Ok, so I cannot give you the specific name of the town where I'll live, but I can give other details.

I will not be as rural as I had thought to be. My little "city" is roughly 70,000 people. It's located in the poorest county of Romania, and rather close to the Republic of Moldova. In fact, the capital city of the Republic of Moldova, which I've heard is very beautiful, is only a 3-hour bus ride away from my town.

As far as I can tell, I will get to have my own apartment that will come furnished and have internet access. I will be teaching at one of the high schools in the city, which has more than 1700 students. I'll teach 16 hours of class, splitting classes with 2 of the teachers at the school. I've heard my counterpart is extremely excited to get a PCV. Since I was expecting/extremely hoping for younger children, we'll have to see how this goes. I'm actually really anticipating the challenges ahead.

At least I'll have lots of access to travel, shopping, etc. opportunities, and there is no history of safety or security incidents in this town. A peace corps volunteer has lived in this town before, but I will be the first volunteer at this particular high school.

I will get to meet my counterpart this weekend, and then we will travel together to my site. I will be visiting my site for a few days next week, then come back to my present training site until swear-in in August. I'll know more once I've completed this initial visit. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to see my apartment and leave a suitcase of stuff there for 2 weeks so I would be able to travel lighter when I move there.

At this point, I'm pretty sure I'll get a cat to keep me company. There are kittens all over the place, and most have been very friendly. The daily rains have finally stopped, and the heat traditional for July has begun to settle in once again.

Also, I visited the city of Brasov this past weekend, but I'll have to write more about that later as I need to finish my lunch now.

