Maggie's Journey to Armenia

Barev!

I am all (or almost) settled into my new site, Sevan. PST came and went faster than we imagined; I wonder how fast these next two years will go! The Swearing In Ceremony was exciting. We had two great speakers in our group, Katie and Austin and a wonderful Armenian solo sung by Joel. A large group sang a song or two in Armenian and then the infamous song, “Imagine.” We were sworn in by the US Ambassador to Armenia who took the time to meet most of us after the ceremony. After all the excitement, the A-17′s welcomed us and we all headed to a cafe in Charentsavan to celebrate.

It is hard to believe I can finally call myself a Peace Corps Volunteer. Four years ago I began to seriously consider this decision. Two years ago I made the decision to go through with it. Eight months ago I received my invitation and just over two months ago, I boarded an international flight for the second time in my life (for some of our group it’s the first time!). We have a great group of volunteers and I am excited to work with them. I also have a great site with seemingly plenty of opportunities; I can’t wait to begin!

I hope this blog provided you with some insight into our Pre-Service Training and our first experiences as Americans living in Armenia.  Perhaps, it allowed you to reminisce about your own time in Hayastan, I hope so!  I enjoyed sharing and let me know if you have any other questions, comments, advice, etc!

Barev!
Today I pack my bags from the small village of Fantan and look ahead to the next two years of my life. We are officially done with Peace Corps training. The summer flew by! Six days of language classes a week, a sports/activity day for the village children, a cross-cultural 4th of July party, a few Armenian style Birthday parties, and two weeks of health practicum teaching later, we are (supposedly) ready to become Peace Corps Volunteers.

Tomorrow, we will be sworn in to the Peace Corps by the US Ambassador to Armenia. Then, we say our goodbyes to host family and friends. It is a strange feeling knowing I will be leaving 6 Americans from my current village behind, some of them have been a true support when things get rough. School starts the first week of September so until then I will be working hard at building relationships in my new town of Sevan and trying to learn all the Armenian words for “Sit down, be quiet, listen, don’t cheat, etc.”