Announcement! If anyone is planning to send any more letters or packages to me here in KZ, they should send them this week. I officially have less than six weeks left in my Peace Corps service. Mail tends to come within 4-5 weeks, so don’t mail anything after this week. I’ve appreciated all the goodies and greetings over the last two years. Thank you.
Right now I’m focused on finishing my time her on a high note. I’ve been spending quality time with my friends and family here, and preparing for my upcoming departure. My official Close of Service (COS) date is November 4th, meaning I’ll leave Petro on the 2nd. I then plan to fly to Moscow on the 5th. After traveling through Russia and the Baltic States, I’ll fly out of Poland, arriving home on November 21st. I can’t wait.
As a mandatory preparation for this substantial transition back to life in the States, we attended a three-day COS conference last week in Almaty. We started with some emotional reflection about our two years spent in Kazakhstan. We reminisced about our first days in training, our hard and amusing times before moving to site, and our gradual development into confident, successful volunteers. As we strolled down memory lane, I noticed a distinct bittersweet feeling about my PC service coming to a close. I didn’t really feel like talking about all the goodbye stuff just yet, and because of that I didn’t fully participate in the sessions. I thought maybe if I don’t acknowledge it, it might not be real. I’m sure everyone has felt that way at one time or another about an upcoming life transition, so I don’t want to drone on about it.
Apart from the touchy-feely sessions and the medical check-ups, we had some helpful seminars regarding resume writing and job interviews. We practiced squeezing our two years of strange and interesting, developmental and dramatic experiences into a one minute spiel that a prospective employer would need to hear in response to: What did you gain from your time in the Peace Corps? They don’t want my unabridged blog entries.
Regarding my long awaited return to the US, I’ve got some tentative plans set up for the first few months that I’m back:
1. Enjoy a week with family and friends in Murray, including Thanksgiving, family reunion, and my brother’s wedding.
2. Eating my favorite foods. I have made a calendar spreading out my most anticipated treats over a one month span.
3. Get evaluated for clavicle surgery.
4. Have clavicle surgery.
5. Recuperate from clavicle surgery.
6. Celebrate Christmas in Murray.
7. Celebrate New Year’s with college friends. DC? Chicago? Cleveland?
8. Find a job.
Yep, a job. I’ve been accepted by Carney & Sandoe &Associates, a teacher placement agency, as a candidate to teach Spanish in the US… somewhere. They will try to match my skills with a school willing to hire an enthusiastic, slightly experienced, uncertified teacher—schools which will most likely be private or charter. I want to try teaching in the US to make sure I enjoy it before going to graduate school. I would love to be in the Phoenix area near my girlfriend, but with the job market as it is now, I’ll consider offers from just about anywhere. If you have ideas or suggestions, feel free to email me. November through January will surely hold some major answers.
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1 comment:
Would you like to give Russian lessons to a petulant five year old and her somewhat less petulant mother while you wait for a job?
I do hope you plan on a presentation at your parent's church when you return; we enjoyed the one your family gave after their trip, and would love a chance to hear about your experience. Or, alternatively, we would love to have you and your family over for dinner to swap stories of Kazakhstan. Once you've eaten your way through the twinkie aisle, of course.
--Jennifer, that old lady you talked to in Murray before you left TWO long years ago!
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