I realize that it has been quite some time since I last posted anything on this blog, and I apologize. As you’ll read, life has been more than a little hectic here in Romania the past few weeks. I shall begin with IFV (Integrated Field Visit), since that is also when I lost the habit of keeping a personal journal. The IFV is a 4-day trip to the site of a current PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer). The purpose of this visit is for us to get a better understanding of what life might be like for us once we complete the training portion. My group was sent to the beautiful northern mountain city of Piatra Neamt. Sadly, this is a much bigger city than any of us trainees are likely to go to for 2 years. It has a population of roughly 100,000 (bigger than my present training site). During the winter months, it is a popular destination for skiing vacationers. I cannot complain about the hotel where we stayed. I had my own single room with a balcony, and …AIR CONDITIONING. Keep in mind, this was the weekend when daily temperatures easily hit 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit. In order to reach Piatra Neamt, we had to take a maxitaxi from our training site to another city nearby, take a trolleybus from the bus station to the train station, a 5-hour sweating train ride to the train station in another city, a taxi from that train station to another bus station, a maxitaxi for an hour to another town, and another maxitaxi to Piatra Neamt. If reading that sentence was exhausting, trust me, it cannot even begin to compare to the experience. The night we arrived was the same night as the highly-anticipated US vs. England match at the World Cup. After a dinner at an outdoor restaurant (it had greatly cooled off by this time in the evening), we went to a business owned by our host’s friend who had a rather big screen and projector that could be linked to a television input. It was nice to have a good, relaxing evening after such a hard, hot day of travel. The next day, our host guided us around the city, showing us a lot of the tourist sites and explaining a lot about the city’s history. There is a very old synagogue that still stands within the old city walls. It’s often visited by Jewish tourists, since VERY few Jews currently reside in Romania. Sadly, a great many of them were either deported or sent to concentration camps during WWII, and most of the others chose to leave after WWII ended. This is still a touchy subject in Romania, as many like to think and say the Holocaust did not happen here. Anyway, we saw a good portion of the city, and visited our host’s apartment. We had lunch at a restaurant that is on one of the mountains that line the valley where the city is located. The restaurant is very beautiful and I was not surprised when our host told us it was a popular location for wedding receptions; however, there was no wedding while we were there, so it was a rather peaceful lunch. We walked down the mountain, discussing what our afternoon plans should be. As it was a Sunday, there were not too many businesses open. By the time the hotel was in sight, though, I was so tired, hot, and thirsty that I just wanted to lie down in my air-conditioned hotel room for a few hours. While a few of the group chose to go on a short hike, I enjoyed a couple peaceful, recuperative hours to myself. That evening, we chose to make dinner at our host’s apartment. Our language teacher had accompanied us on this trip, as well. She and our host managed to whip up a pretty great dinner of sausage and a type of pancake made in Romania: they’re rolled up with some sort of fruit jam or chocolate on the inside…a little like a crepe. Peace Corps, pancakes, and a deck of cards is all you really need to make a great dinner party. The following day is when we saw a little more of what our host’s “job” is like at his site. As summer break had already begun, we met with several Romanian high school students at the local foreign language branch of the library. Most of them spoke English very well, and a few expressed great interest in pursuing higher education opportunities in the UK or US. I offered what advice I could about applications and scholarships. Afterwards, we received a full tour of the library, and I have to say that I was quite impressed. The library has as much and more than the average library in the US. Computers, internet access, media rooms, classrooms, group meeting areas, summer day camps for children, and an underground, climate-controlled archive. I was able to hold and see a book from 1630!!! How often would you get to do that in the middle of the suburbs in the US? There’s also a small theater on the top floor used to give community lectures, as well as small theater performances by both adults and youth. I was quite impressed with the English fluency of almost all the staff members. Before we got to our late lunch, we met up again with a handful of the high school students for a quick drink, as they were the few who didn’t manage to get to talk to us too much during the larger meeting. We also met with a man who works for/at a local office of one of Romania’s main political parties. He likes the idea of Peace Corps coming in to teach English in the rural communities, as he hopes this will help spread tourism to smaller communities. He thinks Romania could greatly expand the amount of tourism if only Western tourists could feel comfortable traveling there. We also went to the office where our host technically works. He is a youth development volunteer, rather than a TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) volunteer like me; however, my secondary projects will probably include some work in the area of youth development. The organization he works with seeks to provide wheelchairs to people in Romania who need them, as well as help these people find jobs. As Romania has only recently joined the EU, the buildings and pathways are not yet very handicap-friendly. Finally, we were able to have a rather late lunch at the restaurant with the best mici in town. Mici is a type of little spicy sausage that is very popular in Romania, and I have to say that I liked it. I believe the word itself mean “little thing,” as mic is the word for “small” in the Romanian language. Here is where I shall mention a trend I’ve begun to notice. Oftentimes, a draft beer is cheaper than bottled water. In Romania, tap water is not served at restaurants, nor is bottled water provided for free. Although Romania has good water cleaning facilities, the pipes throughout the country cause the water to become somewhat contaminated by the time it pours out of a faucet. At a restaurant, a 0.5L bottle of water can cost the same or more as a 0.5L bottle of beer. As a result, beer is often the more economical choice while eating out (at least, if you get the cheap beer, it is). After lunch, we went on a pretty looooong hike up a mountain. I took a lot of pictures along the way, but towards the end, I was definitely dragging. The heat had not really broken yet, and the bugs were out in full force. It’s taken quite awhile for some of those bites to finally fade from my arms and legs. The destination of our hike was the site of an old fortress that had been excavated at one time. We’re talking about a fortress that is 1,000 years old or so. Unfortunately, it had to be reburied because people were taking the stones or defacing the site. At least the mountains were incredibly beautiful. