I just received an email from Peace Corps Mongolia director Jim Carl informing us that we have a new U.S. ambassador to Mongolia, Jonathan Addleton. The above link is from the U.S. Department of State's website and has a short bio on the new ambassador. I met with the former ambassador, Mark Minton, on a couple occasions and he was a really nice guy and very interesting to talk to. I also met one of the vice consuls who came out for eagle festival. It was really nice and informative talking with him as well. A career in the foreign service is something I am considering after the Peace Corps and grad school so it's always nice to learn a bit more from someone first hand who's actually in that field.
With all the free and idle time we have in Mongolia, especially when classes are cancelled for a month, it's almost impossible not to daydream and think about what's next. Time flies by in Peace Corps Mongolia and with each day that passes, I realize more and more how little time I have left here. I have thought a lot, done a lot of research and reading, and engaged in countless discussions with friends, family members, fellow Peace Corps volunteers, and loved ones about what I want to do next. Since I first started studying political science as a junior in college, I've been interested in the idea of working as a foreign service officer for the U.S. Department of State. I'm very interested in and intrigued by international relations, politics, and affairs, conflict resolution, diplomacy, and of course, the many different cultures, languages, religions, and people of the world. I've done some reading on what foreign service officers do, I have the study guide for the FSO written exam, and I have some of the books on the recommended reading list. I'm still weighing my options and keeping myself open at this point but I think once I'm back in the U.S. (or Korea possibly) at some point, I'd like to take some time to study and prepare and take the written exam. It's a career field I'm very interested in pursuing but it's not the only thing I'm looking into.
I'm also very interested in pursuing my master's degree in international studies, international relations, peace and conflict studies, or something along those lines. I'm very interested in the idea of spending at least one semester or summer abroad studying when I'm in grad school and I've also thought about the possibility of getting my master's at an international university, maybe in Europe. I've looked into teaching in Korea or working somewhere else in Asia or Southeast Asia to gain more international experience and save some money for graduate school. I spend some of my free time reading job and career descriptions within different international organizations and a stint with the United Nations is also something that I think could be very interesting and rewarding. I've got a lot of ideas in my head but nothing is concrete yet and I'm trying my best to stay focused on getting as much done here in Olgii with the Peace Corps as possible before I finish. As my time here draws to an end I'm sure I'll spend even more time looking into what my future options are and I'll make some decisions. The only thing that I know for sure is that I want to see and experience as much of the world as possible and I want to do some type of work in international relations.
Anyways, reading the article on the new ambassador just made me think a bit more about what I've been daydreaming of and what I want to pursue. More pics and posts coming soon. :)
Oh yeah, also for anyone who is interested in following Mongolian news a little bit (in English) here's a link to 'The UB Post', the 'Leading English News' of Mongolia.
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