Nostalgia on the Night Before!

Barev!

As I finish up pizza with the family, noises of my one year old nephew and ‘Everbody Loves Raymond’ fill the background. Pizza, near-by family, and my favorite television shows (coughLawandOrderSVUcough) are all things I KNOW I will yearn for in the coming two years. However, I am confident there will be exciting new comforts in my new home, Hayastan (or at least I keep repeating this to myself).

Of course, I am not all confident about my choice of clicking ‘SUBMIT’ on my application 1.5 years ago. Thankfully, to relieve some of my worries and answer the typical trainee questions, many current and returned Peace Corps Armenia volunteers have come out in masses on social networking sites to help out. I am so grateful to enter into the Peace Corps during such a technologically advanced age! I guess I really do need that 0 degree sleeping bag and my mystery novels to keep me company after my PST(pre-service training) completion.

Right now, I will spend the last couple hours with my family and probably stay up all night thinking about what is to come. I hope the future of this blog provides you with a look into Armenia as I experience it for myself. If you have any requests or questions about this blog, Armenia, or my personal experience serving as a Peace Corps volunteer, be sure to let me know.

Maggie, A-18

The Details

When do I leave?
I will leave on May 26, 2010 for staging (orientation) in Washington D.C. After a day or so, our group, the A-18s (Armenia, 18th group) will head over for our 27 month endeavor. The first 3 months are for language, culture, and technical training. After a Swearing-In Ceremony, I will serve as a volunteer for 24 months.

What will I do?
Besides struggling to speak Eastern Armenian and adapting to the culture shock, I will be a Health Extension volunteer. I will work in a school, clinic, or NGO educating Armenians about health issues (it's pretty vague at this point). This is my primary assignment. I will also pick up a secondary assignment of my choosing later on.

Where will I be?
ARMENIA! A former republic of the Soviet Union, Armenia is land-locked by Iran to the South, Turkey to the west, Georgia to it's North, and Azerbaijan to the East. From pictures, it looks beautiful! During training I will be in a village near the capital of Yerevan and after that I will move somewhere else in country.


I know I am going to miss all things American so please continue to look out for new posts and email or write me while I am away!