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing mountains, even if I have to get in much better shape to be able to climb them. Even with my good hiking boots on, my feet were starting to ache pretty badly by the time we walked down the mountain. Eventually, a few of us gave up and took a cab back to the hotel instead of walking. I had a nice cool shower and watched a little TV before wandering downstairs to find where the others had gone to get food. Sadly, it started to rain and storm almost 15 minutes after I sat down. I never had a chance to order anything, and most every other place was closed by that time of night on Monday. The next morning, I slept through my alarm. Somehow, I managed to hit the off button instead of the snooze. As a result, I wasn’t able to purchase many snacks for our long train ride, nor was I even able to grab breakfast. As it was, our taxis pulled up to the station just as the train was pulling in. We weren’t running late, though, because the train wasn’t going to leave for another 25 minutes. We said goodbye to our host and happily found this train would be air conditioned. Our ride would be 6 hours or so this time, as we would take the train all the way to the city near our training site. I was getting pretty hungry by the end of the ride. We had learned that our destination city had a McDonalds. Not to be denied the opportunity for a taste of home and BEEF, our group joined another group in an adventure to McDonalds. Comparative to income levels in Romania, McDonalds is EXPENSIVE. I spent over 15 lei on a Big Mac Meal. While this is less than $5 USD, it was more than I had spent on any previous meal. It was worth the expense, though. I don’t think I ever had a Big Mac in the US, and I rarely at McDonalds the past several years. Nonetheless, it tasted soooo good just because it wasn’t pork or some other pig meat. Afterwards, we took a maxitaxi back to our training city. Still, the heat wave was in full force, so I was a sweaty mess by the time I reached my gazda’s apartment. The first thing I did was buy a huge Coca-Cola Light bottle and drink nearly half of it. Naturally, food was offered to me within the hour. The next big phase began less than a week after we returned from our IFV. As part of our training, Peace Corps organized a two-week free summer school for grades 3-11. We would teach younger children one week, and older children the other week. This was called Practicum. Practicum is stressful, really stressful. There are no real set guidelines for WHAT we should be teaching other than “English.” The children were from all different schools, different neighborhoods, and even from outside the city. We didn’t know how much they already knew, how many children would be in our classes, or what to really expect in the way of behavior and attitude. We had to work in groups of 2 or 3, splitting the 3 daily hours spent in Practicum. The first week, I taught 3rd grade with 2 colleagues. I figured I should get exposure to the grade level I know the least about, just in case my 2-year assignment includes younger children. I loved it. All these years, I’ve been saying there’s no way I could stand a room full of 30 tiny creatures for 50-minute stretches. The complete opposite is true. 3rd graders and I click on some deep level, even when they can barely understand me and I can barely understand them. I managed to create a 5-day unit plan that went pretty well, with a few small hiccups. I was given cards, and offered food. I’m sure my picture is on at least 20 different camera phones, not for all of which I was posing. I drew the line at handing out my phone number or becoming facebook friends. Overall, it was about 100x more enjoyable and less stressful than student teaching. It would have been even nicer if we hadn’t also continued our Romanian language classes for 3 hours in the afternoon. I feel my study of the language has faltered during these 2 weeks of practicum. I was more concerned about being ready to teach than learn. As in past language study, I struggle with memorizing vocabulary and impromptu speaking. Now that I’ve found post-its, I might just start labeling everything around the apartment if my gazda will let me. The second week of Practicum, I tackled 10th grade with one colleague. This was a bit more difficult, since there were a few days when I had to teach 2 separate lessons in the same day; however, I could do a lot more different activities as the students had extremely high proficiency with the English language. I reverted to my social studies background and did a number of lessons with roots in social psychology and liberty v. security. I ended up buying a set of speakers to use with my laptop, and many of the other trainees asked to borrow them. I had no problem loaning them as long as people asked nicely and didn’t try to make me feel obligated to loan them. I really despise guilt trips. Still, I found I had more difficulty planning for a 10th grade class. After 3 days of both good and bad lessons, I informed my program director that I would prefer a site with a middle school, grades 8 and under. I think that my *true* teaching personality is better suited to younger learners. They appreciate my goofiness, and they energize me. I don’t have to force energy with them, I just am. Site announcements are on Wednesday, July 7, so keep your fingers crossed for me. I’m trying to maintain an open-mind and go-with-the-flow attitude, but I’m still really excited to find out exactly where I’ll be for two years, if I’ll have to live with a gazda that whole time, will I be able to have a cat or some other pet, etc. During these several weeks, the World Cup has been a constant murmur in the background. At first, it seemed like the US had a decent chance since they made it into the Round of 16, so there was a lot of general excitement; however, after that loss to Ghana, we had to break into different camps to support the remaining contenders. Most any bar or restaurant around here has a TV or two. Depending on weather and people’s moods, a large group of PCTs could be found at a variety of different locations. As Romania had not made it into the World Cup, we did not have to compete against Romanian national pride. I have to admit that I am presently rooting for Germany, whatever anyone else might say about them. They shut and play without histrionics. It’s a beautiful thing to behold. For our first 4th of July outside the US, we organized a picnic celebration for our gazda families. Every trainee contributed a dish of some sort, both American and Romanian. We had activities such as frisbee, egg toss, and face painting. For fear of rain, we held the picnic indoors at the school where we have our training classes. This was also so we could grill outside without fear of recrimination by the police. It’s against the law to have a grill or fire in a public location like the park, and we feared being fined and making the PC look bad in Romania. On school grounds, however, it was completely acceptable to have two grills going. We grilled mici and chicken. Hamburgers are really not that available, which will make me so very sad over the next 2 years. I Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, though someone kept asking me where the American pie was on the table. I kept trying to explain that there is no such thing as an “American pie” besides the movie, but I don’t think that was understood. Now, for some small things in Romania that are quite confounding at times: --The complete lack of power outlets, as well as their absurd locations. During practicum, there would only be 1 outlet in the entire room. This outlet also tended to be placed 6ft or more above the floor, typically on top of a rather large bookcase. Use of technology in the classroom was thus very limited. --The irregularity of public transportation. I can wait for 1 of 4 different maxitaxis or buses to drive by for more than 20 minutes. Naturally, they don’t come at separate times, but all together, and they often go to many of the same places. I had meant to post this entry yesterday, but I became rather ill from some food I ate at a restaurant Sunday night. I stayed home in bed all day, avoiding all food and most liquids as even consuming water was a hit-or-miss experience in my case. I hate missing a day of training, as there are so few days left. I feel I need to take advantage of every opportunity as there is now only 1 month left until training is finished, and we’re all packed away to our sites. Anyway, I should wrap this up now. Stay posted for my site announcement tomorrow!

