For some reason, most of us who write
blogs during our Peace Corps service decide at some point to impose
our thoughts, opinions, and advise regarding Peace Corps on anyone
among our readership that may be considering such an endeavor. It
could be because we benefited from similar advice (I can't say I did)
or because we have finally figured this whole experience out (um...
that'd be an emphatic no...) and want to make it easier on those who
follow in our footsteps, but I think we just like to hear ourselves
talk. Maybe that's a bit harsh. I think writing about it helps us
process our own experience and come to terms with what we have
accomplished and/or failed to accomplish during our service. It
appears that I am not immune to this little indulgence.
I don't remember the first time I saw
this video, but I have constantly come back to it over the last few
years when thinking about how to thrive/survive as a Peace Corps
volunteer. I highly recommend that anyone considering joining the
Peace Corps watch it. I can, without a single reservation, say that
if you join the Peace Corps you will have moments when you are both
of the video's characters. Hopefully you will spend most of your
time somewhere in the middle. Below I've constructed a little
analysis of that middle using five of the video's central claims.
Claim #1: In the Peace Corps you
will be helping people and giving of yourself which will, in turn,
give meaning to your life.
My short answer to this claim would
be: yes, yes, and uh oh you're in trouble.
My long answer is a bit, well, longer.
Peace Corps is, in fact, a great opportunity to be of assistance to
the people in your community. The first part of our mission
asserts that we exist to provide technical assistance and
training to host country organizations and individuals in response to
their requests. It is also a simple statement of fact that as a
Peace Corps volunteer you will give of yourself to your community,
maybe/often to an extent that exceeds what you planned, wanted, or
even thought yourself capable. The extent to which many volunteers
come to care about their host countries and host communities is one
of the things that truly sets Peace Corps apart. The
mental/emotional toll that the same characteristic can take on a
volunteer is one of the things that makes Peace Corps truly
challenging.
So I've agreed on the first two
points. My caution comes on the third. I believe that, regardless
of whether you have a positive or negative experience, the Peace
Corps will be a meaningful and important period in your life, but I
stop well short of claiming it will provide meaning in itself. Your
work will teach you things (probably more than you succeed in
teaching others) and it may make you happy, but it will also
frustrate you to no end and occasionally convince you (wrongly) that
everything you're doing is worthless. If that feeling is allowed to
translated itself to “my work is worthless therefore I am
worthless”, you are indeed in trouble.
Claim #2: You will learn a new
language, children/people will not be able to understand you, and you
will be motivated by these challenges (see also: you're a real piece
of work).
There
is nothing quite like asking a group of kids to repeat a word you
didn't hear or understand only to have them start saying it over and
over with increasing velocity until it becomes a perverse game with
you at its center. That being said, there's also nothing quite like
finding that you can function nearly effortlessly in a language that
isn't your own.
Language is one
of the toughest parts of PC because the most frustrating thing of all
is to not be able to communicate— be it frustrations, needs,
successes, or feelings. I came to Nicaragua speaking passable
Spanish and language was still one of the most challenging parts of
my experience. Sure, the challenges can be motivating and they
should be, but they are also tough and frustrating. Its ok to
acknowledge them as such, in fact it is both healthy and will keep
everyone around you from thinking you're a real piece of work.
Claim #3: You will be 1) healthy and
active and engaged in your community, or 2) sick all the time, sleep
late and read dumb books.
Most
people I know in Peace Corps would simply say: yes. In Nicaragua I
have been as sick as I've ever been in my life and I've also run a
half-marathon. I've eaten wonderfully fresh fruits and vegetables
and eaten more instant noodles in a month than I did in my whole
college career. I've had months where I woke up at 5:00 am without
an alarm and with a spring in my step and months were I drug myself
out of bed only to plop back down in my hammock. I have read books I
would never have touched back in the States, but I've also learned to
play guitar and read a lot of wonderful books that I'd never have had
time for if I were living a faced paced life back home. I've worked
with over 600 students and helped them with 72 student business
projects. I've worked with health volunteers to increase access to
sexual health resources and with farmers to market new products and
improve business practices. And then there are the things that
aren't so easily quantifiable, drawing with kids, talking about
culture, teaching people to make popcorn...
