Life in Georgia

I don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to let everyone know I'm alive and happy here in Sakartvelo! Life in Georgia is interesting, to say the least, but I'm enjoying every minute of it and couldn't be happier with my decision to join the Peace Corps. 

I'm currently living in a small village about two hours from Tbilisi. I spend most of my time (6 days a week) studying the language and the ins and outs of NGOs in Georgia, as well as learning about the culture and how to integrate into our communities. It's truly amazing how much we have all learned in such a short amount of time; the Peace Corps staff certainly knows what they're doing here! 

I should have fairly regular access to the Internet within the next few weeks, so I'll be sure to update my blog with more details and pictures. But for the time being, please know I'm safe and happy!

Walking to school in the morning

Off I go!

It's hard to believe that I'm leaving to start my Peace Corps journey in 4 days! I thought for sure when this time came that I would be a big ball of emotions, but I'm actually not feeling much of anything. I'm not excited. I'm not freaking out. I'm not nervous. I'm not anxious. I'm just kind of… blah. 

I was explaining my total lack of emotions to one of my friends earlier this week and I think he hit the nail on the head. He said this journey is probably so huge and unlike anything I've ever experienced that it's impossible to tie any kind of emotion to it. His prediction: Once I've moved in with my new host family (alone) and I'm sitting in my bedroom after unpacking (alone) and I'm realizing I've actually moved to a foreign country (alone)… then the emotions will appear. I don't say this often, but I think he's right. So I've accepted my lack of emotions, knowing they will show up at some point, and am focusing instead on getting all those last minute tasks completed. 

(Thank you, MCJ, for your insight, support and encouragement. You're awesome.)

Since I can't give everyone a weepy or excited farewell, I'm going to share my list of "what I'll miss most."  I'm not going to include family members, friends or my sweet fluffy babies – that goes without saying. I'm also not going to include modern conveniences like a washer/dryer, hot showers or indoor plumbing – that's just too easy. So as I get ready to say goodbye to the United States and the people I love, I also want to say goodbye to the things I love:

1. Gamecock football
2. Hilton Head, SC (including the beach, the smell of ocean air, the sound of waves crashing, long walks on the beach and choosing which million dollar home I want, shrimp boats coming in at the end of the day, my favorite restaurants, early morning kayaking, and the view from the bridge)
3. Coffee brewed just the way I like it
4. South Carolina peaches
5. The Daily Show
6. The 4th of July
7. High heels
8. English
9. Books and bookstores
10. Condiments

Goodbye, things I love. And goodbye to each of you… my amazingly wonderful friends and loved ones. Don't forget to write! And maybe cheer for the Gamecocks in my absence! 

P.S. All postcards, packages and love letters will be accepted here:

Susan Burkhart, PCT

29a Vazha Pshavela Avenue

0160, Tbilisi Georgia

Do NOT put Peace Corps Georgia in the address, as this may result in delayed delivery or require customs clearance fees. 

6 airports. 3 days.

While I was in Indianapolis last week, I received an email from the Peace Corps letting me know we would be meeting in Philadelphia for staging, and asking us to make our travel arrangements as soon as possible. The Peace Corps pays for all of our flights, and books the international leg for us, so I all I had to do was book my U.S. flight through their travel agency. 

I decided to call right away, assuming it would only take a few minutes to book my flight. I had already looked at flights online and had spotted a lovely U.S. Airways flight departing from Savannah at 8:30 a.m., connecting in Charlotte, and landing in Philly an hour before I needed to be there. Perfect! 

Or not. Apparently flying out of a tiny airport, during spring break, on Easter Monday, after a PGA tournament in Hilton Head ends, does not equal perfect. Every flight was sold out. You can only guess what this means… I'm on the worst possible flight out of Savannah. I'll depart at 6:30 a.m. (which means getting up at 4:00 a.m.), fly to Miami, and then on to Philly. Now, I realize that most U.S. Americans don't, like, have maps* – but I do think most people know Miami is not really on the way to Philly. Oh well.