Well, I hope all you state-side people enjoyed Memorial Day. Hard-working PCTs like myself were attending sessions and lessons as usual. Romanian language learning is progressing rapidly, but I suppose that is what you should expect from 3+ hours of class every day during the week. I was actually a good person who studied on Sunday even though I had no homework. Really, though, you do not want to fall behind in this sort of training. The weeks are going to start rolling along ever faster like rolling down a sheer mountain face.

I am sure you are all far more interested in the cultural and adventure aspects of life in this fair city, so I shall move on. Serendipity intervened in my plans this past weekend. I had only meant to exchange some currency and do a little shopping for necessities. Instead, I ran into a parade that kicked off a festival I had no idea was happening. It turned out to be some kind of theater/performing arts festival in the piaţa across from the city’s concert hall. In their schedule of events, they had a concert meant for adults (as opposed to a puppet show meant for children) at the local pub, called The Celt. I’m fairly certain I was the closest thing to an Irish person they had in the place.

Anyway, before that, a few PCTs had organized going to the very large park on the edge of the city that also housed to historical Tower which stands as the symbol of the city. It was constructed centuries ago by Vlad Ţepeş (later to become known as Count Dracula). For a few lei (local Romanian currency) we were able to climb to the top of the tower and get a good look over the city and the nearby foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. Silly me forgot to put on sunscreen, so I’m starting to look a little tan after that adventure; fortunately, I was not really sunburned anywhere. The weather had been very sunny and warm after several days of rain and clouds. Right now, though, the rain and clouds are back.

Side note: I seem to have an extreme talent at avoiding the rain. The rain comes on suddenly in force, rather than slowly, lightly building up as it commonly does in Illinois. The last three times this has happened, I managed to make it into my gazda’s apartment with about 15 minutes to spare. Many other PCTs have gotten soaked a few times the past several days. My id chuckles at such reports. I can’t help it. Isn’t there a song from Avenue Q about that sort of feeling? We all do it. Just admit it.

I have to explain my internet access issues. I can access internet from my gazda’s home, but only on their computer; thus, I cannot sit and compose tons of lengthy communiqués to all my favorite peeps and family. Even this blog post is being typed on my own laptop in order to be put on a flashdrive I can take to school with me. I will post this on Tuesday, but I am currently composing it on Monday. I’m also delaying working on my homework in order to even type this up. In short, if you are not getting as much communication from me as you would like, I’m really sorry, but there’s no changing the situation without getting a mobile internet device from one of the cell phone companies (which would probably require a heck of a lot more than is budgeted for my “communication” costs). Also, I don’t have much time to sit on the internet at this time. My time is, as it should be, consumed with learning Romanian and adjusting to living in this country for quite some time. Even with free time on the weekends, I still don’t manage to complete all the necessary errands I need to get done.***

Enough of that concern. Money-wise, I am doing very well. I have not had to dive into my own personal accounts or my back-up/emergency funds yet. Buying a backpack or satchel might really cut into the remainder of what I have from PC, but it definitely would not deplete it. Only a week or so until we receive some more allowance. I’m quite proud of my restraint as I was not particularly good at practicing such in the US in the year before I left. Not that I ever got myself into any trouble, mind you, but I hope to pay for any vacations or excursions out of my PC allowance rather than depleting my bank account at home. Since I’m not allowed to do anything that would provide a profit to me while serving in Peace Corps (other than pre-existing bank accounts, stock holdings, etc.), I would really like there to still be money available upon my return. PC does provide some money at the end of our service to help us get back on our feet when we return to the US, but who knows what the state of things will be when we get back?

