June 21, 2000
Making her mark in the world
Janna Dettmer to teach in Romania through Peace Corps
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Prophetically, Janna Dettmer declared in a 1995 letter to the editor of the Record-Eagle: "I intend to leave my mark on the world after completing my education."
Then a junior at Traverse City Senior High, Dettmer's prediction is coming true as she heads off today for a two-year stint in the Peace Corps teaching English in Romania.
A recent graduate of Dennison University in Ohio, Dettmer double majored in international studies and history. Always one to take on a challenge, she sees her time in the Peace Corps as a stepping stone toward her future in international law.
"The adventure and what I'll gain through this experience and the field work in the Peace Corps will give me a base for my future," said Dettmer, who is one of 65 Peace Corps workers heading to Romania this year. "After I complete law school, I hope to get involved in human rights, environmental issues or children's issues."
The idea of joining the Peace Corps began last summer while completing an internship in Washington D.C., where she worked as a staff assistant for a public relations firm. Her experience there showed her that she did not want to follow the traditional entry level job market, starting at the bottom and slowly working her way up. She knew also that she was not yet ready to go on to law school, planning that for a few years in the future.
"I would come home every evening and think to myself, 'I can't do this,'" Dettmer recalled. "I knew I couldn't work in a cubical for the first few years out of college."
She began looking into service organizations and the Peace Corps seemed to fit the best. Serving there seemed like a reasonable alternative to jumping into corporate life, a way to gain real world experience and skills while at the same time contributing to others.
Dettmer was also pleased to learn she could request an Eastern European country, since her studies focused on the history of Eastern Europe. She was fascinated by the chance to serve in a country only opened to the West since 1989, when the Soviet Union began breaking up. Romania is now a country embracing capitalism whose large cities are sprouting Internet cafes.
"Going to Romania is not like dropping off the face of the Earth," said Dettmer, who has traveled extensively in Europe before and spent a semester studying in Copenhagen, Denmark. "That is probably one of the reasons I looked at it is that I won't lose touch with my friends or family."
Dettmer will spend the summer in Bucharest, living with a host family and learning the language by immersing herself into society there. She and the other Peace Corps candidates will attend classes in Romanian language, classroom training, environment and safety six days a week. At the end of August, she and her classmates will be sworn in as Peace Corps officers and sent to their permanent postings.
Since her acceptance this spring, Dettmer has been studying about the country, using a combination of information provided by the Peace Corps and other books. Since the Romanian language is similar to other romance languages like Spanish and Italian, Dettmer is hoping to master it quickly, but_
"I am most nervous about becoming fluent in the language," she admitted.
Packing for a two-year trip has also proved intimidating, juggling everything into a luggage restriction of two suitcases. Romania has hot, humid summers and cold, harsh winters so packing for these extremes has been difficult.
She also learned from information provided by the Peace Corps that women wear skirts and suits at work so she is including more dress clothes and fewer casual outfits. Dettmer is also bringing a supply of salad dressing, Kool-Aid and macaroni and cheese, taking up precious suitcase space to bring along a few tastes of home.
Plus, she has an ace in the hole: her parents, Mike and Teckla Dettmer.
"My parents are coming in October and bringing another bag," she said. "I plan to leave everything there when I leave, too."