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Newtown's Peace Corps Emissary To Russia

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BY JEFF WHITE

There is a volatility to Russian current events these days. The country's

economy still teeters on the edge of failure, Boris Yeltsin's health could be

seen to mirror the economy, and the country's government is currently in the

middle of a major international financial scandal. Set these issues against

the backdrop of a region awash with former Soviet satellites struggling for

independence, and one gains a healthy respect for where Newtown resident

Kathryn Koonce has chosen to spend the next 27 months.

On Friday, August 27, Kathryn left Newtown for Washington, DC, to begin her

assignment for the Peace Corps, teaching English in Russia. After the brief

Washington "staging," as Kathryn described it, where the 58 volunteers to

Russia got a chance to meet with each other, she jetted off to Moscow to begin

the three-month training period before the actual assignment began.

Adding to the adventure, no doubt, is the fact that Kathryn does not have any

idea where her ultimate assignment will take place.

"We won't find out the assignment until we get there and are trained," she

said in an interview two days before her departure. "I think living in one

place for an extended period of time will really allow me to know the

culture," she added, comparing her potential Russian experience to her past

travels which often offered limited time in a given country.

The training Kathryn referred to is the mandatory training period that all

Peace Corps volunteers undergo at the beginning of an assignment. During this

time, Kathryn will undergo intense language instruction, along with rigorous

courses in Russian life, politics, foreign relations, and meetings with

Russian and American diplomats.

While training, Kathryn will stay with a host family in a town 40 kilometers

northeast of Moscow.

Though not even two weeks into her trip, Kathryn's Peace Corps experience has

already been plagued with difficulties. Due to the recent bombings in Moscow,

the Peace Corps will not allow any volunteer to serve assignments in the

Russian capitol. Indeed, Kathryn had trouble even landing in Moscow, and for

now the Peace Corps has dubbed the city too unsafe for volunteers, according

to her father, David Koonce.

But from an Internet cafe in downtown Moscow one week after leaving the US,

Kathryn wrote to her parents, "The best way to describe Russia is surreal."

"The language is coming quickly. It has to. The Cyrillic does not look

completely foreign anymore. I'm really happy here. I've met some really

interesting people," she wrote.

Indeed, the language barrier will prove to be perhaps the hardest obstacle for

Kathryn to surmount during her stay. Right now, she writes, communication with

her host family involves "being stared at when we open our mouths," though the

warmth that her host family has shown her has already made an impact.

"They shower you with love when in their homes," Kathryn wrote.

These first few months will be important ones for Kathryn, when a foreign land

will start to take on elements of familiarity. Feeling comfortable with her

surroundings stands to benefit Kathryn when she has to enter Russian

classrooms and teach her native tongue to native Russians.

"[The students] will know a little bit of English," she said, admitting that

much of the teaching will be done, at first, with pictures.

Kathryn might also take on an additional assignment, according to her father,

who says that the Peace Corps would like her to assume some business

responsibilities, due to Kathryn's accounting background gained from years of

temp work at local firms.

A member of the Newtown High School class of 1995, Kathryn graduated from the

University of Vermont with a degree in international relations, though she

thinks she might try her hand at, among other things, journalism in the

future.

Kathryn realizes what a watershed time it is in Russia these days. For

example, given the current state of the Russian economy, as a Peace Corps

volunteer she will earn four times the annual wages of a typical Russian. She

remarked to her parents that the two things Russians are anticipating the most

are their president's eminent death, and the chaos that might overtake the

country during the millennium.

Both will be events that many believe will occur while Kathryn serves her

assignment. President Yeltsin, who battles chronic heart problems, is believed

to be on his last legs, and without a discernible candidate to take his place.

And Moscow has been named one of the most vulnerable cities in the world for

any problems associated with the year 2000, according to Mr Koonce. In fact,

upon her arrival, Kathryn was issued an official Y2K kit, complete with a

minus 20-degree sleeping bag, food rations and empty jugs for water.

Kathryn plans to use her vantage point to Russian events to educate students

at the Newtown Middle School, where her mother, Nancy, is an eighth grade

science teacher. "The Peace Corps suggests getting in touch with a teacher so

you can communicate with students," said Kathryn.

Kathryn has arranged correspondence with two middle school teachers. Both Will

Ryan, a new eighth grade social studies teacher, and Nadia Papalia, an eighth

grade language arts teacher, have agreed to open their classrooms up to a

dialogue with the other side of the world. Kathryn will write e-mails and

regular letters to both classes, telling of her experiences.

Asked if he and his wife, who both live on Boggs Hill Road, were nervous about

their daughter's assignment, Mr Koonce said yes, but at the same time they are

confident of Kathryn's abilities in tough circumstances.

"My wife looks at it like a great opportunity, but because I'm familiar with

human resources around the world [for my business], I know what's out there,

so I have a more skewed opinion," he said. "I'm proud of her, but as a father

I'm a little concerned."

"But [Kathryn] has street smarts, so of all the people, she is probably the

most prepared for this. And all you have to do is talk to her to hear how

enthusiastic she is about this [trip]," he added. "I have every confidence

that the Peace Corps would not jeopardize the health and safety of any of

their volunteers."

Kathryn's adventures will unfold as the months progress. Besides faithfully

executing her assignment as a teacher, she plans to utilize her two days per

month to travel and explore, saving up for a potential journey across the

Trans-Siberian railroad at the conclusion of her service.

"She is an artist," Kathryn wrote of a fellow volunteer's host mother, in a

letter home. "She wants to draw Paula (my roommate that you met) and I for her

dolls. She didn't know a word of English. No one here does. It's kind of

refreshing. I guess that's why we're here."