This question is often quickly followed by an "Are you crazy?!" or "Shouldn't you be in grad school or finding a real job?". Although I make no claims at being normal, I don't think I'm crazy. My decision to apply to the Peace Corps, and finally accept an invitation, was far from impulsive. So let me attempt to explain my decision-making process...
Somewhat on a whim at the beginning of September 2007, I attended a presentation given by the University of Texas chapter of the non-profit organization Engineers Without Borders - USA (EWB-USA). I immediately knew I had to be a part of it, and I joined the team that was designing a water distribution project for the small community of Jaboncillos Chicos, in the Coahuila desert of northern Mexico. Community members had to drive out to a mountain-fed spring to collect water for their daily use, so the project saught to install a solar-powered submersible pump in a nearby well to deliver potable water to faucets outside of each home. I travelled to Jaboncillos Chicos for the first time that November, and I was hooked, to say the least! I went back there several times and ended up leading the project; after many obstacles, it was finally completed in August 2008. Getting to know the community members was the absolute highlight of the experience, and they will always hold a special place in my heart. Check out a couple of the cute kiddos below! :)
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| Nacho, Wendy, and Pacho playing at their new faucet, August 2008 - Jaboncillos Chicos, Coahuila, Mexico (Photo by Yen Wai Lai) |
Following the completion of the water project, I also had the opportunity to work in the neighboring community of San Miguel (where the children of Jaboncillos Chicos attend school) on a project to install solar-powered, internet-enabled computers in the community center. I got to see the project completed in January 2010; the team hopes the "internet cafe" will become self-sustaining, and is now continuing with plans to implement the project in other nearby communities. I also enjoyed being involved in the behind-the-scenes workings of our chapter, as an executive board member and vice president of finances.
My involvement with EWB-USA sparked my interest in international development work, particularly grassroots efforts that focus on communities and people. EWB-USA is actually run by some returned Peace Corps volunteers and many engineers that work with the professional chapters are also RPCVs. EWB-USA and the Peace Corps share similar models of community-driven development: by partnering with communities and actively involving them in the project process, you are ultimately building local capacity and empowering people to address their own needs long after you've left. Of critical importance in the success of a project is building trust and relationships with partner communities, and Peace Corps is rooted in its volunteers' ability to integrate themselves into their host communities over the course of two years. The nine weeks or so I spent living and working with the amazing people of Jaboncillos Chicos and San Miguel, Mexico were some of the best of my life, and the opportunity to spend two continuous years with a community is really exciting!
Although the Peace Corps generally has a quite positive reputation in the United States and abroad, there have been plenty of criticisms of the Peace Corps over the years - aimless liberal youth looking for travel and adventure on the government's dime, post-collegates with few other applicable skills presenting themselves as experts on a country and their development issues, etc - many of which are based in some truth (wait a minute, aren't I also a young, liberal, travel-obsessed university graduate?!). I'm the first to admit that I'll get so much more out of this experience than I can possibly give, and my volunteering is by no means a selfless act (if my EWB experiences have taught me anything, it is this). I do certainly hope that I can leave my 2-year service knowing that my students, school, and community are a little better off, but in the very least, I will have met some amazing people and learned a great deal about another culture and myself in the process. It sounds corny, I know, but being a part of EWB-USA truly changed my view of the world and the role I hope to play in it...I can't wait to see where my life will lead after the Peace Corps!
And aside from all that life changing mumbo-jumbo, I've frankly been bit by the travel bug and want to see as much of the world as possible! I've been lucky enough to travel to Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and Sweden. I really can't imagine a more enjoyable way to spend my time or money, and I hope I can continue traveling throughout the rest of my life. The Peace Corps offers me the chance to experience a country and culture in a way that few others are able, and this is the time in my life when I have all the freedom and energy to do so.
So following my decision to pursue the Peace Corps after graduation, I began the long and tedious application process. I started the application in June 2009 and submitted my application and recommendations as well as had my interview that July. I received a nomination that August for a secondary math education program in sub-Saharan Africa, departing the following August 2010. Although I had originally hoped to go to Central or South America, I had decided early on the application process to be flexible and open for a placement in any region. I didn't know very much about sub-Saharan Africa, but I was very excited for my nomination and the opportunity to learn more about it. Just a couple of days after receiving my nomination, I was headed to Stockholm to study abroad for the following five months. That put my application process on hold until I could complete my medical and dental evaluations once I was back at home in January 2010; I was medically approved at the beginning of March. Then began a frustratingly long waiting game to receive my official invitation (country and departure date). In the meantime I was busy with my last semester of classes and my senior design project. I was also taking two courses on Africa - 'Intro to Modern Africa' (history) and 'Sociology of Africa' (sociology) - that I really enjoyed and learned a lot from. Although it was great to learn about Africa in general, it was quite the struggle not being able to focus my energy on any specific country. I finally learned of Tanzania as I was back visiting Stockholm in late June, and wholeheartedly accepted my invitation for Tanzania's secondary math/science education program departing on September 22!
