So here is some exciting news- Justin and I are staying a THIRD year in Georgia! We applied to extend, and we got approved and accepted to continue our service in our community.

Last June, I remembered that Justin was flirting with the idea of staying another year in Georgia. At that point, we felt that like we were finally making significant headway with our projects. It felt weird even thinking of the idea of extending since we were only half way through our service in June 2017. Yet, our service was going by too quickly and we felt that there was a lot more to do in our community. However, we did not take the idea seriously until a couple of months later in September 2017.

In the fall, our Peace Corps Project Managers come to our sites for a “mid-service check-in.” They talk with our counterparts and our directors in the community to see how we are doing. We talk about the projects and the upcoming second-year activities. Justin’s program manager came about a week or so before mine. During Justin’s mid-service check-in, his teachers complimented him on his efforts and success at school. Half-jokingly, they said that they would love to work with Justin for a third year if possible. Justin was very touched by the sentiment. When I came from work, he told me that he would love to extend.

Since I love my job as well, I said, “okay, I guess I will talk to my boss about it tomorrow.” Justin was surprised at how quickly I agreed. There are two reasons why I agreed. First, I do love my job here and being a Peace Corps Volunteer has been a dream of mine. Second, my boss and youth counterpart have approached me about the idea before. In fact, I remember when the applications for the G17s came out, I told my boss, Dato, “The application to get a Peace Corps Volunteer has come out. Can you forward it along to neighboring organizations? Next year, if you want, you can fill it out.”

“Why would I fill it out?” Dato responds with the rhetorical question. I’m thinking, “Oh wow, I screwed up so bad in the first 4 months of service that he doesn’t even want another volunteer. That is not good.” But instead, Dato continues, “I mean, you are extending another year, so I won’t need to apply.” I nearly fell out of my chair with that out-of-nowhere proclamation. I composed myself and said, I was “Dato, extending is incredibly difficult. It takes months and only a few can extend. Since I’m married, Justin would have to extend as well. I just want to let you know it is unlikely.” This occurred around October 2016. The joke is on me, clearly, since I did apply to extend.

I figured that about a year later, he would still feel the same way. Sure enough, the next day, I approached my boss with the idea to see if he would be welcome to it. He was very pleased and gave me a hug saying he would love to work with me for another year. With that, I contacted my Peace Corps Program Manager and informed her of my plans. For the next 5 months, I worked on a plan that would be my “third-year” project.

In order to stay for a third year, we must justify to Peace Corps why our stay is necessary. Granted, this makes complete sense. Our projects are supposed to be two years long, so if we need to stay longer, a well-sounded reason should be necessary. Each of us worked with our counterparts to craft our third-year projects that would benefit the organization/school.

The paperwork was due in February 2018 and we submitted it. After that, we had to go through medical clearance again in-country. Then, we waited for all the approvals to go through, including from Peace Corps Headquarters.  Justin and I finally got our extension approved in early May after months of work and discussion!

It is an odd feeling because many of our friends are preparing to leave next month. Some of our friends are going to grad school, a couple will participate in Fulbright, and others will start working. Meanwhile, Justin and I just bought a food processor to make our last year even more comfortable.

So gamarjos (cheers) to our third year!