RPCV Friends of Muslims: Taking on Islamophobia through social media

The Third Goal of Peace Corps asks Volunteers to share the culture of their host countries with Americans upon their return to the U.S. When I left for Peace Corps Azerbaijan in June 2007, I never imagined that nine years later I would be an advocate for Muslims in America and around the world.

My third goal project is specific to Muslim communities in which Volunteers have served. I wanted to include voices of those who served in communities where Islam is practiced, those voices whose perspectives remind Americans that Muslims are, more often than not, just like us. Social media’s ability to rapidly disseminate information to a wide audience makes it ideal for providing a positive look at Islam and Muslims. Personally, I have experienced threats, anger and these very anti-refugee, anti-Muslim, anti-Islam voices through various media streams, particularly social media, simply for being married to a Muslim.

I decided to make a Facebook page called RPCV Friends of Muslims, which went live in December 2015. In its first 90 days, the RPCV Friends of Muslims page has had 324 page “likes.” The individual posts themselves have reached more than 4,399 people in the last month alone. This doesn’t account for any conversations sparked outside of Facebook by the information shared on the page.

The goals of the Facebook page are to increase intercultural understanding about Muslims, the traditions of Islamic nations and the religion of Islam itself. The ultimate goal is to decrease instances of active Islamophobia, specifically online, by sharing the contributions and stories of the vast variety of cultural variation within Muslim communities and their members.

Since its creation, four RPCVs who served with Muslims in communities around the globe have come together to use the existing network of RPCVs online to tackle Islamophobia through sharing and spreading positive media including articles, videos, photos, podcasts, memes and other digital content. The page is open to anyone with a Facebook account and all posts are sharable.

It is more than just a Facebook page. Collectively, we are trying to represent the varied voice of RPCVs who have served alongside Muslims around the world, and use our voices to increase support and understanding of Muslims everywhere. This project would not be possible without my fellow administrators: Jane Bardon (RPCV Turkmenistan), Alan Toth (RPCV South Africa) and Nicole Anderson (RPCV Morocco).

The day I created the page, I felt like I had taken back a piece of the narrative. It is my hope that by providing a platform for alternative voices and narratives to be shared, we can remind Americans that Muslims are a part of our communities.

We want to help promote activities that support our goal of decreasing Islamophobia and create a greater understanding of Islam and Muslim cultures around the world. We welcome others to join us in this ongoing project. After all, the mission of the Peace Corps is to promote world peace and friendship.

Originally published by Third Goal on April 6, 2016. The original publication of this article can be found on Peace Corps' website here.

It's Time For The Talk...

It's about time for me to have that talk... the uncomfortable, "come to Jesus" talk that America desperately needs right now. I'm not talking about converting people either. I'm talking about the fact that America is headed in the wrong direction. I did not spend 3.5 years of my life, building good will and fostering good relationships with our Muslim brothers, to have it all undone by the Republican party. 

Tell me, who is left that hasn't been alienated by the Republican party yet?

1. They don't support equal pay for equal work, paid maternity leave for new mothers, or women's rights to make decisions for their own bodies. That's over 158.6 million women (as of 2009).

2. They don't support immigrants, or "anchor" babies (which should be called US CITIZENS since that's what they are). That means 41.3 million current immigrants (as of 2013). Not to mention that if you aren't 100% Native American, that it means they would have sent your grand parents back.

3. They don't support the poor. That includes all 109,631,000 people in the US taking federal welfare benefits.

4. They don't support people who are sick/ill/in need of medical care. 133,000,000 people are estimated to be currently treated for chronic health conditions in the US (as of 2014 according to the NHC). That's a lot of sick people.

5. Despite the fact that our own Constitution swears to allow our citizens the right to personally choose or not choose a religion, and that that religion needs to be completely separate from our government, the Republican party doesn't support any diversity in religion in this country at all. That means the 23% of American people who self identify as anything other than Christian in this country are not important to the Republican party. So as of the 2012 Gallup poll, that would be approximately 72,243,000 people.

6. Black Americans have recently learned that the Republican party doesn't think that the "black lives matter" movement is even worth looking at. That's 41,700,000 black Americans that the Republican party doesn't think matter.

7. Jeb Bush recently made it clear that the Chinese people in America don't matter to the Republican party. That's 3.8 million Chinese Americans. 

8. Donald Trump made it clear that he thinks Mexican Americans (including the 22.3 million citizens who legally immigrated and those who were born here) are not welcome in this country. 

9. The entire party doesn't support gay rights, so that includes approximately 8 million people in this country.

10. The republican party pretends to care about veterans. But instead, the republican majority congress drafted the Veterans Choice Program in such a way to intentionally cut out medical care insisting they must live at least 40 miles "as the crow flies" away from the nearest VA facility to qualify, instead of 40 actual miles driving distance. There are 21.8 million veterans in this country. And their lives are more important than the $40 million that the Republican party valued more.

Jesus talked about the poor a lot. He talked about the rich a lot. Not one single Republican candidate is talking about anything Jesus actually supported and preached about. They are not talking about forgiveness, loving their enemies, turning the other cheek, caring for the poor or condemning the rich. All things you can find directly in the Bible. Yet the Republican party feels like they own the Christian vote. If you're really, truly Christian, you should be voting for the party that supports the poor, sick, and all people in this country. 

Stop and think about who is left. If you're in one of the groups listed above, and intend to vote Republican, you're seriously throwing away your vote for someone who doesn't have your best interests in mind. America is supposed to be a progressive world leader on human rights; and yet, we have citizens who actually want to elect bigoted, racist, hate mongers to represent us on the international level. Why? Why would you send someone who hates other cultures, women and religions to represent us on the diplomatic level? Vote smarter, and stop letting the Republican party act like it owns the Christian vote.

We are not an "only child" in this world. We are required to share, play nice, and behave in a manner that is socially responsible. If children can get this concept, surely a country should be able to. Please, if you're reading this, make more of an effort to not support the political BS that is coming out of these peoples mouths. Support candidates that want to make a real difference in the lives of people in this country and around the world. People over parties. Speak up for rights and freedoms of all human beings. Let us truly be the land of the free and home of the brave.. because , as the great Dumbledore said, it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. Friends don't let friends vote Republican.

3rd Goal Project - Language Learning Preservation

Ray Blakney an RPCV from Mexico is currently working on a 3rd goal project with the PC regional offices, and the main office in DC, to try to create an online archive to keep the language training material made all over the world from getting lost. He has created a sub-section on the website he and his wife run -http://www.livelingua.com - with all the information he has been able to get to date (from over the web and sent directly by PC staff and PCV's). He currently has close to 100 languages with ebooks, audios and even some videos.

