Going to Vardzia and staying there overnight is a tradition for Juniors, so it was no surprise everyone was in high spirits at 8 in the morning when the buses started leaving. Even though it was not the first time visiting the cave monastery for many of them, the students were eager to explore the sites together, with the teachers and other accompanying faculty members. At first, everyone was sitting by themselves, just talking or sharing their plans for the next (approximately) 36 hours. But after their first stop in Gori for snacks and stretching, the students turned on their speakers and started singing and even dancing to some traditional Georgian songs, only occasionally glancing out the windows to admire the beautiful nature near the banks of the Mtkvari River.
When the Juniors arrived at the entrance of the cave monastery of Vardzia after around 2 hours, many started complaining because they were supposed to go up a hill, but it didn’t take much convincing to get moving. On the way up, they caught glimpses of beautiful scenery through the trees; but that was merely a part of the whole view that could be seen when the group reached the caves: mountains stretched across the horizon, colored with every shade of green, and, of course, the buses waiting for the students down below. Before starting their exploration, Levan Ghambashidze talked about King Tamar and the history and significance of Vardzia. But everyone was too hyper, so the lecture didn’t last long. After Levan’s speech the students entered a church in which they saw one of the four portraits of King Tamar. Everyone wanted to express their positive impressions of the art, but they had to be silent in the church, which was impossible. After leaving the church, the students explored a variety of caves and the network that was connected by narrow passages. Walking through one of the slimmest and longest passages was quite stressful for some juniors. But with the soothing words from psychologist Nini Mgebrishvili, they finally came down and even bought souvenirs as a reward!!!
Arriving at the Vardzia Resort, everyone seemed to be quite worn out from so much walking, nonetheless energetic and communicative. After settling in their rooms and playing different games (chess, backgammon, checkers, table football, and various card games), it was finally time for dinner. The dining room of the resort was full of GZAAT students and teachers; everyone ate together, talked, and some even said Sadgegrdzelo! After that, the students, with the supervision of Levan Mas, split into two groups and played more games. During this time, some juniors went to the lobby and started learning the sheet music to different songs on the piano and guitar. When they came back, they sang the famous Georgian song “Suliko,” which resulted in many other performances. These turned into karaoke recitals and soon grew to include anyone willing (or forced) to dance and lip-sync. They were rated by the GZAAT faculty members on a scale of 1-5, not that it mattered to the Juniors - they just had fun being frivolous.
At around noon the next day, after having breakfast, they left to go to Axaltsikhe and have a tour of Rabati Castle, a fortress built in the 9th century. While waiting for their tickets, students occupied themselves by petting the cute dogs in the yard, taking group pictures, competing on the Boxer Punch Machine, etc. Most importantly, they staged the plays they had read in school. The most iconic performance was given by Luka Khonelia and Gio Kuprava as Romeo and Juliet during Act 5, scene 3 - aka their death scene.
When they entered the castle complex, the students immediately started taking pictures, astonished by the beauty of its architecture. However, the sightseeing came to an end when the boys saw a pool in the garden of the fortress and started jumping over it. Everyone else immediately took out their phones to capture this moment, chanting words of encouragement as someone jumped over. The final leap was given by Levan Ghambashidze, which ended with a “little” slip. This iconic moment will surely stay in everyone’s mind forever.
Afterwards, the group left for dinner in a nearby restaurant. The students knew this would mark the end of their memorable trip, but the atmosphere of sadness was overshadowed by hunger and everyone forgot about the three-hour drive home as they started eating. After some time, even though they were reluctant to leave, the students packed into the buses with high spirits.
And just like on their way to Vardzia, they took out their speakers and started singing and dancing, already reminiscing about the unforgettable field trip. It is to be said with courage that everyone had so much fun and made memories that they couldn’t have if they had not come on the trip.
Edited By: Lizi Schierman
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