I spent 2006-2008 in Palau, a Pacific island nation that is no more than a tiny dot on a world map but has left a much more significant mark on my heart and who I am.   I could not attempt to describe my experience in a simple blog, but if you do want to hear more, just let me know – I could write for hours about it.

I now work for Youth For Understanding, a nonprofit high school exchange organization.  Knowing that RPCV’s and other Peace Corps enthusiasts are excited about intercultural exchange opportunities, I am posting this as an invitation for you to consider hosting an international exchange student this coming school year. YFU hosts students from over 60 countries around the world, including from several predominantly Muslim countries as part of a specific outreach to bridge the gap between the United States and the Muslim world.  If you are interested in finding out more about welcoming an enthusiastic international teenager into your heart and home, please email me at achochrek@yfu.org.  If you know anybody who would benefit from this type of cultural exposure, please share this information with them.  It is a great way to live out the third goal of helping Americans understand the world beyond our borders.    I hope to hear from you!

www.yfu-usa.org

Peace Corps is a gov’t entity however and must operate under the usual restraints and timelines.  It takes time for the paperwork to clear, background checks to be completed and arrangements to be made.  Their budget is not flush like other arms of the federal gov’t and so you will find that the frills are missing.  But the administrative people are genuine and want to help you as much as they can.  However, this is not the military and the training will get you started but you will be on your own to complete it.

Peace Corps volunteers are a special breed of person.  They are soft and caring but develop a will to perservere and complete their mission which will change them forever.  Those of you wondering about your how you will live, where you will live and what you will live in will not find the answer until you get there.  I lived in a round thatch hut in a mission, some had running hot and cold water and car ports while other were in places where they might get out of the mountains every other month.  There is no real way to tell.  You will be going where you are needed and the people will be greatful and give you what they can.

It is very important to searcg yourself and find out what you want.  Do you want to help others? Do you need a nice place to live?  What are your looking for?  You will find what you are looking for.  If it is a great bunch of people that will be happy to be around you, you will find them.  If you are worried you will find problems, they will be there.  You must be proactive, friendly, willing to accept challenges as stepping stones not stumbling blocks.  Apprehension is normal, but it should not stop you from accepting the challenge.

I read one post that wanted to know what Lesotho was like.  I was a teacher in the lowlands where the population is the greatest.  It was quite easy to move around but I found after I got to know the people that there was a lot to do and I didn’t need to get out so much.  I enjoyed walking the countryside, visiting the villages, checking out the rock formations, dino foot prints and rock paintings.  It is a small country but it took us a long time to get anywhere.  I’ve noticed that a lot of things have changed and that a lot of improvements have taken place. But there are still many challenges.  As a volunteer, you must be ready to meet the people, interact with the people, learn their language, maybe even drink a little joala with them.  You must learn to have fun with them, laugh with them but realize that getting close will mean that you may also cry with them from time to time.  These things will help make you part of their community and you will be loved and treated as one of them.  I was 6 ft and blonde, they were 5.5 ft and dark but I was made to feel at home by them.

So set back, know that it will take time, learn as much as you can about the people and the country but realize that many of the things you learn were written by outsiders that never got to meet the people and live with them.  Your experience will be different.  It will be what you make it.

Go out there, make a difference and come back with some great stories to share.

JL

I’m trying to get a hold of a professor at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities who teaches arabic to see if he has any connections with Moroccans here in the states. If I could hang out with and get to know any that would be invaluable. Any information before getting over there will be a life saver (what do people do for fun? what is the age group in rural areas, mostly 15-30? How do Berber people differ from Arabs if at all? etc.). Either way, I’m just going to keep studying Arabic and hopefully learn some things about Muslim belief and culture. But anything guys…ANYTHING…would be swell. By the way, are there any other people heading to Morocco with me. Where my peeps at?

My wife recently tore her ACL and will require surgery and rehabilitation to fix it. We were nominated to go to Burkina Faso in June 08 and now we are waiting to hear back from OMS about what will happen with us. I fear that they will make us wait an inordinate amount of time (5-6 months, possibly more!) before they medically clear her again.

Does anyone know of someone else that received an injury right before departure.?

Did they go to their nominated country or were they sent somewhere else? Will the PC decided we are not worth the trouble (gasp!) How long were they deferred?

We just found out that the ACL was torn yesterday and called OMS and left a voice mail. We haven’t heard anything as of this morning. I am just worried and I have a terrible feeling that OMS will be vague and not tell us when we could expect to ship out. I am a teacher and kind of need to know if I should return to my current school (which didn’t give me a renewal contract as I announced in December that I was moving to Africa with the Peace Corps) or just have an extended summer.