2nd Go?
I was a teacher in Africa. It was terrible. I was terrible. Peace Corps is a large bureaucracy of questionable merit. The best parts about Peace Corps are the free ticket to the other side of the world, the passport and work visa, the measly living allowance, and best of all, the community of other volunteers.
I have become a better teacher in the two years since I returned. Now I am getting the travel itch again. I have considered several options: Teaching in another part of the US. Teaching at an international school for diplomats' children and the like. Even joining the military! Then just the other day, another thought struck me: another tour in Peace Corps? Maybe a different country in Africa. Man, I never thought I would consider Peace Corps again for a long, long time.
As bad as it was, as bad as I was, I can look back now and feel nostalgic about it. I can picture my sandlot front yard, the creaky wooden doors, the stench of raw sewage leaking across the way when the wind shifts, climbing the water tower to get cell phone reception, jogging past the stark desert beauty that surrounded me in all directions, getting off school at 1:00 in the afternoon, the random generosity of someone offering me a beer or a piece of fish, hitchhiking to and fro, and of course the pointless staff meetings every single morning where for some ludicrous reason I never hesitated to speak my mind. If I had it all to do over, I would feel a lot differently toward my students. I would play soccer with them more, invite them over more often, etc. I would love them, instead of hate them. Some of them might even come to confide in me. I would walk over to the "resettlement camp" at least once a week. It makes me weap to read what I just wrote.
What would it be like if I had a second chance? Anyone hear me on this one? Any RPCV's out there?
Peace Corps Namibia (2003-2005)
Comments
I'm an RPCV from Bangladesh and Mongolia....and the two countries are totally different. It was easier to accept my situation in Mongolia as a totally new experience because it actually was a totally new experience in reality. Going to the Peace Corps the second time was the best thing that I’ve ever done.
I had a lot of different experiences with Peace Corps in Mongolia. I was a Volunteer, then the Volunteer Leader, a PST trainer for 4 years, and the Deputy Training Manager for PST one year. I agree with you that the Peace Corps is bureaucratic. But I disagree that it has questionable merit. PCVs have totally different experiences in even the same country. And country directors have a lot of autonomy in the way they run their programs, so even the same country can have a huge range of PC experiences related to the running of the PC program at different times.
There is no other organization in the world that I am aware of that does what the Peace Corps does. The Peace Corps is radically different from even the VSO and JICA volunteers. The Peace Corps' goal is only 1/3 development, and the rest is a cultural exchange--it's honest. There are many different kinds of successful volunteers in the Peace Corps...and despite the bureaucracy, the Peace Corps is able to support its Volunteers in conditions that the other agencies don't even touch...and give us the best medical insurance I've ever had.
To name just a few more benefits for any of those interested, during a two-year Peace Corps service, we are given the tools to develop proficiency in a language and culture, understand people of the host-countries that most expats don’t have a clue about, collaborate on projects, help people meet their needs, make friendships, and then come out $6000 ahead. I’m a fan.
I think George is right-on.
My friend from P.C. Namibia (we were in the same training class) had this to say:
there's a nice rhythm to "it was terrible, i was terrible." the whole entry was nice. i also wonder sometimes what another round would be like. if i'd gone in to the first time with some plan for dealing with true, horrible, nearby, uncontrollable things maybe i wouldn't have busted up so hard. and it's a bitch that i only really started to think about cultural differences and how important they are as things were going to shit. it was too too easy to dismiss the culture as something i didn't want any part of, the reason the bad things were the way they were. the problem that the myopia hides is that you won't understand what people do, and things will seem worse and worse, like the guy in heart of darkness.
i don't know how many "george"s (guy who commented on your blog) i've met. they hear the word peace corps and totally skip the multiple instances of the word terrible on the way to telling you how many times they extended and how great it was and how the village gave them a fucking key and offered their fairest virgins. it's like having your friend tell you that he has a blown knee and launching into talk about your last ski season and how this one's probably going to be even better.
I say if you just have a travel itch then take a vacation. Maybe even consider a paid position like the JET program in Japan. Most of all remember that life really is what YOU make of it.
it was my e-mail that the sinister mr. quoted.
i think when i looked at the ink blots of the sinister mr.'s blog post i saw the word terrible repeated multiple times and thought of my own string of terribles. george saw the fond memories that the sinister mr. had of his service and the hope that he exhibited that a second round might go better.
all i'd ask is that if you extend a bunch of times and have the best time of your life while volunteering, then a few years after find yourself at a party finishing up a bottle of whiskey with someone who e.t.'d and is staring at their shoes while hinting at a breakdown. the absolute nicest thing you can do is tone it down a little.
just to balance my other statement out a little... i definitely wouldn't trade the stuff i learned about the world and myself in the peace corps for anything else. the other volunteers were and are some of the best people i've come across. i'm lucky to feel confident that i made the world a little bit better of a place for a few people during my service. i, too, can believe that another round would be lots better, even in the exact same situation. so, it isn't all terribles. but, that word definitely resonates.