I remember telling people that I applied to serve in the Peace Corps in September 2013. I was excited and I wanted to tell anyone who would listen! It was my dream to finally experience what it is like to be completely immersed in another culture, learn another language, and live in the most basic way possible – the way most of the world lived. I wanted to truly make a difference in this world and be part of something greater than myself.
I realized I was on a different path than most and it was the beginning of several hard learned lessons of things I wish I knew before joining the Peace Corps…
7 – BE CONFIDENT IN YOUR CHOICES
Not everyone will understand and support your choices. You might have to field questions from your family, friends, strangers, saying that you could get really ill, it’s dangerous, and that you would never be able to handle it. That you do not have what it takes. If this is what you truly want to do, accept that you might not have the support of everyone around you and carry on down your path. It’s your life, so live unapologetically and BE FREE!
6 – THINGS WON’T GO YOUR WAY
At the time I applied, you could not choose the country you went to. Now you are able to choose your country, but I do not think you are able to decide where you get sent to within that country. I thought I would be sent somewhere lush with rainfall, since I wanted to focus on (rainfed) water projects. I clearly communicated to everyone what I was passionate about and why I was qualified for it (M.S. in Environmental Science with a thesis that focused on water) and behavior change). I was instead sent to the desert in the middle of a drought with no water source in my village. You may be a health volunteer and want to start a malaria education health project, but the village wants something environmental focused. Oftentimes, you will find yourself in circumstances where you may not get to do what you want or your project is influenced by the organization or the needs of the village. Come with little to no expectations and you will be in a much better place mentally and emotionally for your service.
5 – YOU WILL GET SICK
This is inevitable. How bad, depends on your personal experience. I used to be such a priss about bodily anything. I got over that real quick. Learn to be okay with becoming ill every now and then and make efforts to take care of yourself because chances are the nearest Peace Corps medical officer is several hours away. For me, it was 12-14 hours by bus on a nice highway. I did become extremely ill, but recovered and I am so grateful for my health every day. Also, take your malaria pills – no excuses!
4 – MAKE FRIENDS
The friends I made in Peace Corps made the difference between me leaving and staying. Having friends through the most challenging and wonderful experience of your life to share in the joy and lows is absolutely crucial to your service. Even if you think you’d never be friends in “real life” – be open, gracious, and nonjudgemental.
3 – NOT EVERYONE IS WILLING
Let’s say you have a great idea for a project and you are enthusiastic about it. Sometimes, villagers will not be interested in it. In my experience, my village was more interested in what I could “give” them, than what what they could do to better their circumstances. Finding champions to volunteer their time and energy without pay can be difficult, but not impossible. It make take convincing on your part, which brings me to my next point…
2 – LEARNING THE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE IS KEY
Do not slack off in your language classes. Become immersed in the culture! Eat the local dishes, wear the clothes, get some chickens. It is so incredibly appreciated if you live as a community member. This is key to making the argument that you aren’t another foreigner and you will begin to understand things from your community’s perspective which will influence how you approach projects and others issues in your service. For example, I chose to live without solar power even though I could have paid $250 for it. I cooked on coal for 8 months before getting a gas stove, I farmed my field even though I didn’t need to because EVERYONE was farming and it would be odd if I left the land unused. I gave my crops to my neighbors, but I made sure that I showed up. I was out there with the jembe (garden hoe) with the rest of my village at 6am. Bargaining in the markets was so much easier once I learned how and convinced them I was mwenyeji (a local) and wouldn’t accept foreigner prices. However, most importantly, I was able to understand my village’s needs and their daily challenges because my language skills became more advanced and because I do not isolate myself. Embrace it!
1 – SURRENDER
What do I mean by surrender? I mean that things will happen during your service that will end up being circumstances and sometimes you will need to surrender to these circumstances. I have always fought hard to get to achieve a goal. At some point you’ll have to accept certain things as they are and recognize that it doesn’t impact you as an individual or the value of your service. Perhaps this may come across as a bit ambiguous, but this one applies to life in general.
These are 7 things I wish I knew based on my personal experience as a volunteer from 2015-2017 in Singida, Tanzania and everyone’s experience is unique. My views do not reflect the official views of the Peace Corps.
If you’re thinking of joining Peace Corps, what would you want to know before you go?