Expect the Unexpected

One of the biggest pieces of Peace Corps advice I’ve heard countless times is to have no expectations.

Don’t set your hopes up only to have them tumble down; better to be pleasantly surprised than heartbreakingly disappointed. In theory it makes perfect sense. Every volunteer's experience differs, even within countries. I do my best to follow the advice of the wise sages that are previous volunteers because, of course, wisdom comes from experience! But I would be lying if I didn’t conjure a picture in my head of what my Peace Corps service would look like.

Play along with me…Picture Africa.

Unless you’ve been here before, your mind probably scanned through a plethora of starving children images, war, mud huts, sand, and possibly some giraffes and elephants. Or you thought of the Lion King. Bonus points if you thought of a song (Toto's Africa, The Circle of Life, or Shakira's Waka Waka all count). Negative points if all you thought of was Ebola...

Now imagine Botswana.

I know many of you, my friends and family, had never even heard of it before. If you had to pin the country on a map you are just as likely to point it out correctly as if you had thrown darts whilly-nilly. “Africa” has become such a generalized term that many of the same images from above probably popped into your head. Now, to be fair, there are still malnourished children but not many. Mud huts are commonly found in family compounds but most families sleep and live in concrete houses. Sand is spot on, at least for my village in the Kalahari Desert, and, yes, Botswana has some fantastic wildlife but mostly only in concentrated areas or game reserves. Now if I were to tell you that Botswana is a middle-income peaceful democratic country that’s largest proceeds come from diamonds and tourism, would your thoughts change?

The one main street in my village next to the grocery store.

I’ll admit, Botswana is not what I expected. For whatever reason, my perpetual image of “Peace Corps” is that of a rural village deep in the jungle where I would learn to carry buckets of water on my head, give health talks throughout the village, and retire every night to my hammock on the porch of my mud hut as I watch the sunset.  Its romantic, sounds full of adventure, and can be chalked up to watching one too many episodes of LOST.

Walking through my village

The reality: I work at a 24 hour clinic staffed by nearly 50 people and includes a lab and a pharmacy. My house is rather large with two bedrooms, and two pretty modern bathrooms. I don’t have full electricity (just an extension cord to plug in a fridge and charge stuff) but I have running water (though it does go out multiple times a week). No hammock, at least I haven’t found a place to hang one yet. I can get almost anything basic I need or want in town, the only hindrance is that the ATM is often out of money.

Kang Clinic

Botswana is in its awkward stage of adolescence, you know, with braces and pimples. Its not quite rich enough or populated enough to run with the big guys, but its quickly outgrowing the “starving, war-torn, Africa” stereotype. They’re in an awkward stage of having fast developing cities but slow developing rural villages. Despite its progress, it still has one of the highest prevalence rates of HIV in the world which why Peace Corps returned after already graduating the country from its programs.

I did not expect to come to Botswana and have it feel so similar to home. Albeit there are differences, don’t get me wrong, but it is not the impoverished Africa you see on TV. Part of me wanted to live in a mud hut with no water, electricity, or Internet. Now, in my tiled and clean but spider filled house I can’t help shake the feeling like I’m missing out on a “true” Peace Corps experience. Those darn expectations have scoured my view of this wonderful country, and why? Because it didn’t live up to what media had told me Africa looked like. It doesn't feel poor enough or needy enough...see what I did there? Those thoughts are awful. It should be fantastic that Botswana has escaped widespread hunger and avoided civil wars; their progress should be celebrated, not cast aside because its not what I expected. 

This is not the Peace Corps experience that I imagined. But the truth is it doesn't matter any more because I don't have to imagine it; I'm living it. I can make it the experience I want it to be. There was a huge push for "owning your service" during PST. Basically it means that you have the ability to make or break your experience. You can sit back and complain about everything that is wrong, or not what you want or you can decide to be optimistic, to never stop trying things, to get messy and make mistakes, and dive in cannon-ball style. 

No matter what I imagined my living situation to be, or my community to be, I came here to work with the people of Botswana to inspire individuals to take ownership of their health and their country and to work towards positive change. I came to empower youth to become healthy, confident adults. I came to share American culture and absorb Botswana culture. I came to explore both a new country and to explore my own limits. After years of imagining it, I'm finally living it.

I am fully ready to dive in head first and expect the unexpected.