1) When I left for my vacation in Ireland, I flew out of the Tbilisi airport at 3 o'clock in the morning. As you all know, before getting to the gate, you have to pass through the metal detector and send your belongings through the x-ray scanner. I empty my pockets, send it all through the x-ray before I go to the metal detector. After I go through, one of the security guards comes over to where I'm standing, picks up the tray with my belongings and pulls out a bullet. He then asks me, "sir, what is this?" I freeze in panic because I hadn't been carrying a bullet and  respond with, "huh, huh, huh." Within five seconds, the security guard immediately starts smiling, gives me a tap on the shoulder and says, "don't worry, I'm just kidding with you." It was a practical joke. He'd slipped the bullet in before pulling it out again. Can you imagine a joke like this at an airport in America? If you so much as kid with the security screener in America, they kick you off an airplane. I stood there in awe & shock for a few minutes before walking to the gate. I love humor as much as the next guy but certain places don't really warrant jokes and an airport security scanner is one of them.

2) While traveling around Ireland, my friend Jeff and I did our best to check e-mail and see what was happening in the world. When we got online one day we quite startled to hear that a missile has landed in Georgia. If you're wondering how you've never heard of this, the missile didn't explode. The Georgian government says that Russia fired the missile while the Russian government said that the Georgians may have placed the missile there themselves. Whoever put the missile there isn't as important to me as the fact that A MISSILE LANDED IN GEORGIA!! If you want some information, click this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian-Ossetian_conflict

Why didn't I tell you about these events when they happened? Mainly because they both happened during my vacation and I quickly put them at the back of my mind. Also, I didn't really know how to present this information at first. Why am I telling you about them now? I don't know. It just seemed as good of a time as ever.

Every year, high school students from around Georgia, who are studying English, take part in a test that could send them to America as an exchange student. This is FLEX, the Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX sounds cooler than FLEP would have). After an initial first-round test for any and all interested students, rounds two and three further narrow the children down. Besides obvious tests to determine their English fluency, the kids are also asked questions to determine if they'd be a good fit for the program (ability to handle homesickness, integration, learning in a second language, etc.) When all is said and done, only 50 students remain. Before leaving for their American schools and host families, students are given sessions over the summer on American culture and family life.

This is where I come in. After applying in early February, I was just selected to be one of two pre-departure orientation teachers.  The other person position was given to a fellow volunteer, Martha Wawro. You probably don't know Martha but I'll tell you that she comes from the great state of Colorado and is married to an awesome chap by the name of Julian. Our positions will be the same, to become cultural facilitators for the Georgian kids coming to America (as I write this, Neil Diamond's America just popped into my head).

I'm excited for this position for a two reasons. First, there's a weeklong training in Kiev, Ukraine.  Come end of April, I'll be flying across the Black Sea to further learn about my responsibilities. This will be cool because I'll have the chance to meet former exchange students from various countries and meet other Peace Corps volunteers who'll be doing the same thing in their own countries. Also, I'll be visiting a new country which is always interesting. Second reason I'm looking forward to this position, I think it'll be cool to work with the some of the best and brightest kids in Georgia. In a normal class, some of the kids want to be there and learn while others don't. At these sessions though, all the kids will actively participate and pay attention. They definitely need to because they've got a tough road ahead to them. They'll spend the next year communicating and learning in a foreign language. Can you imagine how difficult that would be? I've been here for almost two years and I couldn't do that (I think Georgian's tougher than English though). If someone told me to study biology in Georgian, I'd look at them like they were crazy.  On top of learning, they'll have to make friends, explain problems, battle homesickness and a lot more in a new land.

Getting back to my responsibilities, there are many things that we'll be talking to the students about. Unreal expectations are one the big things; many students think America and they immediately start imagining New York or Los Angeles. They think that they'll step off the plane and meet Arnold Schwarzenegger (correct spelling), Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. You and I know that's not true and the reality is that they're more likely to end up in Iowa or Louisiana than in either of those mega-cities.

I've briefly mentioned that there are cultural differences and I could write for pages and pages about things that I could possibly be explaining to these kids. But, considering I don't yet know what the exact curriculum will be, I'll give you two things that I can almost guarantee will be talked about.