There should be something there for almost everybody. It is all 100% free to use and share. Here is the specific page of the Peace Corps Archive:

http://www.livelingua.com/peace-corps-language-courses.php

If you, or anyone you know, has some old material to scan or already have in digital form, and want to add to the archive, please don't hesitate to contact him by email.

Ray Blakney
blakney.ray@gmail.com

A Life of Service After PLU

Austin Goble '09, Ruth Tollefson '09, Raechelle Baghirov 05, listen while Sallie Strueby '11, speaks during an Alumni panel discussion on service opportunities at PLU on Thursday, March 22, 2012. (Photo by John Froschauer)

By Katie Scaff '13

Volunteer service is about taking what you're learning in the classroom and making it bigger, according to four recent PLU graduates.

The grads, Sallie Strueby '11, Austin Goble '09, Ruth Tollefson '09, and Raechelle Baghirov '05, shared their experiences in a panel discussion on paid service opportunities on Thursday, March 22nd.

"The phrase 'a life of service' was thrown around a lot," Baghirov said of her time at PLU. "It made you look at what you were learning and how it could be taken to a higher level. I may not have thought of it as 'this is my wild hope component' but it was."

Baghirov studied abroad in London during J-term her last year at PLU and knew she wanted to spend more time abroad. She applied for the Peace Corps after graduation and spent three and a half years volunteering in Azerbaijan.

"Every volunteer service is different and it is what you make of it," Baghirov said. "Meaningful service not only changed the life of those I worked with, but it changed my own life as well. You get more than you give."

For some, like Baghirov, volunteering was a way to fulfill two passions, serving others and traveling. For others though, like Goble, who volunteered with Lutheran Volunteer Corps and Americorps, volunteering was a way to transition from college life to the "real world."

"I was excited about the opportunity to slowly move itno something else," Goble said.

Goble did two years of service. He spent his first year working with Lutheran Volunteer Corps affiliate Eastern Nebraska Community Action Partnership in Omaha. His second year was with Peace Community Center, an Americorp affiliate in Tacoma's hilltop neighborhood. The relationships he formed during these years had a large influence on him.

"I'm the one gaining from their life experience," Goble said. "It's a lot of personal growth, a lot of self examination and getting a better understanding of who I am -- that has shaped me immeasurably."

Though they had different experiences, the other panelists echoed Goble's words.

"It's self-sacrificing but it's so worth it," Strueby said, who is currently volunteering with Americorps at Federal Way Public Schools. "I went into this experience hoping to mentor, inspire, and teach these students and I know I'll leave with it being the other way around."

Volunteering is sometimes seen as a detour on the way to a career, but often it can lead to an better prepare you for your career, according to the panelists.

"It's mind-blowing how much you change," Baghirov said. "It forces you to look at yourself and imagine what you're capable of. I took away this sense that I was self-sufficient. I have the power to change my own life and my own world in everyday decisions."

For Tollefson, her service at Peace Community Center turned into a job. She's now the elementary programs and public relations director for the center. Looking back, she recognizes how her experiences at PLU prepared her.

"When I was a student here I was really really involved in student leadership and I think that is what helped me feel confident enough to go off and do service in a different community," Tollefson said.

Reposted from: http://www.plu.edu/news/2012/04/volunteer-panel/

An Open Letter (Reposted)

Dear Person Contemplating Joining Peace Corps,

I imagine that you’re at a transition point in your life. Perhaps you’ve just graduated, perhaps you’re going through a career change, perhaps you have an itch for something more that can’t be scratched. Whatever the reason, here you are: contemplating joining Peace Corps.

But should you? Is it right for you?

Honestly, you might not know that until you’ve arrived. You can research by reading books and official publications or by talking with current/returned volunteers, but everything you read and hear will probably tell you the same thing: every person’s experience is different. Your Peace Corps life will be uniquely shaped by your country, program, and site. 

I’d like to think, though, that there are a few things that are universal throughout the Peace Corps world, and those things tend all to revolve around how you yourself will change - for the better and for the worse - because of your time in Peace Corps.

‘Sanitary’ will become an obsolete concept. You will eat on mats that you know are saturated in urine. You will prepare food on counters that also serve as chicken roosts. You will not have consistent/frequent access to soap. You will eat street food that is undoubtedly questionable. You will be dirty, dusty, and sweaty at all times. You will have mind over body battles to force yourself to bucket shower in the winter. Bugs, lizards, chickens, ducks, and mice will crap on everything. These things will be ok. You’ll adjust. The sterile environment of the States will become a distant odd memory or a constant fantasy.

Your body, though, might not adjust as quickly. You will have parasites and infections and illnesses that you had never heard of before training. You will be constantly constipated. Or go the opposite extreme. I hate to say it, but you will probably poop in your pants at least once. You will learn to vomit over a squat toilet and into a plastic bag during a bus ride. You will discuss your bodily functions openly and enthusiastically with other volunteers. No topic will be taboo.

The way you communicate will completely transform. Learning a language from scratch through immersion is a powerful experience. You will learn to have complex communications though expressions, gestures, and basic vocabulary. You will learn to bond with another human being through silence. You will answer the same basic questions over and over and over again. You may never achieve the ability to discuss ideas and concepts. You will develop a new English language which consists of pared down vocabulary and grammatical structures. You will actively think of each word before you speak. Your speech patterns will slow. You will have to define words whose meanings you had always taken for granted. You will learn to listen. 

Your concept of money will entirely alter. Paying more than $1 for anything will cause you to pause and question your purchase. You will understand value in the context of a different economic system. You will learn to barter, even on cheaper items. You will consistently feel as though you have been cheated on the price. You will be enraged by all prices upon returning to the States.

You will embrace the thrilling dichotomies of thrift versus splurge and ration versus binge. No one knows how to budget like a Peace Corps volunteer. And no one can binge like one.

You will be discontented with your work. You will wonder – and scream to the heavens – about the benefit of your presence. You will feel lost in unstructured expectations and crushed by promising ideas fallen to the side. 

Your expectations will fade into an unexpected reality. You will learn to celebrate small victories. You will look at mountains and see mole hills. You will try to tackle the impossible. Maybe you’ll succeed. Maybe you’ll just pick yourself up and take aim at another impossibility.

