Life after Peace Corps

My New Cozy Home

January 31, 2012

For three days, I unpacked all the boxes, dragged furniture from one corner to another, arranged and rearranged them until I was pleased, hang up my favorable pictures and paintings, placed my plants at the right spot to catch the precious sun. (Unlike my NY apartment, my new place does not have a balcony; it is going to be hard to keep my plants happy). Then, I began to clean. First, I scrubbed, bleached and wiped the bathtub until it is spotless clean. My big brother HY will be so proud of what I did. He is going to enjoy the bubble bath at my place. Then, I mopped the wood floor, waxed it with oil and polished it with a dry clean cloth. I love how it feels when I walk on it with my bared foot. Here are few pictures to show my hard work:

I never had a bathroom this tiny. My new apartment is an old 1948 building, and the bathtub is old and small. After all the scrubbing and bleaching, it is now good enough for a king to take a relaxing bubble bath.

I am very pleased with what I did with this seemingly dull corner. It is a dark narrow corridor that leads to the bathroom. I would love to place one of my favorite plants there, but with no sun, the plastic flowers will do the trick.

My bedroom catches the late afternoon sun. Last evening, I witnessed one of the most magnificent sunsets. The sky was drenched with crimson and orange color. It nearly moved me to tears...

I have a huge dinner room and a living room. Can't wait to invite my NY friends here.

Every night I went to bed exhausted. By the end of the 3^rd day,both my arms were hurting badly.

Yes, my new apartment is an antique place, but with so many charming characters: the aged dark wood floor, pantry in the kitchen, huge living space, and solid walls. I know I will attach to this place very soon.

Tomorrow, I am going to take a long walk around my neighborhood.

Life After Peace Corps

Moving to Washington DC

January 16, 2012

As my moving date gets closer, I become more and more restless. I am having the same anxiety that I had two years ago when I left for Peace Corps. “Will I be happy?” “Will I miss my hiking buddies in CMCNY?”, and most importantly, “Will I be lonely?” But when I calm down and revert to some of the loneliness moments I had in Azerbaijan, I laugh at my silliness. I should have known better.

“Loneliness is part of the Peace Corps package - part of what makes the experience both meaningful and rewarding when you come out the other end after two years. If you stick through the lonely points, you will experience life in a completely unique and meaningful way. …….you will learn a lot about yourself” – Dillon Banerjee

I learned from Peace Corps experience that there is a difference between feeling lonely and being alone. The 2^nd year in Azerbaijan, I came to appreciate the difference more. Most of the time, I was alone but I never felt lonely. I was busy all the time, busy to read, to cook, to write, to listen to music and to take long walk. I coveted those quiet deeply personal times alone, times to reflect, to think, to relax and to sleep.

Once I settle down in Virginia, I will be so occupied with my new life that I hardly have any time to feel lonely. First, it is my job with the Smithsonian, not only I will meet many co-workers but also I will be acquainted with some of the most interesting people who make Smithsonian Institution the “Smithsonian”. Weekend, I will explore all the parks, hiking and running trails nearby. I already found out the four-mile run park in my neighborhood, the 18-mile Mt. Vernon biking trail, the Monticello Park which is only 0.9 miles from where I live. The park is full of wildlife, has a steep canyon and a creek with sparkling water. The sound of it already makes me get so excited!

With my adventure spirit, I will make my time in Virginia another exhilarating chapter of my life. I am so looking forward to it.

Life After Peace Corps - My New Altitude

January 12, 2012

I have been back from Azerbaijan more than a month. My daily life more or less is back to “normal”. I did not have a hard time readjusting myself to the modern world as Peace Corps warned us, the RPCVs. I welcome all the amenities that the modern world has to offer; such as drinking the tap water without any fear that it would get me sick, running water, gas and electricity would be available without any interruption, going to a supermarket and get anything I need, my apartment will be warm and clean etc. Unconsciously, I have switched my mind back to the point of time before leaving Peace Corps, twenty seven months ago.

In spite of the easy transition, one thing I notice that I do have difficulty changing is my attitude towards others. Yesterday, I returned an item to Sears and the sale person was very rude and refused to take back the item (which is against Sears’ returning policy). I did not get frustrated; instead, I politely explained to her my problem and apologized for the inconvenience that I caused. When I left the store, I was very surprised the way I acted. “Where did that good manner come from?”