Now I must go to homework and a bath. I leave you with a random fact about life in Romania: students who misbehave in class and disrespect their teachers can actually be FINED for this by the police. I wonder how many teachers in the US would like to hold that kind of threat over their students?

***So, further note about communication issues. My laptop is nice and new with Windows 7. The computers at school are not new. Thus, I forget I have to save any documents I wish to open on the school computers in the older, appropriate format. It is now Friday, and I can finally get this post up. My gazda's dial-up internet is DOA for the time being, so I can only access internet for 5 minutes at school. I'll be offline until Monday. I'll try to communicate more often. Please note, this should NOT stop YOU from telling ME what is going on in the US.

So we arrived in Romania with no incident. No one was stopped at security, and no one even asked to see our official travel authorization papers. We didn't have an escort of any kind between Chicago and Romania. Rather, we organized into 6 groups with a group leader for each. Somehow I volunteered to be group leader of group 3. The other group leaders and I were responsible for doing a headcount at each step, and I ended up with the job of babysitting the *extremely* important papers that were our only proof we were with Peace Corps, etc (I'm not sure how far a government passport alone gets you). I managed to watch 3.67 movies on the first flight, and slept through the whole flight between Frankfurt and Bucharest. Fortunately, the language thing was not a problem since airport staff were waiting to meet us and lead us all through security and baggage claim. As far as I know, no one in our group had luggage missing. Sadly, though, somewhere along the way, a buckle on my new backpack broke!!! (Yes, parents, I have already taken pictures and will email them to you so you can go yell at the store. Make sure they know this happened less than 7 days after the pack was purchased).

Our training site is about 1.5-2 hours away from the capitol. The hotel we stayed at for the first 2 nights was very interesting and provided our first insight to living conditions in Romania. Essentially, the beds are not very long, but are very firm. Furniture is lower to the ground, and hte showers do not have any curtains to keep the water from leaving the bathing area. Showering requires a whole new level of attention if you don't want to get water all over the floor. We spent the first two days just getting a very basic introduction to rules, policies, and the schedule ahead of us. What we were really all looking forward to was moving in with our host families.

Now, I have never done any sort of homestay prior to this experience. I had no real idea what to expect, and had heard both good and bad stories about living with a gazda (this means "host" in Romanian). I got exactly what I imagined would be a good fit for me. An older, retired couple, whose own children are grown and moved out into homes of their own. Don't get me wrong, I love kids; but, I love them more in small increments rather than a full onslaught brought about by communal living arrangements. My gazda parents are so awesome, it's a little overwhelming. They've given me a room with a flatscreen tv and cable, as well as access to a computer plugged into an internet connection and a webcam. They say I can use both whenever I want, especially to contact my parents in the US. Their daughter lives in New Zealand, and they haven't seen her in 5 years, so they can empathize with my parents missing me. There's just one teeny drawback: neither of them really speak any English, and my Romanian is at the level of baby speech. Needless to say, lots of pointing and pantomiming get us through the day. Occasionally, my gazda mother will call her son to do a little bit of translating over the phone. Hopefully this communication block improves as I learn to communicate here.

Classes just really started today, and I can at least say my name, where I'm from, and what it is that I do (student, teacher, Peace Corps volunteer...take your pick). I'm still a little hesitant to wander outside the aparment without my gazda. Nonetheless, I would really like to buy some sort of purse/satchel/backpack that can fit my laptop by next week. I think some of the other trainees would be interested, as well, in figuring out how to accomplish this goal.

Peace Corps Romania rented out a floor for our use at a school in the city. For purposes of security and general policy, I cannot post in which city we are located. For those of you who know, I ask that you please do not mention it in any comments on this site. The school itself is practically within shouting distance of where the infamous Romanian dictator, Ceaucescu, was killed during the revolution in 1989. We actually pass by this site on the bus I take to and from school. It is kind of a grim thing to contemplate at the beginning and end of the day.

