A year ago at this time, I was anxiously awaiting the announcement of the site placements for Group 12 because one of those lucky kids would be my future site mate. A site mate makes a big difference in your service. A good site mate is someone who you can spend time with, relax with, work with and puts up with all of your crazy. A site mate is the closest thing that many volunteers get to a spouse- it is not uncommon to hear "you guys act like an old married couple." The site selection process can throw together people that would never be friends in any other life than Peace Corps and this random throwing together of people can create some interesting relationships. I have seen site mate pairings that started out great only to disintegrate into silent feud (or all out war) within a few months (two examples that I can think of involve three women placed in one site- this can be a deadly combination as usually it will end up being two against one as two of the girls become close and leave the other one out). I have seen people that you would think never would get along end up the best of friends.
I remember two years ago how nervous I was that I would get to Peshkopi and Kenji and I wouldn't get along. What would I do if he hated me? What would I do if he never wanted to hang out? The only thing I put on my site placement form was that I wanted a site mate (I didn't care if I was in a big or small place, if I was far or close to Tirana) but what I really meant is that I wanted a COOL sitemate. Of course the Peace Corps staff tries their best with placements- looking to work compatibility the most, but they can't predict who will get along. My fears were completely unfounded, of course, and Kenji and I got along great. I was almost just as nervous about the site placements last year. I was so lucky with Kenji, could lightning really strike twice? I was hoping for a girl actually. Kenji was great, but sometimes you just need some girl time, right? The odds were in my favor- like my group, G12 was more girls than guys. I didn't get a girl, I got Dylan. And I was terrified again. He seemed like an alright guy, but what if he hated me? Dylan has turned out to be great too. We have a different relationship than I had with Kenji, which makes sense. They are very different people, but I love them both. Kenji and I became very good friends, Dylan and I are almost like brother and sister (some of the kids here even thought that early on- they were very confused by the fact that we have different last names) meaning that we fight and sometimes drive each other crazy, but in the end we know that there is love . . .
Today, the site placements are announced for the new group, G13. I have only met a few of them as I have been busy here and have not made it down to Elbasan for any training. They are a big group, 50 people, the biggest group ever in Albania. Today they are going to go through the incredible range of emotions that come with site placement- excitement, fear, hope and happiness. Hopefully, whoever comes up to Peshkopi will appreciate the simple beauty of this quiet town and will take care of Dylan for me. . .
