As of today, we once again have medical clearance for the Peace Corps. Thom cleared for the cardiology visit. We both had to clear for G6PD Deficiency or Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. A deficiency in this enzyme would make it hard to break down the anti-malarial that we will need to take in our new placement. Fortunately, we are not deficient. We have received a new invite for the Peace Corps to Cambodia leaving in early October for Phnom Penh. We are just starting to get prepared for our new posts.
As with Mongolia, we will be working in the education sector specifically in English education. There is a shortage of English teachers in Cambodia as those who can speak English are leaving the teaching field to work in the tourist industry where they are able to make more money. We will likely be working in schools and co-teaching with a Cambodian teacher(s). Our post is likely to be in a rural area of Cambodia. There will definitely be more to come on this.
In the interim, we have been bouncing between Tallmadge, Ohio at Thom's mom's house, a brief stay in Madison for Thom's cardiology appointment, and a stay in Northern Kentucky with my niece for the 4th of July. My niece, husband, and two lovely daughters live in Independence, Kentucky where there is a big 4th of July celebration. The best part is that we are able to watch the fireworks from their back porch. They have a 4 year old and a 20 month old. We had fun taking in the festivities, walking, hanging out in the backyard, and going to the zoo with them.
Prior to moving to Wisconsin (after a year in Kansas); we spent 9 1/2 years in Wooster, Ohio. This is a 45 minute drive from Tallmadge. We spent a day visiting Wooster and reconnecting with friends there. It was nice to catch up. We, also, had an opportunity to visit with roommates from college in the Columbus area. Thom's roommate, Whit, bought a farm with a house built in the 1840's. He has been working on it for a long time and it is a beautiful home and a lovely property. There is no drought in Glenford, Ohio. My roommate from my sophomore year in college lives on the east Columbus and surprised us by showing up at Whit's as well. It was really great to get together.
We have also been able to visit with family members including some of the nieces who were here for a family double shower. Our one niece is expecting in August and her sister is getting married in October thus the double shower. I did not expect to be at the shower, but it was a perk of not leaving on June 2nd. We spent Father's Day dinner with Thom's siblings and his mom. This week, we have been to two outdoor concerts. Hopefully, we are some help at Thom's mom.
And while the biking trails here are no match for the biking in Madison, we are close to Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the towpath bike trail. Twenty miles of the 110 mile towpath trail are within the national park and there is an additional 13.5 miles of bike trail in the park. We have biked a small portion, but hope to bike more. There is a bike trail that passes through Tallmadge and we are planning to ride it to Kent, Ohio tomorrow. We have biked it before and it is a pretty trail.
In August, we will fly out to Flagstaff to see Matt and then to Europe. In Europe, we will be doing at least one week of Angloville. This is a volunteer English teaching experience. We will meet our group in Warsaw, Poland and then we will be transported to a resort north of Warsaw. We will be there for a week working with participants wanting to improve their English speaking skills. We will receive free room and board for the week as part of the program as well as a tour in Warsaw. We participated in this program back in 2014 (Poland) and 2015 (Hungary). We enjoyed both of the Anglovilles. This will help Thom to get more experience in teaching English and it should be fun as well.
We do not yet have are return ticket from Europe, but we plan to fly back to Madison around the 10th of September.
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