1) Signs of affection: in Georgia, it's quite common for people of all ages to greet more affectionately than the average American is used to. Now, imagine that you're a 16-year-old high school boy and a fellow student walks up, shakes your hand and kisses you. It'd probably catch you off guard. Now, after kissing you on the cheek he holds your hand as he walks down the hallway or crosses his arm with yours. Be honest, do you think this would be a big surprise to the average US  boy?
2) Names: a short time ago, I wrote a blog about how culturally, certain names might not clearly be boy's or girl's names. Keeping that in mind, I'll probably warn kids with names like Beka and Misha that their names generally belong to girls in the US and that Nino is a considered a boy's name. Also, if I have a student named Tako, I'll tell her that she shares a name with a delicious Mexican dish.

This blog's going to end a little differently than usual. Enjoy a few lyrics from the legendary Neil Diamond:

On the boats and on the planes, they're coming to America.
Never looking back again, they're coming to America.

Everywhere around the world, they're coming to America.
Every time that flags unfurled, they're coming to America.

If the title didn't give it away, I'm 24 now. When most of you last saw me, I was a lad of 22 who was bright eyed and bushy tailed. Now though, I'm 24 years old and a man (not that I wasn't before).
The weekend before my birthday, I got some people together in the capital for a little party. I didn't get a lot of presents from friends but one that stood came from my good friends Amy Moniot and Tom Schrieber, who bought me a small bottle of Jack Daniels. I know it's not home made vodka or wine, but in terms of a birthday, it was as good as it gets.
Dinner that evening was really cool. A dozen or so volunteers ate food, drank beer and spent hours and hours cracking jokes and laughing with each other. After this, it was time to do a little dancing  Ian was cutting a rug at the sheraton hotel (dance club in the basement). I'm sad to say that it was only techno playing that night but it was still cool to get out there and shake my money maker. Sadly, all things my end and when Sunday came, I was forced to return to my site and wait for Wednesday.
Wednesday was the actual birthday, the day I was dreading. I wasn't dreading this day because I feel old, I was dreading it because I didn't want the teachers at my school to make a big deal out of it. I actually didn't want anyone to make a big deal out of it. To assure this happening, I didn't even tell my host family it was my birthday. Why? I don't want presents. I know people want to give me stuff but I don't have space for all of it. I'm already trying to figure out how to bring my clothing, computer and more home with me. I don't need anything else. I told the two teachers that I work with not to give me anything and to please not tell the other teachers about my big day. Did they listen? No

Gift 1: "A smoking set" that includes a cigarette lighter, a pocket flashlight and a pen. Of all the gifts, this was the most practical and best suited for me. I haven't started smoking but who knows when you'll need a lighter and the other two items can be very useful in case I need to write something in the dark (it could happen).
Gift 2: What appears to be a ceramic, white and pink, baseball with two doves sitting atop of it. So you know, the name of my town translates into "three doves." With that said, only a person who didn't know me would ever buy me two ceramic doves. As for the baseball, don't ask
Gift 3: A bronze statue of a horse kicking it's front feet in the air. The statue was so big, I couldn't fit it into my backpack. How am I going to take this home? After my teaching partner handed it to me, she told me that they also had a lion but she thought I was more of a horse person. Keep that in mind when we come to...
Gift 4: a small plate with two ceramic horses painted on it. What the hell is with these horses!? I've never ridden a horse, I don't talk about horses here but for some reason, my other teaching partner also thought some horses would be just the gift for me. Luckily, unlike the statue, this plate was small and easy to carry.
You see what I mean now about presents that I don't really want. This wasn't a premonition. Last year my, the teachers at the school gave me a small ship made out of seashells, very cheap cologne and a pocket knife.
With this in mind (in the nicest way possible), I'm glad that many of you haven't sent me stuff here. I have no space for it. But don't you worry though, as soon as I'm back on American soil, I'll be asking you all for cash, free meals and anything else you feel like giving up. Unless it's a massive bronze statue of a horse.

I've got a game for all of you but before I get to it, I want to give you a little background to it. In November, I was talking to a young Georgian guy named Giorgi (pronounced Gee-or-gee). He speaks fluent English, graduated from Columbia and is a journalist in Georgia. When he introduced himself, he said that his name was George. When I asked why he used this pronunciation, he told me about how, when he was in the US, he would introduce himself as Giorgi (remember the proper pronunciation) and people would immediately give him a weird look and ask him if he said, "Gay orgy." He would quickly correct them but to save himself future headaches, he started having people call him George.