You will learn to do all of this through pure self-motivation. You will be the one to drag yourself out of bed and out the door. You won’t have anyone holding your hand or pushing your forward. Just you. You will become a stronger person for yourself, by yourself.

You will be a celebrity in your community. That status comes will hardships and benefits that will ineradicably change you. You will be the exception to the societal rules. You will be the foreigner, the one set apart. You will receive privileges and have special attention/status because of your nationality. You will always have eyes on you. You will have joined as an agent of culture exchange and understanding, but you will still find yourself falling into an ‘us versus them’ mentality. Use it. Consider it. Contemplate the value we place on people because of arbitrary characteristics. You will come away from your experience more attune to your own merits, to those that are deserved and to those that are given.

Your culture of personal space, one that maybe you have always taken for granted, will be challenged. You will wonder why you need an entire room to yourself while no one else even has a bed to himself. You still won’t want to give your room up. Privacy will be a privilege or a rarity, not a right.

You will lose all control of your emotions and be on an unpredictable roller coaster of extreme ups and downs. You will go from happy and confident to sullen and tearful by things as simple as ants in your candy or yet another child saying ‘Hello!’ Your highs will be high, but they will be fragile. Your lows will feel inescapable. Your family and friends in the States probably won’t understand this. Your isolation will force you to become your own support system. You will become aware of yourself in the context of solely being yourself.

Your government-issued friends will be your reprieve. The love and closeness you share with people back in the States won’t change, but it will be your fellow volunteers who understand. They will be friendships forged from necessity, and they will be deep and fervent.

You will witness a whole new way of life, and you will question your notion of necessity. You will consider your personal wealth, and people will constantly remind you of it. You will discover what your ‘needs’ are to live a productive, satisfied life. I hope you will remember that when you return to a culture of plenty.

You will be the biggest product of your Peace Corps work. You will change. And you will bring that change back with you.

Reposted from: http://peacecorps.tumblr.com/
http://thesharpiemarkerapproach.tumblr.com/post/42420977797/an-open-letter

All credit goes to the amazing RPCV that wrote this as clearly as anyone could have said it.

Stuck in Samoa: The US refuses to take back this ‘stateless’ man

VIENNA, Austria — Mikhail Sebastian’s trip to American Samoa redefines the term nightmare vacation.

Instead of a five-day holiday to the lush, tropical US territory in the South Pacific, the 39-year-old has spent more than nine brutal months there caught in an immigration law hell. Experts agree it’s an unprecedented illustration of America’s broken immigration system.

The key sticking point: Though he’s lived legally in Houston and the Los Angeles area for years under a special arrangement with the Department of Homeland Security, Sebastian is stateless, with no citizenship at all. The federal government argues that during his vacation he “self-deported” from the United States — despite the fact that American Samoa is a US territory.

Now the part-time travel agent and barista is stuck on the 76-square-mile island as federal and local officials hash out what to do with him. Though the local government is putting him up with a local family and giving him a $50 weekly allowance, Sebastian can’t work under American Samoan laws and can’t travel off the island.

Most days, he can be found at the local McDonald’s using an internet connection to post online appeals while drawing the sympathy of doting locals, who have been circulating petitions to get him back home. He’s living a sweaty Pacific island version of “The Terminal,” the movie in which Tom Hanks plays a traveler who loses his citizenship and is stuck in an airport.

“It’s horrible here, it’s hot it’s making me sick, I can’t stand it anymore” Sebastian told GlobalPost over Skype recently. “I just want to go home.”

Charity Tooze, a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) office in the United States, which is advocating for Sebastian, said: “There’s a big gap in the legal structure of the United States when it comes to stateless people, and Mikhail has fallen right through it.”

Stateless in America

To understand Sebastian’s case, one has to grasp the problem of statelessness in America.

At least 4,000 people in the United States don’t have citizenship in any country, through no fault of their own, according to advocacy group Refugees International.

In some cases, countries use nationality as a political tool, stripping people of their citizenship when they’re abroad. Other times states simply cease to exist, and no one will recognize their former citizens.

That’s what happened in Sebastian’s case, which is no simple matter. He is an ethnic Armenian born in what is today Azerbaijan, but when the Soviet Union broke up, Azerbaijan refused to issue him a passport because, he claims, of his Armenian background. 

But Sebastian adds that he has been unable to convince Armenian authorities to grant him a passport either. The explanation, he says, is that Armenia isn't convinced of his ethnicity and won't grant him citizenship under its laws.

The US immigration system can offer stateless people a path to legal residency and possible citizenship if an asylum claim is accepted.

But often, as in the case of Sebastian, stateless people end up in a legal twilight zone of sorts. His asylum application was rejected in 1996, the year after he came to the US on a business visa in his USSR passport and decided he wanted to stay in the country.

After a judge ruled in 2002 that he should be deported, Sebastian was jailed for six months. But since no country would accept him, officials released Sebastian with a work permit and the stipulation that he regularly check in with immigration authorities, records show.

“People like this find themselves in a very precarious position, where there aren’t really any remedies for them at all,” said Maureen Lynch, an expert on statelessness affiliated with the International Observatory on Statelessness in the United Kingdom.

They can end up living in permanent quasi-legality — often until their deaths, Lynch said.

More than 70 countries have signed on to two international conventions that bind them to provide a way for the stateless to regularize their legal status.

But the United States never has.

And though lawmakers have introduced legislation in the past to offer a pathway to immigration regularization, it has failed each time.

Seeing the world

Because he can’t travel outside the United States, Sebastian says he’s been visiting the most exotic American destinations he can find — Guam, Puerto Rico and Hawaii, among others. To facilitate his travels, he has a so-called “World Passport” from the World Service Authority, which David Gallup, the group's president, describes as a global-governmental organization. A World Passport is a document that’s supposed to confer world citizenship; it can be issued to anyone, other than criminals, terrorists and citizens of certain countries, like Cuba and Iran, Gallup says.

Last December, Sebastian decided, the South Pacific was next on his list. He says he checked with US immigration authorities and was told that visiting American Samoa wouldn't cause him any problems. The American Samoans sent him an authorization to travel with the World Passport — because of American Samoa’s unusual relationship to the United States, everyone traveling there and back passes through customs.

Here’s the chain of events no one disputes: After visiting American Samoa, Sebastian took a side trip to the neighboring independent country of Samoa before crossing back into the US territory. When he tried to board a plane on the way back to the mainland, airline officials called US immigration authorities. They decreed that a World Passport wasn’t a valid travel document and he couldn’t board the flight back.