A few comments regarding Romanian culture/customs before I need to go off and finish my homework like a good little trainee. Bloc apartments from the communist ear may not look like much on the outside, but they can look pretty dang nice on the inside. Slippers are always worn indoors; no bare feet should touch the floor (even socks). There are stray dogs everywhere, and the large majority are neither friendly nor cuddly. Horse-drawn carts can still make an appearance in the cities every now and then. Food is served in abundance as this is how hospitality is measured; if you're full, stop eating because your plate and glass will never be left empty. No one but silly Americans like me uses a computer bag with wheels. Homes are kept neat and tidy at all times; if you are a guest, do NOT leave your room a mess. Mom, you'll be so happy I'm turning into such a neat little person. I've made my bed every day since I moved in, nothing but slippers are left on the floor. I know Katherine would be proud of me :-)

This is the second question everyone has been asking me when I tell them I've joined the Peace Corps and will be moving to Romania for 27 months. The first question is how much money will I be paid? My response to the first prompts the inquiry of the second.

So let me start off by saying that I have not ever been a person whose primary motivation is money. I think that can be evidenced by the fact that I chose a liberal arts major to pursue, despite coming from a family of business majors. I know this mindset is not going to make me very rich, and I'm okay with that. Quite frankly, if I have enough to meet my basic needs, engage in entertainment and recreational activities moderately, and take a trip every now and then, I will consider myself lucky. Oh, and should I have children, I'd like to be able to provide for them in the same way my wonderful parents have provided for me these many years.

I guess the short way of explaining my choice is my desire to be able to look back 60 years from now and have no regrets about missed opportunities. How can I advocate my love for studying history, culture, and international affairs, yet refuse an offer to live in another country/culture for 2 years at little financial cost to myself? Well, I couldn't, as you all know by now.

But it's more than just avoiding being called out as a talker rather than a doer. I've come to the realization that very few people become obscenely famous and written about in historical record; however, that does not mean everyday people are incapable of leading extraordinary lives. Traditionally, we're taught that the proper way to go about life is to get into a good job out of college in the career field of our choice, earn promotions and raises, until we retire. After the events of the past year, I no longer see a reason that this must be the path of everyone's life.

Essentially, I don't know what I want to "do" with my life from here on out. And why must the "doing" be limited to just one thing? I'm starting to think there are lots of things I'd like do with my life between now and eternal rest, and I can only hope that I live long enough to get to everything. If the world really does end in December 2012, that's seriously going to mess up several of my ideas.

So, if ever I were going to replant myself in Romania for 27 months, why not do it now? So many people have asked me why, and like a good old cliche rejoinder, I can only reply with: why not?

Now don't get me wrong, I am fully aware it's not going to be that easy. Leaving friends and family behind for 2 years will be difficult. I'm becoming even more aware of that fact as the time for my departure draws near. If I'm lucky, the insane pace of learning the Romanian language and culture will put anxiety from my mind for awhile. We'll see how that turns out.

For now, back to laundry and packing...

First post of my first blog, intended to chronicle my experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Romania (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language program).

Important Dates to Remember:

May 18, 2010: Depart the homestead for the far away land of Illinois to meet up with my fellow volunteers (aka "staging event"). Due to safety reasons, I cannot post exactly where we will be, but for those of you who know the area, it's near the largest mall in the west/northwest suburbs.

May 19, 2010: Depart from Chicago's very own international airport to Romania training location, via a connecting flight in Frankfurt. First 11 weeks will be comprised of living with a host family while intensively studying the Romanian language and culture, with some teaching practicum mixed in. At some time during this period, I will find out my "site" location (for my 2 years of service).

August 6, 2010: Begin my 24 months of service at my site in Romania.

August 5, 2012: Conclude my 24 months of service at my site in Romania.

The Challenge Before Me: Integrate into a foreign community, living as any other average resident of the community would. Teach the English language (American style) to Romanian middle and high school students, while developing a deeper understanding for my host country's values, culture, and overall point of view. If I can, seek out opportunities to help my hosts self-improve needs of the community (community engagement). Generate a greater understanding of Americans and American culture amongst the members of my host community.

In theory, this blog will help me to communicate with large numbers of family and friends most quickly and efficiently (i.e.-inexpensively) during the upcoming 27 months of ambitious adventure. Assuming I will be able to obtain somewhat-regular internet access, this blog should also serve as one small form of stress relief, when I just need to vent all my strongest emotions/experiences to those people who understand the language I know best.

As for the title of this blog...it was taken from the last verse of one of my favorite poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

"Let us then be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate.

Still achieving, still pursuing.

Learn to labor, and to wait."