Peace Corps and a President: A True Story

How's this for a 50th Anniversary story?


Peru's general elections are coming up this April.  The leading candidate for President of Peru is named Alejandro Toledo.


Alejandro Toledo was born as the 8th of 16 children in a poor Andean family.  Seven of his brothers and sisters died before the age of 1 year old.  From the age of 6 onwards, he worked as a shoeshine and newspaper boy in Chimbote, the coastal town to which his family migrated.  Here in 1964, two volunteers in the brand new Peace Corps program were assigned.  Nancy Deeds needed a place to stay, and in a shantytown, met a teenager.  While his family's home already had 9 people living in 3 rooms, he convinced his mother to allow the volunteer to live (paying rent) in the front room of the house, where produce was sold.  The two volunteers, Nancy and Joel, began assisting Alejandro with a youth group that he headed. By kerosene lamp in her tiny room, Alejandro and Nancy also had long talks about politics and society. "There's no doubt that I woke up and said, 'Maybe I can go somewhere,'" Toledo remembers. 


A few years later, Alejandro won a small scholarship to study in the United States.  He turned to the then-married couple, Nancy and Joel Meister, for help.  They agreed after he promised that he would return to Peru some day. They helped him enroll at the University of San Francisco, lent him money and housed him until he could find his own place to live. In 1970, they attended his graduation.  Toledo went on to Stanford, where he ended up getting two master's degrees and a Ph.D. in Economics. It was at Stanford that he met his wife, Eliane Karp, a Belgian linguistics student.


Toledo first appeared on the international political scene in 1996 when he formed and led a broad democratic coalition in the streets of Peru to bring down the autocratic regime of Alberto Fujimori.  In the 2000 presidential election, Fujimori narrowly defeated Toledo amidst allegations of electoral fraud and widespread upset over the unconstitutionality of Fujimori's candidacy.  After the fall of Fujimori and a short interim presidency, Toledo was elected president in 2001.  In the land of the Incas, he became the first person of indigenous descent to rule this land in 500 years.


To bring it all full circle, Toledo was the president who in 2001, invited the Peace Corps to return to Peru.  Peace Corps had left the country in 1975, due to political and economic instability.


And now, in the year of the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps and my entrance as a Peace Corps Volunteer, this man may again be elected president.


Below are some fantastic videos that show the diversity of Peru, and the tour guide is then-president Toledo. It is extremely cheesy at some points, but I loved every minute of this.  The first one is the best, I think.

94 Days Until Staging

Hi everyone, it's been a while!

I haven't had much significant Peace Corps activity recently, or at least not blog-worthy updates.  I would rather not post than clog up Peace Corps Journals with stuff like my passport updates, GMAT testing, etc. but I have had enough thoughts recently that I thought they warranted a post.

A friend of mine leaves for PC Senegal this week, and she posted a picture of the contents of her luggage on Facebook.  Ahhh, made it so real!  When I saw her about two weeks ago, I asked how she was feeling about leaving.  She said "overall excitement with occasional bouts of panic."  I thought that was a perfect description of what I anticipate I will feel in two months.  She said she has moments of "What the hell am I doing?  Is there really a reason for me to move to Africa for two years?" and seriously contemplates this life choice, but then eventually gains her footing again.  I have had some thoughts like that, and I figure the more I think about this now, the better.  From what I gather, the first 3 months of training and first 3 months at site involve answering those questions from the locals very often.  The more that I work to articulate my reasons for joining the Peace Corps now, the quicker my counterparts and local acquaintances will come to understand me and my reasons for being there (hopefully).

My current sound-bite for "Why Peace Corps?" is this: 
I want a career in global development work, and I don't think I could ever be effective or trust myself in a global development job without having spent significant time on the ground.  If I am eventually in a position to make decisions/policies on behalf of the interests and needs of others, I want to make sure I have a good idea of what their interests and needs actually are, and I hope to achieve that by incorporating myself into a developing community for two years.

