My Peace Corps journey has been long and arduous, and it has yet to begin. September 2012 I hit submit, subscribing my future to just over two years of service in the "hardest job you will ever love." Soon I will be on that plane surrounded by like-minded individuals all craning our necks for that first glimpse of our new home, Mozambique.
Why?
Why have I chosen to leave my friends and family behind for two years? Why did I choose to be in a long-term long-distance relationship? Why have I chosen to forgo hot showers, tasty treats, cheese, unlimited internet, my very comfortable bed, my comfortable life, and, uh, did I mention cheese?
Why did I decide to join the Peace Corps?
With just under two months left to go, its about time I answered that!
In my mind, Peace Corps oozes adventure. It promises new things, people and language, and a chance to explore my limits all while (hopefully) leaving the world, or at least a small part of it, infinitesimally better. Small acts of kindness may not seem like anything, but they are still good. That cliche hundreds-of-starfish-on-the-beach-making-a-difference-for-that-one kinda good. So even though I know I won't cataclysmically alter the future of our world, I hope to at least make a dent.
You know that meme: what my friends think I do, what society thinks I do, what I think I do, what I really do, etc?
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| This one? |
It's entirely accurate (from what I hear!)
A lot of peace corps' change doesn't happen dramatically, its more of a quiet gradual shift. Showing confidence in a student-normally overlooked, having tea with community members, sharing differences and also noticing similarities. Normal things in a foreign place. Restoring faith in humanity where life is often dominated by simply surviving day to day.
True, I do not have to travel to Africa to perform acts of kindness. I could probably be a more effective humanitarian by staying in my own little corner of the world, speaking the language that I know, and working to better local projects and initiatives. But, admittedly, I am going into the Peace Corps selfishly, with some altruistic goals thrown in. Peace Corps coincides not only with international development but also internal development. Of myself.
It will boost my resume, help me get into grad school, and allow me to learn a new language almost fluently. I will develop and hone skills in health education and project organizing and management. I will form life-long friendships and get a break from hectic, stressful, internet-run American life. TRAVEL. I will get to feel that prestige every time I say that I am a Peace Corps volunteer.
The great thing is that the Peace Corps is not blind and idealistic. They recognize the "white-man's burden," so to say. We cannot enter a foreign community with the expectation of making it "better" according to our standards, but must work within the constructs of the culture we are placed. And it is entirely unsustainable to send people who can't speak the language, don't know the culture or customs, and are unskilled themselves. That's why the Peace Corps doesn't do that. They choose volunteers who meet a set of requirements with experience in health, education, agriculture, business, etc. Once in country, these volunteers go through 3 months of language and technical training to be deemed fit to release into their respective communities.
They have 3 very realistic goals that meet both the altruistic and selfish goals of their volunteers and the countries they serve:
They have 3 very realistic goals that meet both the altruistic and selfish goals of their volunteers and the countries they serve:
1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
Objective one is obvious, we all want to help people; we all want to do something. The other two are the meat of Peace Corps, or "what we really do." Projects fail, that is almost a guarantee. Plans fall through, there is never enough money, and time either flies by or seems to halt. But 2 and 3, that is where the gradual shift of change comes in and continues long after service ends. This is telling your neighbor's children about the glorious deliciousness of pizza or describing the simplicity of village life to family back home. Inspiring villages to embrace equal gender roles and teaching women back home how valuable our rights are. It is the act of sharing successes and failures and everything in between. Our world is big, yes, but humanity is becoming more interconnected than ever before. Learning about each other is, perhaps, our best way of promoting peace and international development (internal development too!).
Mark Twain put it best:
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."
So it is with great excitement that I embark on this journey for a variety of reasons.
Ultimately, I joined to explore. To explore the world, new places, new people, new food, but to also explore one of the greatest life-long mysteries, myself.
Sincerely,
Laura the Explorer
Ultimately, I joined to explore. To explore the world, new places, new people, new food, but to also explore one of the greatest life-long mysteries, myself.
Sincerely,
Laura the Explorer
