Tbilisi Youth Palace Pupils meet US Marines (June 5, 2009)
On June 5, twenty Georgian pupils from the American Corner at the Tbilisi Youth Palace learned what it was like to be a United States Marines, if only for a day. As a follow-up to the Marines' March 13 visit to the American Corner, students aged 14-16 came to theEmbassy for an exciting and rigorous afternoon of military drills. Following the Sergeants' commands, students stretched out and divided into two teams to compete in various exercises including pushups, buddy carries, and other relays. After the competition, each student was given a chance to fire a paintball gun at targets and eat a "Meal Ready to Eat" (MRE) with the soldiers, just like the MREs eaten in the field. The event allowed the students to put into action what they learned from the March presentation on Boot Camp -Basic Training - under the supervision of those who guard our Embassy here in Tbilisi. Following the afternoon's activities, Marines and students enjoyed pizza and cake and participated in a question and answer session about the Corps. One student asked, "Can we live here and do this every day?"