Further Adventures: Going on Vacation, and Program Superiority Complex

We’re playing a bit of catch up in the blogosphere these days, as I’m finally able to cover what has happened in the last month or so. Since the end of the school year, at the end of May, my life has been focused primarily on one project, ABLE, which I’ll discuss more in a few posts. Thrown into the middle of the planning and preparation stage was a wonderful trip to Greece, at the end of June. I first had to make my way to Tbilisi, Georgia for my flight. This involved a series of bus rides that cost me double the normal rate because of the large suitcase I had with me. This was a necessity since I had filled the suitcase with winter clothes that I (hopefully) will not need this year and was sending back to the US via girlfriend courier.

After spending the day lounging in Tbilisi parks and eating delicious cheesy bread, I made it to the airport. While waiting for my flight, a small group of westerners sat down near me. Naturally, I found myself eavesdropping (Whoa! English!), and after we discovered each other formally, it came out that they were part of a program similar to Peace Corps’ TEFL program. The volunteers I met were preparing to go home at the end of their service. As we talked, and I learned more about their program, I found myself fighting internally with something I have dubbed “Program Superiority Complex.” This is the kneejerk reaction amongst expatriate aid workers that their program is better organized, more intense, more challenging and more beneficial than someone else’s. This complex exists despite what we know rationally, such as that our program has more than its share of faults. “Your program is ONLY 9 months long? And you’ve been home twice? We eat 9 months for breakfast!” “You didn’t learn Georgian?” “How do you not know the others in your group and confused me for a volunteer from your program?” “You had a hard time with your host family wanting to see your things? HA! The stories I could tell!”

These thoughts are not ones I’m proud of, and I’m sure that the volunteers I met at the airport worked hard, tried their best, and were qualified and successful volunteers in their communities. In fact, one of the cool things about the program was that it wasn’t just American volunteers. But I had them all the same. That’s the Program Superiority Complex for you.

After I left Georgia. I found myself in Athens, Greece. The next day I found myself once more on a plane, this time flying to Santorini, a beautiful island in the Cyclades Islands. We stayed in a beautiful house built into the cliff, overlooking the caldera. I would wake up early in the morning, and sit out on the balcony while everything was absolutely silent, with just birds and the distant cruise ships moving, just the water lapping at the shore. After a few nights in Santorini, we returned and before we had time to settle, we were off once more, this time to visit Meteora, the famous monasteries perched on cliff faces, which for centuries could only be accessed by rope ladder. We stayed in a mountain town nearby, completely un-touristy, home to some absolutely delicious cheese (I brought back my one souvenir from here—a ½ kilogram of cheese). Finally, we made our way back to our apartment outside of Athens, and made several day trips into the capital. Soon enough, though, it was time to leave, but first I had a day-long layover in Munich to look forward to. With nary a question at the airport, I exited the building and found myself on my way to Munich. Was it that easy? Had I missed an important step somewhere in there? Would they let me back in? But, after a day eating pork knuckle, drinking delicious beer, wandering a park larger than New York City’s and exploring a tauntingly delicious famer’s market (artichoke, avocado, AVOCADO!).

I found my way back to Georgia, arriving at the airport at 3am. Three hours later, I left the airport and began my trek back to Ismayilli, which would take almost exactly 12 hours. Not bad considering the distance, but way to long to be traveling on Azeri buses. I had to be back in that time, though, because the next day, I’d be on the road again. While I was on vacation, a part of me was not, a part of me was checking email regularly, because there was one thing on the horizon, a camp called ABLE. But that’s a story for another post.