Patching the Apocalypse

Today we wrapped up our training design workshop. We now have a program in place for the new group of trainees who will be arriving in Cameroon on June 9th.

Before coming to Cameroon, each invitee is asked to email Peace corps a resume and an aspiration statement describing what they hope to achieve in Peace Corps and how they will deal with the challenges volunteer life can present. This is so the staff on the ground in Cameroon can familiarize themselves with the new recruits and take their backgrounds into consideration while designing training and consider possible posts.

While helping to design the training program, several of us were able to read the aspiration statements and resumes of some of the new kids. I have to say it was a bit odd. I'm curious to go back and read my own statement and see how much my goals have changed in the past year. I'm probably a bit more jaded than I was at the time - as may be apparent from some of my recent posts on difficulties I've been having lately. On the other hand, I think I've learned and seen far more than I expected to a year ago in many ways. I definitely believe I am a stronger person than when I arrived.

The previous country director told us during training that Peace Corps service is like being on a roller coaster - enormous highs and terrible lows coming hard and fast on top of each other. I'd say that's been true of my own experience. For all its frustrations I've had a great time and have gained a lot from my experiences here. It's definitely not for everyone, but I'd also say it was the right choice for me. I have not regretted my decision at all.

Thinking back on it all brings up the obvious question that I haven't yet answered on this blog: Why did I join the Peace Corps?

When I first told friends and family the reactions were mixed, although supportive overall. My mother thought it was a great idea and felt it fit my personality and values well. My father was a little upset at first but came around. My sister and most of my other relatives didn't say too much one way or the other. Some of my friends were excited for me, while others shared the sentiments of my friend Adam, who said something like: "The Peace Corps? Is he nuts?" My coworkers were sad to see me leave, but when I explained what I was doing and why they basically said they couldn't be angry about it.

Although everyone back home has been very supportive, most from time to time say things like "What you're doing is great but I could never do it." My students and most Cameroonians I meet in general don't understand why I would want to leave a good job and relatively comfortable life in the US to come live in a dusty little town in the African bush for two years. Many of them are eager to find a way to get OUT of Cameroon and can't figure out why I would want to go the other direction.

So, what do I tell them? Why am I here? Why am I dealing with mosquitoes and mud and dust and heat and unreliable utilities when I have plenty of other options back home? There were many reasons. After giving it a lot of thought, I decided Peace Corps was something that might help me fulfill many of my goals all at once.

First, I was bored. I'd been working at the same job and living in the same town for over six years and needed a change - and just a move to another cubicle.

Second, I wanted to live abroad and experience another culture in ways that come from living there as opposed to being a tourist. I enjoy learning about other countries and studying other languages, and the cultural immersion you get from Peace Corps service is certainly fulfilling this goal.

Third, I wanted to help others. A simple idea really. I thought this would be a way I could do that.

Fourth, I wanted to serve my country. I've always believed that all Americans should give something back to their country and decided that I should put my money where my mouth was. One reason I chose Peace Corps instead of an NGO was because it's an explicitly American agency. In helping others I also wanted to do something that would hopefully reflect well on my own country. America has enough enemies in the world. From what I've seen I'd say Peace Corps actually does a pretty good job of making us some new friends now and then.

Fifth, Peace Corps provides benefits that volunteering for an NGO rarely does. Very often, if you want to volunteer overseas you have to pay to do so. Peace Corps provides you with a free plane ticket, a living allowance in country, and a readjustment allowance at the end of your service. They provide intensive language, cultural, and technical training (also free). They also provide health coverage and have medics on staff who take care of us if we get sick or injured. They find you housing and a job. After service, if you're interested in working for the Federal government you receive preferential treatment in applying for many government jobs. they also have deals with a number of Universities that provide educational opportunities for returning volunteers. All of this amounts to a level of institutional support not available to those who come to volunteer on their own.

Finally, I guess I hoped to make some small contribution towards making a better world. Some people have ribbed me about naively wanting to "save the world." Hardly.

For better or worse I have pessimistic streak in me and I don't have a particularly optimistic view of human nature. The world has always been a screwed up place and for all the good that many individuals do, as a species we seem to be unable to get our collective act together and move beyond slaughtering and robbing each other because we live under the wrong flag or pray to the wrong god. Thus it has always been and thus it shall always be with us humans I suppose. So far we've been lucky I suppose, but in the back of my mind I often wonder how long it will be before we either blow ourselves to bits, or, so ravage the environment that the earth will no longer be able to support human life. No, I doubt very much that the world can be "saved."

But, sometimes you have to do things not because you are going to succeed, but because they are the right thing to do. As screwed up as we all are, there is some good rattling around in the human soul. Even if I can't do anything to solve the world's problems, at least I can try to make some small improvement in some small corner of the planet somewhere worse off than where I came from. I can't control what others do - only what I do. So, I might as well do something positive, even if it is a bit like rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship.

In his (alternately scary and hilarious) travel guide The World's Most dangerous Places, Robert Young Pelton calls the work done by groups like Peace Corps "patching the apocalypse."

"Patching the apocalypse." I like the sound of that. Yeah, I'd say that about covers what I'm doing. What the hell? Somebody's got to do it.

So that's why I'm here.