Without fail, each time I would excitedly tell people that I was going to be serving in Myanmar I would be met with a look of pure confusion. At first, I would simply answer, "it’s in Southeast Asia". Now, without skipping a beat, I follow-up with "you may know it as Burma" and the looks of confusion would quickly fade and I would be met with a nod, "ah yes, okay, Burma". Interactions like these are my first opportunity to educate Americans about my new 'home away from home'.
In 1989, the country known as Burma officially became Myanmar on paper. Known as the 'golden land', this beautiful and somewhat mysterious country to a large portion of the world, began to be explored by more Americans after President Obama’s visit in 2012. Mr. Obama was actually the first sitting President of the United States to visit the country of Myanmar. Not long after his visit, the Peace Corps would be invited in 2013 to establish an English Education volunteer program that works closely with the Ministry of Education. It was in 2017 that the first group of two-year Peace Corps volunteers were sworn in to begin teaching English alongside native middle school and high school teachers, collaborating to help shape the young minds of Myanmar. You can read a little more about the OG volunteers here: https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/first-group-two-year-peace-corps-volunteers-begin-service-myanmar/
My cohort, MM5, will be the fifth group of volunteers to arrive in the country since the program's establishment. It is truly an honor to be part of such a new and innovative program with the incredible ability to empower youth in Myanmar.
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