Advertisement
Published: March 3rd 2010
Edit Blog Post
Although I've been in Ecuador for a little while now, I want to start off my blog by reflecting on how exactly I got into this situation in the first place. Additionally, I would like to review what is the Peace Corps anyways.
First, the Peace Corps (PC) (or as we like to call it el Cuerpo de Paz) was established March 1st 1961 by JFK. Volunteers have been in Ecuador from way back as 1962. Back then the PC director was JFK's cousin, Sargent Shriver and currently the PC director is Erin Williams (67-70). Overall the PC has served 139 countries and is currently in 79 countries. There have been around 200,000 volunteers to date and approximately 7,650 currently in service. In Ecuador itself there are over 150 volunteers and 55 new trainees including myself. There are four sub groups serving in Ecuador: Health, Education, Natural Resources Conservation (NRC), and Sustainable Agriculture (AG).
The 55 trainees consist of only NRC and AG volunteers. In our group there are only four engineers, including myself. We are all the irrigation volunteers. I'm surprised at the fact that I am not the only volunteer with limited Spanish language back ground. Before my nomination back in April I spoke no Spanish. Over the fall semester I took Spanish one at Cape Cod Community College (4C's). I had a great time, but we didn't even get to past tense. There is another engineer here who received his invitation four weeks ago and didn't know before hand that he was going to a Spanish speaking country. I guess all you really need is a little perseverance.
So, how did I get here?
Well let's see. I think I would have to look all the way back to high school. I started volunteering for the Interact Club (a Rotary sponsored group). I felt like James Dean, a rebel without a cause, I was mad a society for giving me such a wonderful like while others in the world suffered. And I remember at one point during college application time I turned to one of my friends and said after college, I'm going to join the Peace Corps.
Of course, I totally forgot about it. I was too busy “studying” in college to worry about the PC. But!!! One summer I went to New Orleans after Katrina and helped clean up houses. I was devastated on how horrible the conditions were and that these poor people had to live this way. Then, the next summer I went to Guatemala to help with some building projects and I discovered that people lived that way all of the time, and that you don't necessarily have to have some sort of giant natural disaster in order to have people living in conditions that I considered below the bar. These thoughts the sat in the back of my mind for some time and I continued my college education.
Then, finally senior year. It's October and I've just received a call from Exxon Mobil inviting me down to Bauxmount TX for some interview. I'm at a crossroads. Why did I study chemical engineering? So I could make a fat pay check and totally set aside all of my morals? I declined the interview and then flew off to China for my research paper.
From China I skip going home for Christmas and then I fly to Thailand with my brother to visit a friends of his who is living there. He's in the Peace Corps. There is that word again, the one I had forgotten. And there is the spark. I visit his home and I fall in love with the people of his village, his lifestyle, his complacency. I'm sold to the idea and I return to the states and start my application.
I submitted my application online by Feubary. I had an interview in March. Received my nomination in April. My nomination. Woah. I remember when my recurter called me and told me that a special spot had opened up and I could be considered for the region of Latin America! I had never expected that to happen. I German in high school and was told to assume that I would not get anywhere in Latin America or Africa because of it. But I guess I'm pretty awesome. So my nomination was for Central or South America doing environmental engineering. And that's all I knew.
So I began my health and security part of the application. Easy. I finished that the first week of May and then off I went for a brief three month hiatus hiking the Appalachian Trail (my graduation gift to myself). And then I waited. I hiked. I returned to Cape Cod. I waited. I started working at DY high school (my old stomping grounds). I waited. Still no invitation. I took my Spanish class. And I waited. People would ask, so what are you doing? And I wouldn't have an answer. Literally a day wouldn't go by where someone would ask me what country I was going to in the PC. I hated it. I started getting stressed and getting jaw ache because of it. Finally, a few days before Christmas I called the PC office. I know I shouldn't have, that I should have practiced one of the most valuable PC characteristics, “patience,” but eff that. I practiced that for 7 months now. And then a week after a brief conversation on the phone I received a package in the mail.
Country: Ecuador.
Program: Sustainable Agriculture
Job Title: Environmental and Water Resource Engineering
Dates of Service: April 16, 2010 - April 16, 2012
Orientation Date: February 16, 2010
Wow. Hard to explain my initial reaction. Excited, yes! Ecuador sounded awesome. Did you know that although it is the second smallest country in South America it is the MOST bio diverse country in the world. Awesome. Galapagos. Then, wait a minute. Agriculture? I've never even stepped on a farm. What is that about? I don't really care that much though. I'm pumped. I have an invitation. I have closure. I finally have a chance to get out of Cape Cod. I quit my job almost instantly. I hated substitute teaching. The kids were brats and it made me feel a little pathetic. They'd look at me and be like, wait you got an engineering degree and your working here? And how old do you have to be when you realize that throwing pencils in the ceiling is not really that cool?
I called up and accepted my nomination. I packed almost immediately. And unpacked and repacked five more times. Then, two weeks before I departed I flew out to visit my brother in Arizona. Of course while I was there I receive a new email telling my how I was suppose to pack my bags. I fly back to MA the day before I'm suppose to fly to DC and repack everything and then I shipped out the next day and started my journey. February 17th.
The contents of this Web site are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.15s; Tpl: 0.025s; cc: 10; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0616s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb