Happy Thanksgiving

It’s Thanksgiving, and this year may be one of the best I’ve ever had, although it got off to a rocky start. Because of a tropical depression in the Caribbean Sea, Panamá has been inundated with downpours this past week, resulting in flooded communities, washed-out bridges, and landslides. Volunteers in my county were evacuated to the country capital, and it seemed as though our thanksgiving celebration would be cancelled. However, thanks to the efforts of a handful of volunteers, our celebration is back on in a new, dryer location, which means plates of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole, and more stuffing. While I chopped up 20 lbs of broccoli, I had time to think about Thanksgiving, not with any historical regard, but more so of my appreciation for what I had taken for granted.

I have never felt more thankful to be an American. In the USA, there are abundant opportunities to achieve our dreams. We are hard on ourselves, our government, our educational system, our employers, economic policies, and the media, but these criticisms promote a pursuit for improvement and better life. Our country is a land where dissenting opinions can be voiced, entrepreneurs can thrive in business endeavors, engineers invent, and parents who dropped out of high school can see their children graduate from college. Parents do not worry that their children will be plagued with a debilitating endemic disease, and the sick are comforted in the reliefs of modern medicine for formerly fatal illnesses. Hard work and prudent decisions generally produce a lucrative and merry pay off. We are comfortable in our heated and cooled homes with plumbing and solid barriers from nature’s critters. Personal automobiles are commonplace. Substitutes teach when teachers cannot. We vote for government representatives. It’s beautiful.

Prior to Peace Corps service, I had not fully appreciated these aspects of being an American. Perhaps I focused more on the negative traits of American society instead of being grateful for the positives. I also did not realize what life could be life without these attributions. Chopping head after head of broccoli, I contemplated the country, the opportunities, the health, and even the people I had underappreciated. For so much I am thankful.

Peace Corps?

Sitting at a table in a hostel, typing away on the computer, I overheard the topic of Peace Corps among some young travelers at the next table over. "Their guns shoot hearts," one of them laughed. "It’s quite an old-fashioned hippie mentality" chimed in another. I thought about joining their conversation to clarify Peace Corps' goal and methodology of sustainable development but could think mostly of my own preoccupations with the organization. During my one year as a Peace Corps volunteer thus far, I have come to disagree with major components of the Peace Corps structure, although none of which include any hint of a wimpy organization. So what don’t I like?

1.The Peace Corps is tax funded.
I am for a limited government that provides security and protection to its citizens so that they may pursue contentment. I feel that social assistance should be left to individuals and private or nonprofit organizations.

2.One of the Peace Corps' 3 goals is to foster a better image of the United States.
When someone donates their time, money, or efforts, they do so because of personal reasons. It is a private activity between the giver and recipient, which shouldn’t be done for accolades from bystanders.

3.It is not as results-oriented as I would like.
During our first day in Panamá, volunteers were told not to focus on seeing change. We may see it, we may not, but we needn´t get hung up on seeing results because change can take time. I, however, am here for results. If I don´t see improved economic opportunities, increased income, or healthier and prudent decisions in my community, I will feel I have failed.

4.Assignments are not as thoroughly researched as I would hope.
After Peace Corps, volunteers have the option to work on Crisis Corps projects. Theses are assignments for a specific amount of time, in a specific community, working on a specific project. On the other hand, Peace Corps volunteers are assigned a community, are given a list of possible projects, and are told to go, analyze the community, and figure out how he/she can help. Without the arduous grunt work of researching a community before sending a volunteer, the volunteer runs the risk of not finding sufficient work.

5.We do not have money for projects.
The Peace Corps prides itself on our non-paternalistic method of teaching a man to fish rather than giving a man a fish. However, you may have to buy a fishing pole before the teaching can begin. Thus, even if volunteers are able to develop ideas for projects to improve their communities, finding the funds can be a difficlt task. The U.S. government sends financial aid to promote sustainable development in foreign countries, but oddly, that money is not tied to the designers and implementers of sustainable development projects -the Peace Corps volunteers. Rather, Peace Corps volunteers seek funds on their own and may or may not successfully fund their projects. And so their projects may or may not materialize.

Overall, I enjoy my work, my community, and my Peace Corps experience. There are, however, some aspects that I am just not a big fan of.