That doesn’t make sense to American Samoan officials, who wonder how Sebastian can be considered deported from the United States if he is now on American territory.

In a written statement to GlobalPost the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency wrote that Sebastian had, in effect, self-deported himself: “In 2002, an immigration judge with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) ordered Sebastian to depart the United States. At that time, he was not in ICE custody as the agency had deferred action on his removal. In the meantime, he had been granted employment authorization. In December 2011 when Mr. Sebastian traveled to American Samoa and Samoa, he was prohibited from returning to the United States due to the immigration judge’s order.”

Stuck forever?

On the island, authorities have been appealing to the highest levels of the federal government. The territory’s governor, congressional delegate and the local Office of the Attorney General have all begged the US to take Sebastian back.

And a thick web of pro-bono immigration attorneys and UNCHR have taken up Sebastian’s case.

But Homeland Security won’t give in and Sebastian’s supporters worry that he could be stuck forever. If that happens, American Samoa would have to change its laws to allow Sebastian to work or own land, officials say.

“As a US territory we can’t tell the US what to do. And we don’t have the same influence a state does,” said Vincent Kruse, a lawyer with American Samoa’s Attorney General who has been working on Sebastian’s case. “It’s definitely very frustrating because we just want to help Mikhail go home but we’re starting to think about the possibility that he may be here for the long run.”

In August Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, American Samoa’s delegate to the US House of Representatives, appealed directly to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano in a letter, calling the situation “unprecedented.”

“There are no pre-existing cases that would provide a better understanding in addressing his situation,” Faleomavaega wrote, asking her to resolve the situation.

But in a Sept. 13 letter, the Department of Homeland Security rejected that appeal, prompting strong words from Faleomavaega as he once more demanded Napolitano’s personal intervention.

"It is clear to me that the US Department of Homeland security has no sense of compassion for Mr. Sebastian," he wrote Napolitano last week, citing Sebastian's "extreme" living conditions and calling his treatment by federal authorities "inexcusable."

Sebastian just wants to get back to California to reopen his asylum case — records show federal officials had previously approved its reopening but rescinded the offer after they realized he was stuck in the South Pacific.

Back in McDonald’s, Sebastian says he isn’t reveling in his mini-celebrity on the island of just 55,000 people. He’s feeling powerless and at his lowest points has even contemplated suicide.

“This whole situation is like a hell for me,” he said.

Article republished from:

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/121002/stuck-samoa-us-refuses-stateless-Mikhail-Sebastian

Coming Full Circle

As Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) one of the things we are asked to do is to take back what we have learned and experienced in our host countries, and share these things with people in our own community. Often, this can be difficult for RPCVs, as most people don't want to spend hours looking at photographs of strangers, or hearing stories of how we sat next to a sheep on a mini bus for seven hours.  At a certain point, we have to re-examine what it means to bring the world back home with us.

Kennedy asked us to "strengthen Americans' understanding about the world and its peoples."  For me, this took on a unique opportunity to not only strengthen my home community and America's understanding of other cultures and people, but to continue helping to develop youth from around the world. My husband and I recently signed up to become Area Representatives for a non-profit organization called Pacific Intercultural Exchange.  The very same organization that my husband studied abroad though when he was an exchange student in Florida in 2003-2004.

As a non-profit organization focused entirely on secondary student exchange, Pacific Intercultural Exchange (PIE) offers both American and international high school students the opportunity to spend a semester or year abroad. "PIE is a not-for-profit corporation that prides itself on facilitating the exchange of cultures between young people, their host families, and host schools through semester, year long, and summer programs (outbound only). Like Peace Corps, PIE believes that only through knowledge can the fear of the unknown be eliminated and true cooperative unity be achieved." 1

PIE is open to any American or international high school students interested in foreign exchange. In addition, it is constantly searching for host families and volunteers to help expand the program by acting as the local area representatives in cities, towns, and rural areas throughout the United States.

"As RPCVs we have the advantage of knowing both the stress and benefits that come as a result of living and learning in a foreign country, opening our minds to new cultures, lifestyles, and flavors as well as what it is like to become a member of someone else’s family in the process." 1

For those of you who have never considered the impact of hosting an exchange student, it is never too late to participate!  PIE has some of the highest standards for its' students, and for families we expect you to treat students as a member of your own family, provide them with a room (students may share with another of the same gender provided the family member is aged 10-17), and provide three meals a day. Although host families are not paid, students bring their own spending money, and the impact of hosting an exchange student far outweighs any financial compensation.

If you are not interested in being a host family at this time, there are other ways that you can help. Like myself, you can volunteer to be an Area Representative for students in your area. Even if you don't have a lot of time to commit, you can volunteer to be the representative for even just one student.  Area Representatives assist host families with the placement process, and act as the primary contact for students placed in your area for the duration of their host stay. "PIE is seeking to break the model of the assumed American lifestyle portrayed to international students by the media, and show participants that there is no “typical” American or family." 1

I never expected that after returning from my time in the Peace Corps, that I would now be the one helping to find host families that treat international students as well as my own host family treated me. I only hope that those you who are considering the impact you can have on a student, are willing to reach out and contact PIE for more information. My host family will always be a part of my life, and I will always remember how they made my time and experiences in Peace Corps so much better than I ever imagined. I only hope that we can do the same for these students.

If you are looking for more information or want to get involved, call 1-888-743-8721 or visit the PIE website at: http://www.pieusa.org

(1: http://edweb.sdsu.edu/sdpca/back_issues/v22n6.html)

A thought on Christians and facebook...

Let me preface today's blog by telling you that I am a proud Christian married happily to a Muslim man. I lived and worked for three and a half years side by side with Muslims in a Muslim community. They were open, accepting, and genuinely gracious to me about my religion. The image that American media paints of the Muslim world is not the reality that I have seen with my own eyes.

"The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,[c] 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him." Acts 17:24-27



If as the Bible says, that all human beings come from one man, and that he created all nations, and that he gives to all mankind life and everything in our lives... then why do do so many Christians in America treat Muslims as if they were not created by the same God that made Christians? Why do Christians feel they have the right to discriminate, judge, put down, harass and ridicule a race of people created by God himself? What makes us so arrogant as a nation to think we are more loved, or better than anyone else that God put on this earth?


