I am honored to have served in Guatemala. I had always planned to serve. In Eight grade, my class was shown a video of volunteers working in different countries. One was a nurse serving in an African nation. I decided then and there that I would, as an adult, be a nurse in the Peace Corps and make a difference.
I think my parents believed I would outgrow the desire. Many of my friends thought I was crazy. And many asked me how I could believe that I could change the world.
These people were never volunteers.
I joined. I served. I taught. But I received so much more than I gave.
The children in my village showed me how to make a top from a bit of wood and how to make it spin. The mothers gave me sage advice about living in Guatemala. A male friend taught me to dance and patiently corrected my Spanish over and over again. I learned to slow down, I learned to appreciate that my way was not the only way. I washed in a large bucket, because I had no shower. I baked in a pot because I had no oven. I slept in a bug net- and it wasn't only because of mosquitoes...
Beans and rice were the staples in my diet. Lizards darted across the road and in time I stopped noticing them- they became routine. I fell in love with tamales- they are amazing. I walked everywhere. I loved walking down to the river, I remember the spring at the base of the mountain, hidden by trees, as one of the most beautiful places...
I learned you can sit three adults in a school bus seat. And that sometimes a chicken will peck your ankles. I lived in a house of cement block with a tin roof. My furniture was all hand made and basic.
I have thousands of memories, moments in time. Peace Corps is a tough job- being away from everyone and everything you know. But I loved it.
Happy Birthday, Peace Corps!
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