Permanent Site Announcements!

Well, after a year of waiting and unknowns associated with the Peace Corps (What will you be doing as a PCV [unknown until Nov 2004]? What country will you be serving in [unknown until May 2005]? What language will you be learning [unknown until arrival in country Sept 2005]?), the last of the major unknowns was revealed on Wednesday with permanent site announcements! Now, finally, I feel like I have a little better idea of what the next 2 years will look like…

Of course, all the volunteers have been anxious to find out where we will be living for our 2 years of our service. A few weeks ago, we had interviews with some of the staff to make known our preferences, and since then we have been waiting in eager expectation as other people seemingly determined our fates. A couple weeks ago, a peace came over my waiting when I realized there wasn’t a place I could be sent with which I would be hugely disappointment. Then I was able to look forward to Site Placement Announcements with excitement, rather than nervousness or worry. Later, last Friday, as I was praying about my placement, God spoke to me through some verses in Psalm 33 that though the placement decision was out of my control, it was completely within His:

“For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart from generation to generation” (v. 9-11).

I could have confidence that He was the One placing me, and was able to give Him freedom to put me in the place that would accomplish His highest for both me and for Kyrgyzstan, even if it meant learning Uzbek and not Russian!

As it turns out, that will not be the case :-). On Wednesday, at the end of a long day of training sessions, we all gathered outside around a huge map of Kyrgyzstan while staff handed out envelopes to each person containing their fate… Of course, we had to wait until each of the 61 Trainees had received his or her envelope before we could open them. Can you sense the tension?? I’ve been making you wait to find out my placement for 5 paragraphs, and you’re already going crazy, aren’t you? :-)

So where is this mystery location?? On December 2, after being sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer, I’ll be moving to a village called Jon-Aryk in the oblast of Talas. Talas is the most northwestern oblast in Kyrgyzstan, bordering Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It is the birthplace of the national hero, Manas, as well another national hero, Kyrgyz writer Chinghiz Aitamov. It’s also the site of a famous battle in 751 when Arabs conquered the Chinese and brought Islam to the region, changing the course of Central Asian history. Despite the region’s claim to fame, however, Talas is one of the oblasts that most Trainees don’t want to be placed, because it has a reputation for being a bit isolated from the rest of the country. But for many various reasons, I am super excited about my placement!

First of all, Jon-Aryk is a small village of about 5 million people, but it is only 6 km (a 15 minute bus ride) from Talas City, which is the largest city in Talas. So I will be able to retain the experience of village-life (which I’ve come to love living here in Taldy-Bulak), while also having all the benefits of a city (Internet, bazaar, cafes, etc.) almost within walking-distance. I’m sure Mom was praying hard that I’d be near Internet, so I guess it worked J. Also, even though Talas itself (the oblast) is a very Kyrgyz region, Russian is used more in Talas City (as with any major city in the KR). So I think if it’s at all possible for me to learn 2 languages in 2 years, Talas City is as good a place as any! Thirdly, Jon-Aryk is a new Peace Corps site, meaning I will be the first volunteer in this village and at my school! While there are both pluses and minuses to being the first volunteer at a new site, I’m very excited about it! I will be able to blaze my own trail without being in the shadow of any previous volunteers. I’ll also be laying the foundation for this community’s perception of both Peace Corps and Americans, which is a huge task, but I’m up for it. I’m excited to break this new ground and pave the way for future Volunteers at this site.

Finally—though definitely not the least of the factors causing my excitement about my placement—my friend Michaela (the other girl in my language group and my closest friend in the Peace Corps so far) was placed in Talas also, just 50 km west of me! That means for 2 years, we will be a mere 30 minute taxi drive from each other. Just as I believe God divinely put us together in a language group, I know He has divinely placed us together in Talas. Even Michaela remarked that she just knew it was going to work out this way. I’m excited to see what God does with our friendship in the years ahead, and it’s comforting to have such a good friend nearby as we embark on the next phase of our journey!

Next week, I will visit my site for the first time with my “counterpart”—a local English teacher at my school who has been assigned to kind of mentor me throughout my service. I’ll meet my new host family, get acquainted with the layout of the village, visit my school, meet the school’s director, and even my students! This will be the first time I’ll really be kind of on my own here, but I’m eager to get on with the real thing. Training has been great, but I’m glad I only have a month left! And so, excitement builds as the adventure continues!