This week I've finally gotten back on facebook. I've tried to stay a way for the last two to three months, as every time I got online I would see posts and comments from my fellow Christians about Muslims and Islam. Honestly, it took every ounce of my willpower to just stay off the internet and not fight back. I hate that so many people make assumptions and judgments about millions of people they've never even met before. These human beings who want nothing more than to lead a good life, raise their children to be good people, to live a life dedicated to God (yes the same one that Christians worship, and if you think that is inaccurate maybe you should read Islam for Dummies).  These are people that God created too. It hurts me to know that we are teaching the children of America to hate. We are openly and actively discriminating Muslim exchange students, and our own Muslims who live in America. Whatever happened to love thy neighbor? Do we get to conveniently pick and choose what passages of the bible to believe? Do we no longer believe that racism is against God's desires for us? (IF you don't believe that, here is a list of passages in the Bible that tell us God wants us to love each other, to accept each other, and to coexist together: http://www.openbible.info/topics/racism) 


Look, I know I'm one person. I know that this blog may no longer even be read by anyone. But it hurts my heart to know that there are people I love who have no problem advocating for hatred against other people that I love, in the name of Christianity. The television show West Wing once used an analogy that the Terrorist Muslim groups are to Islam what the KKK is to Christianity. So why are we still acting like all Muslims are terrorists? Stop blaming it on Christianity and saying it is what the Bible says, because it isn't and presuming to know God's mind and heart is offensive. Presuming that God doesn't want us to love the Muslim brothers and sisters he put on the planet with us is offensive. Just stop it and learn to accept those people that God puts on this planet. No one asks to be born. We don't choose to be born. You can't honestly think that there are different Gods who create babies to burn in hell for being born into the wrong region of the world... really, are we that arrogant? Wake up and try living a life by example instead of trying to spend all your time telling everyone else how to live. If Facebook has become a way for Christians to justify their bullying then I want no part of it. We ask our children to not cyber bully, yet we have no problem using Facebook to publicly proclaim superiority. God shows no partiality. ( Romans 2:11 )

1 John 2:9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.

Baku State of Mind

One of the best parts of being a Peace Corps volunteer is sharing with the rest of the world all the things you see and do while in Azerbaijan. Two industrious volunteers, Tim McNaught (Az 7) and Brad Kessler  (Az 8) calling themselves the "Baku Dreamers," have produced a video that is set to the tune of Jay-Z and Alicia Key's song Empire State of Mind.... but this one is entitled Baku State of Mind. In 2012, the capital city of Azerbaijan, will host the biggest and most widely televised music contest in Europe, Eurovision. Since Azerbaijan won first place this year, Baku will naturally host the next contest, and Azerbaijan is earning it's place on the map. These two volunteers have made what I feel is one of the best PR pieces I've ever seen for Azerbaijan... showing some of the places that are actually enjoyable for expats, volunteers and foreigners to visit while in the capital. Please watch the video, and if you can, rate it! These volunteers did an amazing job, and my hat is off to the two of them for promoting Peace Corps third goal in one of the most creative ways I've ever seen!

Congratulations!

This morning I nervously opened my friend and former site mate's blog post. Farid and I had been anticipating their trip to Tbilisi for her husband's US visa, and were of course, expecting complications... as being in the Peace Corps in Azerbaijan almost always has something that complicates whatever you are attempting to do. Their visit went similar to our own, in the respects of being over prepared, scoping out the location of the interview, and being asked about every odd item in our bags. Her post can be read here: http://salammeanspeace.blogspot.com/2011/07/notes-from-georgia-part-i-zipper-drama.html

To my great relief, they were approved for the immigrant visa! I just wanted to write my joy and congratulations to them both!

Still Adjusting...

For the few of you who still follow my blog, you'll be happy to know that Farid and I are finally moving out of my parents house! We were approved yesterday for an apartment, and will be moving out around July 7th or 8th. The current tenant moves out July 1st, and then of course the apartment will need to be cleaned... but then it's ours!

We've had a lot of set backs in the last eight months since my service ended. We came home on October 13th, with a nightmare-tale of return (see my posts from October 2010) and ended up spending almost the entire readjustment allowance to get back.  Then, the economy was much worse than I had imagined, and I was unable to find a job for more than three months... I ended up taking a part time position instead (which I am still at.) The car we bought at auction blew up, causing us to spend our entire move-out savings on yet another car (three in the time we've been home!) and now, finally, we are able to move out. I will post pictures of course once we get moved.

I'd like to provide a little advice to any current PCVs that may still read this blog. However much time you think you will need for readjustment, finding a job, getting on your feet, or just feeling normal: double it... heck, triple that. I honestly thought that we'd be moved out and back to life as usual by new years. I was wrong. It took an additional six months on top of that for me to begin to feel normal again. And the reverse culture shock never entirely goes away. Last night I went to the Mariners game in Seattle with Farid, and I had a moment of extreme culture shock that I just couldn't describe. Hearing the national anthem live, sitting in the sun trying to catch practice balls, and eating cheese fries and nachos in the ball park... it felt unreal. There are a lot of times where I feel like I'm in a dream, and that I'm going to wake up in my apartment in Yeni Ganja. Readjustment takes time. It's a slow process and I'm finally getting there, one step at a time.

RPCV Friends of Azerbaijan

Just before the end of my service, I submitted a request to the National Peace Corps Association to form a returned peace corps volunteer group for volunteers who served in Azerbaijan.  It took a few months to get a reply, but the NPCA approved our request and will be giving us official recognition as an RPCV group!  This is great, but also a bit frustrating as well... in true Azerbaijani fashion, the volunteers who served there tend to procrastinate (you know it's true!)  So the burden of creating materials, events and finding information for the group is currently resting primarily on my shoulders.

For now, we have a Facebook group, as well as an email address (friends.of.azerbaijan@gmail.com) and a quarterly newsletter written by yours truly.  It isn't much, but it's a start. So if you are an RPCV from Azerbaijan, please let other members of your group know the news.  It's my goal to keep my blog going as the online publication forum for our quarterly newsletter and RPCV information.  I can't see just deleting it, and want to continue to reach out to those who served.  If you are interested in helping with the quarterly newsletter, have ideas for the group, or comments regarding the Friends of Azerbaijan RPCV group, please contact me at the email address mentioned above.

Azerbaijan on the road

This makes me wish I had a video camera while I was in the Peace Corps. Props go to Az 5 Ujar volunteer Jeff for this great video of road tripping through Azerbaijan. PC Volunteers spend hours, days, weeks, on buses and crowded modified mini-vans called "marshrutkas" shlepping back and forth between their site and other volunteers sites or the PC office in Baku.  This just gives you an idea of all we have to look at for hours on end.