After 6 hours of flying and layovers, I'll arrive in Philly at 12:15 p.m.; registration starts at 12:30 p.m. Awesome… 15 minutes to gather up my 100 lbs. of luggage, catch a cab and get downtown. Oh, and I'm supposed to eat lunch before registration otherwise it will be 7:00 p.m. before we have dinner. This day is going to be so much fun, I can already tell!

After everyone arrives and fills out the necessary paperwork, we'll have a 5-hour-long meeting (called staging) to go over expectations and what's next in the process. Our group will go to dinner that night and then we'll finally get some rest. But then we're up early again the next morning to catch our flight out of Philly. Oh wait, no, that's not right… I meant to say… to catch our bus to JFK. Yes, a bus. From one international airport to another. Don't ask.

We'll arrive at JFK around 11:00 a.m., and our flight will depart at 5:00 p.m. It's funny… I've always wondered what one could do at JFK for 6 leisurely hours and now I'll get to find out!

We'll finally board our 10-hour flight from JFK to Istanbul, Turkey, and will arrive at the respectable hour of 1:00 p.m., just in time for lunch! Oh, except it will be 3:00 a.m. East Coast time. We'll have a 3-hour layover in Turkey and then we'll finally board our flight to T'bilisi. Thankfully this last leg is only 2 hours and then we'll actually be in Georgia!

This is going to be the longest 3 days of my life – and I'm already looking forward to it being over. But at least I'm finally getting excited! Having actual flights and agendas makes it all so real and exciting! So the flights are a little torturous… nothing that is worthwhile is ever easy, right? 

So here's to the G11s and our 3 long but worthwhile days of traveling!

* Thank you, Miss South Carolina, for providing endless hours of entertainment that never, ever gets old. For those who missed it, enjoy... www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

Less than 3 weeks in our great country and I'm still feeling completely overwhelmed! Luckily I've been able to cross a few items off my to-do list, but there are still a lot of things left to do and a lot of people left to see. 

I just got back from a wonderful yet bittersweet trip to Indiana where I got to say goodbye to a lot of my family members. The trip started with a quick stop in Columbia, SC where I got to drive around my college campus and enjoy a nice dinner at one of our favorite hot spots, Harper's! Although I felt really old around those young college kids (I never thought I would say that!!), it was fun to be on campus and remember all the good times I had at USC. 

Then it was on to Greenville, SC for a quick overnight stay at my Aunt Peg's house, and the next morning we (my mom and I) left for Mount Vernon, IN where I got to enjoy a lovely lunch and visit with my 95-year-old grandmother (my dad's mother). She played the piano for me – without missing a beat, of course – and told stories about my grandfather whom we all miss dearly. She is an amazing woman and it was a visit I will never forget. I also got to see my Aunt Sharon and Uncle Larry, as well as my gorgeous cousin Anna and her two kids, Rachel and Luke. It was a short visit, but I was so glad I got to see everyone.

 

As much as I wanted to stay in Mount Vernon for a little while longer, we had to get to Indianapolis so I could see my mom's side of the family… all 67 of them! (Okay, I didn’t get to see all 67, but my grandma recently counted how many immediate, living, blood relatives we have and that was the number she came up with – my big fat Irish Catholic family!)

My visit to Indy was perfect. I got to see four of my aunts and uncles – Carolyn, John, Joe and Joanne – my cousins Chris and Mike (and his adorable family), and my one-of-a-kind grandma who makes me laugh like no other. I love her sense of humor, her loving nature and her spirit. She's my Kindle-owning, cell phone-carrying, kayak-paddling, hip 91-year-old Gram! And she's not afraid to order a margarita at dinner either. :-) Like I said, my visit was perfect. We had some great meals, great conversations, great laughs, and I finally found some winter clothes to buy!

