From Application to Peru…how’d I get here again?

Since sophomore year of college, I knew that I wanted to join the Peace Corps and serve in a developing country for two years.  It was going to be a great chance to travel, live, and work abroad, and also give me a taste of whether or not development work was for me.  My application process took around 11 months in total from the time the application was submitted until I touched ground in Peru.   Here’s some thoughts on the whole application process, a year and a few months into service…

Application: Nothing I remember.  I think the essays were hard to trim down if there was a word limit.

Interview: Awkward because the recruiter had to type down EVERYTHING I said onto an older Dell Laptop, so I would have to stop talking at some points to let her catch up.  And the interview took 1.5 hours! But other than that, no issues.

Placement:  This is where things get interesting. 

My application (in my eyes) looked something like this:

• 2 years experience in youth development, including responsibility for small and large group teaching/leading, designing lesson plans, visiting parents, etc;
• 3+ years working as a research assistant for two international clinical juvenile diabetes research studies;
• Semester abroad studying in Oman (SIT/World Learning if you’re asking), living with a muslim family for the duration, and beginner level Arabic;
• Other activities: Theatre carpenter, International Relations major with a few classes in Spanish, handsome devil
• Preferences: Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, Pacific, East Europe (I like the cold)
• Possible placement: Youth Development, Health
• Departure date: June 2009

Makes sense, right?  Youth development with the 2+ years working as a summer teacher for a reading program, plus the background and willingness to live in a Muslim country. 

Here’s what the recruiter saw:

• Theatre Carpenter 3+ years: Knows how to build stuff
• Spanish Classes: (=) Can Speak Spanish!!!!
• Studied abroad, did some other work
• Nomination: Water and Sanitation
• Departure Date: Fall 2009
• Region: Central/South America

Makes sense, right?  I talked to the recruiter about it and she told me that this was a good placement and although it might not be what I wanted (especially regionally), I might not receive another nomination or may have to wait longer to leave (which meant getting a real job in the meantime!!!!).  So, slightly reluctantly, I accepted the nomination and continued on.    (Note: Later on, I talked with a returned volunteer and he told me that if they thought you were qualified, you could turn down the first nomination and they’ll give you another.  A bit of a gamble, and not sure of the truth).

Medical Packet: Slightly frustrating because it was in sooo much detail.  Thankfully, our family dentist was willing to do all the paperwork and exams for the Peace Corps reimbursement funds (which didn’t cover what she charged…I think she was excited about the Peace Corps and that I had known her since I was 5).  But getting the medical stuff was challenging, since I was still in school and didn’t have a regular doctor, so my paperwork was scattered.  The attending doctor wouldn’t sign off on my papers until I had 10+ year records about some procedures faxed over, so that delayed everything.  Then finally, around December everything was turned in.  Your move, Peace Corps.

Invite:   I got an email around the 2nd week of March saying my ‘online application status has changed’ and that I would be receiving information in the mail.  Cool! No info about what’s in the mail, but figured it was the invite.  The brutal part was waiting.  I did some research and thought I was going to the Dominican Republic (Peace Corps Wikis didn’t have the placement probability tool yet).  My big packet with folders and information arrived on a Tuesday or Thursday and turns out:

Placement: Peru
Program: Water and Sanitation
Departure: September 11, 2009

Weird day to be flying, and didn’t know nothing about Peru…but hell, I’m in.  Now all was left was to wait 5+ months.  Funny note on that: the majority of volunteers got their invites 2-3 months ahead of time, and I think 2 or 3 received them right at the last possible day (6 weeks before departure).

So there ya go, a lot of rambling and a little information

A Response to 20/20’s ‘Peace Corps Gang Rape’

Recently, the popular ABC news journal 20/20 released a piece on the Peace Corps and volunteer safety, specifically focusing on the 1,000 reported sexual crimes against volunteers since 2000 – including roughly 15 or so rapes a year.  The report interviews six former volunteers who were raped during their Peace Corps services, including a brutal recollection of one volunteer being gang raped an hour after reporting the same group of men for sexual assault at the local police station.  The former volunteers not only talk about their experience, but also the Peace Corps response to the incidences or lackthereof.  The reporter drills into the Peace Corps and the then deputy Director about their responses to the rapes and violence against volunteers. 

While they say any press is good press, extreme coverage of rapes and implying that all Peace Corps volunteers are getting ‘gang raped’ during their service is something else. 

First off, the title of the report is outrageous and should already allow the viewer/reader to prepare themselves for the extremism of the piece.  Beyond that, it was clear this is extreme ‘Michael Moore journalism’ where the reporter tried to show the darkest side without allowing a voice against it.  Especially frustrating was the interview with the deputy Peace Corps director, as the report simply laid in question after question about incidents, although tragic, that happened over 10 years ago and before she was in any sort of administrative position.

