FA's Blog: February 2013

I received a great blog from a RPCV from Cambodia who really described this topic....I have used her blog in creating our Fiji experience.
Is Peace Corps right for us? We really did not know until we arrived. Our Peace Corps life is uniquely shaped by our country, our program and our site. I would like to think, that there are a few things that are universal throughout the Peace Corps world, and those things tend to revolve around how Joe and I will change - for better and the worse - because of Peace Corps.
Sanitation has become an obsolete concept. We have eaten on mats that I am sure were saturated with urine. We have prepared food on counters that also served as chicken roosts. We have been in areas where soap and toilet paper are not available. And we have both eaten street food that is undoubtedly questionable. We have been dirty, dusty and we "glisten" of sweat all the time! I sometimes feel my body needs to be scrubbed! We have both had mind/body battles in taking cold showers or bucket baths. Bugs, lizards, chickens, mice are everywhere. One night we woke up to a rat eating through my backpack to get to the peanuts! These things will be OK though. We can adjust. The sterile environment of the States have become a distant memory and also a constant fantasy.
Our bodies though, sometimes do not adjust as quickly. We have had fungal infections, bacterial infection and illnesses that we have not heard of. I have been constantly constipated/or the opposite extreme! I hate to say it, but I have pooped in my pants at least once!!! We can discuss our bodily functions openly and enthusiastically with other volunteers. No topic is taboo.
Learning a language from scratch through immersion is a powerful experience. We have learned to have complex discussion through expressions, gestures, and basic vocabulary. We have learned to bond with another human being through silence. We have answered the same basic questions over and over again. We may never achieve the ability to discuss ideas and concepts but we are learning! Joe and I have a tutor coming to continue our language study. In Viseisei we need to know Hindi as well!
We actively think of each word before we speak. Our speech is slow. We define words with meanings we have always taken for granted. We have learned to listen.
Our concept of money has entirely altered. I wonder if my credit card still works!!!! Paying more than $1.00 for anything causes us to pause and question the purchase. This is a new concept!!!! We understand value in the context of a different economic system. We have learned to barter, even on cheaper items. We will consistently feel as though we have been cheated! We find that Fiji is not cheap. We shop at the Market in Lautoka. We travel by bus. We walk. But it is difficult to live on a Peace Corps budget if you want to eat out or travel. No one knows how to budget like a Peace Corps volunteer! Thrift vs. splurge; ration vs. binge. My favorite game is to play tourist. We walk into a five star hotel, sit next to the pool and pretend we are tourists!
Work can be frustrating. We sometimes wonder about the benefit of our presence. We feel lost in unstructured expectations and crushed by promising ideas fallen to the side. Our expectations sometimes fade into unexpected reality. We celebrate the small victories. We try to tackle the impossible and sometimes we succeed. Joe is working with Non-communicable diseases. Diabetes is hard to control in the States as well as Fiji. Breakfast here is often white rice with sugar. Tea is often with 3 Tbsp. of sugar. Choosing Wellness through SNAP...(non-smoking, good nutrition, limited alcohol, and more physical activity). I am working with Reproductive Health in hopes of empowering rural women by giving them education, access to good health.
We are becoming stronger people for ourselves through self motivation.
We have also found to be a celebrity because we are white. We are an exception to the societal/cultural rules. By being a foreigner, we are set apart. We receive privileges and often have special attention status because of our nationality. Eyes are always on us. It is interesting to contemplate the value we place on people because of arbitrary characteristics. We will come away from our experience more attune to our own merits, to those that are deserved.
Personal space is something I have always had. Growing up in Kentucky with my sister in one large bedroom, we divided it in half. I had my side and she had her side. Personal space in Fiji has been challenged. We now wonder why you need an entire room to yourself while no one else even has a bed to himself. I still don't want to give up "my" room. Privacy is a privilege, a rarity, not a right.
I have often lost control of all emotion and sometimes feel on an unpredictable roller coaster ride of ups and downs. I go from Happy and confident to tearful by things as simple as ants in my food! Joe is my rock. I really could not do this without him. He is always there for me and I love him. I am not one who likes to be lonely. I am forced to become aware of myself in the context of solely being myself. Friendships are forged and they are deep. We are witnessing a whole new way of life and we now question WHAT is a necessity. We are discovering what our "needs" are to live a productive, satisfied life. I hope I will remember that when we return to the culture of plenty.
We will become the biggest product of our Peace Corps work. We will definitely change. And we will bring that change back to Wellsville.

Update: ( Feb. 24, 2013)... Thanks for all your emails.........I really did not mean for this blog entry to sound so depressing...just a bit of "my" reality. Joe and I are truly enjoying our Peace Corps adventure with all the ups and downs. We like living in another culture and we Love the people of Fiji. It is certainly not always easy and it is not LALA land but it is a great adventure and we will never regret doing this. So please know we are happy and thriving, learning and living, sharing and exploring, crying and laughing. Love to all.....We miss you