 

Unfortunately all great things must come to an end, which meant it was time to return to SC and my to-do list. On the way back home, we stopped again at my aunt's house and randomly enough, my Aunt Marnie and Uncle Eddie were passing through town so we got to visit with them too! 

So now I'm back in Hilton Head, working on my taxes and language lessons, and wondering if I'm ever going to be ready to leave. I'm still ridden with anxiety and stress, and wondering when, exactly, the excitement will start to kick in. I mean... I'm joining the Peace Corps! On one hand, I know it's my dream come true, but on the other hand... parting is such sweet sorrow. Especially when you have a family like mine.

Moving overseas is exhausting!

And I thought the application process was lengthy and stressful! Turns out it's nothing compared to what I'm going through now. Don't get me wrong – the peace of mind that comes with having my invitation in-hand and knowing I really am joining the Peace Corps is awesome, but planning to live abroad for two years is not so awesome. It's stressful, anxiety producing, and seemingly never-ending, despite my relaxing days at the beach! 

First there's the paperwork… buying life insurance, personal property insurance, supplemental health insurance; designating power of attorney and having it notarized; registering with U.S. Customs; opening new bank accounts that don't have international transaction fees; changing my address, driver's license and voter registration to SC; tracking down copies of my immunization records… just to name a few.  

Then there's the packing… oh, the packing! Luckily I've connected with some of the current Volunteers, as well as a few of my fellow Trainees, and have been able to ask them questions and get their feedback. But every time I cross something off my list, three more items appear in its place. The hardest part is really not knowing what to expect… not knowing where I will be assigned and therefore not knowing the weather of that particular region… not knowing if I'll be in a town or city and therefore not knowing how rough the roads will be when I'm walking to work every day… not knowing where I will be living and how often I'll be able to shower. Plus I've read that Georgians take great pride their clothes and shoes, and often dress nicer in the workplace than Americans. So I know I need to pack my business clothes, but then I worry about looking too American or too wealthy. Then there are the decisions of wool vs. silk long underwear, mid-weight vs. lite-weight socks, down vs. wool jackets. So many decisions… so many unknowns. 

Assuming I'll be able to buy everything I need in the next few weeks, then I have to figure out if it will all fit in my two checked bags while still weighing less than 100 pounds. If not, then I'll have to decide if I want to ship a box of winter clothes to myself or just eliminate a few items in order to make it all fit now.

And just when I think I can't handle any more stress, my Georgian language lessons stare me down, just begging to be heard. So I listen. And then I get completely overwhelmed by these words that start with tsgvk and the fact my mouth just can't – and I mean CAN'T – make those sounds. My fun lesson yesterday: mama means father, and deda means mother. I am determined to master this language if it's the last thing I do but right now, it's not looking so good! Still, I have learned an important phrase: minda erti botli ghvino! (I would like a bottle of wine!)

Luckily the Peace Corps handles some of the bigger details like flights, health insurance, jobs and housing – and for that, I’m extremely thankful. So for now, I'll continue to plug away at my massive to-do list, learn an insanely difficult language, enjoy time with friends and family, and be grateful knowing it will all work out in the end. Or maybe I'll just go to the beach…

You're doing what?!?

Exactly 19 months ago today, I started my Peace Corps application, and now I have just 6 weeks before I depart for my new home in Georgia! This has been the longest process of my life… paperwork, essays, interviews, fingerprints, needles, and months and months of waiting… but now I feel like I'm running out of time. How does that always happen?!

Since I first shared my news, I've been asked a lot of the same questions by my friends and family, so for my first post I thought I would put together a quick list of FAQs. 

Why the Peace Corps?

After 12+ years in the trade show business, I knew it was time for a change. Every time I had a bad day at the office (which was all too often), I would find myself perusing the Peace Corps website, envious of those who had the courage to leave their lives behind to pursue a dream. Then one day it hit me… I could do that too! So I applied. 

The process took 19 months, really?

