After Completion of Service there is the trip home; some volunteers take the first flight back to America, but more commonly volunteers have a tradition of rewarding themselves with at least a few stops along the way to visit some of those places they failed to squeeze in during their busy two years of service. Some volunteers take the COS trip to the extreme, extending the voyage to as many countries as their limited budget permits. We had several volunteers from other African countries stay at our house on extravagant Capetown to Cairo trips and our PC Malawi neighbor took over three months touring India and Southeast Asia before finding his way back to America after completing his stint. We originally envisioned a grand celebratory road trip of our own hitting up all the highlights in Southern Africa; fantasizing about a leisurely COS trip got us through several low points during our two years. However, as our close of service approached and we ticked off most of the regional destinations on our must-see-list, we felt more eager to get home for all our family Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. We drastically abbreviated our trip, focusing on Janet’s favorite city on the continent, Cape Town, South Africa. In addition, Turkish Air was the cheapest flight home from Cape Town to Los Angeles, so we extended our layover in Istanbul as a bonus. Since the Turkish metropolis occupies two continents, extending across the Bosphorus Strait that divides Europe and Asia, our nearly 12,000 miles took us to four of the Earth’s seven landmasses, Africa, Europe, Asia, and finally North America.
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