Thanks to all who have visited my blog as this is my first post! Whether you are family, a friend, a former professor or coach, a soccer player I've coached, a former co-worker, or a complete stranger, I invite you to join me as I soon begin my Peace Corps service in Paraguay as a volunteer in the Community and Economic Development Program.It has been a long time coming. I applied nearly a year and a half ago, I received an invitation about 5 months ago, and I begin the adventure in a few days. Time has flown to say the least. Despite the rapidly approaching departure date, I do feel prepared and ready.
In the past few months, especially this past month, I have found it extremely important to reflect on why I've made the decision to serve in the Peace Corps. I feel it is important not only for myself but also for the sake of everyone I love and care about, for my decision to serve greatly affects the lives of those that I love as well. It is for this reason that I believe they deserve to understand my motivation.
Some may ask, for example, why the hell I would decide to live in a poor, under-developed country for two years giving up the American life I've known for 23 years, sacrificing potential opportunities I would have in the United States, rarely seeing loved ones, all of whom mean the world to me, and leaving to discover a culture, community, and lifestyle all of which I know very little. This is a good question. It is a question that I know I will be asking myself at the most difficult times during my service, and it is precisely the question I wish to address in my first blog.
First, it is true that I genuinely want to make a positive impact on the world regardless of how big or small. I believe most people do in many different ways that are all their own. For me, this is the way I've chosen at this point in my life. However, making a difference in the world obviously does not mean one has to leave one's country for 2 years to work in a community located in a far-off land. After all, inequality, injustice, poverty, violence, and all the other things that keep me restless exist in all parts of the world including in America. I could just have easily pursued a volunteer opportunity in the United States. I mean to say that one opportunity is no more worthy or less worthy than the next. Therefore, my choice to serve abroad was quite deliberate and has also much to do with my passion for learning foreign languages and cultures, traveling, experiencing new things, challenging myself and beliefs about life that I hold, getting to know people with a different perspective than my own, and understanding other ways of life. I've been very fortunate to have been born in a safe and stable country with all the opportunities, rights, and privileges that come along with being an american citizen, to have received a good education leading up to a college degree, and to have been raised by extremely loving and supportive parents. I'm grateful for what I have and the privileges I've been afforded. I've enjoyed life in the United States, but I want to know something else beyond the life I've led in the U.S. because I think there's more out there to see and that there is worth in experiencing other things and being less ignorant about the diversity and the challenges that exist in the world.
Now on to the next question worth considering: What are my expectations? To be honest, I find it more important to consider what I expect of myself than to think of what I expect of the Peace Corps and the community in which I'll be living. I do, of course, expect that the Peace Corps will train me well and lend support as needed, but I see little point in thinking about my expectations of others until I'm actually there. If there's anything that I confidently believe in terms of my expectations, it is that my service will be difficult and that I will learn much. I also expect that things will take time; getting to know my host family, my community, Paraguayans as a people, and fellow volunteers and Peace Corps staff; integrating myself into Paraguayan society; learning the culture and the indigenous language, Guarani; finding people with whom to work and projects on which to focus; coping well with the stress of service and being away from my homeland and loved ones. All of these things will take time. I like to think that I'm patient. My patience, among many other things, will be put to the test. It will be crucial to be open-minded. I expect many things will be different in Paraguay. I expect of myself the strength to accept some differences and the courage to challenge others. I expect many things will be the same in Paraguay. Again, I expect to accept some similarities and challenge the others.
Another question many of you will be wondering is what exactly I will be doing, or, better yet, what I hope to accomplish through my service. I can tell you what my job description is, but what I will be doing on a day to day basis depends largely on the people in my community and the things that matter most to them. I did not join the Peace Corps to work for the United Stated government. I joined the Peace Corps to work with real people and to assist communities in better facing the challenges that hinder the progress they themselves want. This would all mean nothing to me if my work meant nothing to the people with whom I work. Therefore, I hope to first get to know the people in my community so that I can then transfer apposite knowledge to them that I've gained through school, experiences, jobs, and life. Ok. Now I will stop being vague and start telling you all something more concrete.
