2 more years

so, i apologize for neglecting the blog, but it’s been a crazy past couple of weeks. first, i’ve been sworn in as an official peace corps volunteer. yay! despite that, leaving my first host family was one of the hardest things i’ve had to do since i’ve been here. it was a teary and snotty farewell, especially since they’ve allowed me into their home, fed me and been there through all of my training. the families of my clustermates also welcomed me into their homes and a lot of them have become close friends. for that, i extend them a big hug and a big thank you!

after the swearing in ceremony on friday, we packed up the marshutka with our luggage, family members and directors of most of us guria region volunteers and headed out east. i’m in my new town now, where i’ll be located for the next 2 years. i met with my counterpart already and we’ve discussed when and how we’ll go about a summer camp towards the end of the summer. unfortunately, her grandmother-in-law passed away the following morning so i haven’t seen much of her since i’ve gotten here. yesterday i was able to meet with a student who has been in the u.s. for the past year on the FLEX exchange program. her english is fantastic and i look forward to her help in getting her fellow students interested and motivated to learn english. my new host family has already been so great and loving. i’ve spent a significant time with my host father since my host mother has been out of the house for most of this weekend and into this week taking classes for her georgian teacher certification. her exam is today and i wish her all the best. i’m starting to get a little bored, but thankfully i have the internet, a lot of books (thank you peace corps office library) and some string to make bracelets. there are some volunteers nearby that i’ve spent the day with once. we went swimming in the river at emily’s site and had dinner with her family.

i must digress for a minute and let the world know of my confusion about the first couple episodes of this season’s true blood. just a little confused about the turn of events. that is all.

our cluster summer camp in akhaldaba went well. a lot of kids showed up and it seemed like they all had a great time. we were supposed incorporate english learning activities, but we really just ended up playing kickball, frisbee and simon says. the english learning was there, but it just secondary :] i had to miss the last day since i had to go into tbilisi for another doctor’s appointment. this time i come to find out i have “trigger finger” in my thumb. i know i did something to it back in the states, but it was never swollen and only hurt a little bit. once i got here the pain got significantly worse and i’ve had trouble unscrewing bottle caps and the like. last tuesday i went for an mri…only the worst experience ever. i had to lay on my belly for 30 minutes with my had in the part where one’s head usually goes. boo. all of my results were sent to washington d.c. and they will decide what to do about my finger. there are really only 2 options: surgery or physical therapy.

monday, however, was our hillary clinton day. we left our towns at around 11:30 and got into tbilisi around 1:00. we stayed at the nice, air conditioned office for a while then headed over to the tbilisi marriot. hillary kept us waiting for 4 hours. the nerve! she also didn’t mention the peace corps in her speech, even though it was mostly peace corps people in attendance. the nerve! tired, crabby and hungry we all ended up at mcdonalds.

i guess that’s all for now. i will try to update more, even though i say that at the end of every blog. ha. thanks to all who read this and i appreciate all your comments :]