The Beginning

So it finally happened. After years of wanting to do it and spending months going through the arduous application process, I've finally become a Peace Corps Volunteer, or as the acronym-filled governmental branch calls us, PCVs. My assignment is teaching English in the Kyrgyz Republic, and I will be there from July of 2008 to September of 2010.

Most of the initial reactions from people I've told this so far have been... interesting. -- Where's that? What happened to the vowels? Uh... that sounds nice... yeah... -- I'm not trying to slight anyone by saying this, but I think it's important to emphasize these reactions. And I do realize that most everyone who said something along these lines is supportive of my decision.

This is one of the particular reasons I decided to join Peace Corps. We, as Americans, often live in our own world, and we forget or neglect the factors outside it. Take the Kyrgyz Republic -- many people have never heard of the country, and fewer still know where it is. It's a shame, really, because it certainly has a rich culture and interesting history, but in the heat of our daily lives we don't spend time thinking about the Kyrgyzstans of our world. So this is part of my task -- we must broaden our horizons, and I intend to act as a catalyst to this action. It's not just about the Kyrgyz Republic, but about everything we do. If we all spend part of our time each day thinking about the forgotten aspects of our society, how people in another country are affected by various situations, and overall simply start caring about things beyond our daily routines, well then, we'll all be better off.

My goal with the Peace Corps is to incorporate it's three main objectives into my MO -- providing the services necessary to the Kyrgyz Republic, serving to provide insight toward America for the people of the Kyrgyz Republic, and serving to provide insight toward the Kyrgyz Republic for the people of America. This is no small task, and I hope to be able to accomplish it over the next couple years. I'm also open to any suggestions or assistance anyone is willing to provide, so feel free to dole out advice because I will take it into consideration.

At the moment I have some formwork left to complete. I have to finish my visa and Peace Corps passport applications, as well as some other papers. After that, it's pretty much preparation work and getting ready to ship out for orientation on July 3 and the Kyrgyz Republic on/after July 5. My biggest challenge right now is learning the language -- the Cyrillic alphabet is not easy, and even the basic lessons I have right now take a while to get down.

I'm looking forward to everything, however, and feel I am ready to take on a new and exciting challenge. It's an interesting prospect, going to the other side of the world, and I hope to make the best of it.

Chris