Third Goal

Turkmenistan Kurban Bayram

Turkmen have an interesting tradition for Kurban Bayram (the feast of the sacrifice) where they will swing on giant swings. It is said that if you swing a certain number of times on the swing during the 3 days of Kurban Bayram an angel will come and take away your sins. 

Explaining Coral to Filipinos

I have been doing so much class observation. It is beneficial because there is so much about the educational system that confuses me still, despite having spent weeks here. Many times, my counterpart does not involve me with his lesson planning. (However, after observing several classes of his, I realize that he just reads from the book and does not actually plan any lesson.) Today, I didn’t feel like I could bear the monotony of it all, so I volunteered to do the lesson, despite no pr...

A Protracted Expanse of Ocean

Sometimes I feel that being a Peace Corps Volunteer feels as if I am hand-delivering piles of bricks across a muddy riverbed to provide a community with the means to build. It’s as if I am carrying the weight on my shoulders through a thick mud. To me, this mud I must trod through everyday represents the all-encompassing and foreign culture of the Philippines. As a Peace Corps Volunteer working at the community-level, I carry my load brick by brick. Over time I can see the buildings get...

Training Room

This is my bedroom in my host family's house.  There was no ensuite bathroom!  In fact, the bathroom wasn't exactly in the house!

Anne Frank: Jewish by Tribe

Young Salesman

A little boy in Petra sets up shop

Separation of Church and State

1st graders learning how to pray...

Shooting the Moon

Staff members: playing cards amid afternoon prep.  For having grown up on a steady diet of knock-knock (aka Uno) my colleagues showed great enthusiasm for hearts and the dreaded queen of spades.

Next to the chief

My view in the chief's entryroom on the first day of Eid al-Fitr (the celebration of the end of Ramadan)

Sixth grade

This is the size of a typical sixth grade classroom in Niger. Notice the boy:girl ratio.