Site Announcement Day

The words mentioned above are probably the most anxiety causing days in the life of any Peace Corps Trainee, this is easily the most important day of the life of any Peace Corps Volunteer (so they say). All of pre service training had been leading up to this occasion where we will find out where we will actually all be working for the next 2 years. The announcements were done in an auditorium with the slowest power point presentation I have ever witnessed (intentionally obviously) while oblast by oblast (think states in the US) they announced where all of us will be working individually, when your name was called you were to stand up, receive your chocolate bar and apple, and quickly sit back down so the next poor soul could be alleviated of their anxiety by knowing their permanent placement. I think there are about 7 oblasts that PCV's work in while serving in Kazakhstan...my oblast was the 6th one announced. After seeing friend by friend be assigned to different oblasts, I began to get increasingly less optimistic about what my permanent site would be. Finally...it was announced...the Aktobe region of Kazakhstan....along the Russian boarder, in the north, above the Caspian Sea. I am 4 hours away from the city of Aktobe...which is the nearest PCV to me...who happens to be a married couple...you can guess how excited I am about my placement. Also, I am a 45 hour train ride from Almaty.
My site is also a pioneer site...meaning no other PCV has ever worked in the school, or town I will be in. This town (of 13,000 people..ugh) has never had an American working in their school.
Amongst PCVs having a pioneer site is supposed to be a comment on the PCVs supposed character, determination, ability, being very far from any other volunteers is supposed to be PC's vote of confidence in your strength. I have very mixed feelings about this situation.
I will say I am extremely proud of the fact that PC believed me capable of handling such an amount of obstacles. Apparently my counterpart at my current school spoke of my teaching ability highly, and PC staff felt I was determined, strong...yada yada yada...but I still cant help but feel sorry for myself somewhat, especially seeing some of the other cool placements my friends have gotten. One of my friends, Andrew, is in my oblast..but there are only 5 people in my oblast in general. Will definitely be spending alot of time alone in the coming months. Please be sure to send me all of the longest books that I have never read but always wanted to....(Great Expectations...would be a welcomed Christmas present). Anyway, thank you all for reading and please do not feel sorry for me in any way imaginable. I will be fine and always have been.

"the only thing I knew how to do was to keep on keeping on"