Similarities of being a PCV worldwide..

I found this blog of a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia and I could not have said it better than he did, on describing day to day life as a Peace Corps volunteer. I too find myself sometimes painting a picture of what my life in Albania is like that isn't completely accurate. I don't necessarily take pictures or focus on some of the harder things in day to day life in my postings because I don't want to. And I guess it's hard to see when you're in it and I have been here almost a year now and have gotten used to a lot of things but I think he captures it way better than I ever could. I know a lot of the things he said really hit home to other volunteers in Albania but I just wanted to share it on my blog to kind of give a better perspective of life as a volunteer.


He talks about the drastic differences from volunteers, even in the same country which is completely true to Albania as well. What should you expect? Nothing is the best answer. Expect nothing and you will be pleasantly surprised. Every experience is different.


He references the want and need to work out to let off stress and how it actually turns into more of a stressful situation. Most volunteers assume they will run to let off steam in their new country. However, running here is a cause of stress more so than a release. You get stared at as a foreigner here. These are stares that know no shame. Stares that you can feel without seeing. They are honest and curious stares, but can crack even the kindest of spirits. But a foreigner in shorts? Running? That is unheard of. Running here means being followed by hordes of children, the last thing you need when trying to let off steam.

The biggest thing that hit home to me were these few paragraphs: 

Peace Corps is defined by a strange dichotomy. Freedom and containment. I wake up every day with a blank slate. I can do anything. I can do nothing. And while the possibilities are only limited by my own imagination, the ability to do as I please is corrupted by a number of social, political, and cultural practices.

Doing something like the Peace Corps will be your lowest of lows and your highest of highs. Highs that shatter your previous world views.  You will feel refreshed, walk in a forest and quote Thoreau. The lows can last so long that you need a fleeting moment of existentialism just to make it through the rainy season. Well, that, and a ton of movies. You will consider going home. You will count down the days until you leave. You will count up from the day you arrived. “I can’t believe we’ve been here for a year.” “I can’t believe we’ll be here another year!” 


You will understand yourself, question yourself. Compare where you came from to where you are. I have days when I miss America. I have days when I loathe it. Why do people care about Charlie Sheen and Amy Winehouse?


Almost every part of this blog posting applied to my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer as it did to his... in a completely different country and continent. Thank you Waid in Ethiopia for being able to put this into words better than I ever could have.


Click here to read the rest of this post to get a better look into a PCV's life.