The Schirm Project

This blog will discuss my journey with the Peace Corps in teaching English in Turkmenistan as well as my development an annual sports camp for youth. The views that are depicted here are soley mine and do not reflect the views of the Peace Corps or its staff.

Name:
Location: Denver, CO, United States

I'm a fiancee soon to be husband, an RPCV from Turkmenistan and a former Public Affairs professional. I started the Foreign Service process in March 2010 and am currently on the registry for the Public Diplomacy tract. I am happy to help any and all people that have questions about my experiences.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Who am I?

Who?
My name is Chris Schirm, I am 24, and currently live in Washington D.C. but not for too much longer. I have worked for a PR firm in DC for the past two years, and while the people that I have met and the experiences that I have had have been extrordinary to say the least, I will be leaving DC and joining the Peace Corps. I have accepted an invitation to teach English in Turkmenistan.

Where?
The question that most people have asked me when I tell them is, "Where the heck is Turkmenistan?" Well here is a map of where Turkmenistan is http://www.state.gov/p/eur/ci/tx/.

What language do they speak?
The primary language that is spoken is Turkmen, which is a combination of Russian and Turkish. No, I am not fluent in Turkmen nor Russian, nor have I been a teacher in a classroom for more than a couple days before. I will receive three months of intense (6 days a week) training on both teaching and the Turkmen language once I get over there. I am awaiting my staging packet that will have an introduction to Turkmen.

Why?
When people ask me why I am doing this I have two answers. The first for me is that I have a desire to answer the following question, "Who are you as a person when you are in situation that you dont know anyone, dont know the language, but all you know is that you are there to help?" The second answer that I have is simply, because I can. I am at a point in my life where I dont have that many responsibilities or that many people relying on me for sustenance. In part, I know that if I didn't do this now than I would regret it for the rest of my life and always wonder what it would have been like.

When?
I started thinking about joining the Peace Corps when I was still in college. I am glad that I took the advice of my mom and went out into the working world before I decided to join. I have learned more about myself and what I am able to do in the past year and a half then I have the previous four years of college.

I will be leaving D.C. the end of August, spending a month with my parents in Arizona before I leave for staging and Turkmenistan at the end of September. I feel so underprepared for the adventure that is yet to come, but for something like this I dont quite think that you ever could be ready completely.