In Honor of Peace Corps 50th Anniversary...

The Peace Corps began in 1960, when then-Sen. John F. Kennedy visited and challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. I'm sure you are all familiar with the quote "And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."  Most of you (if not all of you by now) have at least heard of the Peace Corps.  Even those of you who have been closest to me over the last 4 years still occasionally ask what the Peace Corps does...

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship. The Peace Corps' mission has three goals:

1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

In a more simplified answer, we spend 2 years and three months (or an additional year like myself) in developing nations around the world. We teach whatever we possibly can to anyone willing to listen. We learn the language, the culture, and the values of the people we serve. Then we come home, and we try our hardest to get anyone to listen about our experiences and the culture of the people we served. (Hence this note.)

Throughout its history, the Peace Corps has had to adapt and respond to the issues of the times. In an ever-changing world, Peace Corps Volunteers have met many new challenges from AIDS education, trying to keep developing nations up to date on new technologies, fighting for environmental preservation, and helping businesses struggle to survive in new market economies. Peace Corps Volunteers don't give things to the communities they serve, rather, we teach the communties we serve in how to do things for themselves.  We work in villages, towns, and cities around the globe.

In 1961, the first Peace Corps Volunteers accepted assignments to serve in six countries. Since then, nearly 200,000+ men and women have served in 139 countries. The world has changed since then, and the Peace Corps has changed with it. Today, 8,655 Volunteers in 71 posts around the world are serving 77 countries. This work is more important than ever. 

There are many notable Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) in different sectors throughout history. You can find a list of these RPCVs that came home and continued to serve their own communities here: http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=about.notable

Peace Corps officially established: March 1, 1961

Total number of Volunteers and trainees to date: 200,000+

Total number of countries served: 139

Current number of Volunteers and Trainees: 8,655

Gender: 60% female, 40% male

Marital Status: 93% single, 7% married

Minorities: 19% of Peace Corps Volunteers

Average Age: 28

Volunteers over age 50: 7%

Education: 90% have at least an undergraduate degree

Current number of countries served: 77 countries

Volunteers by Work Area

• Education: 37%
• Health & HIV/AIDS: 22%
• Business Development: 14%
• Environment: 13%
• Agriculture: 4%
• Youth Development: 5% (this was my program!)
• Other: 5%

Where Volunteers Serve

• Africa: 37%
• Latin America: 24%
• Eastern Europe/Central Asia: 21% (this is where I served!)
• Asia: 7%
• The Caribbean: 5%
• North Africa/Middle East: 4%
• Pacific Islands: 3%

Please, if you have actually read my note all the way through, take some time to look at my photos, read some of my other blogs, and ask questions. The Peace Corps experience doesn't end when we come home... we still have 1/3 of our mission left to complete. Happy 50th Anniversary Peace Corps! Here's wishing you 50 more years of success, friendship, and new volunteers. I'm proud to be a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer!

First Job Interview

Today I received an email in my inbox from the company that is screening for the position I applied to in December. I had a great phone interview with them just over a week ago, and I was nervous waiting for a call for an interview. When I didn't get a call on the 5th or 6th (that was the date that they had mentioned they would make decisions for who is invited to the next round) I was a bit disappointed. But today, I found an email inviting me to attend an interview next week on Wednesday! I'm really excited, and a bit nervous, as I'm out of practice in my own interviewing. I have been teaching interview techniques for the last three years, yet I find myself a bit apprehensive about the process...

The position is with a great non-profit organization that is doing some wonderful things for the local community. It balances office management with event planning (two things I enjoy and am great at!) Not to mention, the pay is good enough to stay with the company for a few years, or until I'm promoted to something better. It also has a bit more flexible hours so that Farid and I can spend more time together.

I'd love to comment on a recent trend in employment that I've missed out on while I've been gone for over three years. It's come to my attention that employers now "pre-screen" candidates for positions. Not only do they review your resume and cover letter, check up on your references, and have you interview, but they also pre-interview. I've actually had 4-5 telephone interviews where I was screened to see if I was even eligible for the position. Some of these pre-screens are simple, just verifying the information that you listed in your application, or following up on any information that wasn't clear. A few of them however, have gone into significant detail regarding how my past experience might play into the current position I'm applying for. This can be a little nerve-wracking, especially if you're not in the mind set that it is technically an interview. I imagine that employers are being inundated with more applications than they would normally receive for a typical job posting. With unemployment being so high, and more people seeking second jobs to make rent, it's more competitive and therefore more difficult to narrow the field down to their top candidates. I hope that other recently returned Peace Corps Volunteers find this useful, and can see an advantage in knowing that the pre-screen is just as important as a full blown interview. Good luck to my fellow RPCVs, and good hunting!

Homesick for Azerbaijan

As of today I've been COS'd for 2 months (Close of Service= our official separation date from service in the US Peace Corps.) To be honest, it's felt like six months instead of two. There are a mix of things that are going well, and then those that still frustrate me beyond belief. As for the good, Farid has officially been recognized as a permanent resident of the US. He has a green card in hand now, a bank account, and a social security number. Waiting for these felt like an eternity, as it can be hard to prove you exist without any ties. He has started his job, and has even begun to learn how to drive. Yes, he passed his written exam for his drivers permit! We've had two big holidays with the family (Halloween and Thanksgiving) and have enjoyed spending time with family and some close friends.

One thing about being a Peace Corps volunteer that is really difficult for volunteers is that we give up so much when we go to our countries of service. We spend so much of our time talking about America, that it makes us miss the little things... washing machines, dish washers, hot showers on demand, hot showers daily, television in English, driving a car, and food, food, food! We begin to idolize how great life is in America. Like any place, once you leave and go somewhere else, you begin to forget the faults. I find I'm having a bit of "the grass is greener on the other side" syndrome now that I'm back. I find I miss so many little things about Azerbaijan that I'm feeling frustrated adjusting to life in the US. I often feel out of place here now that I've spent so long overseas.

I miss the cheap fresh produce every day. I miss the rusty, old, ridiculously fast driving public transportation that took me anywhere I wished to go in the city for only .20 qepik. I miss having an apartment of my own where I was able to live without worrying about other people around us all the time. I miss having a job, a place to go where I feel valuable, and feel like my work is important and means something. I miss my boss and my counterparts at work. I miss having someplace to go every day. I miss my friends, who I could always count on hearing from someone every day whether Azerbaijani or site mate. I miss feeling connected to my community.

