Suntem Voluntari

Today, our group of 36 trainees became volunteers. This means that we have completed our training and we are officially part of the Peace Corps for the next two years. We leave for our new home this weekend.

It was a beautiful and emotional day. Here is a picture taken of our group and our country director, Sheila Crowley. Click the pic for more sizes on Flickr, or here are direct links to large and huge.

Legacy

The Peace Corps Romania Country Director has let us know that we will be the last group to serve in Romania. I have mixed emotions about this, as you might expect. But overall, I am very excited that the country has made so much progress. On the other hand I can't say that we aren't needed here. Then again, every country in the world could use more people volunteering more often, and many other countries have an even greater need than Romania.

This year is the 20th anniversary of Peace Corps in Romania, and we will be about half way through the 23rd year when we finish. I feel very lucky to get the opportunity to be part of it. Our whole group hopes to leave a legacy worthy of the Peace Corps name and worthy of all of the efforts over these many years.

If you're interested, here is some more information about the announcement: http://www.romania-insider.com/peace-corps-to-end-its-program-in-romania-by-2013/27419/