Sam said his final goodbyes to Georgia on June 15, and took off for his next adventures. It was tough saying goodbye (for him, for me, and for all the people who have made this experience so rich and wonderful for us). My own turn to say goodbye will come soon enough. But even though it is really difficult to face leaving, both Sam and I really do believe that we'll be back here in Georgia again before too long. We hope and plan to come back, whenever the stars align to give us enough free time and money to make it.
Here are some of the things we did in our last few days together here in Georgia, and many of the reasons we have already started planning our next trip back.
Here are some of the things we did in our last few days together here in Georgia, and many of the reasons we have already started planning our next trip back.
Goodbye, Kortaneti!
Sam, signing Akaki's bolo zari (last bell) shirt
Sam with Akaki, in the aforementioned shirt
Sam and Zurab
Me and Maia
Me, Maia and Zurab toasting at lunch
The roses in bloom in Kortaneti
Tamila making khinkali
Goodbye, Borjomi!
Borjomi Park
A waterfall in Borjomi Park
Some pretty flowers on our hike in Borjomi National Park
Me on our hike in the national park
The view looking up as we hiked
The view looking out as we hiked
The Green Monastery outside of Borjomi
Relics in the Green Monastery
Flowers planted outside the monastery
Stream on the way to the Green Monastery
Paintings inside the Green Monastery
Goodbye, Akhalkalaki!
Farewell lunch with Sergei and Shushan
Farewell dinner with our host family (from left, Akop, Amalka, Emilia, Shaen, Armine, Lilit, Sam and me)
Mt. Abul shrouded in clouds
Sam with his bag (and Lilit showing how she was going to ride with Sam when he left)
The view from the road on the way to Tbilisi
Goodbye, Tbilisi!
Looking down on the city one last time from the fortress
Sam in the fortress
Sam saying hello to the bees kept outside the church inside the fortress
Goodbye cookout for PCVs at the American Ambassador's house
Sam and Christopher at the Ambassador's cookout
Ambassador Bass, Sam, me and PC Georgia Country Director Rick
Goodbye, Sam!
Sam on his last time in the Peace Corps office, with the Snickers bar that he was given on his first day in Georgia on April 28, 2010. Yes, he kept it the whole time. No, he did not eat it (call it the nagging wife effect or the it-was-already-1.5-years-expired effect). In the end, he decided to preserve his health so he can come back to Georgia again and again.
