In 1997, I was a PCV in Bukhoro, Uzbekistan, when Hillary Clinton came there for a visit as America's First Lady. She spent over an hour in my classroom and totally charmed my students - and me too.

Later that evening, at a banquet in her honor, she sat for a time with our group of PCVs, and she said something to the effect that, when she traveled, she enjoyed spending time with us. She said that embassy personnel traveled around in big cars and didn't always know what was going on "on the ground," but Peace Corps Volunteers, living among the real people, did!

I am convinced that Secretary of State Clinton will work to re-establish the Peace Corps as a principle instrument of American foreign policy - where it should be.

John Smart
Park Falls WI