Romania

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Andy Trincia (Romania 2002-2004) publishes travel story on Romania in The New York Times
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Carol Spahn (Romania) New Peace Corps Director
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2023 Indiana Teacher of the Year — RPCV TARA COCANOWER (Romania)
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FOREVER TRAVELING HOME by Regina D. Landor (Macedonia, Romania)
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“Back at Site” by Andy Trincia (Romania)
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Lenore Myka (Romania 1994-96) author of forthcoming King of the Gypsies
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Our Man in Romania

Andy Trincia (Romania 2002-2004) publishes travel story on Romania in The New York Times

In the news —    I’d never heard of Timisoara either when I arrived in 2002 as a wide-eyed Peace Corps volunteer. I stayed two years, fell in love, returned to get married and made annual trips from America, when Timisoara tugged at me like an old friend. My wife and I moved back six years ago. I’ve witnessed an evolution from the glum post-revolution years to today’s cosmopolitan vibe, thanks to a booming tech sector, significant foreign investment and youthful energy from 40,000 university students. For me, Timisoara’s appeal is twofold: its architecture, which jumps out immediately, and its authenticity, which sinks in gradually. This is no tourist trap with trinket shops galore, but a genuine, livable and multicultural city that moves at a measured pace and offers just enough for visitors to fill two or three days — perhaps surprising them with a taste of Romania, a country still enduring . . .

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Carol Spahn (Romania) New Peace Corps Director

  Just this week, Carol Spahn (Romania 2994-96) had her Senate confirmation hearing to become the next Peace Corps Director. During the hearing, Carol spoke about the importance of the safety and security protocols in place to protect the hundreds of Volunteers currently serving on the ground in 45 countries as well as the agency’s priority to ensure Peace Corps service is an option considered by broader and more diverse communities in America. Carol’s opening statement expressed deep gratitude for her “Peace Corps family — including the staff, Volunteers, host families, and counterparts for the heart and soul with which they carry out our mission everyday.” We at NPCA are thrilled to finally see Carol’s must-deserved nomination move forward toward final confirmation. We have been honored to work with Carol and her strong leadership team over the past year on collaborative efforts to navigate this difficult period of planning for . . .

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2023 Indiana Teacher of the Year — RPCV TARA COCANOWER (Romania)

    Tara Cocanower, a world history teacher at Bluffton High School, has been named the 2023 Indiana Teacher of the Year. The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) announced on Wednesday that the 2023 Indiana Teacher of the Year has officially been named. IDOE says the honor has been awarded to Tara Cocanower, a world history and AP U.S. history teacher from Bluffton High School. Cocanower was named a top three finalist on Sept 26, along with Jason Beer of Homestead High School and Joshua DeBard of Lebanon High School. For many educators, becoming a teacher is a calling to serve others and make a positive impact on the world, one student at a time, and Mrs. Tara Cocanower is the embodiment of someone who was truly meant to be a teacher. When you see the way she connects with her students, it is clear to those around her that in . . .

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FOREVER TRAVELING HOME by Regina D. Landor (Macedonia, Romania)

  Disheartened by staying with a man she loves but who doesn’t want children, the author makes a complete life-change and joins the Peace Corps. Living in rural Macedonia with a host family she feels she’s known all her life, this is her ticket to heal – until an imminent civil war forces an evacuation of country’s Peace Corps Volunteers. Determined to stay her course, the author relocates to Romania where she ends up meeting her future mate. Now settled in the States, married and with children, her husband gets hired to move back overseas. The author braves the emotional and physical challenges of moving from her quiet, midwestern town back to Eastern Europe, this time with kids. Narrated with intimacy and humor, the author overcomes unexpected obstacles and decides that the risks of leaving, and the pangs of saying goodbye are unequivocally worth it in the end. • Forever . . .

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“Back at Site” by Andy Trincia (Romania)

   Back at Site by Andy Trincia (Romania 2002-2004) In Peace Corps vernacular, it’s called “site.” That’s where you live, your base. It could be a remote village, a crossroads town, even a big city. During two years of service, Peace Corps Volunteers utter that word countless times. “Heading back to site,” we’d say. For some, site was a blip on life’s radar. For me, it became a pivotal place – and a home. Now, 15 years later, I’m once again living in Timișoara, Romania. Back at site. Some cities are great to visit while others just give you a certain feel, a sense of comfort, a vibe that you could live there. That’s how Timișoara (pronounced Tim-ee-shwoara) was for me. I remember the first time I saw Victory Square (Piaţa Victoriei) in the city’s core. Hopping off a train at the drab railway station and walking a mile down . . .

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Lenore Myka (Romania 1994-96) author of forthcoming King of the Gypsies

Lenore Myka (Romania 1994-96) is the author of King of the Gypsies: Stories, winner of the 2014 G.S. Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction, which will be published by BkMk Press in Fall 2015. Her fiction has also been selected as distinguished by The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Non-Required Reading series. Her award-winning work has appeared in New England Review, Iowa Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, West Branch, Colorado Review Online, Booth Journal, and Massachusetts Review, among others. She received her MFA in Fiction from Warren Wilson College. Learn more about Lenore at www.lenoremyka.com. Lenore taught English in Romania and this book grew out of that experience. Lenore writes that the stories involve a gypsy boy victimized by Romania’s notorious state-run orphanage system flees, determined to reunite with the parents who abandoned him. A child prostitute cajoles her way into the heart of an American aid worker, risking their friendship for . . .

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Our Man in Romania

For almost two years Andy Trincia was ‘our man in Romania’ writing charming “Letters From . . .” for the Peace Corps Writers web site from 2002–04. He finished his tour, married his lovely HCN, and came back to the US, only to return again and again to his wife’s family’s village in the heart of Transylvania. Here is a lovely piece of prose that proves you can go home again to your Peace Corps site . . . Going Home to Mama Ana’s Păuca Several peasants stopped working the fields and waved as we pulled into Păuca, a colorful Romanian village in the heart of Transylvania.  Mama Ana’s “kids” were back from America, they noticed, eager to spread word across the little village faster than wild fire. As picturesque as any of the scores of villages I’ve seen across the region, Păuca is a typical Romanian hamlet, inhabited by . . .

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