7 years ago

Teaching Diversity and Inclusion at DREAM Camp (2017)

by Rawan / Her

In high school, I didn’t give a dime about being popular. I had a tight group of friends and we did our own thing. Hands down, I was one of those “nerds” in high school. I spent a lot of my time studying and excelling academically. I did, however, care about others feeling safe and included on campus. I was a part of an organization in high school, called Bridges, that advocated for acceptance and inclusion on campus. We did a lot of projects to combat some of the negative thoughts and stereotypes experienced on campus.

So fast forward more than a decade later and I still haven’t graduated from this mentality. I still don’t care about being popular, and I still care about fostering an environment of inclusion and acceptance. Thus, for the second year in a row, I was involved in DREAM Camp, which stands for Diversity: Respecting Ethnicity and Multiculturalism. I’m sitting with my other Peace Corps Volunteers at camp and some of the teenage campers excitedly wave and blow kisses at me. I look at my friend Neil, “So, I can’t tell if they legit like me or they are making fun of me.” Neil, who is an English teacher in Peace Corps, casually states, “Georgian teenagers do not plot or go out of their way to show fake affection like that.” He believed that the kids liked me.

Some of these kids went out of their way to actually spend time with me. I was also going out of my way to hang out with them. I convinced a few of them to teach me how to perform a Georgian dance skit. I taught one of the girls how to float in the sea. We had deep discussions with other campers about race and prejudice in America. During camp, we had something called “the Positive Box.” You can write positive notes anonymously to campers, counselors, or PCVs about your experience at camp. I received a few notes from campers and they were literally the sweetest!

Georgian Dance — Elene learned Georgian dance for nine years and was happy to spend a few hours with me to teach me.

The kids at these camps genuinely want to learn and interact with American Peace Corps Volunteers. They are excited to spend a week with us and ask thoughtful questions. I told the new Peace Corps Volunteers to show vulnerability and to be honest and open. I described how last year I shared stories about my childhood and how raw I was. It paid off loads. I wanted to create the same atmosphere this year with the campers. I wanted people to be real about the negative effects of discrimination and intolerance. I wanted the message of inclusion, hope, and love for all to ring loud and clear.

A note from one of my campers: “Dear [Rawan], you are the only person in the camp, who fell in Love with the heart and soul. I like to dance with you and your tattoos <3 I love very much <3”

During my sessions, I asked thought-provoking questions. For example, I asked if immigrants to America were “real Americans”? I know that sounds simple, but in all honesty, it is not. A lot of Georgians struggle with the idea that non-native born Peace Corps volunteers are real Americans. I think it stems from the fact that they believe that the Armenian-Georgians and Azeri-Georgians are Georgian second. They are Armenian and Azeri first. Ironically enough, they said that immigrant Americans are true Americans. So then I said, “okay, so the Armenians with Georgian passports are real Georgians?” They yelled, “NO!”

So then I was, “okay, so then with that logic, immigrant Americans are not real Americans.” I looked at their faces and I asked, “Why are they not real Georgians if they want to be Georgian? If they speak Georgian? And have been living here for generations?” Of course, the only answer they could give was that it was traditionally thought as such. I wanted them to question the system. I wanted them to internally debate some of the negative stereotypes in their community. Because through those debates, they can learn and grow. Of course, I inserted a lot of jokes and humor in these tough discussions. That is probably why at the end of the day they were still willing to hang out with me.

My organization partner handing me a note written for me from the Positive Box.

By the end of camp, I noticed that some of the youth were including the minority campers in their circles. We had one camper who did not speak much Georgian. She is ethnically Armenian and living in an Armenian community. In the beginning, it looked like she felt isolated. By the end of camp, I saw the ethnically Georgian teenagers include her in their activities. They translated for her when she presented and were kind. The Armenian-Georgian youth admitted to Kaigler, another Peace Corps Volunteer, that her negative opinions of Georgians softened. She felt that the Georgians were kind and were receptive to her. These kids were growing in front of our eyes and it was wonderful!

Kids wrote so many positive notes that we had two positive boxes by the last two days of camp!

