Wistful Thinking

Last week was the COS (close-of-service) Conference for the A-17s (the second-year PCVs – the 17th group/batch/stage to serve in Armenia; Peace Corps started here right after independence from the Soviet Union). They’re a good group; many of the PCVs I’ve befriended are A-17s. COS Conference begins the process of leaving, and I started to feel sentimental on their behalf. I remember my own COS conference and the last few months in Morocco, when everywhere I went I thought about things I would miss. I’ll miss the A-17s. Then again, I am leaving around the same time they are! A couple of weeks ago I had some lavash and said I would miss it after I leave, not that I was thinking about things I would miss. I have been spending more of my time thinking about things I still want to see and do! But with the COS Conference, I did start thinking a bit more about my return. More on that in a bit.

First, the COS Conference. Informally, it gave me a chance to be more social with PCVs in town – coffee, dinner, gelato and more. Formally, I was invited to participate. I had mentioned to the Ambassador that the PCRVs had been bumped from the March 1 reception and that the others were still hoping to meet her. Tuesday morning we each received phone calls inviting us to a reception at her house for the COSing volunteers. She has a nice house! And once again, she impressed me with her poise, grace and ability to say the right thing at all times. It was also fun to talk to some of the A-17s who I hadn’t seen much of – some of them I knew but didn’t recognize in their business-casual wear! As the evening wore down, people were getting their pictures taken with both her and the Country Director. I looked at the books on her shelf and noticed our Princeton yearbook! I asked if she minded and then I showed her picture and mine to the lucky (?) few who were still there. Through all the packing and unpacking she has done in her years of Foreign Service, she has kept the Princeton yearbook with her! Coincidentally, I had learned the Armenian word for “tiger” that day.

The next day, I was one of the speakers on a panel about working for the government – I spoke about Peace Corps Response. I’m really glad I’ve done it, and it is easy to apply (not the case with any other government job…or regular Peace Corps). I was in the Peace Corps office yesterday and one of the A-17s was looking at the Peace Corps Response openings – so I know I had an impact! That evening, I went with the A-17s to the opening of the new In-Country Resource Center. The new IRC has separate spaces for hanging out/chatting/meeting and for reference books/computers, so it will be easier to get work done there. And to find books! They culled some duds and organized the gems. Brian said they built a beautiful new IRC in Morocco after I left. Change, change…

Last Monday was a holiday – the day after Easter, everyone goes to the cemeteries to remember departed ones. I bought a hula hoop in order to get more exercise; I haven’t given up on the hotel with the pool but until I get a better sense of my workload, I’m not joining just yet. I signed up for the NYC Marathon lottery and found out I did not get selected – just as well, since it would be hard to train, though if I had been selected I’d have found a way. Monday afternoon I found Verdi’s Requiem on line and listened to it, since I hadn’t gone to the concert on Sunday night. That made for a nice end to the weekend.

Last week also marked three months since my arrival – and, with a proposed new COS date of July 29, the halfway point of my time in Armenia. With Katie and Theo’s visit I’ve started thinking more about post-COS travel. I started thinking about it in abstract when I got the new assignment; before then, I felt I couldn’t plan anything because I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t ET (early termination). If you ET, they buy your plane ticket straight home. The Silk Road travelers returned from Nagoro-Karabakh and said it was a must – so I think I will go for a couple of days when I COS (I too can be swayed by a visa and a passport stamp; they raved about how beautiful and unspoiled it was). We can’t go while we are PCVs, but many PCVs go when they COS. Katie and Theo also put together a list of their Georgia highlights, so I think I will go there for the better part of a week as well. The question is do I stop in (Western) Europe (since I have to change flights anyway) for a couple of days as well. Sure, I’d love to take my time and travel through Turkey, the Balkans and Eastern Europe, but I knew when I took this assignment that I wouldn’t do a long trip afterwards. I told my sister I’d be back by August 15 at the latest.