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  Denver, Colorado, United States
Tuesday, February 7, 2006

Hello All,

Well this is the official announcement to family and friends....I AM RETURNING TO THE DESERT!

After the, what I will now refer to as "the fall of 05", I have decided (or lack of work has decided for me) that I will return to Turkmenistan to finish up my Peace Corps service. To give you all a break down of what happened, here it goes:

August 14th: Leave my host family in Turkmenistan
August 20th: Arrive in Germany to visit old friends and host family
August 26th: Fall, tear two ligaments in my ankle
August 27th: Don't return to Turkmenistan
August 29th: Return to USA
Sept-November: Physical therapy, dr. appointment, arguing with insurance
December: PC physical failed
January: PC physical passed, financial failed
Feb: YEAH! Departure Feb 15th

So it has been a long six months over here, but in many ways I don't think I ever left Turkmenistan. Everyday was a battle with my head, and the song lyrics of "should I stay or should I go now..if I stay there will be trouble, if I go it will be double..." rang through my head. I gave the USA a great shot, with some interviews that would rival the experience of Turkmenistan, but ultimately, I could hear the camels calling my name (even with my hearing loss). I know there are rugs to be bought, Russian to be learned, and some more self growth that needs to happen.

To be honest, I don't know how long I will be gone. It may be only 3 months and I am out but it could be up to three years. Being home made me realize a lot of things, and I have challenged many of them. Now the challenge is to find balance of me wherever I go. The biggest lesson I have learned and it deepens the more I think about it is, wherever I go, there is still me.

I believe that I will be returning to my same village (pending some approvals) and working with the same teachers. I have a lot of goals for my second year and I hope that I can get some success going. I figure I will finish painting some maps until the summer and have a great summer of camps. Then finish it out with the good byes. It is weird to think that this time I am only going for 10 months...seems like nothing in hindsight.

So hopefully, my hindsight is 20/20 and I will be able to make some serious changes me my work and my attitude and finish up this goal I set out to do 18 months ago.

It truly is the toughest job I'll ever love. (love has a strong connotation there)

Thank you all for your support during this time, it has been a roller coaster of a ride!

Katy

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