International Peace Corps Day

My most recent column for the Capital Journal

I’ve never had a definite answer to the question, ”Why did you decide to join the Peace Corps?”

“To help people” and “to see the world” are my most used answers but neither really sum up why I am here.

Peace Corps was something I casually considered in college but, with the encouragement of looming school loan payments, I chose employment. Yet, the desire to serve overseas never went away, even as I did a slight career change from newspapers to non-profit. Eventually, I realized that if I didn’t join the Peace Corps I would regret it and even pictured myself on my deathbed saying, “I wish I would have.”

To become a volunteer, I gave up a lot, more than just fancy coffee drinks and hot showers. I had a great job, a furnished apartment, an active social life and close proximity to my family. That all changed in order to reside in a third-world country and live on $9.13 day.

Four months into my 27-month commitment, there are days when I do ask myself why I am here. Many volunteers join under the premise that they will “change the world” but the reality hits quickly that won’t happen. As I become more familiar with my school and village, I’ve realized that the big issues – poverty and the devastation of HIV and AIDS – are not things I can fix. I am just one person here for a short time and, eventually, I will return to my privileged life in the United States. What good can I possibly do?

Since the beginning of the school year, I noticed one student constantly behind. He often fell asleep and rarely cared to take notes. After class one day, I pulled him aside and asked him what was going on. He said he had a hard time understanding me through my accent and was unable to keep up with the lesson. I told him to always come to me when he didn’t understand something and that I believed in him.

The next week, I gave the students an assignment on tenses and expected that he would struggle the most of my 23 students. But, he surprised me. He had a few simple mistakes, but really understood the concept and put more effort into it than I had seen all year. Maybe I didn’t do anything, but something snapped within him.

As I try to grasp my role as a volunteer and in the village, I know the real reason I am here is because of that one student. I may do nothing else of importance in my service, but to see a slight improvement in just one person is enough to make the world better. For two years, it is worth all that I gave up to be here and serve my country as a volunteer.

March 1 is International Peace Corps Day and I am wildly proud to be part of this organization. Wherever I go and whatever I do beyond Lesotho, I will carry this experience. I am tied to Peace Corps for the rest of my life.

Every morning I walk through a pile of horse crap to get to my latrine, which is infested with insects I can’t identify.

I barely remember the last time I took a shower or the actual color of my feet.

Last week, a drunk man passed out on me in a taxi. A day before, I was on a taxi that came to a screeching halt when the wheel and axle flew off.

At least a dozen times a day I catch someone staring at me, and not just a casual glance but a full-on, mouth-open stare that often lasts as long as I am in the persons peripheral.

A rooster wakes me up each morning and, thanks to the dozens of animals that roam my yard, my roommates are hundreds of flies.

The other day I wanted to do a track workout and shared an inside joke with myself, both signs that my sanity may have walked out the door.

Still, this is the best job I’ve ever had.

When I landed in Philadelphia for staging of my Niger service, I was filled with intense emotions. As I passed through the terminals to get to baggage claim, I came across a poster for Peace Corps. “Never start a sentence with ‘I wish I would have …’” it said. It was a sign that I was on the right path.

Despite all that I been through with Peace Corps, I’ve never been more proud to belong to an organization. The PCV behind my name means more to me than anything else I’ve accomplished in my life and it’s something no one can take from me, not even Al-Qaeda.

Within my 10 and half combined (Niger and Lesotho) months in Peace Corps, I met incredible Americans and Africans. I’ve learned three languages and how to do daily chores without the conveniences of modern technology. I’ve been more engaged with the world and myself. Mostly, I feel like I am contributing something to humanity.

It’s not easy and some days do end in tears, but I’ve never had substantial doubt that I shouldn’t be here. This is right.

Today is International Peace Corps Day and I’m blessed to be one of the lucky few to call themselves a Peace Corps Volunteers. To all of my fellow PCVs and RPCVs, you are an amazing group and I’m humbled to be included with you. You make the world better.