Vaxt Uçur! (Time Flies!)

It's amazing to me how fast my service has gone. It seems like just yesterday that I was at Orientation at Aqua Park learning how to count and say "My name is Wendy" in Azeri, but here it is time for our COS (Close of Service) conference next week. No, I'm not coming home quite yet; the conference is designed to take place 3 - 4 months before we leave to prepare us for everything.

One thing that has been a normal of any PCV conversation during the past few months has been extensions. Peace Corps accepts extension applications - anywhere from a few months to a year - from Volunteers who want to stay in the country (maybe they have a big project going on, maybe the they want to stay until closer to grad school, etc.) And honestly, I thought about it. A year ago I never thought I would want to, but it's true - you really do get into your groove during your second year. I have great friends here, I love the work I'm doing, and I have a life. While some people view their lives as on "hold" while they do their service, it's hard to not notice that life goes on without you - people get married, have babies, and all those other life events. And my life has gone on here just the same - I've learned a new language, celebrated my 29th and 30th birthdays, and on and on. There are others from my group planning on extending and it's exciting to hear their plans for why they're staying, what they'll be doing here, etc.

So while the ultimate decision was that I will leave when my time is up in December, it won't make it any easier to leave. Leaving America to come here was not the easiest thing I've ever done, but I knew I would return and see all of my friends and family again (Inshallah). When I leave here I'm not sure when I'll return again.