How Far From Home?

Posted by Ian Jobe on 12/14/2007

Denver to Philadelphia - 1,577 miles

Philadelphia to New York City - 80 miles

New York to Vienna - 4,310 miles

Vienna to Tbilisi - 1,456 miles

Add up those totals and you get 7,340 miles. That's how I traveled to Georgia and that's how far I am from home. My site isn't actually the capital city of Tbilisi but you get the point, I'm a long way from home. I left Denver on June 12th of last year and flew to Philadelphia for three days of training. I then took a bus up to New York before taking my first ever trans-Atlantic flight to Vienna. I enjoyed twelve hours in that lovely little city before taking a late night, red-eye flight to Tbilisi, Georgia where I arrived at about 3:30 in the morning. Why am I telling you all of this? Because it's important to remember how removed you are from your American life. I'm not writing this to depress or to scare you away, I just think you should keep this in mind.

Before I go any further, I should write this disclaimer: I, in no way, regret joining Peace Corps and I would encourage many of you to also join. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. After all, if I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be. Nothing's stopping me from quitting if I wanted to. But, I don't want to because I'm still enjoying myself.

I wanted to write this because I can't help but think about everything that I left behind in America. And no, I'm not talking about two kids, a mortgage and a wife. I'm talking about my family, friends and a lot more. A few weeks ago, one my students asked me if I missed America. After answering yes, he asked what specifically missed about America. Now, obviously people are the most important things in my life so I started off by talking about my family and mentioning my best friends in the US. These people that have supported me throughout my life and still send me e-mails despite the fact that I haven't seen them in more than eighteen months. This is what I miss the most about home. But after that I started thinking, what else besides those people do I really miss about the good ole US of A?

1) Mexican food - Italian, Chinese, Turkish, burgers: I can get all these things here and while I miss a lot of other foods, it's pretty impossible to find good Mexican food here and sometimes I find myself waking up with the chills, thinking about a giant smothered beef burrito covered in cheese and green chili (almost drooled on my keyboard).

2) Movie theaters - There's one movie theater in this country that I know of that has English movies one night a week but because it's in the capital city and I live four hours away, going there isn't an option. How fun are movie theaters though? Sneak some Junior Mints in, watch a movie that you've been anticipating for months and just forget about everything for two hours.

3) Indoor heating - This has started off as the warmest summer I've ever experienced but last year was a different story. As I froze inside my little bedroom, I remembered how cool things like furnaces are. Imagine some winter day when there's snow on the ground that it's the same temperature inside as outside. Now, imagine changing your clothes in that room. Welcome to winter for me last year. If you're not imagining the full experience well enough, I want you to actually go outside and change your clothes in your yard sp,e winter day to get the idea. I take no responsibility if you're arrested for indecent exposure though.

4) Driving - You're not allowed to do it in Peace Corps. Last time I drove was June 11th of 2006. I remember when I wanted to go somewhere and all I had to do was get in my car and start driving. Now, I have to hop on a bus going from one town to another which, outside of the capital, usually stops running by 7 o'clock.

5) Video games - Don't make fun of me. Half of you are going to stop reading this then go play football on your Playstation. I'm just being honest.

6) My own place - I live with a host family and while I love them, it's not as cool as living on my own. I want a place with my stuff, and my messes and that's entirely my responsibility. My bedroom does give me privacy but even this room isn't truly mine. My walls have a nice pink floral pattern over it. I would NEVER put up a pink floral pattern on my walls.

This list could go on and on but I'll stop it here so you don't think I'm ungreatful for this experience. Just remember what you're getting into. Waking up without amenities one morning is one thing, but doing it for 730 consecutive days is something completely different.

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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