We haven't even been home for a full two months yet, but it feels like so long since that life. I find I am dreaming about Azerbaijan and people I knew there. It makes me realize that readjusting to life in the US means that I will have to adjust so much more than where I live and what I do on a daily basis. I'm still in the process of looking for a job that will even bring a fraction of joy and inspiration to my life the way that my Peace Corps job did. After having been gone for three years and four months, I find that America has changed so much since I left. The economy is worse than what I had heard, particularly in the area I'm in now. Many of the jobs that are available are in retail, and even those are competitive to get. Farid has had to take a position in retail, and on the dreaded grave yard shift in order to help us not completely drain our checking account. I've applied to a lot of different higher education institutions, and am hoping that even one in my area will pan out for me. Everyone keeps saying to be patient, but I don't like feeling useless. I've never been out of work this long before, it's a new experience for me.

Sometimes we here in America tend to think that life is so much better here than it is in other places. We have so much stuff, that we feel like we have the ideal lifestyle given the alternatives. Honestly, I felt, and still do, that life in Azerbaijan was more simple. It gave me a chance to learn to love my job, figure out what my passions are, and gave me a chance to enjoy life and everything in it. I'm feeling a little "homesick" for Azerbaijan.

Re-adjusting

So I've been home for 2 weeks now. In that time, I've managed to apply for a ton of jobs with not one call (yet) and have had one heck of a chest cold. I've been sick from the moment I stepped off the plane, and attempted to make a doctors appointment without success... for those of you who are soon to be RPCVs (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) beware of the CorpsCare Insurance. I was told to check online for a doctor in my area, but there is not a single doctor on the list in my area, within 25 miles of my house who is still working at the numbers listed for them. I was unable to make an appointment, and have consequently become more sick than I should be. Instead, I will probably just go to a walk-in clinic if this chest cold isn't gone by the beginning of the week.

Farid got a nice scare today... He went to apply for a job on base at the language school, as he speaks 5 languages and would totally rock as a language instructor. When he got to the base, the guards in the visitors pass area told him that he didn't have a valid stamp in his visa. They told him he needed some I-94 thing stapled into his passport with the stamp. He didn't have the I-94 thing, so they wouldn't let him on post to go apply for the job. I of course panicked... you all know me, classic Rae. So I called the immigration office in Seattle. They referred me to another number. I called and explained what had been told to Farid, and the woman at the immigration office was amazingly helpful. She told me that the military guards were wrong, and that I-94 forms in a passport are used for people on NON-immigrant visas to the U.S. Farid is here on a CR-1 visa (Conditional Resident visa) and that is considered an IMMIGRANT visa. So, he doesn't need to have an I-94. The only thing he needs for work is his green card. She said not to worry, that his green card will be arriving in the next 4-6 weeks at our address, and suggested trying again once he had the actual physical green card in hand (instead of just the temporary stamp in his passport.) That of course, made me feel much better, and at the same time annoyed me that my mother and Farid had gone all the way to the base only to be told incorrect information.

We didn't get a car on Tuesday as we had hoped. The "online auction" that we hoped to buy a car through, didn't tell you until you actually bid on a car that you have to bid through a broker. They also failed to mention that a broker charges a fee for registering, a fee for bidding, and a one time fee per transaction... so approximately $600 just to buy the car through the broker. So, instead, we are going to a physical auction on Saturday night. There are 81 cars up for bid at the auction, and you don't have to pay anything to participate. I'm hoping that because it is starting to get cold, rainy, and it will be in the evening, that not too many people will go. I'd love to drive home on Saturday. So keep your fingers crossed for us! At this point anything drivable without mechanical problems would be desirable!

Aside from all that, we haven't done too much yet. I still haven't even taken Farid to Seattle... I know, I know... I suck. But, when we get a car it will be easier to show him all the great places we love about the Pacific Northwest.

Getting home was tricky... know your visa laws before you fly!

Just wanted to let you know that we finally made it home! My husband and I are finally in America. However, we had some MAJOR complications on our way home. We were fine all the way up until we arrived in Frankfurt for the last leg of our trip. Naxchivan was wonderful, and we visited with Farid's family for two days, which was perfect. Then we flew to Istanbul, which was also wonderful. We got to see Farid's brothers, and spent a lot of time just doing the tourist thing. We stayed in a little cheap hostel in the heart of the city where we were out late each night. It was fabulous, and I really enjoyed our time there even though we both had bad chest and head colds by that time.

Then we flew from Istanbul to Ankara for a short layover. That leg of the trip also went fine. Then Ankara to Frankfurt. That too went fine. However, when we got to Frankfurt, we were not able to leave the terminal were our Istanbul flight landed, and head to our boarding area for our flight to America because it had a one hour layover on the way to Seattle in Iceland. Since the flight had a layover in another European Union country, that meant it had to board in the domestic terminal. We were told that because Farid does not have a shengen visa (the European Union visa) then he can not enter Germany... after arguing something like this "we only want to go to our next flight, we don't want to enter Germany..." "But your night flight boards in the domestic flight terminal, so you have to enter Germany to get there, and you don't have a shengen visa so you can't go to your next flight." We finally found out that the only way we would be able to get home is to buy an entirely new set of tickets directly from the international terminal (US Airlines, American Airlines, or Lufthansa via United). Understandably, I was both panicked and freaked out, and crying, making a horrible scene at the airport. I was allowed to enter Germany, but Farid was not.

I went through into "Germany" aka the other side of the airport, and picked up all of our bags. Then I had to go bring them back to the transit area where Farid was waiting. This required a police escort, and the police were very involved in helping us to figure out exactly what customs had already told us, that they can't help us, and that the only way out is to buy a ticket back to Turkey, or a new ticket to the US direct. So, we had to buy new tickets to the US. We found that if we waited a day at the airport, there was a direct flight to Seattle. This cost us $3,000. The entire amount that PC had deposited into my account that week. We didn't have enough in the Bank, so we had to use the cash we had in combination with the money in my account. However, we got the tickets.

