Connections

When I was leaving for Morocco, I checked the Princeton on-line alumni directory and found five other alumni in Morocco – I emailed all of them but never met any (despite Jeff giving me a “Princeton Club of Morocco” banner as a parting gift!). I exchanged texts with a Fulbright fellow in Fes (nice alliteration) who was an advisee of the faculty member accompanying the Princeton group to whom I spoke, but never met her either. I also started Princeton-africa and Princeton-Peace Corps discussion groups, both of which have been very quiet.

The alumni directory lists 27 Princetonians in the Philippines, most of whom are in Metro Manila. Maybe I will get in touch. There’s a Princeton Club of Southeast Asia, but not one in the Philippines per se (most of the officers are in Bangkok). There is Princeton-in-Asia though – a hundred-year-old organization that provides fellowships to young alumni to teach, do relief work or otherwise serve throughout Asia; I have some friends who did it after graduation. I figured I would check it out at some point to see if it had a presence in the Philippines and before I had the chance, I got an introduction! The GAD chair in Morocco, a Yale alumna, has a good friend who just finished a P-i-A year with Save the Children there – she introduced me electronically to her fellow fellows (they will be leaving as I am arriving, but maybe I will meet the next set) and gave me a bunch of suggestions and links. Check out http://piaweb.princeton.edu/ to see what the fellows there are doing – it sounds amazing. I couldn’t have done this right after I graduated – I am glad to be doing what I am doing now!

I also have some Peace Corps connections – the Country Director in Morocco passed my name along to the Country Director there (not that she won’t get it soon enough if she doesn’t have it already) and the Programming and Training Officer in Thailand put in a good word for me with the PTO there. The director of Junior Achievement Asia/Pacific, an RPCV who I met in California, may get to Manila while I am there as well. One of the six-pack in Morocco is the daughter of two RPCVs from the Philippines. And the COO of my brother-in-law’s firm, who I met in New York recently, has a sister who served in the Peace Corps there.

Who else might I see? Martha and Susan might be going to a wedding in Thailand in July – it would be fun to see them while they are in the neighborhood, but they won’t be able to swing it. A couple of the current Morocco PCVs might visit after they COS in November (and/or I could travel with them after I COS if they are in the neighborhood). Another friend mentioned the possibility of having business there. My sister said that if it’s amazing she’d consider taking the my nieces out of school and coming – but I don’t know if I’ll know if it’s amazing in time for her to make plans. I think the six months will go by quickly (even if I add on extra travel at the end, I still think it will go quickly) but it is still nice to think about all of these connections!