The Legacy

JFK in '61 with some of the first volunteers.

Tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of my soon to be employer. Those were different times and different people. No internet, no 24 hour news network, and very few travel guides. You found out about other countries by who we were at War with, where your family immigrated from, and what you read in the morning paper. If you were lucky you had a distant relative that actually wanted to inconvenience themselves with foreign travel. Today, you are out of place if you haven't been out of country.

It took a different kind of swagger to do what they did back then. When all they had were anecdotes and newspaper clippings. They devoted two years of their lives to the unknown, back when something foreign was actually exotic. I, on the other hand, have spent many hours researching Ukraine, have actually been there, and am more concerned about teaching well than adapting to the culture.

Here's to the trailblazers of yesteryear. The first group of many sent out of country, not to destroy or preach, but to teach and learn. Their assigned country needed help and they happily gave it. (Though not without incident)

I only hope that with all my knowledge I can hit the ground running, quickly adapt, and aid them to the best of my abilities.