Most people would want their early twenties to play out as a sitcom-like scenario: a group of friends living a carefree and simple life. That, however, was not the case for Upper St. Clair High School social studies teacher Mrs. Tanya Chotani, who dedicated two years of her life as an English teacher in Hungary as a member in the Peace Corps.

Mrs. Chotani first developed an interest in the Peace Corps while she was in college majoring in third world history.

“I was trying to get involved and do some foreign corresponding in a third world country,” Mrs. Chotani recalls. She wanted to study abroad but unfortunately, her college at the time did not offer such options for its students.

It was not until her cousin, who was also in the Peace Corps, returned from the Central African Republic that she realized that the Peace Corps was the right fit for her.

“Potential Peace Corps volunteer gets much more say in where you’re going,” says Mrs. Chotani on how the Peace Corps functions today. Unfortunately twenty years ago “that wasn’t the case.” Originally wishing to visit Africa, she was soon denied that when it was discovered that she was allergic to the malaria medicine, so she was sent to Hungary.

Mrs. Chotani was accepted in December 1992 and began taking Hungarian lessons twice a week. By the end of the sessions, she knew few phrases, such as “good morning,” and “a little bit” of the grammar.

In April 1993, Mrs. Chotani, along with fifty other American English teachers, was sent to Philadelphia for the process known as “staging” in which volunteers learn about what is to come in their assigned country.

After the three day long staging process, Mrs. Chotani arrived in Hungary. There she lived with a host family for two years.

Including her two host sisters, Mrs. Chotani met many friends who she keeps in contact with to this day, including a woman named Emese, who Mrs. Chotani called her “guardian angel.” Emese became so special to Mrs. Chotani she eventually named her child after Emese.

Mrs. Chotani would often save up enough money to take trips to other countries, sometimes even taking her students along with her. She traveled to Prague, Romania, Holland, Paris, and Vienna, but the one trip she remembers the most vividly was her “moving” visit to Auschwitz.

Today Mrs. Chotani has never forgotten the lessons she learned though her experience. “It allows you to see the big picture. It allows you to appreciate the service.”

To anyone interested in volunteering in the Peace Corps, Mrs. Chotani advises applying as early as your senior year of college and researching what kind of skills are needed. Volunteers range from math and English teachers to community, environmental, healthcare and small business volunteers plus many more.

For additional information please go onto www.peacecorps.gov.