Kyrgyzstan – Peace Corps Worldwide

Book Announcement: The UFO Files, by Kathryn Hulick (Kyrgyzstan, 2004-06)

Aug 01 2025

Overview The UFO Files are the recently de-classified notes on a moment that captivates humanity: the arrival of an alien spacecraft on Planet Earth. The year is 2033. An investigator known only as Polaris has compiled this report into every aspect of the spaceship and the beings that built it. Piece by piece, uncover a thrilling narrative of courage and curiosity during this closest of encounters, while delving into the cutting-edge science and technology that help Polaris understand – and welcome – these visitors from a distant star system. Read the torn-out headlines announcing an unexplained radio signal from outer space, then learn all about the electromagnetic spectrum and how we use it to communicate. Come face to face with the flying drones that emerge from the spacecraft, then delve into how dragonflies have mastered the art of flight. And as the mystery of who or what lies within the . . .

Peace Corps Volunteers sworn in to serve in Kyrgyzstan

Aug 27 2024

New Volunteers — AKIPRESS.COM – Twenty-one newly sworn-in Peace Corps Volunteers will co-teach English with local teachers in secondary schools across Chui, Naryn, Issyk-Kul, Talas, Osh, and Jalal-Abad oblasts over the next two years. This is the 30th group of Volunteers to serve in the Kyrgyz Republic since 1993. Guests at the ceremony included U.S. Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic Lesslie Viguerie, Peace Corps Country Director Hoyt Brian Yee, former Volunteers, as well as local teachers and directors of schools where the Volunteers will serve as co-teachers. “For more than 30 years, Volunteers and their communities have collaborated to increase student and teacher capacity in English and have built relationships that continue long beyond the two years of a Volunteer’s service. These relationships promote friendship and mutual understanding between the people of the Kyrgyz Republic and the United States,” said Ambassador Viguerie. By working alongside local English teachers, Volunteers . . .

PCVs help promote tourism In Kyrgyzstan

Jan 18 2024

After completing training, Response Volunteers will work with CBT partners to develop nature-based tours, assist in creating effective marketing strategies to attract domestic and international tourists, establish guidelines and best practices to minimize the impact of tourism on local ecosystems of the Kyrgyz Republic, and help local partners improve their English language skills. The Volunteers will undergo two weeks of intensive training, which includes Kyrgyz language classes and cross-cultural competence before deploying to Community Based Tourism Association offices in Kochkor, Toktogul, Arslanbob, Naryn, Karakol, Osh, and Bishkek as Eco-tourism Marketing Specialists. The Volunteers passed a rigorous selection process in the United States that identified individuals who are highly qualified and committed to development. Only those who successfully complete the training program are sworn in as Volunteers. Their planned length of service is 12 months. “Community Based Tourism Associations throughout the country are glad to welcome Response Volunteers! We . . .

Review: MAIL FROM KYRGYZSTAN by Michael Licwinko (Kyrgyzstan)

Feb 14 2017

Mail from Kyrgyzstan: My Life as an Over-50 Peace Corps Volunteer Michael Licwinko (Kyrgyzstan (2008–10) Self-Published November 2016 300 pages $15.99 (paperback), $2.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Catherine Varchaver (PC/HQ 1990–94; Kyrgyzstan APCD 1995–97) • In this journal-like collection of annotated blogs and emails, Michael Licwinko sketches a lucid, patient portrait of life as an older Peace Corps Volunteer posted in a remote corner of Central Asia. Licwinko takes us from 2008 to 2010 and gives us a glimpse into the culture and people of Kyrgyzstan — and some of the satisfying and shadowy sides of the Peace Corps experience. If you want to take a virtual trip to Kyrgyzstan by reading one man’s observations and stories, this will help you travel Lonely Planet style — on the cheap, with plenty of “local (post-Soviet) color” and details on what to expect. This isn’t about places to visit and cool things to do. This is about local . . .

Review — I AM ME BECAUSE OF YOU by Karen Lawrence with Jennifer Nelson (Kyrgyzstan 2004–06)

Jan 05 2016

I Am Me Because of You: A Daughter’s Peace Corps Journey through the Eyes of Her Mother (Peace Corps biography from letters and phone calls, with photos) by Karen Lawrence with Jennifer (Lawrence) Nelson (Kyrgyzstan 2004–06) Beaver’s Pond Press 2015 364 pages $24.95 (paperback) — email iammebecauseofyou@gmail.com to purchase reviewed by Catherine Onyemelukwe (Nigeria 1962–64) . • I Am Me Because of You provides a valuable resource for the parents of Peace Corps Volunteers, though for those who are frightened to know what lies ahead they might want to wait until their offspring has been in the country a few months before reading! For those less nervous, the book can be a guide to the ups and downs of following a Volunteer through training and deployment. I love the cover of I Am Me Because of You. The dusty gold with the brown edges and snapshots superimposed on a world . . .