Hope!

When I signed up for the peace corps, I'm not really sure what I expected. I know I decided being a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) was the perfect fit for my life, I'm addicted to travel and I want to save the world, but I don't think I really had any clue what to expect. I remember thinking about what it would like to not have electricity, but I have that. My fridge my be the size of a dorm fridge, and I only have 4 outlets in a two bedroom place, which would be crazy in the states. What, every room back home has four outlets with two plug spots in each one, so really eight, but at least I have electricity. Running water, well I think maybe I was hoping I wouldn't have that, I was soo excited about not bathing for a month, but that didn't happen. Sadly I shower more here than in the states, big disappointment, but boy is it necessary. Also I found that not having water just makes life miserable, but on the bright side I can bath in 0.5 liters of water if necessary.

I will say nothing is what I expected, which I guess is really what the peace corps is about, ask any volunteer, every day is a new adventure of patience, will power, laughter, tears, and some craziness. By every day I mean every hour for the most part. The biggest and I think most unexpected thing for me has been what I have come to view my role as a PCV as being. Its not really to be a teacher, coach, facilitator, organizer or any of the things I came in expecting. My most important job here by far is to bring hope.

In that way PCVs are sort of like missionaries, but we don't bring hope through the belief in some external power or a god, but we do try to convert people to try and believe in a better tomorrow through hard work and perseverance. Sometimes and probably the hardest conversion to make is getting people to believe in themselves.

I will never forget the time I told a group of children, they can do anything they want to as long as the work really hard at it, and one little boy maybe 7 or 8, looked up at me and said even me miss? It shocked me he was so young and had already given up hope. Its not just the kids that feel this way, the grown ups frequently don't believe in themselves either, they don't feel capable of taking on small tasks that they could easily accomplish because they think they can't. So frequently I hear the words I can't, and almost never do I hear I can. You could call it capacity building if you wish, but especially with youth I call it hope building.

Thankfully for me I am already seeing those changes. I've seen an 11 year old girl go from saying I can't do this miss every time I gave her math work, to sitting down doing it without a word, and being the first one done. I've seen little boys go from telling me they can't read to asking to borrow a book, and asking for harder work. Changing the I can'ts to the I cans is the biggest victory I can imagine in my peace corps service.

Some people criticize the Peace Corps for just going out in the world and promoting American values, which it does, thats actually part of our job to teach people about the USA, and its something I myself I have questioned. Does the United States really have the answers, should we really be guiding other nations and other people that come from such different backgrounds and cultures. I for sure believe that in a lot of instance Americans are the ones that have it wrong, a nation where people choose work over people, just doesn't seem to have their priorities right. One thing America can spread to the world and has been so good at is the concept of Hope.

It is the very basis of our foundation as a nation, a hope for a fairer future, granted at the time the fair and equal future was still for a select few, but that concept has stood strong. Some may disagree with me, but the more I travel, the more I learn about the world, the more I believe the US is really the place where opportunity is most available to everyone, and maybe thats what breeds hope. Or maybe its the general nature of our culture, a culture in which as a 5 year old I wanted to grow up to be the first woman to play professional baseball, all the while being a pilot and a rancher too. Nobody told me I was stupid or that it was impossible, instead I was told anything is possible, and I can do anything I want to do. Maybe that was just my America, maybe other people's America are filled with hopelessness and despair, but I like to believe that is what America has to offer to the world, hope for a brighter future, and as a Peace Corps volunteer I hope that is the message that I get to spread, converting people to believe in themselves, and in their own nations.

Up next my Carnival Experience....