Yaworsky returns to the Motherland

You may have heard already, but if not: surprise! I will not be going to Turkmenistan with the Peace Corps. As I wrote earlier, our trip was canceled due to the Turkmen government's apparent affliction with bipolar disorder (they issued visas but then said they didn't want any volunteers this year).

So I had a nice 24 hour trip to Philadelphia and met 47 really cool people, most of whom I will never see again. I also got a delightful sushi dinner out of the ordeal, but as one volunteer remarked, "I think I over-packed for one night."

I called Placement from the airport, leaving a message that I was still interested in Peace Corps service, and that I looked forward to a call once they had more information. 24 hours later I was offered a spot in the Ukraine. I had gotten all excited again about the possibility of Africa, so I was a little hesitant at first, but took 20 minutes to think about it and called back to accept the post. Bottom line: I still want to do Peace Corps, and I want to do it now. I don't want to wait till next year, because my options for short-term employment stateside are frankly more frightening than life in any developing country (though I know my mom is happy I did not get placed in Rwanda, I would take that over Walmart anyday).

Peace Corps has been working overtime trying to place me and my fellow Turkmen rejects (former T-18s), and I'm quite impressed at the results. Through the modern marvels of Facebook, I was able to follow every update, and within 48 hours of leaving Philly, nearly half the group had been offered new assignments. Unfortunately, health volunteers have fewer options than TEFL this time of year, but hopefully they will be placed between January and March. At last count, I think there were 7-9 for Ukraine, about the same for Azerbaijan, 3 to Mozambique, a married couple to Ethiopia, 2 to Tonga, and 1 for The Gambia before the end of the year.

There are 146 people in the Facebook group for volunteers leaving this year for Ukraine, and I read somewhere that the Ukraine actually operates the largest Peace Corps program in the world. The group already left though, so I will be about 3 weeks behind in training by the time I arrive. Hopefully they will put the Turkmen rejects in a "slow kids" training group together, but right now Peace Corps is not sure how training will work. Volunteers in Ukraine learn either Ukrainian or Russian. Although Ukrainian is the official language for the whole country, Russian is more widely spoken in the industrial cities of the east.

Ukraine is a huge country with a large population and a varied geography (from freezing-cold steppes in the north, to a mediterranean climate on the Black Sea, industrial wasteland in the east, and green forests to the west). Living conditions also vary widely between urban and rural areas, with 80 % of volunteers posted to villages that may lack running water, electricity, plumbing, and central heat. I am very glad I have a down sleeping bag.

Peace Corps hopes to have us on a plane by the end of next week/beginning of the week after.