I also got to see a friend who was visiting DC after recently returning from "Interrupted Service" in PC Kyrgyzstan.  She was forced by PC to leave her community after a number of safety concerns, and she said she was planning on leaving service in the next few months anyway, so this was a good thing.  Basically, she was in a sketchy situation with her host father and a number of other men in the community.  From the beginning, PC had given her the option of moving to another Kyrgyz community- but as she put it, what was she supposed to tell her counterparts and friends?  "I'm moving to another community that is pretty much exactly like this one, but with different people."  Yeah, that sounds like a difficult conversation to have with people that you care about.  So for her, returning to the States was better than moving to a different community.

We got to talk about a number questions and thoughts I had, and she said I seemed to be well aware of the biggest challenges of being a PC Volunteer, which was encouraging.  Lack of hot (or running) water, rural living, strange foods, bugs etc. are things that you can get used to somewhat quickly (okay maybe not the bugs), but here are the things I think will be most difficult:

• Explaining what I am doing here.  Pretty much addressed above... but I anticipate that a lot of locals will be really confused as to why I chose to come to rural Peru by myself.  I hope I'll be able to articulate my reasons in a way that makes sense from their point of view.
• Harassment. Hopefully (and most likely) I won't encounter anything as bad as my friend did.  But I do anticipate that as an American woman, I will be somewhat of a target for sexual advances.  I don't think I'll have a problem managing if it is a sporadic occurrence, but I'm concerned about having uncomfortable situations that I have to deal with every day- for example, a host family member or coworker.  It is really awful to be in a situation like that where for one reason or another, you feel helpless.
• Working within the limits of local superstitions.  I said this one, and my friend from PC Kyrgyzstan burst out laughing.  She said this was a very accurate challenge.  For example, in Kyrgyzstan, girls cannot sit by the corner of a table, because the point of the table takes their virginity and can damage their ovaries.  Also, her very smart counterpart wanted to buy shoes with thicker soles because that would fix her kidney stones.  What do you say to that?  "Ummm I really don't want to be a cultural imperialist here, but you're wrong."  Often times, I think it will be best to just not say anything and "pick your battles."  But as I experienced in Spain, this is often easier said than done for me; after I returned from a long run in the humid summer, I went into the kitchen to grab a glass of cold water from the fridge.  My host mother panicked and grabbed the glass out of my hand, saying that I cannot drink cold water after running- only room temperature water.  I was confused and said I'd be fine, I would really prefer cold water.  She persisted that the King of Spain had a heart attack and died by drinking cold water when it was hot outside- I could die!!  Oh man, that was difficult.  I reeeeallly really wanted that cold glass of water.
• Problems with my host family.  I am nervous about the possibility of having a bad match with my host family.  I hope that PC Peru will have picked a good family and community for me, but I know that bad situations do occasionally happen.  A current PCV Peru's blog discussed her situation, where the host mother always seemed dissatisfied with the Volunteer's contributions to the household, and constantly talked about everything that the previous Volunteer did in the house.  She got support from PC Peru, and they helped her move in with another family.  I just really really hope that I am placed with a family where we can share a sense of humor.  When I am trying cow's stomach or guinea pig, or attempting to pluck a chicken or prepare a meal, I want to be able to laugh at myself and have my family laugh with me.
• Trying to be on my A-game 24/7.  Peace Corps is not a 40-hours a week job.  My success on site will be determined by the relationships that I cultivate.  When I am sick (as I have been assured I will be for the first 3 months), tired, or frustrated, I am afraid that that will affect my relationships with others, and consequently, how they respect me and my work.  As a slightly different concern, what if I just can't "make it work," and never reach the point of feeling like I am really accepted in the community?

