Robinson said the most difficult thing to adjust to over her two years abroad was the limitation on her personal freedom while staying with her Kyrgyzstan host family. "Initially, it's just difficult," Robinson said. "You can't react to things in the same way you would here. I lived with a family, and independence is not quite as big a deal as it is in the U.S. I was their daughter, and I had to call in, let them know where I was going to be." But Robinson said she didn't hold that against her hosts. "They were very caring," Robinson said, "the best family they know how to be."
When Rebecca Robinson left for Kyrgyzstan in 2007, she knew things would be different from her home in Northwest Arkansas
Peace Corps Volunteer Returns After Two-Year Stint In Central Asia
Last updated Monday, September 7, 2009 6:14 PM CDT in News
By Ryan McGeeney
THE MORNING NEWS
ROGERS - When Rebecca Robinson left for Kyrgyzstan in 2007, she knew things would be different from her home in Northwest Arkansas. Differences in the food, land and living conditions in the central Asian country, about 200 miles north of Afghanistan, were all things the Peace Corps prepared her for. But the one thing she didn't realize she would miss was driving.
"For one thing, you don't really have a local driver's license," Robinson said. "And just as a matter of safety and security, the Peace Corps doesn't allow its volunteers to drive in general."
But now Robinson, who returned to the United States on Friday just in time for a birthday, is free to roam the country at will.
After graduating several years ago from Utah State University in Logan, Utah, with a double-major in psychology and sociology, Robinson applied to volunteer with the Peace Corps, and after a one-year application process, accepted the Kyrgyzstan assignment.
Robinson said she taught English to teenagers in the Kyrgyzstan equivalent of eighth to 11th grades. Robinson said she also tried to fulfill secondary roles, like teaching gender awareness and promoting self-esteem among young women, things that can suffer in an extremely male-dominated society like Kyrgyzstan's.
Robinson said the most difficult thing to adjust to over her two years abroad was the limitation on her personal freedom while staying with her Kyrgyzstan host family.
"Initially, it's just difficult," Robinson said. "You can't react to things in the same way you would here. I lived with a family, and independence is not quite as big a deal as it is in the U.S. I was their daughter, and I had to call in, let them know where I was going to be."
But Robinson said she didn't hold that against her hosts.
"They were very caring," Robinson said, "the best family they know how to be."
Teresa Robinson, Rebecca's mother, said that although it was tough being separated from the youngest of her two daughters for more than two years, weekly contact helped her remain excited on Rebecca's behalf.
"If they had electricity, we usually tried to talk on Sunday mornings," Teresa said. "As parents, we had all kinds of mixed reactions - we were thrilled and excited, but also very nervous about her going that far, and not being in contact. But it fit Rebecca very much, she enjoyed it, and it's opened a lot of doors for her."
Robinson said that she planned to move to Chicago soon, and that she was considering Washington, D.C., in her search for full-time employment.
