Staging / Training / What the hell you pack for 2 years

Several of you have been asking what I plan to pack and what training will be like.  Obviously I don't know a ton about it (yet), but Peace Corps Georgia has set me up with a current in-country volunteer, Gus, who is giving me a heads up about what to expect.


Staging - Staging is April 23rd in Philly.  From what I've learned you're in your staging city for all of 48 hours and it is really just a chance to a.) meet everyone b.) make sure they have control of you so you don't miss your flight the next day and c.) give you a chance to go drink one last time on American soil to make sure it lasts you the 2 years you'll be gone.


Orientation - Once I actually get to Georgia we will be in a hotel for the first 3 days before we move into our training village of Telavi.  Apparently we get met at the airport by some of the local media, so if you hear of an international incident caused by an American make sure to turn on the news that night to see if it was me.  After the airport we head to a good restaurant to have a nice (Georgian) dinner before heading to the hotel.  I've been primed to expect the next 3 days to be filled with a lot of training covering safety, security, transportation, the culture and the host families.  Oh and shots.  Not the drinking kind, but any vaccines we may need in country that we havent already received.

More on training after the jump



Training - This could have its own post, from what I've been told.  But the gist is this - for 11 weeks, you are living in a small village along with 3-4 other volunteers.  You will all be living with a host family that speaks georgian (which you don't now how to speak yet), trying to answer their questions about what you are doing / have done that day / where you are from.  I will have language training 6 days a week starting at 8:30 through lunch.  After a group lunch at one of your homes, you go back for technical training (aka learning what you need to know to do a good job for the next 2 years and finding practical ways to apply it).  Around 5 you head home for dinner, prep for the next day and deal with anything else that may come up - a supra, etc.  From what I can gather, most days you're swamped from sun-up until about 11 pm, but obviously that could vary.


About half way through training (approx. late May, early June) we will get our site assignments which details where we will be and what we will be doing for the next 2 years.  To quote one of the volunteers:

"The days following site announcement are pretty busy. You will attend the supervisor’s conference, where you meet your school director or counterpart. This is followed by a permanent site visit, where you stay with your permanent host family for a few nights and visit the school or organization you will be working with."

Although you spend a lot of time with a smaller group of volunteers, apparently we meet up every other week to run through some admin stuff, get shots and get more large group training.  Rumor has we'll take a weekend trip to a nearby town or city which really just doubles as a language and culture test for the new volunteers - you have to make the reservations, book the transport and plan the entire weekend out.


Finally after 11 weeks there is a swearing in ceremony at the Embassy or the Ambassador's residence (assuming you don't bomb your language training - more on this later).  From there you all head out to your village/town/city to start your work.  There will still be other trainings during your service, but you will all be in your own village now.


Packing List - One of the first questions I get asked is always "what the hell do you pack for 27 months?"  So that was one of the questions I posed to Gus, my in-country contact.  His response was a list of things I actually needed (as opposed to the list which PC gave to me that was ridiculously long).

4 pairs of pants (2 jeans, 2 khakis),
3 pairs of dress slacks (black, charcoal, and khaki)
3 short sleeve collared shirts
4 long sleeve button-up/collard shirts
4 long sleeve dress shirts
2 sports coats
2 shorts
2 sweatshirts (had family mail this to me because no point in taking space up since you’ll be in Georgia in early summer)
2 athletic shorts
12 Socks (you can always have more sent or buy these in Georgia, don’t expect many options though)
 Underwear (same)
3 neckties

1 pair of winter boots
1-2 pair of sneaker
1 pair of shoes
1 pair of shower shoes
1 pair of slippers
7 pairs of black socks
7 pairs of athletic socks
5+ pairs of really warm socks 

This (clothing) list is much much shorter than the one PC gives, so you can imagine what it was like.  I also left off a few things such as laptop, bags, etc. But I think you still get the idea.


This got a lot longer than I anticipated, so I'll cut it off here.  But hopefully it started to give you a taste of what I'm anticipating and expecting.


Hope you enjoyed it,


J