These are serious challenges, but they don't detract from my commitment to PC service.  Beyond the career motive I explained above, I see these next to years as an important "personal test" for me, in becoming a stronger person and demonstrating my commitment to serving others.  To get really mawkish for a second, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." (Gandhi)

Now that I'm done with the GMAT (for the second time), I've been able to start thinking about pulling my life together pre-Peace Corps.  I've filed my taxes for 2010 and am making some financial preparations for the next two years, including consolidating banks accounts and investing some of my savings.  The next things on my to-do list are:

• Dental Clearance update.  By June, it will have been more than a year since I received my dental clearance, so I have to get mine redone.
• Backing up pictures, documents, and music.  My computer is about 3 years old now, and I know it might bite the dust while I'm in Peru.  I'm not concerned about that, since I don't want to risk buying a new one and having it break or get stolen.
• Contemplating some purchases.  I think I want to get a nice camera for PC service.  Although I have a terrible track record with cameras and am afraid of this getting stolen too, I want to have the capacity to take frame-worthy photos of the people and places of Peru.  I also need to get a long down jacket, Chacos, a headlamp, small iPod speakers and possibly some new luggage and an electronic dictionary.  Anybody have recommendations about whether I should use an electronic dictionary or regular old-fashioned one?
• Selling my car.  This one is going to be sad.  I've had my baby since I was 16, and it has treated me so well!  However, I am excited to free myself from registration, taxes, insurance, gas, etc.

Next update will probably be about the upcoming election in Peru.  I'm gathering my thoughts on that one and will get back to you!

“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”

regarding the Middle East and North Africa:

time to step up to the world's proverbial plate, Obama.

50th Anniversary, 50 Volunteers, 50 Countries!

I am VERY excited to be a part of a really cool PCV Project!

http://pcsnapshotsofservice.blogspot.com/

You can read more about it on the link but basically a journal will be traveling around the world, to the hands of 50 PCV's starting their service during 2011.  We will each have two chances to write in one of the two volumes and read the previously written stories.  Then hopefully we'll all get copies of it at the end!

AND my dear blog friend Jessica (future PCV Moldova) is on the same project!!

I have a really good feeling about this :)


On a totally separate note, please keep the Americans, Egyptians, and everyone else in unstable countries right now in your prayers.  I have two friends from college in Egypt right now, one of which has been one of my best friends since first year dorms (Tom).  His blog, with help from his girlfriend in the States, is being updated here: http://afewdaysabroad.wordpress.com/

He's safe and the other friend was actually interviewed on CNN on Tuesday: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2011/02/01/exp.ac.teacher.staying.in_egypt.cnn?iref=allsearch

It seems like the Americans in Cairo right now are finding a strong sense of purpose in carrying the messages of the Egyptian people to the US media.  They all seem to emphasize that any anti-American sentiment is not directed at individuals but at hypocritical foreign policies.  Let's all hope and pray for peace tomorrow.
2/3/2011: Able to talk to my friend Tom on gchat today since internet has been restored.  Apparently the danger to foreigners (especially those with cameras) has really increased over the last couple days, as you might imagine given the news about attacks on Anderson Cooper and other media.  News reports point to the pro-Mubarak protesters for the increase in anti-Americanism, as they see the media really taking a toll on the pro-Mubarak cause.  Tom was actually with another CNN crew that was attacked and has since withdrawn to safer areas.  He was able to post a lot about yesterday, if you click the blog link above.

Aspiration Statement

Just sent mine in, possibly a 1/2 day late (it's supposed to be 10 days after invitation is accepted).  It's been a crazy week with the East Coast snow, I got stuck in Denver traveling back from a work meeting in Las Vegas!

I'm sure this will bore some readers to tears but here it is anyways:

A: The professional attributes that you plan to use, and what aspirations you hope to fulfill, during your Peace Corps service.

My first priority in Peace Corps service will be to fully integrate into the community, so that I feel like I deeply know the locals and the locals deeply know me.  I see success in this goal as a necessary prerequisite to my second goal: to implement projects that prove to be self-sustaining in the community.  Specifically, I want to empower local youth and businesspeople with the skills and motivation to pursue their academic and professional goals, and to become leaders in their community through that process. 

