A little bit about me...

Hi my name is Raechelle, and I lived in the secular Muslim country of Azerbaijan as a Youth Development Volunteer for the Peace Corps for three years and three months. I am now the Administrator of the official Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Friends of Azerbaijan group. As such, I am working to promote Peace Corps third goal of helping promote a better understanding of Azerbaijani people to Americans.

I created this blog as a way for future Peace Corps Volunteers, my friends and family, and Americans in general to understand what life as a Peace Corps Volunteer is like. As part of the pilot program for Youth Development in Azerbaijan, my work in Azerbaijan was diverse to say the least. I took on a role as youth educator, mentor and promoter. I helped with academic advising, established informal youth service clubs, encouraged youth to be proactive in their communities, promoted volunteer-ism and making a positive contribution to their communities.

I served as an extended volunteer, meaning that I served a third year instead of the traditional two year and three month service. During that time, I got married to my community counterpart and embraced many parts of the Azerbaijani culture. It is my hope to provide you a sense of understanding of life as a Peace Corps volunteer, life in Azerbaijan, and a bit about Azerbaijani culture through my experiences. Please feel free to comment or email me if you have any questions or suggestions for topics you'd like to hear more about.

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Site Placement

Ok so yesterday was a very big day for us in the Youth Development and the Community Economic Development sectors since we found out where we will be spending the next two years and what organizations we will be working for. Unfortunately, for security reasons I can not disclose my towns name. However, I can say it is a large city, with constant electricity and running water. I will be working with a youth leadership organization that helps to positively impact young men and women by helping to improve their english and leadership skills. The organization aims to help students participate in study abroad programs. I'm very excited that I will be working directly with youth!
I also will have fellow volunteers in my community ("site mates") so I won't be too terribly home sick... except for mom's cooking :)
I posted a few pictures up on my myspace and facebook sites for those of you who want to see what it looks like here. Message me if you need to be added as a friend to gain access to the photos.
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1 comments:

  1. . . and for security reasons, I cannot tell you the location of those naked pictures of James from that night in Caimbridge. Ah, those were the days!

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