Second big fun thing: Peace Corps Group 6 COS Conference

We attended a Peace Corps- Swaziland “Close of Service” (COS) Conference, which probably doesn’t sound like fun—but trust us, it was. Any time our group of PCVs gets together, fun abounds. All of us Group 6ers stayed 4 days/3 nights at a nice place in Swaziland’s Ezulwini Valley while the PC staff briefed us on all the things we’ll need to do when completing our service. And we held an impromptu talent show on the last night, which was pretty fun. I was sort of cajoled into being the show’s emcee, which meant that I got to help orchestrate things a bit. Among the show’s highlights was Jamie-girl getting her hair cut live onstage by 2 other PCVs (thus displaying their hair-cutting talent). She went from long hair to short hair over the course of the evening—and the end result looks great. Anyway the show was full of antics and hilarity… just the way we like it.

One of the PC staffers here has said that each group of PC volunteers coming into the country is different, and that our group is different “in a very pleasant way.” And I couldn’t agree more. From the very start, it seems like this group has been charmed. We’ve been blessed with an unusually warm and loving group dynamic—it’s uncanny, and for a group of 30 somewhat random strangers thrown together and sent to another country… it’s downright miraculous. So it’s not going to be easy to see us all go our separate ways, even in this hyper-connected age of Facebook and emails and skype, etc. We’re a pretty tight-knit group, having shared some amazing experiences over the past few years, and though many of us will keep in touch after Swaziland, it’s still kind of sad to be ending this chapter of our collective friendship. We’ve made some lifelong friends here, and that COS conference was our last “official” group get-together (yes, an unofficial one is planned for later this month). So it was fun just to all be together again and enjoy each other.

Also, the in-country PC staff has been so good to us—supportive and helpful way beyond the call of duty. We really appreciate everything they’ve done for us and we’re going to miss them too!