If I truly want to empower others, I will need to let them take the steering wheel.  I have had significant successes in the past in empowering new leaders, but I will always need to remind myself that while something might get done faster if I do it by myself, we cannot build local capacity until my counterparts have those skills themselves.  I will draw on my past experiences of patient mentorship and development of protocols and written guides to bolster institutional capacity.  In addition, I have prided myself on my consensus- and participation-building skills in the past, and believe I can apply those skills to a new context in Peru.  While the aforementioned professional characteristics point towards “caution” or patience in a lot of cases, I also plan to utilize my action-oriented attitude towards community issues.  While local knowledge will provide much necessary guidance on my projects, I will work hard to show that conditions can change with the appropriate investment of time, effort, and commitment to new ideas.

Another ambition I have is to use some existing resources in Peru to spur local and potentially national change.  If Peace Corps find the work to be appropriate, I would like to eventually connect with el Instituto de Libertad y Democracía, which works to reduce bureaucratic barriers to entering the formal economy; doing so could have positive effects on the local level as small business owners try to legitimize their businesses.  Also, I would like to connect local youth with Instituto Invertir’s EmprendeAhora! Program, which awards training and funding to regional university students for their proposals for small business projects in their communities.  I was introduced to both of these organizations during my internship at CIPE, and hope that their work will prove relevant to my community’s developmental needs.

B:  Your strategies for working effectively with host country partners to meet expressed needs.

In order to achieve my goals, I will need to be the “best version of myself” that I can be.  First, I will need to be open-minded, and to consistently listen before making recommendations.  The most effective solutions will be found through the input and investment of the community.  It will be important for me to recognize that my counterparts may have a better idea of what is achievable in their community and what is not, and that they may be shy to express that my idea is unrealistic.  I will need to look for quiet signs of disapproval and encourage my counterparts to provide alternate approaches.

Another strategy I plan to use is pin-pointing the right partners for specific projects.  The books The Tipping Point and Three Cups of Tea taught me a lot about the power of local partners, especially when they are “Connector,” “Salesman,” or “Maven” personalities that can profoundly influence the success of a project.  I hope to spend the first few months at my site getting to know the people deeply enough to understand their informal roles in the community, so I can find the best people to work on and market our projects.

C:  Your strategies for adapting to a new culture with respect to your own cultural background.

I anticipate that my 27 months in Peace Corps will involve a great deal of personal struggle, exasperated by frustrations with the local culture.  While I am generally a patient person with strangers and friends, living under the roof of a family other than my own may present difficult interpersonal moments.  For example, I may be uncomfortable with the health practices (boiling water without filtration, etc.) or the gender roles in the family and community.  I believe my most crucial strategy for adapting to my living and work situations will be maintaining a sense of humor.  If I imagine how strange and frustrating my habits and attitudes may be to the locals, I think I will be able to laugh at myself, break the tension, and regain perspective on the situation.  For cultural differences that I find offensive or unethical, it will be important for me to “choose my battles” wisely as I aim to maintain a position of trust and respect within the community.  Lastly, I will remind myself that I have expected and even welcomed these challenges as part of the difficult but rewarding Peace Corps experience.  I hope to take on cultural challenges bit by bit, day by day, so that I can focus on small achievements like learning to bathe and cook without reliable running water.

D: The skills and knowledge you hope to gain during pre-service training to best serve your future community and project.

The improvements I saw in my Spanish comprehension during my five weeks in Spain were monumental.  I am confident that training will bring my language and comprehension skills up to speed, and hopefully to an even higher level in the local dialect and accent.  Armed with my language skills, I hope to gain confidence in “being myself” within the local context, so that I am prepared to settle into my site.  At the same time, I recognized that as I leave pre-service training, I will encounter new frustrations with my health, abilities and resources; I hope that training will equip me with some methods for maintaining resilience in the face of these challenges.

In terms of small business promotion, I hope to learn about best practices based on past projects in Peru, ideally on projects near my specific site.  I also hope to hear from past volunteers or other experts about the most important needs of Peruvian people so that I can appropriately prioritize my goals.

Another important topic for training will be the nuances of cultural practices, not only because I want to integrate more quickly into the community, but because I want to keep myself safe.  I want to leave training with good idea of what might offend community members, and how to best approach sensitive topics.  Most importantly, I hope that my training host family will help me learn how to cook!

E:  How you think Peace Corps service will influence your personal and professional aspirations after your service ends.

