A New Title AND A New Village

 It's been a while since I last had a blog update...mostly because there's been so much going on I haven't had any time to sit down and write. My current situation: I am now officially a Peace Corps Volunteer (hence "a new title") and have moved to my permanent site ("a new village" - where I will live for the next two years!!). School officially starts on September 1st, and until then, I am getting to know my new host family, school, and community.

Here's a brief rundown of everything that has happened in the past couple of weeks:

First: I found out my permanent site!!

    This is a complicated process that I can only describe to sorority recruitment. We had a meeting with PC staff to tell them our preferences for our permanent site. For me, I cared more about having a host family and counterpart(s) that I would get along with, and less about location. Meanwhile, the staff is also taking into account what each site (school, counterpart, host family) is looking for in a volunteer and who they believe will fit in best where. After staff had matched us with our permanent sites, we had what is equivalent of Peace Corps Bid Day. We all gathered in a room with a map of Kyrgyzstan on it, opened our envelopes with our site on, and went to stand on our village location on the map. With this, I am excited to say that I will be spending the next two years in the Jalalabad Oblast!! This is one of the two southern oblasts that PCVs are allowed to serve in and is known for being home to some of the world's oldest walnut forests, having heavy Uzbek influence, and incredible nature scenes. To read more about everything Jalalabad has to offer, check out this website: https://jalal-abad.com

Second: I became an official Peace Corps Volunteer! 

    I have spent the past few months as a Peace Corps Trainee, but as of August 25th I can now officially say that I am a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV)!! This was a monumental day for me and all of my fellow volunteers. It was the day that we had been working towards for 11 weeks, and also marked the beginning of our journey as volunteers (seriously, the majority of my cohort left for their permanent sites immediately after the ceremony was over).

    The day began with an official oath administered privately by the USA Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan (fun fact it's the same oath that Senators, Representatives and the President take). After that, the Swearing In Ceremony began with over 200 guests including representatives from our host families, PC staff, our counterparts, and members of the Kyrgyz government. There were several speeches made by PC staff (including the Regional Director that flew all the way in from Washington DC to attend), performances by a Kyrgyz musical group, and performances by my cohort. My group was the last group to perform and we did a traditional Kyrgyz dance. Even better, the first time we danced the music cut off early, so we returned to dance again once the issue had been resolved (double the screen time!!). 

With the Ambassador

My group's ending pose (Take 2)

    After the ceremony was over, there was an hour or so of lunch where we had a chance to talk to everyone who attended. Spoiler: I also gave an interview to a Kyrgyz TV station, so stay tuned for that. Towards the end, volunteers began slowly leaving to head to their permanent site. This was the last time we would see each other for three months, and considering we have spent everyday together for the past 11 weeks, to say it was difficult to say goodbye would be an understatement...

    Also the Swearing In Ceremony is available on the PCKR Facebook page for anyone interested in watching it!!

Third: I'm now in my permanent site and school starts in less than a week!!

    Due to the distance of my permanent site from Bishkek (where the Swearing In Ceremony was), I actually didn't leave for my site until the next day. I spent the last night with the few other volunteers not leaving till the next day, and also trying to cram everything into my suitcases (fun fact: I way overpacked). After waking up at 4 am, driving an hour to the airport, taking a quick 1 hour flight to Osh and a 3 hour drive to my village, I finally arrived at my new host family's home.

    When I walked in, the entire family was waiting outside with signs and someone playing the Komuz (a traditional Kyrgyz instrument). They had also decorated the house with more signs and balloons, which was above and beyond anything I could've ever expected. Although it has only been a couple of days, I can already tell that I will fit in with this host family, school and community really well, and I cannot wait to see where these next 2 years take me (also one of my sister's knows Taylor Swift, so I can't really ask for much more)...

A "Welcome Home" sign from my family

    Anyway, that is a brief recap on what I've been up to the past couple of weeks. So many big events and monumental changes happening, that it was difficult to find time to write. Here's an attempt to catch y'all up on the biggest and most important things to happen. I also know that the next few months will also be full of change and new experiences, as I officially start my journey as a PCV, so stay tuned for more (and hopefully I'll be able to update a little more often).