•

PREIVIIIUM

ing to Turkmenistan, I said,
`What? Is this a country?' "
To find information about her
destination, Ms. Perish was
forced to surf the Internet. She
located a Turkmenistan home
page and contacted people who
had been there. She found that
weather conditions are extreme:
frigid in the winter, sweltering
in the summer. The languages
are Russian and Turman (she
speaks neither), and the food is
so bland she was advised to bring
her own spices.
"I don't care if it's an ugly coun-
try; they say there's nothing to
see. I don't care if the food's
bland. Must hope] the people will
be warm."
Although Peace Corps work-
ers have been going to Turk-
menistan for three years,
Meredith's mother, Bedonna,
was more than a little worried
about her daughter's destination.
"I thought, 'A Jewish woman
doesn't belong in a Muslim coun-
try,' " Mrs. Perish said.
She was so concerned, she
called the Peace Corps office. But
she was told that religion doesn't
play a major role in the country
because it was under communist
rule for so long.
But parting will still be diffi-
cult. Mrs. Perish is used to talk-
ing to her daughter on a regular
basis, even when Meredith was
working out of town this sum-
mer. She knows that won't be
possible while Meredith is over-
seas and even the mail, which
can take up to eight weeks to re-
ceive, is not reliable. The stress
is having its effect.
"We all have our down time,"
Mrs. Perish said. "We all take
turns crying."
Meredith's parents plan on vis-
iting their daughter while she's
overseas, but they may compro-

mise on location and meet in Is-
rael.
The fact that she is going to a
Muslim country doesn't bother
Ms. Perish too much, although
she has been warned not to look
men directly in the eyes.
"What most people say is that
you won't find racism, you'll find
ignorance," Ms. Perish explained,
relating a story of a previous
Peace Corps worker who had to
explain that she was Jewish but
not Israeli.
"I would like to take a small
menorah for Chanukah and I'm
not worried about what will hap-
pen in my community. But I don't
know what's going to happen in
customs.
"The Peace Corps doesn't dis-
courage you from practicing your
religion," said Ms. Perish. But the
volunteers are warned to do so in
private.
Besides heavy clothing and
spices, Ms. Perish's living room
floor is covered with toys destined
for her students and hair acces-
sories for the women who, she has
been told, enjoy receiving them as
gifts. She has also received a do-
nation of 100 American flag pins
from the Veterans of Foreign
Wars.
Ms. Perish will have three
months of in-country preparation
before being placed with a host
family and starting her work. Al-
though the experience will be nov-
el, Ms. Perish is no stranger to
living in foreign locations.
She spent the summer after
her freshman year working as a
nanny in Italy, and the following
summer studying French in Bel-
gium. But the Turkmenistan ex-
perience, she said, is going to be
a challenge. "I knew I wanted
something different, but I don't
think I wanted it to be this dif-
ferent;" she admitted. ❑

LEATHER

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•

•

UE AND UNUSUA;

Meeting Halfway

A settlement is reached in Hillel negotiations.

JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER

H

illel Day School teachers
and the school's board
averted a strike last week
when both sides reached
an agreement on teacher con-
tracts.
Negotiations crept into the
night last Wednesday, Aug. 28.
Both sides came to the table at
7 p.m. and a settlement was
reached after five hours of bar-
gaining.
Teachers and the board
agreed to a two-year contract,
giving the educators a 3.5
percent raise each year and
adding approximately an addi-
tional week to this year's school
calendar (totaling 175 school
days for 1996-97) and an addi-

tional day the following school
year.
Talks did not interrupt class-
es for Hillel's 689 students. The
fall term opened earlier in the
day on Aug. 28.
"This really ended up being
an amicable solution," said Dr.
Marcy Borofsky, board presi-
dent. "There were no strikes or
work stoppages; negotiations
were finished on the first day.
There is a lot of posturing that
goes on prior to this type of an
agreement. At this point, every-
one is very happy."
Shula Fleischer, president of
the 57-member teachers' union,

MEETING

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