Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Nils and I will be spending our Christmas in New Hampshire's winter wonderland. It will be the last time we get to visit with my family before heading to Romania for 27 months. We'll be staying with Nils' family in February in preparation for the move. We also had a great time visiting them this last November to celebrate Thanksgiving and our birthday (yes! Nils and I have the same birthday).

Nils has been hard at work figuring out the last few requirements for his Master's Degree in International Management. What a hard worker!

Love to all this holiday season. May the new year be filled with warmth and happiness!

Emily and Nils Bergeson

Interviewed

Funny... A local newpaper "Monterey Bay Ink" called the Peace Corps to find someone to interview who recently received an assignment from the Peace Corps and who also lives in California. While I'm not really from California, they somehow gave them my name and a guy (David, I think his hame was...) who runs the Q&A column interviewed me about the Peace Corps. He did a pretty good job. The tape recorder he was using probably didn't pick up everything I said and he had to fill in a few blanks... but overall, a good job. Below is the link... and I've included the article just in case they take it down.



http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071018/ENTERTAINMENT0801/710180304/1069/ENTERTAINMENT08





Q&A with Emily O'Hara Bergeson, Peace Corps BY David Wirth
Guess what, hippies – the Peace Corps isn't just for you. Yeah, anybody can join up and they don't need Birkenstocks or beads to do it. For those of you, hippie and non-hippie alike, who don't know what the Peace Corps is, it's an organization founded in 1961 by President Kennedy that goes around the world helping countries in need, kind of like a JLA-type league of superheroes (without the superpowers). Monterey resident Emily O'Hara Bergeson, 25, got her business degree from Brigham Young University and is going to spend 27 months in Romania, where she'll be teaching business classes.


DAVID WIRTH: How'd you get assigned to Romania?
EMILY O'HARA BERGESON: When you're applying you pick a region. My husband speaks Russian, so he had selected Eastern Europe. Romania is actually part of the European Union so it's farther along development-wise than a lot of other countries. They have (the) Internet, they have everything we have here, it's just a different version. Someone called it the Posh Corps. It's not like you're in Africa or South America in a small community where you have to go outside for the bathroom. We're going to be fairly comfortable. Part of me is like, "Oh, man, we're too comfortable. We need to do something harder."
D: What kind of need does Romania have?
E: Right now it's more of the refining process. They don't necessarily need the building of indoor plumbing or schools. They're just taking it a step further, educating people, the paradigm shift. You educate individuals on what their opportunities are and how to keep it going. You can qualify for the European Union but you have to meet certain standards, ongoing. You have to make it sustainable.
D: Have you done a lot of traveling in the past?
E: I did a one-week trip to Mexico to do humanitarian work, building floors and roofs on people's houses. And I've been to Canada for a day. This is different; I'm excited.
D: Why did you choose the Peace Corps rather than some other organization?
E: The government pays for your monthly expenses and they give you money at the end. They're a lot more organized as far as networks. (With other organizations) typically you have to pay your way — I had to raise money to go to Mexico. So this way you get more of a free ride and experience.
D: Do you have a philanthropic background?
E: I think there's something in all of us that wants to reach out and help people. We're not always aware of the advantages we have. Going to Mexico made me realize that we have so much we can offer other people.
D: A lot of people wouldn't think that being a business major would go hand-in-hand with humanitarian stuff.
E: It's interesting. In business school they have this lecture (where they say) that business people are really selfish and greedy and all they want is money, but as a businessperson I know that there's plenty to go around. I went to school and other people should have that same opportunity.
D: What do you intend to accomplish?
E: In any developing country there's always the development of women and their identity and how they fit into society. I'd like to research the microfinance aspect of women entrepreneurs and see if communities are readily able to accept women's ideas, and then find ways to provide them access to financing so they can get stuff started.
D: How do you think your position in the Peace Corps is going to help you do that?
E: I'm seeing my position more as a research part, gathering information, having a chance to sit with people and just kind of chat.
D: Anything to add?
E: Most people don't see an opportunity when it's there, or they procrastinate. They see the ad and think, "That's a great idea, but maybe later." My husband and I were talking with an older couple and they were like, "Oh, it would be so great to go in the Peace Corps." And we were like, "Well, you can." And they had, like, five excuses. You shouldn't ever live with regret. It's just so funny how many people say, "I wish, I wish I could've gone." I think fear is one of the things that keeps us from doing things.

Nils is Alone...

For the past week I have been at home all alone while Emily has been on a business trip. It has been very boring, and this is coming from a guy who always laughs at his own jokes and spends at least 30 minutes a day making faces at himself in the mirror. Yeah, I know I have school, a couple jobs, friends, and so forth to keep me busy, but it isn't the same. I think I have come to an important realization...Emily is more entertaining than I am. It's true. I enjoy looking at her, talking to her, throwing stuff at her (non painful objects) or saying things that will make her hit me just so I can then be proud of my EXCELLENT reflexes. But alas, she is not here. But don't cry for me, Argentina. She is not gone for long, tomorrow I get to pick her up at the airport in San Jose around 6.

The big surprise? Tomorrow night my school is having a Halloween dance. Yeah, I know I am at a professional school for graduate students, but you would be surprised at how a bunch of 30 year olds think they are 14. Maybe it is there excessive alcohol consumption. I don't know, it isn't important. What IS important, is that I need to talk Emily into going to the party. Last year I attended without a costume. Technically, I did wear a baseball cap, which in my opinion should count, but everybody else failed to see the difference. SO, during the time that we drive back to Monterey from San Jose, I need to talk her not only into going, but I need to figure out what to wear. This is some last minute creativity, which usually isn't my strong suit. But, I do have a genius wife now, who incidentally still has secret fantasies about being a costume designer. So...we'll see how it goes. I'll report Saturday.

His Nilsness

Passport photos have the infamous quality of capturing that shiny spot right in the middle of your forehead. This time, we did them ourselves. I promise, mine wasn't that fuzzy...