The Peace Corps experience
So there's lots of talk and assumptions about what it means to be a Peace Corps Volunteer and what is and is not the 'real' Peace Corps experience.
But any volunteer service is valid.
Sure we joke about 'posh corps' and 'harsh corps' and the like, but service is service.
Someone who is currently serving with me in Sierra Leone lives in a really nice house relative to most other volunteers. And recently their power went by out. That's right, they have electricity-- I do too. And if you think anything about what I'm about to say is me justifying my 'posh' residence, well, you're entitled to your opinion.
Anyway, back to this other volunteer. They were thinking 'wow... it's so fortunate that I don't have power so now I can have a real Peace Corps experience.
Bullshit.
The real Peace Corps experience is about sacrifice, true. But it's about sacrificing yourself to help improve the lives of those around you. And whether you do that with or without some modern conveniences, well, it shouldn't matter. No one is a better volunteer because of the level of hardship they have to endure.
Besides, hardship comes in many forms. I have to deal with sexual harassment on a daily basis. That takes it's toll. But as they say here 'na for bia'. Basically 'suck it up and deal'. And you know what? It makes me fight that much harder to educate people that this sort of thing is unacceptable. And now my friends in my community stick up for me.
So those of you who stumble upon this post trying to glean some information about Peace Corps service, know that all service-- posh, harsh, or somewhere in-between-- is real.
