Flexibility

Before entering Peace Corps volunteers all understand that we are required to be flexible. Now, this is a loaded term that I don’t think any of us really understood before we landed in country. During my initial interview I remember all the questions would funnel back to this very point. My recruiter was interested to know how far this girl was willing to go, and if she was willing to be flexible maybe she had a chance.
“Can you walk five kilometers in the heat on bumpy terrain?”
“Not a problem.”
But perhaps if he had asked, “Would you be able to escape from an uncomfortable situation from a remote African village in the evening to the hut of the closest other volunteer who is five hours away on a severely crowded taxi-brousse sitting by a lady who may have consumption and then tread knee deep in water up a one kilometer hill to get to her home caused by the monsoon?”

I think that question would have provoked a bit more self-reflection on my part.

I say this not to deter anyone from applying to Peace Corps but I do want to emphasize the point that you do not know what your living conditions will be like, so it’s really important to understand whether you have the personality to be open to a completely new climate and way of life. I suppose we never really know until we try right? I’ve been pushed to extremes I never knew I was capable of handling.

This leads to the explanation as to why I have not posted a blog the last couple months. I am currently typing this entry from my brand new site. A month ago I didn’t even know I would have to move. The events that led up to this move occurred so quickly. Because of security issues I had with some of the local authorities I was forced to move. There were a series of meetings with district big shots, my counterparts, and Peace Corps program director that revealed my fate. You will find this story uncensored in my personal journal but because its really difficult to describe this tale without revealing too many details that may put me at threat I will resort to telling just the basic outline of my story. I was never touched or hurt in any way but the things that happened were enough to prompt me to move.
It was painful to leave this community, where I had spent a good part of my service. I will never forget the individuals that impacted my life in a irrevocable way. I completely did not foresee these events from happening nor did I know that I would have to start my service over in a new home. As a Peace Corps Volunteer you have no choice but to be flexible, because at times it is a matter of survival. I wish I was just being melodramatic when I state this. To explicate: I dropped all of my undergoing projects, changed counterparts, changed homes after one year of service, completely changed my daily schedule, and said goodbye to close friends and people who I considered nearly family all within a month… I never thought I would end up in Sub-Saharan Africa, I never thought I would live without electricity or running water, live in the desert without access to varieties of food, internet/ television or be fluent in a relatively obscure African language. But in Peace Corps this happens.