A Look Back (OR 5 Months Left)

 My host sister just finished using all the hot water. Now I get to wait a couple hours until more water is ready. I haven’t bathed in a week, but it’s not that bad because I’m always wearing the same clothes that do a great job at holding in nature’s smell. It’s either that or get hypothermia in my room whenever I want to change my underwear. Give me a break. So, while I wait for the water I’ll write a blog entry.

As of last Wednesday I have officially 5-months until COS (Close of Service). 5-months compared to the 22-months I’ve been here already seems like a piece of cake. In fact, our COS conference will be the first week of March, and that’s the last official Peace Corps conference I’ll ever attend. It’ll be exciting to leave; about as exciting as it was to arrive. I’m full of anticipation, but also fear. I know I am not the same person I arrived as. It's even funny to think we're anticipating the arrival of the G12 group, but I'll be leaving just as they swear in. So, they are reading about me as I'm preparing to leave, meanwhile they are just preparing. Weird thought (my group didn't have that issue because G9s were the first group back in Georgia since 2008 War) We can even look at pictures of the progression I’ve been in since leaving the USA. First, there is pre-Peace Corps Invitee Tom:

I enjoyed kayaking, backpacking, camping, and all manners of outdoors things. 

On the other hand I had a fun party side. This is in Atlantic City.

Right before being accepted to Peace Corps I was in a bit of a dead end. I was a teacher without a classroom. I first thought “I’ll be a teacher with a Masters; schools would love to hire me”. We all know 2008-2009 was a hard time for jobs and especially for people my age. I always knew I wanted to be Peace Corps, and I decided that this was the PERFECT time to apply, you know, instead of sitting around my house playing Modern Warfare 2 and Halo (though the skills I earned help me wipe the floor with Carsten and his brother here in Georgia). So this became:

I packed WAY too much in my opinion. Attention G12s: YOU DON'T NEED THAT MUCH!! 

Archimedes the Kitty. This is back when she used to love me and let me pick her up. Now she's a mean, junk-yard kitty.

Last picture in front of my house.

Wow, this day was scary. I have that scared yet excited look on my face. It was the last time I’d see my house until this past Christmas. Staging in Philadelphia was great. I met some good people that are still my close friends today. In fact, with pretty much the same people I went to Cheesecake Factory with the last night I am going skiing and snowboarding with later this month:

My final American dinner--at the Cheesecake Factory.

\I can still remember a female friend saying: “Tom, you’re gonna be THAT guy aren’t you?” “What guy?” “That guy who is too charming for his own good.” Awwww…

Me (as a much muscular "Tom") and my cluster-mate. We became good friends.

My first view of Georgian soil. It's VERY green.

I don’t remember Orientation very well (even though what we “learned” was later used against me when I accidently violated some whereabouts policies). I can’t tell you what’s going on in these pictures:

Learning to play Backgammon (Nardi) was a lot of fun. This girl is REALLY good and she kicked my butt. I did take out my Nardi Vengeance in September.

There was a lot of studying. I believe I’m just trying to learn numbers 1-10. 

My three best friends (we didn’t know it yet, though). The guy on the left was really mean to me at first, too.

This post is already WAY too long. I’ll continue it next time with pictures from PST and then my first few months of service. Basically, whether you’re a current PCV in Georgia, an Invitee, family, friends, or PCV in another country—this experience is nothing we can explain to you in a 5-minute conversation, e-mail, or blog posting. I cannot tell you everything I felt and saw (even those first five days) in a way you will ever understand. You will never understand the excitement, fear, euphoria, depression, anxiety, loneliness, friendship, love, and adventure we have. If we sound negative sometimes that’s our right. We aren’t miserable, depressed, or hate Georgia or Peace Corps. We have good and bad days just like anyone else, but it’s on a whole other level we will never explain. In fact, if you’re too positive we’ll probably make fun of you a little bit—nobody can be THAT happy about bread and cheese every day for 2 years.

So, as I look back, at the past 22 months I am left with a sense of pride at everything I have (and have not) accomplished. Most of my lessons failed, every club fell apart, but I’ve done so much, and learned so much in the meantime. Even if I never did a real project, the personal growth I’ve developed here will last me a lifetime.