It's a Small World

One of the reasons (maybe the only reason?) that there was so much time between interview and offer is that the situation changed a bit – now there will be two of us going! Brian, a Morocco RPCV from the stage behind me (he extended and just COSed a couple of weeks ago) saw the posting and contacted Homeland Handicrafts directly. After they saw his background and my background they requested both of us! So there was a delay while they figured out how that would work. My initial reaction was mixed – I think we have overlapping as opposed to complementary skills, and I wasn’t sure how we’d split the work. On the other hand, I like Brian very much; he's thoughtful, a hard worker and he accomplished a lot in Morocco. Plus, he suggested we introduce (the card game) piffle to Armenia. So I think we’ll figure it out. Who knows - maybe with two of us we will get eight months' worth of work done in four months!

He’s not the only person I’ll know – the new Country Director in Armenia, who started this month, is the Country Director who took over in Morocco towards the end of my service! Another person I like. There’s Rhonda, another Morocco RPCV – from the Amanda/Carly stage – who signed up for another 27 months of service and is in Armenia, near the capital. I didn’t meet her in Morocco, but we’ve corresponded a bit (and when I asked her if I could bring anything, she said Oreos, granola bars and Reese’s. Oreos I can bring; Reese’s I could also bring but I can’t guarantee I won’t eat them before I see her!). And the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia is a Princeton classmate! I don’t know that I’ll meet her, but it would make a nice picture for the Alumni Weekly if I do! I’m also friendly with some Armenian-American Princeton alums, all of whom have had positive reactions and one of whom had some contacts and ideas for me.

There’ll be two other Peace Corps Response Volunteers starting next week; they’ll also be in the capital, working in education. They’re a married couple who met when they were both serving in India in the late 60s/early 70s. They hail from Vermont (I think) and go to India every year; they’ll be coming to Armenia straight from there. She also did Crisis Corps (the old name for Peace Corps Response) Katrina (the only time it’s been on American soil – I can’t wait to hear more about that!) and Sri Lanka. He’s giving a Carnatic flute concert in Chennai on Saturday before they leave; they sound like interesting people.

And more connections – as we started in the Philippines we met a lot of people. One of them was Sydney, who had served in Armenia and, as did Rhonda, signed up for another 27 months. I never saw her again in the Philippines but contacted her when I accepted and read through her blog. She’s been very enthusiastic, and this week she sent me some “survival phrases,” which is good, because I haven’t done any language yet! Barbara is another Armenia RPCV who signed up for another 27 months; she started in Morocco just as I was leaving and I recently touched base with her. Not only that, but the new volunteer in Ain Leuh, to whom I was introduced via email recently, is Betty, who served for 27 months in Armenia! I think it’s a good sign that these Armenia volunteers liked it so much that they signed up for another complete term!