BUT, in order to check in for that flight, I had to take all of our bags... 3 of them, plus two carry-on bags by myself all the way through the domestic terminal and to the check in counter. I waited in line for an hour and a half, only to be told I was in the wrong line, that I was in "group check in" and would need to go somewhere else with all my stuff. After explaining that I was checking in for two people, I was told that a group is for 5 or more... but the nice man checked me in anyway. It was at this point I learned that unlike our original tickets that had a layover in Iceland, we were not allowed two bags per person, but rather one. So, we had to pay an additional 40 euros (70 dollars) for the third bag. This required me to go to the second floor in a different area of the terminal. I went to pay it, only to find out that they wouldn't take US dollars. So I had to go find an exchange place all the way back where I checked our bags. Then got euros, went back across the terminal, upstairs again, and then paid the baggage fee. The lady saw how stressed I was an apologised for making me "run around the airport." I explained it wasn't her, but told her the sad story. She immediately looked in her computer and found an "upgrade" to our seats. We got the emergency exit row! Which was awesome! It was like being in business class since there were only two seats next to each other with about 4 feet of leg room! It was great.... but, we haven't gotten to the flight yet.

I digress... after upgrading the seats, I was already 2 and a half hours away from Farid. Neither of us has a cell phone that works in Germany, so he is waiting for me in the transit terminal with no clue of what is going on or when I will be back. By this point, he was worried that something had gone wrong, and had used information to call the lufthansa line. They tracked me down while I was upgrading the seats, and they told him I was on my way back in 5 min. So I left the area really happy... then I got to the security check point between the two areas. They refused me entry. They said that since my ticket was for tomorrow, that I wasn't allowed in until after midnight! I told them that lufthansa had just told me to go to their check in desk in the transit lounge, but they still said no. So I went back to lufthansa and explained in tears that security refused me entry, and they knew my husband was waiting on the other side (without money or passport as I needed both for payment and check in for the flight). So they called security, and they told me to go through a different check point and that the security would notify that point that I was coming. I got to a further check point station as instructed, but was again, denied. I insisted that they contact their supervisor as he had been notified, but they refused. Then some nice young guard listened to my story, and said, come on, it's like seriously an hour and a half before midnight, so just let her through. I finally got through, but couldn't find my way to the transit lounge! The Frankfurt airport is too large. I found the area Farid was in, but I was separated by a glass wall. I saw him, he did not see me! I was pounding on the glass when two police officers saw me, and I pointed to Farid. They got his attention, and then showed him the way to get to my area. It took over 3 hours to get back to him. Then we had to sleep on a hard bench in the transit area over night because they won't open the area to the gates at night. Needless to say, it was not a good night. We were both worried our laptop bag with Farid's visa packet would be stolen. It was not, thankfully.

We finally got onto the flight, and the flight was smooth, without problems. Lufthansa is wonderful, and I will never make the same mistake again when travelling between the US and Europe. With airline tickets, you obviously get what you pay for... as the original tickets we had bought were only 550 each. So we will be trying to get a refund of any kind, as there were no notifications about shengen visas online when I purchased the tickets. In the US we arrived about 15 min late due to a late take off (too many planes on the runway). After arrival, we stood in line in the visitor's line (I had to check in with him) and were told the computers were all down nationwide for passport control desk. So we stood there for 35 min. Then when we finally got through, we were sent to another area for processing our visa packet. When we got there, the line was a good 10 people before us, most in wheelchairs and non-native English speakers. We got to the front of the line, only to be told to have a seat. They hat to check in everyone else that day before they would review our packet. It only really took about 45 more min. Which wasn't so bad. He got a stamp in his passport (it will serve as his temporary green card until the actual card arrives.) Then we hugged, and went to get our bags... some of the only ones left.

We are both very tired, and really just glad to have this part done. The travel part is becoming more and more complicated, as we just found out that the tourist visa to Azerbaijan is now only valid for 7 days... so much for going back to visit the in-laws. So, for now, we will just sit tight, and try to relax hopefully in the next week we'll be less jet-lagged. Just wanted you all to know that we are home, safe if not sound of mind.

Closing the chapter...

This week was a difficult one, filled with a lot of different emotions. I cleaned out my office this week. I cleaned out my filing cabinet (my drawer) and arranged all my old projects into clear plastic cases for the new volunteer. I threw out the old exam papers and project documents. I took down the student art from my walls. For the first time, it really hit me that we were leaving soon. I of course, started to cry.

I started packing up the house on Thursday night. Took our pictures out of the frames, made piles of books and items to give away, and started sorting through all the papers tucked away into cabinets. It's so hard to determine what you can take with you, and what you must leave behind. Instead of taking Farid's spanish books, we opted to just donate them to the resource center at the Ganja Education Information Center, and bought used ones from Amazon.com instead. Most of the household items that we've purchased will go to site mates, or left behind for the site mate that is moving into our house when we leave. All of the things that made a home look like a home, are now being packed up and given away. The house feels empty already.

To top it off, today is our last official work day at GEIC. Both Farid and I are finished today. In the coming week we will come in to say goodbye, to get our letters of recommendation from the Director, and we will come to check email... but it's not the same. I've been here for more than three years now. Realizing that I will have no more projects to plan here, no more events to host, no more American holiday celebrations to prepare for... it all seems so final. In 11 days, I will no longer be a United States Peace Corps volunteer.

For those of you at home that are not RPCVs, you might not understand the importance of this chapter closing. Being a Peace Corps volunteer is so much more than just a job. It's an identity. Although we all come from different places in the U.S., we have different backgrounds, different interests, and different lives, we have one thing in common: our ability to spend more than two years (three in my case) giving our lives to the persuit of trying to make one small part of the world a better place. Whether that's through helping a business to be more successful, helping a student to finally understand the difference between "How are you?" and "How OLD are you?", helping youth to improve their lives through work and life skills building, or just helping people to understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle or environment, we come here to serve strangers; and we eventually leave here leaving behind friends and new families. It is hard to walk away from three years of my life. My energy, my creativity, my heart and my soul are in this place, it's hard to just walk away.

I know that many people leave their countries of service, making promises to return one day. Those promises mean so much to people here. They wait, and they wait, and they talk about us for years to come. The new volunteers feel like they will never measure up. But the new volunteers will earn their places in the hearts of the community in the same rights of passage that we endured. But unlike those volunteers who never make it around to coming back, I can go home knowing that I will return here some day. I am fortunate to be taking home an Azerbaijani husband, so I will feel the connection in so many ways. We will return some day to see family, friends and so many familiar faces. Although this chapter is closing, I must say that it is perhaps the best one I've had yet. I am so grateful to have had the experiences I've had. I'm coming home a very different person than what I left, and that makes me wonder if I will ever see the world the same again. Perhaps not, but I know one thing for certain... I like who I've become, and I like my new identity: Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.