This got me thinking about names in other countries. This wasn't the first time, it's just the funniest example that I have. With this in mind though, I've decided to give you the name quiz. The rules are simple: I will provide you with a list of names and you will guess if it's a boy's or a girl's name. It's that simple. Some of the names that you think are boy's names will be boy's names, while others will belong to girls and vice-versa. Get a piece of paper and a pen and as you read each name, write down Girl or Boy. At the bottom, you can tally up your score and see how good you did.

For the purpose of making this more difficult and I think more fun, I'm leaving off names a few names that I think are too obvious (Mari for girls', Edward for boys').

So you know, this test is not to show that Georgian men have feminine names or that Georgian women have mescaline names; it's to make you think of what you perceive as "normal." If someone from a foreign country ever read the name Ian and thought, "has to be a girl," I'd understand.

      Before you start reading, you should know that in Georgian, all letters are pronounced individually.

      Letter 'a' is pronounced like the 'a' in all
Letter 'e' is pronounced like the 'e' in essay
Letter 'I' is pronounced like the 'ee' sound in bee
Letter 'o' is pronounced like the 'o' in open
Letter 'u' is pronounced like the 'oo' sound in moon
Consonants are pronounced like they're written.

1) Tika
2) Beka
3) Lika
4) Nika
5) Tato
6) Tengo
7) Nazi
8) Iosif
9) Asmat
10) Avto
11) Dato
12) Dodo
13) Eka
14) Tazo
15) Inga
16) Io
17) Gwansa
18) Levan
19) Manana
20) Melano
21) Murtaz
22) Mzia
23) Shorena
24) Shotiko
25) Zaza
26) Nunu
27) Misha
28) Omiko
29) Badri
30) Anano
31) Nanu
32) Shmagi
33) Khatuna
34) Ilia
35) Iago
36) Ia
37) Rusico
38) Medico
39) Bichiko
40) Tako
41) Zhuzhuna
42) Bukula
43) Zaza
45) Papuna
46) Datuna
47) Pikria
48) Tekla
49) Mamuka
50) Zviad

A    Answers:

1) G, 2) B, 3) G, 4) B, 5) B, 6) B, 7) G, 8) B, 9) G, 10) B, 11) B, 12) G, 13) G, 14) B, 15) G, 16) B, 17) G, 18) B, 19) G, 20) G, 21) B, 22) G, 23) G, 24) B, 25) B, 26) G, 27) B, 28) B, 29) B, 30) G, 31) B, 32) G, 33) G, 34) G, 35) G, 36) G, 37) G, 38) G, 39) B, 40) G, 41) G, 42) B, 43) B, 44) G, 45) G, 46) B, 47) G, 48) G, 49) B, 50) B

How'd you do?

I'm excited to come back to America and see my friends. I really, really am. It's one of many things that I find myself thinking about everyday. How can I not think about it? This is a monumental change that's about to happen. I'd say that this is bigger than when I graduated from college. In both cases I've had to start thinking about a career and my future but unlike last time, I'm now forced to think about purchasing a new wardrobe and remembering to shower everyday (I'll explain later). My fear though for the future, is that I won't be able to talk to my friends.
Hear me out: I've talked to a lot of volunteers who have visited America at some time during their service, and most have told me how they had trouble telling their friends about what they've done in Peace Corps. Obviously, it's easy to explain my English lessons but it might not be so easy explaining aspects of the culture. How do I properly convey the pressure to drink the alcohol at supras? How do I tell you about Georgian, societal norms that would seem weird to most Americans? This might be difficult. With this said, I want to tell people about Georgia. I'm will want to talk about my experiences. This will have been my life for more than two years and I can only hope that people will ask questions about everything that has happened.
On top of all this other stuff, I'm also afraid about being lost in every conversation. Since I left, you've all developed new friends and have had new experiences. You've ended old relationships or gotten involved in new ones. These same things have happened to me and I'm just as worried that every story will be boring because you don't know Ryan & Paige, Tom & Amy or even Kelsey. Everything we do together, I'm probably going to say at least once, "this reminds me of something that happened in Georgia."
In addition to this, I'm not looking forward to the first time I'm with a group of people and they make a pop-culture reference to something and I have no idea what they're talking. 30 Rock, Ugly Betty, old football games and new entertainers; mention these topics and watch as a look of confusion passes across my face.
Don't get too worried, I'm actually pretty confident that everything will be fine. As I get closer to finishing, I find myself contacting and being contacted by more and more people about life after PC. They want to hang out or go traveling together (all things that I'm open to the possibility of doing). I'm also sure the first time we share a beer at a bar I'll get back into my old ways and feel right at home.

