The following is from January 2011 and reads to me now as rather young, the thoughts on the mind of someone barely edging into what this Peace Corps experience is really about – and trying to be polite about it. It sets a tone nevertheless and seems to render no harm. Imagine me three weeks out of training, having just found myself assigned to this city of 230,000 on the Dnieper where I am satisfied to now live and work until December 2012.
When you think of the Peace Corps, what do you see?
Africa probably. Go ahead, be honest. Mud huts, carrying water on your head, teaching outside on a homemade blackboard? Me too. At least I used to.
The Peace Corps supposedly has three goals. 1) Provide trained women and men to countries that need and request them. 2) Show first hand to the world who Americans are and what America is. 3) Bring back to the States a good faith understanding of the culture(s) served. I’m paraphrasing.
Our country director likes to mention what he sees as the fourth goal. It’s something every one of us brought in mind coming here, I’m sure. 4) The personal and professional growth of American volunteers through service abroad.
So what comes of that growth objective if there are no mud huts or outdoor classrooms? Well last night someone finally mentioned the phrase ‘character building’ to me. As in, we all hope for some character building experiences. Sort of fits the bill, right? I thought so.
The discussion came on the heels of sharing reactions to the assignment of serving in a city, as I am now and as he did through training. What form will those character-building experiences take if not persevering to gather water daily from a mile away or teach without aid of supplies or being forced to hitch-hike to the nearest city if you want to phone your family?
Well the following accounts will serve as my first-hand responses to these questions; hopefully arriving at answers but almost certainly along the way encountering deeper questions – maybe even the same ones again and again! I will try to be honest and concise, without wasting words. Your questions and comments will be welcomed and I will be glad to expand on particular points as directed (but should also apologize now for not responding to them all). For the eager or loyal, I think there is a way to subscribe to these things (but if you’re interested you probably already know more about it than me).
Thank you friends and family. You have become my readers.
Particular thanks goes to R. Scott Kennan, Kathleen Walker, and my brother for their encouraging remarks, without which I would never have bothered with this.
nathanieldouglas 