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Georgian Farewell

Thursday, December 19
I have been living in Georgia for the last two years and five months as an English teacher with the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs. It's been a great experience teaching English to Georgian police staff, cadets and emergency line operators, first in Batumi and then in Tbilisi at the Georgian Police Academy. I've been fortunate to have taken part (in my own small way) in a remarkable reform process which is still ongoing.

These past two and some years have been a period of considerable political transition. Working as a part-time copy editor at The Messenger during the last 16 months has helped keep me much better informed about the political situation. I feel proud that I got to work at The Messenger during some important events, most notably the parliamentary elections last year. While Georgia still faces many challenges, I think the country's future is bright. I'm sure to visit again in the future and I'll be curious to see what changes take place over the coming years. I've had a lot of remarkable experiences and the photographs below can only capture a fraction of that. One thing is for certain: my time in Georgia will stay with me the rest of my life.

- Ryan Eyre (Seattle, U.S.A).