Peace Corps Anniversary

      I was startled to read that the Peace Corps turned 55 on March 1^st. Can that be right? It was celebrating its 10^th anniversary when I entered in 1971. So, well, I guess that is right.

     The anniversary triggered three things: 1) it made me feel old; 2) it confirmed that experiences really do last a lifetime and affect your view of the world; and 3) it prompted pulling out a journal from then which rekindled many memories. 

     Travel and adventure had been strong pulls since childhood. The Peace Corps had been at the top of my list since junior high, so I felt very fortunate to be accepted upon college graduation though, in truth, I wasn't sure I had much to offer. Engaged at the time, my then-fiance understood that I “had to do this” and agreed to delaying marriage for two years. In the end, it didn't work out. Distance does make the heart grow fonder. But, sometimes its for somebody else. It seemed a heavy price at the time, but was probably just as well. It extended my adventures in Latin America for an additional two years.

Assignment

     I was assigned to work for a Colombian organization called SENA (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje – the National Service for Learning). SENA offers myriad classes, from business and professional skills in cities, to agriculture and livestock management in rural areas. At the time, the only classes for rural women were pattern-making and sewing. Both are great skills, but weren't my forte, so they allowed me to teach health, nutrition and first-aid. Macrame was included so women had something tangible to take home to husbands or fathers who were sometimes suspicious. I learned after the fact that some women were punished, even beaten, for coming to my classes. That was heart-breaking. Most of the rural women I met had limited education but were incredibly resourceful and clever. El machismo may make it appear it's a man's world, but it was obvious it was often the women who kept homes and families together, and even crops going sometimes. (That's not to say I didn't meet good husbands and fathers too; I did.)
     Most volunteers will tell you you learn far more than you teach. That was certainly my experience. Was that part of President Kennedy's reason for launching the Peace Corps?

Living Out of a Suitcase

    My job, in essence, was serving as an itinerant teacher, assigned to a village or vereda (homes spread across a mountainside or valley) that had requested a course. I'd spend two to four weeks, living with a family, or sometimes in the priest's house (the casa cural) or with the school teacher.during the week. On weekends, I'd usually go back to the city  where I shared an apartment with three other girls. Travel was by bus from the city to the nearest town or village but the last few miles were usually on horseback, mule or foot. There was rarely electricity or running water in the veredas.   Nor did anyone speak English. The women were my best teachers, with their infinite patience and humor. I didn't even realize they were correcting me, at first, they were so subtle. They say when you first dream in the language you are studying, you've grasped it. You're not necessarily fluent then, but are more comfortable and have absorbed its rhythm. It's a memorable morning when you awaken to the realization that you've dreamed in another language.

At another volunteer's house

     Each Peace Corps volunteer's experience is different. None is without its challenges, but those are what make the experience rewarding. Former President Jimmy Carter's mother, a nurse who served in India in her 60s, called Peace Corps service “the toughest job you'll ever love.” She was right.

In honor of the anniversary, I'll share some stories over the coming weeks.

Conflicting Goals

      My brother returned from his military tour in Viet Nam, two days before I left for Peace Corps training in Colombia. While I was eager (yet apprehensive) about what lay ahead, his opinion of my choice was surprisingly negative. He tried to discourage me by saying people didn't want us in their countries. They will hate and resent you, he said. It was sad to see him so negative, but perhaps understandable, given the experience he was exiting. It gave me pause but didn't change my mind. He was about to readjust to life in the U.S. which, for him, as for thousands of others, would not go well. Near the end of his life he received the “new” diagnosis: PTSD. He died waiting for a liver transplant. Alcohol finally killed his ghosts and pain. For some, tragically, their war never ends.

      The Peace Corps didn't end wars either and has been removed from numerous countries over the years because of political strife that put volunteers and those working with them in danger. It pulled out of Colombia in 1981 after 20 years. However, volunteers began to return in 2010, teaching English for Livelihoods.

First Site Sola

      After three months of in-country training, the two of us assigned to work with SENA spent several weeks interning with Colombian instructors in rural areas before being sent out on our own.  Naturally, I was a bit nervous about  my first assignment on my own. It ended up taking the better part of a day to get there, not because of distance so much, but because of a mix up in communication and no transportation for the last leg (this was well before cell phones or internet, and wouldn't be the first time). But, an elderly priest and the mayor of the village at the bottom of the mountain  (a woman) were especially kind and helpful. When they couldn't locate a horse for me to borrow, I offered to walk but they said it was too far and dangerous. Finally the driver and '59 Jeep the drugstore used for deliveries was enlisted and up the mountain we went, with two girls who'd learned of the ride and had family where I was headed. There was no road, just a rocky path. The scenery was stunning but the trip bone-jarring. The Jeep's gas pedal was tied to the steering column with a rope which, amazingly, didn't come undone during the heavy jostling and we had just one flat tire.
     Before settling in with a family, I went to the school house to have the children tell their mothers the course would start the following day.
     Would anyone show up?