Hello All!
I have now been in Guatemala for a whole year!! (WOW, where did that year go?) I have one year left and it's interesting to see how the reality of Peace Corps has already been so different from my expectations. Here's a look back at what I've learned so far!
Expectation: Spanish was going to be impossible to learn.
Reality: It's rough to learn a new language and sometimes it's really frustrating to feel like my personality still doesn't show through while speaking in Spanish, but I have definitely "learned Spanish" and the fact that it is my second language no longer really affects my work. I have actually grown to really love the language and I hope that future jobs allow me to use and continually improve my Spanish skills. It's a really neat feeling to realize that your vocabulary has expanded without really studying - just speaking and listening to Spanish on a daily basis. I guess when you need Spanish to eat and work and make friends, your brain just gets to work.
Expectation: I would be camping for two years.
Reality: I live in a house complete with a full kitchen, an "activity room", and even a dog. While I usually spend a few nights a week without electricity and/or water, my life is pretty comfortable. I can get internet access using a USB I can get to the second biggest city in Guatemala in just about an hour. To be sure, I miss certain comforts from home - like washing machines, dishwashers, and cars - but I love my little village of Cajolá and I am comfortable here.
Expectation: I would be constantly battling bizarre illnesses.
Reality: To be sure, there are some nasty bugs you can pick-up here and I've caught my fair share of them, but it usually passes quickly. My least favorite illness so far has certainly been the fleas, which seem to plague me. Let's hope this good fortune continues.
Expectation: I would have a hard time keeping busy.
Reality: There is way too much work to do! My days are full and (generally) happy! While the work description was initially quite vague, I now have more ideas for the work than I know what to do with. My official counterpart, the superintendent of my schools, is very "machismo" and difficult to work with, so I have identified health center staff, principals, and teachers who are much more rewarding to work with and who have many ideas of their own.
Expectation: All of my work would be in my village.
Reality: While most of my work is certainly right here in my village, there is a lot of interesting work that many volunteers do for the Peace Corps organization. For example, I worked on creating a Peer Education manual that volunteers and Guatemalans alike can use to implement Peer Education programs in their schools. One of my favorite Peace Corps tasks was working on the monitoring, reporting, and evaluation team. We wrote "data sheets" for new project objectives, created tools to help volunteers with the MRE process, and then helped our peers to report on their progress using Peace Corps' official Volunteer Reporting Form.
In the end, my life is different than I imagined and I am also happier than I ever imagined I could be in Peace Corps. I have an amazing network of Peace Corps friends and Guatemalans with whom I can commiserate on the bad days and celebrate with on the better ones! It is the people I have met who have truly made my service what it is. I already dread the day I have to say good-bye to them.
Well, one year down and one to go! Thanks for reading!!
