First, I saw Peace Corps as a valuable opportunity for me to expand my awareness of the world by traveling, living abroad, and learning a new language.
Second, this is an important first step on my career path, opening new opportunities for graduate school.
Third, this is a chance for me to do something significant to help my global community through two years of intense humanitarian work.
I had known that my lifestyle here wouldn’t always be comfortable, but I’d had no way to know exactly how that would look or feel. So, after arriving to my place of service, I faced difficulties which I hadn’t foreseen. And, like all Peace Corps volunteers, I had to ask myself, “Is this really what I want to do for the next two years?” Quite frankly, “Will I stay?”
I miss home badly. I am experiencing a new kind of loneliness. Washing laundry by hand is worse than I thought. Language is an ever-present challenge. My cooking here leaves something to be desired. This kind of winter takes some getting used to. My feet miss my car. I am a foreigner, and I feel that reality every day. There is plenty that is not easy.
But I know now more than ever that I am in the right place, doing the right thing, and that I will stay for my full term of service. The rewards are great; I am feeling that already.
Lebedyn, Ukraine, is no longer an unheard of dot on a map. It is my home. The people here are no longer an abstract idea in my mind. They are my students, my colleagues, my neighbors, and my friends. They want me here, and they are grateful for my help. Knowledge of the English language will open many big and exciting doors for my students, and they know it. That is why they study so hard. That is why they stay after school for English Club. That is why they are so eager to practice English with me even outside the classroom. They are my renewed motivation. They are an added, and most important, reason for me stay, and I do so gladly!
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