A Time to Celebrate!

Today Arie and I are celebrating 1 year as Peace Corps Volunteers (cheering and dancing and big smiles)! We are lucky to be spending the day with our friends and colleagues during our regional meetings, and we are thrilled to have made it to the half way mark! But what has really been exciting us over the past week is the news coming from our home state of Minnesota as well as from our workplace, the US Peace Corps (even more cheering and dancing and big smiles).

Last week Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed into law the same-sex marriage bill. We are proud to come from such a progressive state with enough open-minded individuals willing to stand up for equal human rights for all Minnesotans. We were able to live-stream the senate hearing and listen to the arguments, and we cheered when the vote came through in favor of equality!
Check out photos of the signing of the same-sex marriage bill HERE!

This movement of change is growing, and just yesterday the US Peace Corps announced that they would accept and accommodate same-sex couples in Peace Corps service. This was an issue that we felt personally tied to, because we knew that there were Americans who did not have the equal opportunity to serve together as Peace Corps Volunteers like us. The issue of marriage equality is not just about marriage and family, it is about equal opportunity. Serving together is such a blessing and a wonderful experience for a couple, and we are thrilled to know that all Americans can now take advantage of serving together with their partner!

Read the official Peace Corps press release HERE!
 

 

Arie and I are gearing up for a summer full of fun and adventure. In June we will be traveling around Morocco and going to the Gnaoua music festival in Essaouira (learn more about the festival HERE). In July and August we will be living and volunteering (a WWOOF exchange) on an organic olive farm on the French Riviera for 4 weeks followed by a week vacation in Paris. Learn more about WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) HERE. Look forward to some summer fun posts!

Cheers! Love, Kate & Arie