I Suck Thorax - or IST

I just finished a week long IST or In Service Training. This pesky bugger of a workshop occurs once a year for most Peace Corps Volunteers. Were most PCVs have two during their service, I will have three. This third one was made bearable by the fact that I was a facilitator. Whew. Having some responsiblities made it a lot easier to pay attention (plus, I kind of like my job, especially facilitating).
The social aspect was pretty fun. I went to bed once, before midnight. The rest of the nights went until 2 or 3. Crazy. I felt weirdly in the way most of the week. My intake is gone. All my good friends have disappeared. 06 is tight with themselves. 07 is tight with themselves. I felt like Aubrey; the Captain of the ship can be friendly, inviting the officers to his quarters for food and wine, but he will always be different. Never a part of the crew always above. I feel that I will always be in good graces with fellow volunteers but I have no crew anymore. I am (in a non-egotistical way) above the crew. The third-year volunteer in Lusaka. Just disconnected.
I didn't jump in the pool at the bar. That probably would have endeared me to the PCVs, just not the expats I had asked to meet me there...