Megobrebs, Homies, Amgios, Etc.
In addition to acquiring two host families, both of which are full of really wonderful people, I’ve made a lot of close friends. Peace Corps attracts quite a cast of characters and a lot of what makes this experience so special is the people I’ve gotten to know here.
This is my good friend Nicholas, dressed up for Halloween as one of the characters on the Spanish-language soap operas that are all the rage over here. Nicholas was my roommate the first 10 days and we both lived in Kheltubani for training. His host family there put on 11AM supras that, after some wine, turned into Toni Braxton dance parties. Somewhere out there is video of all of us dancing like idiots in a banquet room. Anyone who has seen me try to dance realizes the horror of such a site. I pray that Nicholas gets hold of the tape. He’s a really cool guy, a close friend and does an incredible Whitney Houston impression.
The girl on the left is Jen and the girl on the right is Heidi. While they are both good friends of mine they are also my sworn enemies, as they are always smudging my glasses with their thumbs and sending me text messages reminding me that I am old and bald. Someday down the road Jen and Heidi will be old maids, sitting beside each other at a country club completing a puzzle and insulting the wait staff.
Baby Seth and Lyssa. Baby Seth is only 21, yet he's a virtual encyclopedia and a fun guy to hang out with. Someday he will run for congress as a Republican and I will hopefully have gathered enough dirt on him to bring down his candidacy. However, I would recommend him for a cabinet position. Seth enjoys virtual celebrity status here, thanks to his blond hair and boyish looks. I enjoy no such status. In fact, no one in my village really paid any attention to me or the other volunteer (Jeff) until Lyssa came to visit us for the day. After that everyone wanted to meet us and inquire about the tall blond girl.
This is Jeff, a good friend and a really funny guy who also lives in the village next to mine. The room in the picture is not mine. It belongs to Paige’s host 11 and 13 year old host sisters. We were visiting Paige’s site to judge a language competition and we stayed the night in the room. The walls are decorated with pictures of their favorite Russian pop stars, Brazilian footballers and models. The girls' parents are particularly embarrassed about the posters. Georgia and American families are really not so different.
Here we are hanging out in the vineyard at Jeff’s house. That’s me, Ian Jobe, Jeff, Lyssa and Paige. Ian Jobe is one of my favorite people here. He is truly a man for all seasons. If I had a sister I would hide her away from Ian, but it wouldn’t work because his raw charisma is just that strong. He’s like a young Barry White or Marvin Gaye. Ladies love Ian Jobe and who can blame them.
The girl on the right is Paige. She is an upstanding young woman, with good values and excellent table manners. She is a solid Peace Corps volunteer, skilled teacher, and very funny girl. She practices excellent tooth care, is responsible, thoughtful, and is caring of children and animals. She is clearly the product of outstanding parenting.
This is my good friend Nicholas, dressed up for Halloween as one of the characters on the Spanish-language soap operas that are all the rage over here. Nicholas was my roommate the first 10 days and we both lived in Kheltubani for training. His host family there put on 11AM supras that, after some wine, turned into Toni Braxton dance parties. Somewhere out there is video of all of us dancing like idiots in a banquet room. Anyone who has seen me try to dance realizes the horror of such a site. I pray that Nicholas gets hold of the tape. He’s a really cool guy, a close friend and does an incredible Whitney Houston impression.
The girl on the left is Jen and the girl on the right is Heidi. While they are both good friends of mine they are also my sworn enemies, as they are always smudging my glasses with their thumbs and sending me text messages reminding me that I am old and bald. Someday down the road Jen and Heidi will be old maids, sitting beside each other at a country club completing a puzzle and insulting the wait staff.
Baby Seth and Lyssa. Baby Seth is only 21, yet he's a virtual encyclopedia and a fun guy to hang out with. Someday he will run for congress as a Republican and I will hopefully have gathered enough dirt on him to bring down his candidacy. However, I would recommend him for a cabinet position. Seth enjoys virtual celebrity status here, thanks to his blond hair and boyish looks. I enjoy no such status. In fact, no one in my village really paid any attention to me or the other volunteer (Jeff) until Lyssa came to visit us for the day. After that everyone wanted to meet us and inquire about the tall blond girl.
This is Jeff, a good friend and a really funny guy who also lives in the village next to mine. The room in the picture is not mine. It belongs to Paige’s host 11 and 13 year old host sisters. We were visiting Paige’s site to judge a language competition and we stayed the night in the room. The walls are decorated with pictures of their favorite Russian pop stars, Brazilian footballers and models. The girls' parents are particularly embarrassed about the posters. Georgia and American families are really not so different.
Here we are hanging out in the vineyard at Jeff’s house. That’s me, Ian Jobe, Jeff, Lyssa and Paige. Ian Jobe is one of my favorite people here. He is truly a man for all seasons. If I had a sister I would hide her away from Ian, but it wouldn’t work because his raw charisma is just that strong. He’s like a young Barry White or Marvin Gaye. Ladies love Ian Jobe and who can blame them.
The girl on the right is Paige. She is an upstanding young woman, with good values and excellent table manners. She is a solid Peace Corps volunteer, skilled teacher, and very funny girl. She practices excellent tooth care, is responsible, thoughtful, and is caring of children and animals. She is clearly the product of outstanding parenting.
posted by Ryan Nickum at 6:32 AM
1 Comments:
Those look like some really cool friends there. They look like the kind of friends who would text you sports scores, meet you for beer when you've had a bad day and want to complain, and always offer to help when you have an idea or project you'd like advice on.
Seriously though, they look like the kind of friend who will not be bitter and upset about not being pictured on your blog. Suckers.
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