Swearing In

Last week was a big day for group 27, after 11 weeks of training we were sworn-in as volunteers. We represent the 44 newest volunteers in the Peace Corps. We had the swear-in ceremony at the Ambassador's residence in Bucharest. Ambassador Gitenstein and his wife were kind enough to host the event and invite all of the gazda families that had hosted us for our training. It was a hot, but lovely day!

We are all headed to different locations across Romania. It's a bit scary as we leave the safety and security of our training regime and fellow volunteers. However, I think we are all excited to start the process of trying to integrate into our communities and to get to know people at our schools.

All of the volunteers in group 27 are TEFL volunteers so we are being dispersed to teach English in schools for students from 2nd to 12th grade. As previously mentioned, I will be teaching at an industrial (trade high school) in the country of Bacau in the Moldovan region of Romania. School starts for teachers on September 1st to start planning and then opens for students on the 15th. I am both nervous and anxious to get started. It will be an interesting adventure for someone who has not taught before!