I was a 7 year old in Detroit, Michigan, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I can still remember my teacher screaming and crying after hearing the news.

It has been almost six years since I decided to join the Peace Corps. I was attracted to the idea of exploring the world and integrating into a new culture and a different way of life. 

Since arriving to my home in the Hadiya Zone just over a year ago, I have been welcomed into the homes, hearts and culture of the community.

One morning at the village health center, unaware that they were launching the annual trachoma mass drug administration campaign, I offered to help Shawit, the health extension worker, carry medical supplies to the center of town where we would set up a “pop-up” post in front of the elementary school with a few other health center staff. 

My cohort of Volunteers’ Close of Service Conference was a time to say goodbye to the dedicated staff who worked alongside us in our two years in Ethiopia, to think about what’s next and how best to utilize our service and to have a final hoorah with this group of people who have become great friends over two years.

When Adrienne Hall started her Peace Corps service in 2012, she was eager to immerse herself in a new culture. 

After receiving a master’s degree in human rights, Morgan Davison knew that she wanted to work in gender and youth development but she wasn’t exactly sure how. 

When entering Peace Corps service, a Volunteer envisions herself "saving the world." I think most of us do not really know what we are getting into when we are volunteering abroad.

Yohannes carefully drove over what appeared to be a fallow field in Tigray. We bumped along toward what we were told is the high school compound.