In fact, Adolphson has almost spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Georgia, formerly a state in the Soviet Union.

Adolphson, whose two-year sojourn comes to an end this month, has spent most of her time teaching English and journalism in Poti, a small port town near the Black Sea.

"I taught English, with a Georgian English teacher, to children grades 2 to 11. I also taught journalism to university students and held English conversation courses at the local college," Adolphson said.

While in Poti, Adolphson also helped organize a national leadership camp for women.

Adolphson, a former cheerleader at Saratoga High School, first showed an interest in the Peace Corps while she was a junior at University of Southern California.

"My father thought it was a brilliant idea, and my mother thought I was out of my mind," she said.

When Adolphson heard about a Peace Corps information session at a library in downtown Los Angeles, she decided to find out more.

"The next thing I knew I was the last person still at the session, asking questions," said Adolphson. "I was totally fascinated."

When she went back home that night, she filled out the entire application form.

"By the next morning it was in the mail. Nine months later, on Sept. 11, 2002, I was officially invited to serve in Georgia," she said.

The Peace Corps allows prospective volunteers to choose a region, though it doesn't necessarily mean that they will be able to go there. "I told the recruiter I would go anywhere," she said.

Her family encouraged her every step of the way.

"She's a positive young lady," said Ron Adolphson, Sarah's father.

Adolphson said that she realizes how lucky she was to live and work in another country.

"There is so much history there ... between the stories from my host grandmother about communist times, and the hundreds of ancient, working monasteries that cover the countryside," she said.

Adolphson gradually learned the local language as she lived with her host family in Poti. She was also able to raise some money to renovate the classroom she taught in.

Earlier this year, Adolphson was struck with a sudden illness. What seemed like stomach cramps turned out to be appendicitis. "My host father drove me to Tbilisi [Georgia's capital], where I was rushed to the hospital at 2 a.m." she said.

Three weeks after her surgery, Adolphson took a train back to Poti. But the pain in her abdomen wouldn't go away.

"My host father had to drive me to the hospital again," she said.

Doctors found a pocket of fluid that was causing the pain in her abdomen. "And so I was put under and cut open again," she said.

A week after the second surgery, Sharon Miles, wife of Richard Miles, the U.S. ambassador to Georgia, heard about Adolphson's predicament from a Peace Corps employee.

"Mrs. Miles suggested I stay at their home," said Adolphson. "I spent the first evening there watching Law & Order with the ambassador and eating spaghetti."

Adolphson spent two weeks watching reality shows on television and eating American food.

In March of this year, Adolphson had the chance to meet with Sen. Barbara Boxer when she visited Georgia.

"We had reacted nervously when Sarah first talked about joining the Peace Corps. But we are so proud of her," said her father.

After she graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism from USC, Adolphson worked as a production associate for the Animal Planet channel. While in Saratoga, she was a student at Argonaut Elementary School, Redwood Middle School and at Saratoga High School.

"I think that since I was a cheerleader and a sorority girl who later worked in television in Hollywood, very few people in Saratoga and Los Angeles believed I could survive the Peace Corps," Adolphson said.

Although there were times when she doubted herself, "Now that my two years are over, I can hardly imagine that I ever had a difficult time. It truly was an amazing experience," she said.