UW-Madison graduate Andrew Kline (Linguistics and Middle East Studies ’23) arrived in Timor-Leste in October 2023 to begin his Peace Corps service as an education volunteer. While at UW-Madison, Andy received a Foreign Language and Areas Studies (FLAS) Fellowship from IRIS NRC to study Arabic, which allowed him to study abroad in Amman, Jordan. Since arriving in Timor-Leste as a Peace Corps Volunteer, Andy has been blogging about his experiences on his website, which you can view here. Andy’s most recent update covers an exciting visit from Pope Francis, a short vacation to Vanuatu, and some unique cultural experiences – you won’t want to miss it!
Here’s a short excerpt from Andy’s most recent blog:
“As a precaution against both insurmountable logistical challenges (e.g., all roads in and out of the capital would be closed for three days, etc.) and potential violence which could come from crowds that size, Peace Corps Timor-Leste directed all volunteers to do one of two things: 1) Consolidate in a hotel in Baucau (a city 45 minutes from my site) for two weeks or 2) Travel outside of the country on your own dime for two weeks (which wouldn’t be counted against our limited annual leave). Most volunteers, including myself, chose the second option and that is how I found myself traveling to Vanuatu with fellow volunteer Quentin…”
Read on about Andy’s adventures during his first year in Timor-Leste here.