In a completely unrelated side note, I'm giving you the link to Barack Obama's victory speech after he won in South Carolina. It's amazing. The man is an amazing speaker. If for some reason this link doesn't work, go to youtube and watch it yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iVAPH_EcmQ

Our next stop, Marrakesh, while obviously made for tourists, was a cool city to be in. We arrived late in the afternoon on New Years Eve and after dropping our bags at the hotel, we had two things in mind: eating and partying. After dinner we found a bar listed in the Lonely Planet that sounded like a cool place to ring in the New Year. We hoped for a dive bar but as soon as we arrived though, we realized this place wasn't for us. This place obviously had a dress code and as the three of us were wearing standard Peace Corps outfits (fleeces, jeans, tennis shoes), we were asked before stepping inside, "Do you have a reservation?" All hope was not lost though, after finding the one liquor store in all of Marrakesh, we found a hotel bar with prices and an atmosphere that was more of our style.
As we sat there we met some interesting people like a guy whose English was not very good but kept telling us translated jokes that didn't really translate and then laughing hysterically at punch lines that we didn't understand. As we talked to him and other people in the bar, we anxiously awaited the New Years countdown which never happened. I'm sure that the New Year actually came, but when I looked at my phone and say 12:08, I realized that we missed the time to yell 'Happy New Years' and celebrate. I hopes that's not a bad omen for the year ahead.
After Marrakesh, we took a day trip to a little town (I forgot the name) with a 110 meter waterfall. It was incredible. This was my favorite day of the vacation. As you walk down a small pass to the fall, there're small Berber apes that hang from the trees around you. They didn't get close enough to touch but we have some cool pictures of them eating and swinging above our heads.
Our second to last stop on the vacation came after the waterfall when we went to the seaside town of Essaouria. This post town was also one of the favorite spots on the tour. There were no incredible sites but plenty of streets to walk down and explore. And, the old fortifications that sit along the coast gave me some great pictures. One of my most memorable parts was the owner of our hostel, Bizbiz. He couldn't be more different from any other Moroccan we met: He surfs everyday, he smokes and he drinks alcohol. He looks more like he walked off a Santa Monica beach except he talked with what appeared to be an Australian accent. This was odd because he's never been to Australia and he's girlfriend's British, so I have no idea where it came from.
Throughout this entire trip, I was in search of two things: a Christmas present for Kelsey and a little present for myself. With lots of help from both Lyssa and Nicholas, I searched every jewelry store, clothing store and any other kind of store the country had to offer. For all the guys who are reading this: buying a piece of jewelry for a girl is really difficult. Is it too big? Is it too small? What color is it? Would it match her clothing? Would it match her eyes? Etc. These are questions I never would have thought to ask if not for my two travel companions. It wasn't till three days before we left that I finally found something. I'm sure you're all dying to know what it is, but I haven't given it to her yet so I can't tell you.
As for myself, I was looking for something small that screamed Moroccan; maybe a necklace, a ring or something like that. What did I end up getting? Bootleg DVDs. I couldn't find anything to wear but I did find some stuff to watch. On a lot of street corners in Casablanca, there are people with literally hundreds of Bootleg movies and TV shows for sale. They charge you by the disc and each disc costs 10DH (about $1.30). It was like Christmas. Seriously, for all you movie fans out there, imagine walking into Best Buy, and every movie was less than two dollars. How many movies would you walk out with? I regret to tell you that I only bought three movies and a season of a TV show. I should have bought every movie that I haven't seen since leaving the US, but I was being cheap.

Final assessment of Morocco, great country. Go if you have the opportunity or regret it forever.

I miss Morocco. I've only been back in Georgia a few days but I already miss Morocco. It was a great country to visit and I advise all of you to go there if given the opportunity. Take the weather for the example; it was warm almost everyday we were there. It wasn't shorts and sandals warm but a few days I was in a t-shirt. Compare that with today in Georgia. After I washed my clothes and hung them up, it started snowing. My shirts, socks, underwear and more are all frozen to the line. That's right, FROZEN. It looks like my clothes have been hanging in a meat locker. Even on the coldest night I had in Morocco, I was only under two blankets; tonight I'm curling up in my sleeping bag with a sweater.

