I am now writing from my new “office” at my NGO in Noyemberian. Training is finally over, and I have the illustrious certificate that officially makes me a Peace Corps volunteer:
The last week in Bazum was actually pretty crazy. Between teaching our computer class, which went well dispite the language barrier, finishing training and language, planning and executing a large going-away party for our village at my house, performing a 15 minute play all in Armenian, and the hardest part – preparing to say goodbye – it was a busy week! Everything went off without a hitch for the most part. The goodbyes were definetly the most difficult. Layli and I became very close over the past few months. She called me last night, and from the moment her picture appeared on my cellphone to our last laugh about meeting in Miami, it does show the kinds of relationships that being a Peace Corps volunteer brings. Its been an amazing summer – I can only imaging what the next two years will bring. For one of my goodbye presents for Layli, I Photoshop’d a picture of Layli and I on Miami Beach. It’s an inside joke as we both want to visit Miami, and that’s where she will come visit me back in the States five years from now. Here it is, in all it’s glory:
However, with PST over, it’s time to get to work. Noyemberian should be a great town, and we’ve already met a lot of eager businesses, NGOs, and community members who would like to work with Eileen, Alex and I. The town is very nice, has a great football (and soon to be Ultimate Frisbee) field, a swimming pool, a lot of great hiking, and a great central park. I think I’ll be quite happy with it. Here are some pictures of my new host family and their house, which is very nice as you will see…
All of these pictures, plus a lot of photos from the goodbye party, are available in the Photos section on the right side. Also, I will be posting a list of some ideas for things to send in a care package soon. For those of you who don’t want to go all out with the package, trust me, when you’re thousands of miles from your friends and family, with few English speakers, every letter and email is incredibly welcome 😉 Hadgoh!
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2 Responses:
August 19th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Nice catch. It was actually signed by President Bush in front of me, but I kind of wanted to downplay it – political reasons, ya know?