However, I’m not sure where to stand on the Peace Corps response to these issues.  As far as I know, at least on a country level, it’s rare to hear any of the announcements of sexual violence (or any incidents, really) against volunteers. Rather, we wind up hearing it through the volunteer grapevine.  Usually, the central office is hush on any events against volunteers, largely out of respect and confidentiality to the volunteer. 

Do they also do that to try to protect their image?  I’m not entirely sold on that.  The statistics on crime and violence against volunteers are publicly available and shared yearly with the volunteers.  

And as for post-event counseling, I do believe Peace Corps was struggling with this for some time, especially with psychological support.  While we have 3 Peace Corps Medical Officers for roughly 200 volunteers here in Peru, we have no psychologist on staff nor a ‘go-to’ psychologist in the regions.  Normally, volunteers would have phone conferences with psychologists in DC…and while it’s a resource, talking on the phone is not the same in person (especially if the signal is weak). 

The crimes against the volunteers are heinous and regrettable, and I thank the volunteers for sharing their experiences.  However, I would like to say that Peace Corps is safe and the vast majority of volunteers complete their service without any major incidents.  Especially in their communities, volunteers are heavily socially supported by the community and it’s actually one of the safest places to be.  Most crime happens in the larger cities, where volunteers are more anonymous as are the perpetrators.  And being white in a foreign city does make you a target, whether you’re a Peace Corps volunteer or not. 

It’s a shame that such a great organization such as the Peace Corps received such a shoddy story with amateur coverage and analysis, especially seeing as how it has evolved from it’s former image of a two year vacation into a respectable development organization.

My Dog is Awesome

Previously published in the Peace Corps Peru Volunteer Magazine 'Pasa La Voz':

I have the best dog. He is black colored. Chancho is his name and he has four months of age. Chancho is his name because when he was a very young puppy he wound whine and cry for food like a piggy. He will follow you everywhere you go only if you are me. Or unless he finds garbage on the street. Then he will eat it. He is very nice to other animals and likes to play with the other dogs in the neighborhood. Of course, he always wins at the dog games that the dogs play. Because he is awesome.

You think your dog is better but it is not. I bet your dog has fleas. Chancho doesn’t and he goes outside to use the bathroom and does not crap in the house. Sometimes he pees when he is happy, but that happens to everyone. Another reason why is he awesome is that he fought a bear and won. Well, it was a dog named Oso but the dog was still kind of big. Imagine that, a pig dog fighting a bear. That would be crazy like ninjas fighting zombie pirates except Chancho would still destroy all of them because he is the best dog and zombie ninja pirates would be lose because they are not as awesome as my dog Chancho.

I bet you are jealous of my dog and that is normal. It is because he is a nice dog and is nice to people, but also very strong. You would be hard pressed to find a better dog than my dog. Just ask my friend Melissa. She likes Chancho very much because he is a fun dog and likes to play and lick faces and be an awesome dog.

Chancho does not like the man who comes around announcing that he has bananas and mangos that are very delicious. He begins to howl at the man until he leaves the neighborhood. But I don’t think anyone likes that man since his voice is like a robot and who wants to buy fruit from a robot anyways. So the robot man leaves the neighborhood because he is scared of Chancho and then Chancho goes back to playing with the other dogs.

He is also good because he does not bite or attack other animals. There is a box of baby ducks in our house and Chancho is very nice to them. I think he talks to them in animal language and he never bites them or scares them. I think the only person alive who does not like my dog Chancho is the cat that lives in my family’s store. The cat does not like Chancho probably because it is a cat and nobody likes the cat because it is mean and does not like anyone. Chancho tries to be nice to the cat but the cat tries to hurt Chancho so Chancho leaves the cat alone and goes to play with other dogs and with me and eat garbage.

This is why my dog is the best dog. I bet that you wish you had my dog, but you can’t because he is mine and I will be very angry if you take him. If you took him, he would probably run away at the first chance and come back home. Even if you took him to Venezuela he would find his way back home because he is really smart. If you want, when Chancho’s girlfriend poops out little dogs I will let you have one. I won’t even make you pay because I have the best dog in the world and I think everyone should have one.

Living Poor in Peace Corps?

I don’t know what it’s like to live poor. I’ve never been rich, but I’ve never worried whether there was going to be food on the table, or if utilities were going to be cut. Maybe my biggest economic struggle is not having enough for some high-end skate shoes without dipping into my vacation savings. Even in Peace Corps, it’s hard to say I’m living poor. I make about $320 plus a $24 monthly vacation allowance, combined with a monthly accrual of $375 a month available at my close of service. While that’s still pretty paltry in the states ($344 a month or $719 total), it’s a lot for Peru.

