We are heading north to Eugene, Oregon. We spent a few days in Oregon last week and we’re able to find a house to rent. This is not an easy task when you have two dogs, need a fenced yard, and want to spend under $1,000/month.
Nonetheless, we found a great place that we are excited about. There is a picture of the home, but it’s now yellow.

While in the area, Laura had an interview with the Superintendent of Eugene Schools, which is a great lead when it comes to obtaining a job in the area. We are keeping our fingers crossed about that contact. On Saturday she took her Orela test which is necessary for all teachers to take to obtain a teaching license. For those familiar with teaching license tests, the Orela is more intense than the CBEST test. The last few months of studying biology, math, art, p.e., physics, dance, and more came down to last Saturday. We will receive the results in July. Brett interviewed and accepted a Graduate Teaching Fellowship as the Peace Corps Recruiter for the University of Oregon. What a relief for the both of us to get this opportunity. This position will be for two years and allow for his tuition to be paid for.

We are moving sometime in the first few days of July. Our new contact information is down below. Our address is effective July 1. The cell numbers are effective now and will be our permanent numbers in Oregon. Our place is a bit bigger than the home in Mineral (we have 3 bedrooms) so please visit if you have a chance.

Related “moving on with life” news, the federal government has finally accepted that Brett’s shoulder blade/capsule injury was caused while serving in Armenia. Hip hip hooray!

Thanks for reading and take care! We’re off to Hawaii for a week. Aloha!

I found this series of articles that highlights current environmental problems in Armenia at “Armenia Now“.  The website reports on the current events of Armenia and offers insight into the political process that is shaping Armenia.

The article in the top right on the Alaverdi Copper factory was especially intriguing to me because Laura and I lived in Alaverdi during our Peace Corps service.  The fact that the hazards arising from the pollution are being exposed is a step in the right direction.  Many of the local people felt that the factory is a problem but that it was important to the economy for it to stay open.  I am not sure this true.  The factory employees 400 employees in an area of 20,000 people.  I think that by shutting it down, their will be health improvements, the local vegetation will improve, and more tourists will choose to visit and STAY in the area.  Right now, tourists quickly shuffle in to see the churches and then leave, staying maybe an hour or so.  Eco-tourism has huge potential in the area.  The site of the factory turns many people off to the idea of this venture. The economy can improve more if the factory was not in service.
The other articles are important in shedding some light on the environmental/human rights issues that plague Armenia.  Restructering of the government needs to be done in order for any of these issues to be dealt with properly. If the people continue to unite, to speak up and to encourage the government to listen to their concerns, I think that there may be some hope.  All the issues are difficult to work with because of the instability of the infrastructure and the weak economy, though it is improving.

To view the top two articles, “This Land is Our Land…” and “The Breath of Death…”, click the link next to the English link in the top right corner.  This link says “Armenian” and is spelled in the Armenian language.  Once it is in Armenian, click the article, you will view the article in Armenian, then click the English link in the top right corner again to view.  For some reason these two articles are not linked properly, otherwise the others can viewed just fine.

the United States has been involved in the Iraq War for as long as we were involved in World War II. The difference? At this point in WWII, we knew we were on our way to winning.

How much longer are we committed to this blunder? How many more soldiers and innocent citizens will die for the wealth of politicians and businessmen? 2,500 U.S. soldiers so far. Number of Iraqi citizens? Tens of thousands. Why one more?

Benjamin Franklin wrote:

Never has there been a good war or a bad peace.

Why can’t those who lead our nation understand this concept? We must continue to defy our nations war tendencies by changing our consumer attitudes, by educating ourselves to understand our fellow humans, and by striving to always choose non-aggressive means over aggressive measures. We have the capability to think critically, to act rationally, and seek knowledge to better ourselves. Let’s start today!