The image of a warm and friendly Azeri elder immediately emerges. I have tamed by the good nature people in Azerbaijan. Having lived with them for two years, without knowing, I take on their traditional way of treating each other: respect, hospitability, and patience.

For a month, I was so occupied by the hustle and bustle life in American that I nearly forgot my life in Azerbaijan. I took a few hours to re-read my blog and relived some of the precious moments with my Azeri friends. I miss my co-workers in the bank, my landlord, my neighbors, my vegetable man and woman in the Bazaar, my program manager, Peace Corps staffs in Baku, the olive trees, the Azeri gardens, the Caspian Sea, the magnificent sunset, the infamous Baku gale…

Serving Peace Corps in Azerbaijan is one of the most humble experiences of my life.

Life After Peace Corps - My New Home

January 11, 2012

Since I moved to the United States more than twenty years ago, I had called nowhere else but New York my home. It was in New York where I built my career, developed many beautiful friendships, fell in love, and found a cozy home. I walked nearly every street in New York City, knew the best Chinese restaurant in midtown Manhattan, hung out on many trendy clubs in the lower Eastside, and of course, witnessed crimes that scared me to death. New York is a like an old blanket to me, it has been an integral part of my adult life. But starting February 2012, Virginia will be my new home.

Who does not have the fear of the unknown? the uncertainty of what lies ahead. What my life will be in DC? Will I be lonely? As I watch the Manhattan skylines silhouetted against the crimson evening sky, cannot help but praying for my future.

I will miss New York, but I will learn to love Virginia.

Life After Peace Corps

A Job Offer – a Successful Story

January 2, 2012

It is the news that I having been waiting for more than six months. The Federal government finally makes its offer. After applying for 75 Federal jobs, I get myself not only one job offer but two; a budget officer for the USDA National Forest and a staff accountant for the Smithsonian Institution. I like both jobs, but moving to DC is much easier than moving to Utah, so the decision is obvious.

Some of my PCV friends said that I was lucky to get the job so quickly. Some of the AZ6 left Azerbaijan a year earlier still struggling to get an interview, how fortunate I am to land myself a job within a month after returning to the US. Just for the record, my dear fellow RPCV friends, I was not lucky; I had worked very very hard for it. I do not know any AZ7 (my group) who had applied as many jobs as I did, and I definitely do not believe any AZ7 who had done as much research as I did on “how to find a Federal Government job”.

Back in January 2010, I already knew it would be extremely difficult to find a job in the public sector. I was fully aware that I had to compete with lots of veterans, veterans’ family, former federal employees, people with disabilities and thousands of RPCVs. The chance of my resume to be selected by the “computer” and later by “HR” is close to zero, unless my resume is so exceptional, so outstanding, so terrific, so stupendous, so marvelous, or it would never reach the desk of the hiring manager. So I worked on my resume, I had a resume for every job I applied. I read, read and re-read the job description and made sure all the job requirements and qualifications were properly reflected in my resume. Some of my resumes were 6 pages long, some 8 pages long, some emphasized on my skills, and some highlighted my accomplishments, whatever format, style and presentation seemed appropriate for that job, I worked on it.

There were countless nights that I worked on my resume until my neck became so stiff. There were numerous weekends that I traveled to Baku, sat in front of a computer in the Peace Corps dark basement, spent hours and hours applying the job on-line until my eyes got so tired that I felt dizzy. Six months later, when I received a first e-mail for a telephone interview, I rehearsed the interview with my cell phone and practiced how to speak clearly. When I went down to Washington DC for a second interview, I practiced in front of a mirror, trained to smile properly, and learned how to use body language, how to dress, and how to impress the interviewers with well-prepared answers and questions. So my success is no coincidence, and definitely not lucks. It is hard work, discipline and not willing to give up that reward me with a result.

One advice to the AZ8 who wants to work for the Federal Government, start your job search NOW, don’t wait until you return to the US, don’t wait until this summer, get yourself familiar with the application process, apply as many jobs as possible. You will get zero respond for the first 3 months, but do not get discouraged, do not give up, keep revising your resume until you get a respond. Be prepared to apply for more than 100 jobs, just keep going.

You do not need luck, just hard work!