I've been trying to write this final post for at least the last month but I just kept coming back to it, here's what I came up with:
This
morning I had to get my blood drawn as part of my exit process for Peace Corps.
I went with my fellow volunteer, Lauren, to Eureka Labs.
After
our arrival and the initial paperwork I was ushered into a small room with a
man wearing a T-shirt and jeans telling me he was about to take my blood.
Initially, I was worried at his casual dress and manner. I glanced a little
further down the hall and saw that Lauren was being attended to by an older
woman who was wearing a professional, dazzlingly white laboratory coat. I felt
a pang of jealousy that Lauren was getting a “real” doctor to jam a needle in
her arm and here I was with Mr. Casual. I thought to myself, “That’s just like
Guyana, they just hire random dudes off the street to extract people’s bodily
fluids.”
And as
I sat there, rage boiling over, I saw something that made me laugh. Written, on
the breast of the “doctor’s” jacket was the word Chiropractor.
I think
this story illustrates three things about the Peace Corps. First, it is very,
very easy to become agitated, upset, and angry with the current state of
things. You see things that upset you sometimes you can’t help but be annoyed.
As much as you want to believe that you’re here to help some things will just
get your goat.
The second
thing is that nothing is what it seems. You see a behavior and assign a reason.
And until you do the due diligence and work to find out why something is
occurring your assigned explanation is what rules in your mind. Unfortunately,
more often than not, you’re wrong. But you get used to it.
Third,
in the Peace Corps the grass is always, always, always greener. Other people
have better sites, other countries have better posts, everyone that’s not you
has better everything and it feels terrible. The life of a Peace Corps
Volunteer is a rough road and the greener grass is actually a slippery slope.
Don’t fall in.
In closing, if you’re looking to join the Peace Corps pay
attention.
1.
Have no expectations
2.
Expect the worst and enjoy your disappointment
3.
While you did agree to this, it was also your
decision. That being said, it is also your decision when to leave. I read
someone else’s blog before I came and she said that if she ever has three days
in a row that are really bad and she feels like she wants to leave, she will.
So if you’re feeling unhappy and like you can’t do it then go home. There’s no
point in being unhappy and hating your service.
4.
You’re going to see a lot of terrible things.
Domestic violence, sexual harassment, animal abuse, there’s a reason they send
people to these countries. Sometimes it will be really bad. And that’s just a
fact, I’m not trying to scare you or your parents but I wish someone had told
me the truth before I came.
5.
For every terrible thing you see you’ll see
three wonderful things. A scenic vista, children playing, a colorful festivity.
There will be so much to see and do in your country that you’ll feel like you
barely scratched the surface by the time you leave.
6.
Learn not to care about time. The US moves very
fast compared to where you’re going.
The Peace Corps is not a program designed to help people of
developing countries. In all honesty it’s just an elaborate PR program. That’s
disheartening to hear and even more so to experience firsthand. But, the silver
lining is that oversight is not overbearing. When you sign up for Peace Corps
you agree to let the government fund your modest lifestyle in a developing
country for two years. And for that two years, as long as you file quarterly
reports, you can do whatever you want to do. There have been so many great
projects that were totally outside the volunteer’s purview. I was a health
volunteer but I worked mostly in a high school. My friend Chase was assigned to
a health center but started working in the capital with a sexual orientation
discrimination prevention group. Mark had a full blown study of diabetes funded
by the government and has elected to stay on for another year developing their
emergency medical response teams. None of these things were what we were
trained in or expected to do but no one told us to stop either.
Peace Corps is like the Matrix…No one can be told what the
matrix is, you have to see it for yourself.
And I realize this is all over the place but that really is how the Peace Corps works. It's just a random collection of experiences that sometimes make sense but mostly don't. So I'm going to leave now by saying thank you to my Peace Corps Family, GUY26. It was a truly unique adventure that wouldn't have been the same ore nearly as fun without all of you. I love all of you.
To anyone that got this far and is interested in joining the Peace Corps you can reach me at timdaniel25@gmail.com.