The more concrete description of the work of a CED (Community and Economic Development) volunteer in Paraguay can be broken down into 4 main areas: Civic Education, Entrepreneurship, Family Finance, and Information Technology. Basically volunteers are there to help identify resources in the community that can be used to further development in these 4 main areas. They also serve the role of trainer /teacher through which one can give classes and training on several different topics. You can work with schools, municipalities, youth groups, womens groups, neighborhood and cultural commissions. The options are plentiful, but may vary greatly depending on the specific needs of the community. I want to write more on this subject so people will have a better idea about what Peace Corps is all about, but I feel like it will be best to describe my life once I'm actually there.
I'll leave you all with a little info about Paraguay. For those that are a little geographically challenged, Paraguay is located in the heart of South America bordering Bolivia, Brazil, and Argentina. Most Paraguayans are of mixed Spanish and Guarani ancestry. Guarani is the indigenous people that inhabited the are when the Spanish arrived. Guarani, the native tongue of this indigenous group, is widely spoken, especially in rural areas, along with Spanish. Both Guarani and Spanish are the official languages of Paraguay. So yes, I will be learning Guarani! Ha! So while all of you back in America are in your cubicles, I will be learning a new language and living in a new place! Don't worry. All of you can make fun of me when I'm taking cold bucket showers, walking miles to get anywhere, and encountering big spiders hiding in my shoes! Don't know if any of that will be my reality. Ha. I'll just have to wait and see. Two years seems like a long time, but time will fly so I'm going to try to enjoy it to the fullest and give as much as possible.
Check back again sometime for my first post in Paraguay!
Another question many of you will be wondering is what exactly I will be doing, or, better yet, what I hope to accomplish through my service. I can tell you what my job description is, but what I will be doing on a day to day basis depends largely on the people in my community and the things that matter most to them. I did not join the Peace Corps to work for the United Stated government. I joined the Peace Corps to work with real people and to assist communities in better facing the challenges that hinder the progress they themselves want. This would all mean nothing to me if my work meant nothing to the people with whom I work. Therefore, I hope to first get to know the people in my community so that I can then transfer apposite knowledge to them that I've gained through school, experiences, jobs, and life. Ok. Now I will stop being vague and start telling you all something more concrete.
The more concrete description of the work of a CED (Community and Economic Development) volunteer in Paraguay can be broken down into 4 main areas: Civic Education, Entrepreneurship, Family Finance, and Information Technology. Basically volunteers are there to help identify resources in the community that can be used to further development in these 4 main areas. They also serve the role of trainer /teacher through which one can give classes and training on several different topics. You can work with schools, municipalities, youth groups, womens groups, neighborhood and cultural commissions. The options are plentiful, but may vary greatly depending on the specific needs of the community. I want to write more on this subject so people will have a better idea about what Peace Corps is all about, but I feel like it will be best to describe my life once I'm actually there.
I'll leave you all with a little info about Paraguay. For those that are a little geographically challenged, Paraguay is located in the heart of South America bordering Bolivia, Brazil, and Argentina. Most Paraguayans are of mixed Spanish and Guarani ancestry. Guarani is the indigenous people that inhabited the are when the Spanish arrived. Guarani, the native tongue of this indigenous group, is widely spoken, especially in rural areas, along with Spanish. Both Guarani and Spanish are the official languages of Paraguay. So yes, I will be learning Guarani! Ha! So while all of you back in America are in your cubicles, I will be learning a new language and living in a new place! Don't worry. All of you can make fun of me when I'm taking cold bucket showers, walking miles to get anywhere, and encountering big spiders hiding in my shoes! Don't know if any of that will be my reality. Ha. I'll just have to wait and see. Two years seems like a long time, but time will fly so I'm going to try to enjoy it to the fullest and give as much as possible.
Check back again sometime for my first post in Paraguay!
