Updates

11. The number of mice that I have killed in my house so far.  Disgusting.  We couldn’t find any holes in the house and had no idea where they were coming from.  I honestly was so freaked out by them that I couldn’t sleep anymore, knowing that they could crawl on me in the night... So for the past 3 weeks I have been living with Alissa, another volunteer, in her host family’s house in Noyemberyan.  I sleep on my sleeping pad on the floor and her host mom feeds me way too much food, but it’s free and I’m lucky to have a place to stay.  At first, PC wasn’t too happy that I wanted to move and wanted me to move back in with my host family.  My family is really nice, but moving back in with them for another year wasn’t an option I wanted to consider.  I’ve been apartment hunting in Noyemberyan and found a place on the floor above Alissa’s.  The current tenant is moving to Russia in two weeks so hopefully I will be able to move in there.  Keep your fingers crossed!

In school news, I think this year will be an improvement over last year.  I’m teaching 15 hours a week with two counterparts, one who likes to team teach with me and the other who just lets me teach whatever I want.  I want to start my English clubs in a few weeks and restart the conversation club at the art school.  Since I live in Noyemberyan now I have to take the marshutni every day to school and back.  The ride is only 10 minutes long and comes every hour or so.

In health news, I’ve joined a gym! Barbara, another volunteer in Noyemberyan, works at a NGO for women and invited me and Alissa to a yoga class.  We had a great time and decided to pay for a yearlong membership at a ridiculously low price.  There are 2 elliptical machines, 2 stationary bicycles and a big open floor space with yoga mats.  It will be perfect for the winter because it’s right next door to my future apartment.  We’ve already been to the gym 3 times this week.  Our goal is to lose a few pounds now, then maintain that weight through the long winter.  It’s a great goal considering most volunteers here gain weight during winter because the food choices just suck.

On Wednesday I’m going to special event in Yerevan that I’ll tell you about in my next blog J

Applying to the Peace Corps

I was a freshman at the University of Florida when I started seeing flyers about the Peace Corps.  It was in the back of my mind for next 3 years, but I never seriously considered applying until I went to a panel on volunteering.  There were recruiters from AmeriCorps, City Year, and Peace Corps.  After hearing them all speak, I knew that Peace Corps was the right path for me.  I immediately talked with the Peace Corps recruiter for UF, Amy Panikowski, after that meeting to set up an appointment.  She was so friendly and refreshingly honest.  She told me that the most important trait Peace Corps volunteers needed was a good sense of humor (she was right).  She was with me for every step of the application and worked hard to make sure my nomination was the right fit.  If I had not met Amy, I think I would have been slower to apply and even more daunted by facing the application process alone. Sadly, UF’s International Center had to end the position of Peace Corps recruiter because of budget cuts.  You can read all about the decision below:    

http://www.alligator.org/news/campus/article_3c3fe66a-f253-11e1-88fd-001a4bcf887a.html

I don’t know what will happen in the future, but I do believe this will negatively impact UF’s student body.  A recruiter like Amy not only guides you through the process, but inspires you to try your hardest during the good times and bad times of Peace Corps service.  After 14 months in Armenia, it’s hard to remember exactly how I got onto that plane, but I will always remember who helped me get there.