I also miss the food in Morocco because everyday I ate great food: steamed vegetables on Couscous, grilled chicken, Italian Gelato ice-cream and more. My first meal back in Georgia wasn't quite as good (ramen noodles). Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to be back. I just really enjoyed myself on this vacation.
After a 24-hour bus ride across Georgia and Turkey to Istanbul and a five hour flight over the Mediterranean Sea, Nicholas, Lyssa and I arrived in Casablanca on Christmas Eve. As this is a Muslim country, we weren't surprised not to see decorations of any sort but we didn't care though because we were excited to explore the city. Casablanca is not that exciting of a town but it does have the 3rd biggest Mosque in the world which was a really interesting place to tour. A capacity of 25,000 people and a retractable roof sound like the specifications of a dome stadium but these are just a few things you can find at this mosque. As the two bigger Mosques in the world are both in Saudi Arabia, I can almost guarantee that this will be the biggest Mosque I'll ever see. Besides this we basically just hung out and walked around town. The next day was Christmas so we treated ourselves to a nice dinner but other than that, I could have forgotten it was even a holiday. No decorations, no presents, not even a glass of Egg Nog.

From here, we took an 8 hour bus to the mountain town of Chefchauoen. It's a small spot of only about 50,000 people but it's got a cool feel to it. All the buildings are painted white on the top and blue on the bottom which gives it a very unique look and feel as you wonder through the streets and get lost in the Medina. We went hiking on our second day there before taking off after that for the city of Fes.

Everyone we talked to told us that Fes was a great city that you just can't miss. We went there and were pretty bored though. It had nothing really special to offer. One day we wandered around the Medina, another day we took a day trip to a small village and the last day we spent in transit to Marrakesh. Nothing too exciting. One good thing I will say about Fes though, it had alcohol. It's not easy to get a beer in Muslim countries and after dry days in our first two destinations, we wanted a drink. We ended up at the bar of a hotel which had a happy hour. When we first arrived, the place was empty but as time passed it slowly filled with a lot of men and a few "working" women of the night, if you catch my drift. We were having fun though, so we sat back, smoked tobacco out of a water pipe and enjoyed a few beers over a couple hours.

Before I head off to Morocco, I wanted to give you one more blog. This past weekend was my last chance to see a lot of my Peace Corps friends before next year. Everyone's leaving over the course of this week for fun and, if you're going to North Africa like me, maybe even a little sun. This last weekend of fun in Georgia started when I spent Friday night hanging out with my buddy Cuttino. Cuttino in engaged to a volunteer in Peace Corps Jordan, Jessica, and part way through the night we decided to give her a call. This was the first time we've ever spoken together and I'll never forget our conversation because she said that I was more handsome than Cuttino. She was probably just kidding but that didn't stop me from taking every opportunity to brag about it.

                The next morning I got up early and went to Tbilisi so I could get to the PC office early, meet up with Kelsey and take her out to lunch at a Chinese restaurant.

Side note: Kelsey is a Peace Corps volunteer that I've started dating. She's 23, is a vegetarian, hails from the state of Washington, has a love of cats and has more in common with me than any woman I've ever met. For those of you, who know me, imagine every "dorky" thing I do, and she's probably a fan of it as well. I'd write more, but I don't want this to turn into a blog you're disgusted to read because it's just so "sweet and cute". I actually called her before I wrote this to get permission to use her name as long as I promised not to describe her as…  (Wouldn't you like to know?)

                After egg rolls, tofu and fried rice, we went back to the office where we sat around and surfed the web for a few hours. Now, before you call me a bad boyfriend for not taking my date out for a more exciting afternoon, you should know that Kelsey had the flu and wanted to sit down and that she was dying to use the internet just like me. She didn't bring her laptop to Tbilisi for nothing and while internet isn't available everyday, there'll always be opportunities for us to enjoy a day of hand holding and sharing a milkshake with two straws. (Was that last part too cute?)