Yes, really. I started the application in August 2009, had an interview with my recruiter in November 2009, was nominated for a position in March 2010, was medically cleared in September 2010, and finally received my invitation on January 31, 2011!

Georgia… where?

Georgia is a former Soviet country, located on the Black Sea. It borders Russia to the north, Turkey to the southwest, Armenia to the south and Azerbaijan to the east. It's about the size of South Carolina with a population of 4.7 million – and it just happens to be the oldest wine producing country in the world! Wikipedia provides a great overview if you want to read more. 

What will I be doing?

I'll be serving as a Business & Social Entrepreneurship Facilitator (BSE for short), which supports small businesses, organizations and community groups engaging in sustainable programs. I could be doing anything from project design and management, to business planning, marketing and grant writing. 

How long is service?

Service is 27 months total; 3 months of in-country training and 2 years of service.

Do I get vacation?

Yes, Volunteers get 48 days of vacation (2 days accrued every month). I plan on traveling to Turkey and Armenia while I'm there, and possibly hit up Greece on my way home! And no, I don't plan to come back to the States during my service. I want to see as much of Georgia as possible while I'm there!

Can I have visitors?

Yes!! Just not during the first 6 months, or the last 3. The airport code is TBS, and you're all welcome to visit anytime! Just bring gummy bears and peanut butter.

Do I have to learn the language?  

Yep! And I have to pass an oral proficiency test before I get sworn in as a Volunteer. I ask for your prayers on this one... 

What language do they speak?

Georgian. And apparently, they don't care much for vowels!! They have words that begin with 8 consonants like gvprtskvni or in Georgian: გვფრცქვნი. Like I said… prayers, please.

Where will I be living? 

I will be living with a Georgian host family during the duration of my service. I wasn't too thrilled about the idea at first, but now I'm really excited about it! Living with a family is the best way to truly experience their culture, not to mention the big family dinners!

Will I be with other Americans?

Yes and no. I'll meet up with my fellow Trainees in the U.S. and we'll fly to Georgia as a group. We'll all move into our respective homes, but will go through training together. Once we're sworn in as Volunteers, we'll move to our own villages. A lot of Volunteers stay in touch and spend time together on the weekends though so it's not like I'll be alone.

Do I get paid? 

Yes, I'll receive a monthly living allowance comparable to what the locals earn, which will enable me to live like they do. I'll also receive a readjustment allowance when I get back to the States. Of course, Uncle Sam wants a bite of out all of it, go figure. 

Will I have electricity, Internet, running water, plumbing, etc.?

Maybe, maybe not. A lot of it will depend on where I end up. Most Volunteers don't have access to showers on a regular basis and many don't have indoor plumbing at all (it's called a hole in the ground, people). Internet and electricity are sporadic, and many experience power outages on a regular basis. So basically I'll be taking bucket baths, washing my clothes by hand, and trekking to the outhouse at 2am in the dead of winter. Yep, that's going to be my life! I will, however, have a cell phone!

Am I scared?

Of the language, yes. Of living overseas, not in the least! I feel like I've finally figured out my life and it's the best feeling in the world! Yes, I know there are risks involved, but don't you think the same risks exist in say… Washington DC? It's all a matter of being aware of your surroundings and not making foolish decisions, just as you would no matter where in the world you lived. 

Am I crazy? 

Absolutely. But I'm also living my life the way I want to live it, and I couldn't be happier!

What's next?

I'll be spending the next 6 weeks packing, repacking, shopping, visiting friends and family, and soaking up as much of America (and its awesome indoor plumbing!) as I can. I'm also really looking forward to a weeklong trip to Indiana to visit both of my 90+ year-old grandmothers and other family members, as well as trips to Greenville and Raleigh. 

So there you have it… my life in a nutshell. And while I have you here, I want to thank everyone for your support and kind words over the last several weeks. It's such an exciting time in my life, but also a bit overwhelming. I couldn't do it without my amazing friends and family, so thank you all!