Officially PCV

I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer! I passed all necessary tests and jumped over all necessary hurdles. The farewell dinner was in a nice hotel. Thankfully they had a backup generator or when unaffected by the storm that ripped through Telavi (the town where all of the G12 group (the one I'm a part of) would gather for technical and general training. I believe Telavi just got their electricity and heat turned back on a day or two ago (Someone correct me if I'm wrong). The swearing-in ceremony was in Tbilisi. They told us we were going to stop for coffee at McDonalds beforehand. What they failed to tell us is we just had time for coffee. I guess they didn't know we would go crazy over getting our last taste of Americana before heading off to our permanent sites. (Thankfully I am an a litte over an hour away from a McDonalds if I ever get the urge). So many of us rushed to finish our food before boarding the bus. The ceremony was nice. Went on for a bit but it was nice seeing everyone one last time. I have been at my permanent site a little over a week now. I am only 30 minutes and $1.50USD bus ride from the beach. It's been fairly hot here but nothing compared to other parts of the country (and it sounds like back home too). The problem here is there is no A/C to turn on. I should probably get a fan but I'm too cheap and keep telling myself that I only have one more month left to go (I hope). I haven't done much here. I have met with my school director but not much is said because my Georgian is still limited and so is her English. I should be planning my summer camp by mid-August and conducting it in the first part of September. I officially start school on September 17th. I am really excited to actually start teaching, though I have to do 2 weeks of observation to fogire out which English teacher I will work with. I think I have it figured out because of the limited number of teachers but we shall see. Not much goes on here. I have to buy wireless Internet this week so I can become motivated to do more Peace Corps-related work (or at least that is my excuse). I went to the beach yesterday. Got a little burned but it was a lot of fun. Gotta go!

8 Days Remain!!!!

When I last blogged, my cluster and I had just completed our community project. Since then, not much has gone on. Oh! My cluster and I just finished our Summer Camp. It went fairly well. You always run into a few bumps in the road with these kind of things. I have gone through 95% of training (PST). The following are items I must complete by next Friday (the final day of PST): 1. Pass Education (Technical Training) test 2. Pass Medical and Safety & Security test 3. Take LPI (Language Exam) (Though passing is not necessary, it would be great. And if I don't pass now, I am required to get a tutor then pass it at a later date) 4. Fill out Self Assessement Blue Book 5. Show up to Swearing-In Ceremony I got this! Then it's off to the village I will call home for the next two years. I will have about a month and a half to integrate into my community by any means necessary, prepare for a summer camp, and just relax. I'm looking forward to the latter the most. I'll start school (and hopefully a newly-found career) around September 15th. And I'm already making plans to be in Istabul in January for Winter Break (and hopefully Europe with my sister next summer). It will be different going from an intense 11.5 weeks with many regulations but seeing many great people on a regular basis to being alone in a village with not a whole lot to do. But, this is what I signed up for. And I'm ready for it. Sincerely, Alex