The Anniversary and the Newbies

Posted by Ian Jobe on 06/20/2007

A few days ago 46 new Volunteers arrived in Georgia to begin their two year service; their arrival also coincides with my one year anniversary. June 17th of last year, I stepped off a plane at about 4 o'clock in the morning and started my Peace Corps service. Now a year later, my fellow Volunteers and I were getting together for two events in two days: our anniversary celebration dinner and the following day, a meet-and-greet with the new Volunteers.

The anniversary was held at a Thai restaurant in the capital city of Tbilisi and it couldn't have been a better night. We jokingly called it our "Peace Corps Prom" and a few people, like me, took the name to heart by dressing up in nice clothes that we never get to wear at our sites. From the moment everyone arrived we all began laughing, talking and retelling stories. Many stories came from our time in training together, others from work experiences. Some were hilarious when they originally happened while others were equally as funny but only in hindsight. We talked about crazy students, difficulty implementing projects, language problems, cultural barriers and every other aspect of our lives during that previous year. I could retell a story or two here but it wouldn't properly convey the feeling or the atmosphere of that evening (and since you don't know the people, the story might suck).

One of my favorite moments of the night though was when we voted on your "Prom" King & Queen. At the end of it all I ended up with four votes for King but was unfortunately beaten by my good friend Nickolas. I was quite happy to see that my sitemate Jen was crowned the Prom Queen as I think she deserved it.

The next night was just as exciting for all of us as it was time to meet the new Volunteers. A reception was held at the Ambassador's house for all the old and new Volunteers to get to know each other. Starting at 7 o'clock, I would spend the next two hours talking to as many of the new Volunteers as I possibly could. I wouldn't get to everyone but I did my best trying. I met a guy who went to school in Colorado at a rival University, people who were fresh out of college, others who had been in the workforce for years and many more making up a very diverse group of people.

Before I got around to all these people though, I went out of my way to introduce myself to a new volunteer named Lisa. We created a program called Megobari (Georgian word for "friend") in which new Volunteers would bring a present to an older volunteer and an older volunteer would bring a present to a new person. Lisa was my "Megobari" and I wanted to meet her. Because I'm a forgetful person though, I accidentally forgot Lisa's present at the Peace Corps Office. I should have handed here a traditional Georgian drinking horn (think hollowed out horn from a Ram's head) but instead had nothing. I felt better though since she forgot my gift as well (I know it's food but she wouldn't tell me what kind).

I talked to her and other Volunteers that night about my time in Georgia for the past year. How nervous I felt when I'd arrived, how training was a difficult nine weeks, what's it's like living in a small town with a host family and so much more. I looked at them and remembered how I was when I had arrived (less self-confident and cleaner). I think I gave good advice to the new people, but seeing as I haven't talked to them since the party, I really have no idea. During the next nine weeks the Volunteers will be going through a lot of training to prepare them for service. I've signed up to hopefully talk to them at a few sessions and if I did I keep you updated.

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This webpage expresses the views of Ian Jobe. It does not express the views of the United States Peace Corps.

Last updated Sep 29 2008