I applied to the Peace Corps because I am committed to a career in global development and I would not feel qualified to enter that field without spending significant time on the ground, integrated into a community in a developing country.  I want to come away with new ideas for solving the world’s developmental and social problems.  My unrealistic professional goal is that I want to be the next Muhammad Yunus; I want to develop a new approach as revolutionary as microfinance to helping the world’s poor through a blend of profit and social service, and I believe that I will find that idea during my time in Peace Corps.  I am currently considering an MBA (focused on Social Enterprise) after Peace Corps service, and I know that my 27 months in Peru will give me a very interesting perspective on the business world.

On a more practical level, I believe that completing Peace Corps service will make me a very resilient person, teach me a lot about myself, and show future employers that I can handle pretty much anything, even with limit resources.  One of the best quotes I have heard about the benefits of Peace Corps service came from a promotional video; a volunteer said something to the effect of “After walking into an African village by myself, trying to learn the local ways and conquer local problems, there is not much in the United States that I am intimidated by.”  I hope that I will complete Peace Corps service with a sense of purpose, specific ideas for achieving economic and social development, and the confidence to work towards those goals regardless of the obstacles thrown my way later in life.

Advice to Central/South America Nominees

I wanted to write a quick post as a word of advice/planning to current nominees to Central/South America.  I didn't start reading Peace Corps Journals until after I had a minor meltdown about the delay in my placement process, so you guys are already more on the ball than me... and this may be clear after reading lots of other nominees/invitees blogs, but if it helps with RAS or life-planning... it seems that there is currently a three month backlog in C/SA invitations, meaning many invites are being issued with departure dates that are about three months later than the nominee's expected timeframe.  I was nominated to late January/early February, and my invitation is to June 9th, which is more like 4 months "late."  From what I gather this is a pretty common story in our Placement Region.  And when I accepted my unofficial invitation over the phone, the Placement Officer told me they are pretty much full before June and that's the timeframe they are currently placing people for.  Other nominees/invitees please feel free to correct me or add your own experiences.  I just wanted to give some context to my invite, since I can imagine that many June nominees are thinking that my invitation means I am taking their spot or that their invitation might be coming soon too.  I had those feelings about February invites! I don't want to set up anybody for disappointment so yes, I guess I did sort of take your spot, but everyone's spots are being taken three months in advance!

I am really, really thankful that my invitation came the time it did and not a week later.  As was evident in my blog, I was near a breaking point.  If you are feeling "in crisis" too, I think the big question is whether you have other options right now where you would be just as happy as in Peace Corps.  Answers will vary depending on your current situation, future goals, etc.  For me, the answer was no- I was sure that Peace Corps was the only thing that would bring me fulfillment over the next two years.  For that reason, I was willing to wait another three months, even though it almost felt like a deal breaker when I first heard the news.

If you find out that you have to wait longer than expected, take a night to sleep on it and think about how much those few months will actually change your life plan.  I don't want to assume too much about other people's situations (especially financially since that's been a hard part for me), but I think in the grand scheme of things a few months is not that long.  It feels like an eternity while you are waiting, but try to take a bird's eye view of things!

I'm still rooting for everyone who is in Placement Limbo to get exciting news soon.  I'm still following "Applicants" in PCJ because I want to hear where you guys end up!

It's finally real.

I, .............  , am accepting my invitation to serve as a Small Business Promoter Peace Corps Volunteer in Peru, departing June 9, 2011.

I hereby certify that I have read the Volunteer Assignment Description, Online Welcome Book, and Core Expectations and agree to abide by the policies therein.

Thank you so much for this opportunity.  I could not be happier with my job assignment and location.  I would like to thank everyone at the CYD Placement Office for working so hard on behalf of future volunteers.  I know CYD is a department swamped with applications and highly qualified nominees, and it is clear that you all are dedicated to placing volunteers in the best assignments for both the individual and the country.  As a beneficiary of that dedication, thank you for your hard work on behalf of Peace Corps Volunteers.  I am honored to join the ranks of such an inspiring group of people!