I don’t have to support a family. I don’t have kids, and I have no overhead. I pay a pretty minimal amount for my room, all access to my family’s house and food (although my family has routinely insisted I don’t need to pay for any of this). Part of my salary goes towards supplies, materials, and transport for work, but even then I’m usually left with a big chunk of money. Even small expenses, such as a $9 hostel room in the regional capital, is a huge chunk of a family’s income – especially in the rural annexes where I do most of my work.

So have I acosutmbrared (accustomed myself)? It’s hard to say. I’ve integrated into the community, most of the town knows who I am, I speak the language (more or less), and I call my community home (no offense mom). I share and learn with people in my community. And they share with me.

It’s really powerful to work with the people in the rural communities. Once you get to know them and become a familiar face, they open up to you. They talk, ask questions, and invite you into their houses. During my first months in the town, I was invited to gaseosa after gaseosa for the first couple of months. In the annexes, I’m offered fruit, lunch, or whatever else is available to offer. Even when I was working with another volunteer in his site, families would still invite us into their houses to heaping plates of food and cups of coffee.

So should I feel guilty about how much or how little I make? Jury is still out on that one. But maybe more important is to at least dar cuenta (take into account) this difference, and that at some level it doesn’t actually matter. Sure, it’s awkward when people ask me how much I make (it’s common and not considered rude here) and that people probably don’t take offense that I might make more money than them (maybe they’d expect a gringo to make more anyways?)

But really, what I should take out of this is not the money issue. Rather I should always remember the hospitality, the openness, the kindness I received from people I’m working with.

According to Time magazine and some research center one out of four Americans believe that President Obama is a muslim. Even though he publicly goes to church every week. This makes me sad for America.

Happy Thanksgiving!

So in the past four years, I’ve missed three Thanksgivings. Two of them from Peace Corps, another from study abroad. And it does indeed suck when you think about all the family getting together, all the food and fun. But I think being abroad for Thanksgiving is also a unique experience.

Last year, since we just swore-in as volunteers and were about a week into site, three of us got together and had a spaghetti dinner with a group of Peruvians. While it wasn’t turkey and stuffing, it was tasty and a special experience to share with other volunteers (who turn out to be some of your closest friends) but also the Peruvians. They hear about Thanksgiving or see it on TV or movies, but still don’t grasp around it. So sharing the evening, the meal, and the spirit was a great experience.

This year, we accumulated vacation days and were able to travel freely throughout the country (much like Southwest Airlines). Of course it’d be crazy not to aprovechar (take advantage) these days, so many volunteers flock to various ends of Peru. I, the irrational creature, decided to head up the mountains to visit another volunteer who was finishing up a construction project similar to what I’m going to be doing in my site. We spent all of the day working, but during dinner we explained that today was a holiday in the states. We just had potatoes and rice to eat, but thanks to Jackie and Emily, strawberry Pop-Tarts served as dessert. Not exactly your typical thanksgiving, nor a good Hallmark movie, but a good Thanksgiving nevertheless.

The Reality

The day we had our first info session about the viviendas saludables project, we find out that one of the mothers can’t come because she was stuck in the house with typhoid (which is can be caused by unsafe drinking water or unhygienic sanitation). Her husband works in the fields, the only livelihood of the town, and there’s really no one to care for the mother. The nearest health post is at least an hour by bus away, letting alone she has to climb down from the hill to the highway and wait for the infrequent transport, then walk to the health post (on the other side of where she will get off the bus), wait at the crowded health post and hope the doctor is attending beyond the number of 20 patients per day, which is the maximum number of patients the MINSA (Ministry of Health) says the doctor can see per day. Then she has to make the return journey. This is the reality of being sick in a rural area.

The MINSA has limited resources and much to do in terms of improve the health of citizens of a developing country. The health post, government funded, is usually understaffed and overcrowded. The doctors could get paid a lot more if they went into private practice, where patients pay with insurance policies. This is the reality health care in a rural area.

But who will cook for the husband? It’s the planting season and he spends all day in the fields, which is a 30-minute walk from the house and he probably doesn’t know how to cook anyways. Who will make lunch for the kids who were in school all day? Or will one of the kids, most likely a daughter, have to miss school and cook the food. This is not a criticism on women or men in development, but this is the reality of a rural family.

She can’t really leave the house because of the side effects (diarrhea, nausea, general weakness). She can’t attend a health program aimed at preventing these diseases because she already contracted one. The husband can’t leave the only income generating source for his family, lest the suffer more. Thus, the family looses the opportunity to participate in the program because they can’t attend the meetings, will miss the opportunity to receive a dry-bathroom, and continue to suffer due to unimproved water and sanitation services. This is the reality of being rural poor.


Note: After talking with the family, we agreed that her daughter would come to the meetings, allow us to do the house visits we do with all the other families, and prepare the same micro-projects and make the same contribution to the bathroom (sugar cane stalks to make walls for the housing unit of the bathroom),