. So henceforth came my bizarre bus journey to a remote retreat centre in Gomarduli. I stayed for two weeks, left for one week with one of the other volunteers to explore Tbilisi and the surrounding area, then returned for a silent retreat (more on that in a separate blog post).
Gomarduli is truly a world of its own. I’d call myself hippy-inclined, not fully hippy but very happy to lean into that lifestyle. This place encouraged full hippiness and I was happy to oblige. We began each day by taking it in turns to say how we were feeling. Not just “I’m good” but how we were really feeling. It felt a bit strange at first, but after a few days I was really into it. In fact, it changed my whole day and I will definitely be taking it forward with me. We did workshops on ‘authentic movement’ and ‘body contact’. Again, I had my doubts but honestly I really enjoyed all of it! It felt wonderful to connect with my body through movement, to explore contact and intimacy with others, and to discuss the feelings that these activities brought up. It did remind me of the Peep Show emotional dancing episode, and I did have to show this to the others, not being able to take it completely seriously (but I think laughing at yourself is part of it)! We all pitched in to create our existence in the mountains. We ate vegetarian food three times a day, all sat around a big table with hot tea and homemade bread. There was a yoga class most mornings which I was ecstatic about. Doing yoga with people I then spent all day with reminded me so much of doing yoga in my college at university, and made me reflect on how much I loved that experience. The other volunteers were like a family, and our evenings were filled with live music, films and games. One notable evening was spent visiting the nearby sauna where we ran between the 100 degree sauna and the makeshift hot tub through the freezing rain, completely in the nude. Some moments whilst travelling make you think “no one at home is going to believe this” and one such moment was being sat naked in the sauna learning how to play backgammon with a guy I had known for 24 hours. Despite this lack of privacy which extended into our living situation (9 of us in one room with one bathroom) we also respected each other’s space in a way that felt so caring. I could spend my alone time sat by the fire reading, or taking a walk in the wilderness. The scenery really was stunning (picture snowy mountains, orange forests, rolling hills, pink sunsets, the occasional ramshack house). It was truly isolated. Once a week a car would arrive from Batumi (the nearest proper town) ladled with supplies and food. It was interesting to see how the chefs made this work with feeding so many people, with them having to depend on non-perishables and making items such as bread from scratch throughout the week. An item from the outside world enticed great excitement from the group - a jar of peanut butter was consumed in minutes, being handed round with a spoon sticking out of it, everyone taking a spoonful; a chocolate bar the same, with everyone taking a bite before passing it to the next person. It was a connected living.
The core volunteer tasks were serving meals and washing up afterwards, and collecting drinking water from the spring. Additional work varied but included helping with renovations, lots of painting walls and ceilings, and cutting and transporting firewood. Of course there were some less ideal quirks, mainly the strange cult leader-like owner. He was in charge of everything and orders were passed down via the administrative coordinator (Vika). He would demand tasks were done quickly and without regard to quality (the Slavic way perhaps). My life as a volunteer was blissful despite this, but there was definitely tension between him and the full-time staff. I really enjoyed the work here, for many reasons but notably because of the other volunteers. I have never been in a space that encourages such thoughtfulness and care. People would help you out not because they had to, but because they wanted to make your life easier. And this encouraged the same behaviour in me, and I really enjoyed it! My time in Gomarduli had a huge impact on my mindset and I’m confident I’ll carry those changes forward with me.
Did I mention the litter of puppies that was born on my second night there? You can see why I extended my stay beyond the one/two weeks I started out with…
Difficult decisions
The temptation of staying somewhere so comfortable for Christmas, and why I ultimately decided not to. Lots of the other volunteers were going to be spending Christmas and New Year at Gomarduli, and I toyed with the idea of doing the same. I knew it would be a wonderful place to spend Christmas, and we’d have a really beautiful time together, just like a little family. But… It felt a bit too comfortable, and a bit too safe. This year’s Christmas isn’t going to be spent like usual with my family, so I might as well go all the way and continue my journey east, risking having a less lovely Christmas but backing myself to make it work out wherever I end up. This is also paired with the risk of being snowed in for several weeks! So I’m going to leave Gomarduli after the silent retreat, and I’ll likely spend Christmas in Kazakhstan or Kyrgystan.