These two years have flown by much more quickly than I imagined. Now that the people in my community know I’m leaving at the end of June, that’s how most of our conversations go. I’m met with “are you glad you’re going home?” and “how terrible you’re leaving!” Even after all of this time, the Geography teacher at my school still tells me there are plenty of good, single Georgian men that I can marry. It’s hard not to think about the future and what comes next. The bright light at the end of the tunnel seems to be more distracting the closer that I come to the close of my service.

While I can’t say that I’m not looking forward to returning to America, I’m trying to breathe in those moments that I know I’ll miss. Whether it be early morning chats with my host mom around the dirty kitchen table or the kids screaming “hello!” at me everywhere I go, Georgia has become my second home. Things that seemed so foreign to me at the beginning have become the norm. And though there are parts that have frustrated me, I have looked back at the pieces I appreciated when I arrived. Fresh produce, taking things slow, and a sense of community. I hope to take the last month to be grateful for all that I’ve accomplished here, the connections I’ve made, and how much I’ve grown.