I made a video to be showcased on the Peace Corps global website. It has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Peace Corps Week Video Challenge. In addition to the formal judging, there is a public vote via You Tube. I hope you will exercise your franchise and vote for me. It is quite disturbing how much your vote– and therefore my near-certain victory– means to me.

Voting on You Tube is a painful process and near-impossible for people in Armenia. Owned by Google, You Tube only allows login with a gmail email account and password. Gmail is not common here. Of course, it is possible to create a gmail address and password and never use it again (may I suggest humorliz@gmail.com. Password: pander) but that is hard to explain to people not raised in a grasping capitalist culture where data is the new gold. You, all too familiar with the wiles of Silicon Valley, can help: your vote will bring meaning and purpose to my pathetically needy life.

I am not even claiming my video is the best of the 18 on display. My two fellow Armenian Peace Corps Volunteers Jim and Thong have beautifully shot and edited videos on show. Vote for them too.

All the videos are worth a look. Learn a little about life in Timor Leste and Guinea and other places I can’t place on a map. I want to go to Guatemala, and Malawi now , or Mongolia or Albania, and I bet you will too.

You can see, and vote for the videos here.    Thank you for your vote.