How Good It Can Be

Yesterday I met Hillary Clinton. The Hilldawg herself. She was in Georgia as part of a tour through the Caucasus countries, and we had the privilege of hearing her speak a few words about the importance of serving the US overseas. Those of you who know me well will understand that meeting our current Secretary of State is basically one of my life’s dreams come true.

Ok sure, we didn’t sit down for tea and discuss the political and social ramifications of the problems facing Georgia’s democratic reform and the intricacies of US-Georgia relations. But our interaction was definitely professional…if I were a professional clown, that is.

So we (as in, the PCVs and current PC trainees, along with US Embassy staff) are waiting in the ballroom at the swank Marriott Hotel in downtown Tbilisi. When we enter the thing it’s totally empty, but I’m practically giddy with anticipation and excitement. So I head to the front of the room to stand directly in front of the podium where Madame Secretary herself will be literally INCHES away from me. And after the 2nd hour of doing that, with delays in the schedule and no Secretary to be seen, (thanks to what we’ll call “Georgian time”) I started to get restless.

However, as hour 4 rolled around, minutes before we were told she was actually coming THIS time, I ignored my aching legs and back, and readied my box out stance. I was standing next to the line where I knew she would be walking through after her speech, greeting people and doing the handshake thing. Although there were some (well-intentioned, I’m sure) people in front of me, I was prepared to knock them down if necessary.

Long story short, I see her coming down the path. I’m freaking out. WHAT IF SHE DOESN’T SHAKE MY HAND?! Devastation. So…I awkwardly push through some people and shove my hand out in front of her. Then THE HILLARY CLINTON looks directly at me and says, “How are you?” And my thought process went…HILLARY IS TALKING TO ME! QUICK, SAY SOMETHING WITTY AND AWESOME!

What came out, in crazy town voice: I’m fine! I LOVE YOU!

And so ends the story of my one chance to ingratiate myself to one of the leaders of the free world in a way that doesn't make me sound like a complete idiot. Great job, Lauren. You really outdid yourself! I mean, I’m sure if she’s looking for some groupie types that can’t seem to keep it together in public settings to work at the Department of State I’ll be the first on the list to call.

At least she was cool about it. She just laughed and said thank you and I slunk back into the crowd. Hopefully I’ll get a good picture out of it, but I have to wait for the Embassy pics to come through before I'll know.

Anyway, besides my little faux pas, I had a fantastic July 4th weekend. I played some softball (we won! And now I can’t walk, because I'm severely out of shape!), ate some burgers and fried chicken, and I had some great American company to spend it with. Although there were no fireworks, it was a memorable and fun second 4th of July in Georgia.

On another note, I just got back from over a week in Armenia, where another PCV and I were observing a popular PC camp for girls called Girls Leading Our World (GLOW). With the help of our awesome PC staff, we were able to travel down so that over the course of the next year, we can re-start the Georgia GLOW initiative that ended after the evacuation of Georgia PCVs in 2008. It was a great trip that gave us invaluable insight into running a camp that can really make a difference in some girls’ lives. Great job Armenia PCVs! I’m excited for the planning and execution of our own camp next summer, and the extensive amount of work involved will make for an interesting and productive next year.

As this is getting sort of long, I’ll end it here.

But I really will try to write more this month. I feel like I’m a hermit over here and I’m going to make it a point to be more communicative over the next few weeks.

Also, trip to Texas in t minus one month and 2 weeks!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO boy!