I guess the crux
of the issue is time. In Peace Corps you will have to deal with a
lot of time. Twenty-four months worth of it (in your community).
You can put it to all sorts of wonderful uses, both work-related and
personal. Hopefully you will feel good about how you use this time.
It is important to remember, though, that you will need to dedicate
more of that time than you probably think to staying sane. Dumb
books have a purpose. Sometime you just need to relax and let your
mind have a rest. That's ok.
Claim #4: You will 1) Never leave
your site not wanting to miss out on the “pulse of the community”
or 2) Spend your time in the city with your ex-pat friends and hide
from your neighbors.
Hopefully you will love your site and
love your community. I do. I rarely leave site unless it is for
work (partially because I live really far away from... everything).
There are, however, plenty of times when I have shut myself in my
house and pretended not to be home when a gaggle of children started
pounding on my door demanding entrance so they could play with my
colored pencils. I'm not proud of it, but I need space.
Getting out of your community can be a
good thing. It gives you a chance to see the rest of your host
country and to share experiences, frustrations, and successes with
your fellow PCVs. The better you know your host country's culture
the more able you'll be to find the “pulse” of the community when
you're back in site. Also, it can present some pretty cool work
opportunities. In the States we take travel for granted. Over the
last few years I've had the opportunity to travel with some kids from
my community that had never been more than an hour away from home.
It's fun to watch them react and interact with other kids from around
the country.
Also, like I've said before, sometimes
you just need to recharge. You can't give much if you're completely
out of gas. Everyone finds their preferred spot to escape. Mine
is... well that's a secret.
Claim #5: Peace Corps service will
be a time of personal growth and you will love/hate it even though it
is the hardest/easiest job you've ever had.
Two
years is, at once, a long time and no time at all. I think it is
safe to say that Peace Corps will be a time of personal growth,
though what form and direction that growth takes is hard to say.
Maybe you'll decide to dedicate your life to working in development
in a foreign country. Maybe you'll decide you're never leaving the
U.S. again. There is really only one way to find out. Yes, some
days Peace Corps will be tough and you'll love it. On my best days
I'm up before the sun to milk cows, hardly speak English, walk two
hours home because a bus broke down, and deal with 50 high-schoolers
who may or may have any intention to learn what I'm trying to teach
them. I also inevitably say/do something stupid and get laughed at,
am mocked for being really white/speaking English, and may not get to
take a shower because the water isn't running. Those days I go to
bed happy. It is the other days, the days I give one hour of class
and spend the rest of the day reading a magazine in my hammock or
talking on the phone to another PCV, that I find myself wanting
nothing more than to go home.
The Bottom Line (according to me,
anyway):
Every Peace Corps country is different
and ever Volunteer has a different experience. I'm not sure anything
can really predict whether or not you'll have a positive/productive
Peace Corps experience except for, well, being in the Peace Corps.
Even then there is a huge element of luck involved: right country,
right program, right community, right relationships. One thing that
is certain is that, as a PCV (you will get used to acronyms... wait,
that's not it) you will fulfill three roles in your community. You
will be, each in its moment, a learner, a change agent, and a mentor.
You can't help but be. Everything around you will be new and
different and you will need to understand it if you want to be
happy/healthy/productive. You bring with you different life
experiences and a new perspective that will help you draw attention
to opportunities and generate new ideas in your community (change
agent). And finally, everyone will be watching what you do. Little
kids, big kids, adults, men, women, everyone. You may never even
know who is using your words and your behavior as an example. In all
three of these roles, you are on duty 24/7 for 27 months. That's
Peace Corps.
So you still want to join the Peace
Corps? Go for it then. I'm glad I did.
