Warning: this will be entirely useless for anyone not coming to Georgia as a TLG participant.
Hello, future TLGers. I just wanted to let you know a little about TLG's phones, as I am just now learning a bit more about the setup. You will get your phones near the end of the orientation week in Tbilisi--they're fairly basic, but work well, and hold a charge for ever.
However, during orientation you will not receive a thorough rundown on the costs of things with your phones. My (mis)understanding was that it was about 5 lari per month for all your (non-international) calls and texts, and thus that if there actually was a set price to individual calls and texts, it must be so miniscule so as not to be noticeable. While it is free, as the TLG staff will explain, to call and text TLG staff and other volunteers, it can be quite expensive for anyone else. For any message you send to any non-TLGer in Georgia, it costs 6 tetri, whether they're Geocell (the company TLG uses), Magti, Bali, Beeline, Bani, or Lailai (all the other phone companies in Georgia). For a phone call to a Geocell phone, it's 6 tetri for the first minute and 1 tetri for every minute after that. To a non-Geocell phone, however, it's 15 tetri for the first minute and 10 tetri for each minute after that. You can also but packages of 50 text messages for 1.5 lari--these last for 30 days. It is furthermore possible to get cards (I believe here, they meant SIM cards) to make calling with the other companies cheaper, but this involves getting another number and more complexities, and I decided to just call people less. You can also call 928 at any time to get the Tbilisi Geocell office, where you can get whatever other information you need, free of charge, in English (or pseudo-English, at least).
This seems to be expensive by Georgian phone standards as well, as my host family's policy (Bali) is a good bit cheaper, especially with texts. But, it is what it is. You're certainly being paid enough that, as long as you don't eat out a lot or splurge on things a lot, you can afford it--you have very few expenses, really. In the villages, there's not much to buy, anyway--food, I suppose, but you're certainly fed enough not to need to buy any more for yourself. Just letting you know in advance, though, so you don't waste too much money without realizing the cost--and subsequently get a text saying they're going to turn off your phone in 3 days if you don't pay more. (By the way, it's free, of course, to receive texts and calls, even from international numbers.) So, have fun here in Georgia--it's awesome!
Hello, future TLGers. I just wanted to let you know a little about TLG's phones, as I am just now learning a bit more about the setup. You will get your phones near the end of the orientation week in Tbilisi--they're fairly basic, but work well, and hold a charge for ever.
However, during orientation you will not receive a thorough rundown on the costs of things with your phones. My (mis)understanding was that it was about 5 lari per month for all your (non-international) calls and texts, and thus that if there actually was a set price to individual calls and texts, it must be so miniscule so as not to be noticeable. While it is free, as the TLG staff will explain, to call and text TLG staff and other volunteers, it can be quite expensive for anyone else. For any message you send to any non-TLGer in Georgia, it costs 6 tetri, whether they're Geocell (the company TLG uses), Magti, Bali, Beeline, Bani, or Lailai (all the other phone companies in Georgia). For a phone call to a Geocell phone, it's 6 tetri for the first minute and 1 tetri for every minute after that. To a non-Geocell phone, however, it's 15 tetri for the first minute and 10 tetri for each minute after that. You can also but packages of 50 text messages for 1.5 lari--these last for 30 days. It is furthermore possible to get cards (I believe here, they meant SIM cards) to make calling with the other companies cheaper, but this involves getting another number and more complexities, and I decided to just call people less. You can also call 928 at any time to get the Tbilisi Geocell office, where you can get whatever other information you need, free of charge, in English (or pseudo-English, at least).
This seems to be expensive by Georgian phone standards as well, as my host family's policy (Bali) is a good bit cheaper, especially with texts. But, it is what it is. You're certainly being paid enough that, as long as you don't eat out a lot or splurge on things a lot, you can afford it--you have very few expenses, really. In the villages, there's not much to buy, anyway--food, I suppose, but you're certainly fed enough not to need to buy any more for yourself. Just letting you know in advance, though, so you don't waste too much money without realizing the cost--and subsequently get a text saying they're going to turn off your phone in 3 days if you don't pay more. (By the way, it's free, of course, to receive texts and calls, even from international numbers.) So, have fun here in Georgia--it's awesome!
In Christ,
Teopile/Theophilos Porter
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