                After internet, a 2 ½ hour meeting and great Italian food, we met up with a lot of the other volunteers in town at an Expat bar. This place caters to every type of American that so happens to be in Tbilisi: Marines, rich business men, off-the-beaten-path tourists and even the occasional volunteer when we're in town. As we all sat around, hanging out and enjoying each others company, I got a little sentimental as people started to leave. I know that I'll see all of them again in 2008 but it reminded me that I'll be doing this same thing all over again in 7 or 8 months. These people have been my friends for the past 19 months and it'll be a little weird without them. I'm obviously capable of doing this since I bid everyone I knew farewell when I first joined Peace Corps, but that doesn't make it any more fun or easier.

The next day was the day to say goodbye to everyone I didn't wish salutations to the night before.  Kelsey for examples is going to Israel for her holiday break which will be cool. A lot of great places to visit: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, the West Bank (just kidding!). Other people are also going to the US, Egypt, Italy, Malta, Turkey, France, and pretty much any other place around the world that you can think of.

                In the middle of all this, I had to say goodbye to my friend Chris. Unlike other volunteers who are taking a vacation though, Chris isn't coming back. His Peace Corps service had to end a few months earlier than the rest of the volunteers in my group. I shook his hand and wished him luck and that was it. I'm happy to have met him but sorry to see him go. I'm sure this situation has to be bittersweet for him as well because he has a fiancée here that he'll have to say goodbye to for the next seven months. In an attempt to look on the bright side, he does get to go back, start making some money and get things ready for his future bride's return. And, on top of all of this, I'm jealous that he'll be watching the Super Bowl this year while I won't.

That's all I've got for you this year. Have a good Christmas and an even better New Year. I get back to Georgia on the 7^th of January but if you want to send me a message, I'll do my best to check my e-mail while I'm in Morocco. I'll see you all in 2008. 

The title should say it all. It's been a long time since I last posted a blog and I've been thinking a lot about that and I think I now why. Basically, nothing's new or special to me. When I first came to Georgia, I couldn't write enough, telling everyone in the US about cultural differences, new foods, interesting people and more. Now though, everything has a 'been there, done that' feel to it. Now, it's the non Georgian places that are really exciting to me. That's why I started writing so much my trip to Europe, it was new and different. I had a day a few weeks ago when I was teaching my 4th graders by myself and the class just started to go crazy. How crazy you ask? One kid took his shirt off and started walking on the desks as the others did crazy kid stuff. I couldn't do a thing, I was frozen in a "is this really happening" kind of moment. Why didn't I tell you about that? I don't know.

I think another reason I haven't written much lately is because of my Peace Corps blog. I already have to type a weekly posting about my life here and a lot of the time, after writing that, I don't really feel like writing anything else. And, when I do think of something interesting to write, it's usually time for my next Peace Corps blog so I just submit it to them. This is not to say that I don't have love for all you people. In fact, I send so many personalized messages that I assume you know everything that's happening in my life.

Also, I'm gotten into a very regular routine and it's just not that interesting. Here's how it basically breaks down though.

9:00 - 2:00: School. I'm not always there this long but these are the hours of business and more days you can find me there about that time.

2:00 - 6:00: First I eat lunch then I do yoga for little more than a hour. Twice a week I go swimming in the city's swimming pool but other than that, you can find me doing a series of relaxing stretches. After yoga, I'm usually just reading a book. I've read 47 books since arriving in Peace Corps since last year and that's going to be a topic of a future blog.

6:00 - Midnight: Eat dinner, read a book, watch a movie on my computer and grade papers.

That's my day. A little boring isn't it.

I'm pretty sure that I haven't yet told you about my Christmas/New Years plans yet though. I'm going to Morocco for 16 days and I'm super excited. From December 23rd till January 7th I'll be traveling to Marakesh, Casablanca, Rabat, Fes and more places. Good food, new sights and more await me. I'm going with two other people: Lyssa and Nicholas. I actually went with Lyssa to Turkey last year so this will be the second New Years that we spend together (start of a trend?). I'm not going to give you the exact itinerary but basically I'm planning on eating a lot, taking a crap load of pictures and think about my future. I know that after Peace Corps I'm going to come home but I've thought about doing something like this again and I think Morocco would be a great place to do it. North Africa, learning Arabic and French, living in a Muslim country. These all sound like good reasons to me. I'll make sure to post some cool pictures of my trip.

In a completely different side note, I just read a book called Bread & Ashes about two guys who walk across the mountains of Georgia in 1998. As the book takes place in small villages that don't receive many visitors and that haven't changed much over the years, this book gives insight of what Georgian village life is like. This customs, the traditions, the drinking and more.