A Conclusion and a Beginning

Hello, hello! And happy new year to everyone!

This post is so long overdue I can't even tell you. I meant to update this before I even got back to the States, but the last week in Georgia went by so rapidly--and add flight changes, jetlag, christmas shopping, and a vacation to maine and nyc...and you get a long overdue post. But fear not my friends...we're back on track! I want to wrap Georgia up before telling you of my new adventure...stay tuned :)

The finale of Georgia was both happy and sad. We went to Armenia during what turned out to be my last weekend. I went with two of my best girlfriends and a fun, great new group of people. We took a seven hour marshutka ride through the mountains to get to Yerevan....it was a long day, for sure. Yerevan was a very interesting city. What I was most aware of, however, was how austere and barren it was. Yes, it was winter, but everything about the city felt hushed, serious, and bleak. It is a country of war and pain...a series of genocides decimated many thousands of people, and it has a terrible relationship with many of its neighboring countries (namely Ajerbaijan). Its relationship with Russia is complex, given that the Soviet rule both helped resucitate a suffering economy and devastated landscape but also chipped away at what was left of a national identity. Everyone was quiet and somber. We actually were yelled at by a patrol officer as we stood on the street chatting at 11:30 pm. It was quite different than the colorful, vibrant, and alive Istanbul. Nonetheless, it was certainly still interesting, and was definitely worth a visit. The second day we took a marshutka tour through the countryside which was nothing short of stunning. We visited two UNESCO world heritage sights....talk about breathtaking. You can't believe how old the world is.

We arrived back in Georgia on a Sunday, and I had three days of work before leaving the country forever. My last few days were marked my saying goodbye to my students (there was much crying), goodbye to my friends (my crying), and goodbye to my family (their crying). It was definitely sad to leave a country that had helped me grow so much. Georgia was the first country I had ever traveled to...and I feel a kind of connection because of that. I was so uncomfortable during the first month there, and then I experienced a kind of freedom because I adjusted to a culture and could feel like I was really a part of it. That was growth...the epitome of it. I miss parts of it already, though I am happy to be going on my next adventure.

This leads me to the present, where I am sitting on my couch in Massachusetts, planning a trip to South East Asia with Caroline and Elana--the two girls I traveled with to Istanbul and Yerevan. We are trying to put an itinerary together to travel from Thailand to Laos to Cambodia to Vietnam. If it works out (fingers doubly crossed), it will be unbelievable. I'm sure it will bring with it many challenges of its own, and undoubtedly many rewards as well. While I love the States, I just feel like I can't be here this year. I need to be out in the world, learning, growing, discovering myself and what exists beyond the United States' walls. There is so much to learn. What better time is there to discover it than the present?

Anyways, please keep posted...I will update this frequently on my next leg of the adventure.

Until then--happy new year, and did madloba (thank you very much) for tuning in,
Ali