At the end of camp, we felt all the positive vibes. I had so much fun with kids and I bragged about them endlessly to Justin when I got home. I truly appreciated the kindness all the campers showed me. I felt that, maybe, my corner of the world is getting better to include minorities and appreciate the differences.

But the fuzzy feelings only lasted so long.

Three days after the camp was over, I watched some news of what was going on back in America. I saw Neo-Nazis and the KKK take to the streets in Charlottesville. I read that a heroic woman, Heather Heyer, was murdered while she was protesting hate. I saw a picture of a black police officer defend and protect the very people who wanted to turn him down. It is chilling. It is terrifying. The juxtaposition of my experience at DREAM Camp and what is going in America is perplexing to me. It is hard to believe that both events were occurring almost concurrently! I couldn’t sleep last night knowing how much hatred is filling out streets back home.

Thus, I find it hard in my mind to preach love and inclusion to Georgians when we clearly aren’t doing such a good job ourselves in America. I cannot tell the Georgian youth to advocate for the minorities in their communities if I cannot do the same. Of course, my small actions every day speak volumes in the community. However, no matter how hard I try, I cannot overshadow what is shown on the media. I cannot fight the xenophobia that some of the politicians publicly state.

My job to advocate for peace and friendship, the very goal of Peace Corps, is sometimes hard these days. I am a representative of America and I am supposed to represent peace and friendship. Yet, my own president cannot even publicly denounce these hate groups.

I told my youth at camp that when something doesn’t sound right, the least you can do is just say something. You can ask questions to make the person think twice on why they said something so hurtful? Staying silent only helps the oppressor. This is me saying something. This is me trying to reconcile the facts that my country has a lot of hate in it (and always has); however, many of us are trying to do the right thing.

Therefore, no matter how small this acknowledgment is, I still want to acknowledge it. I want to publicly say that I do not agree with the actions of the KKK and the Neo-Nazis back home. In building a positive relationship between Georgia and America, I have to acknowledge the hate in the country while trying to advocate for inclusion. Most importantly, we have to continue to fight the war against hate. I feel such sadness that Heather Heyer was murdered. I don’t think she has died in vain because there are so many of us that believe in her message and supported her last heroic act.

7 years ago

Smashing Gender Stereotypes

by Rawan / Her

Bringing awareness to gender inequality in this country has arguably become my strongest passion. I am promoting gender equality in half of my projects because I have committed my service to it. Thus, when my friend Kate asked me if I would like to collaborate with her on a gender specific project, I said yes. On a cold November afternoon, we both visited the American Corner, in Kutaisi, in hopes to create some sort of a gender-related club. We were both bouncing around ideas like doing a film club featuring strong female role models. Another idea was creating a book club. Essentially, we wanted to break down some of the gender stereotypes and promote gender equality through lively discussions and interactions.

19095540_10154854499788867_7163361059152152699_o — My friend Kate and I in Tbilisi in April 2017. She is easily one of my favorite people in Peace Corps 🙂

After much thought, our idea expanded into creating one-day workshops in various villages and towns throughout Georgia. Along with our two other friends, Liv and Rose, Saqartvelo Smashes Stereotypes (SSS) was born. Saqartvelo means Georgia in Georgian and I couldn’t be more proud of my friends for coming up with an awesome name. The strategy was simple: each workshop would have 3 sessions. The sessions are identified through a needs assessment. The community chooses the top 3 topics they would like us to cover. The sessions range from Employability, Social Media Best Practices, Gender Norms/Stereotypes, Community Activism, Domestic Violence/Early marriage, and more. Typically, the local English teachers in the community act as our translators.

IMG_20170604_140903 — My friend Liv and I leading a session on Gender Stereotypes

We have had 5 separate workshops throughout Georgia. Workshops have ranged anywhere from 7 participants to over a 100. During the sensitive gender topics, we have gender-split discussions. Our male Peace Corps Volunteers will lead the discussion for the boys, and we lead the discussions for the girls. The session sparks great conversations and discussions. Sometimes, I will catch the students having side-conversations during the sessions. At first, I want to tell them to pay attention to the topic at hand. However, I’ll eavesdrop and I will notice that they are actually discussing the topic! Since this is not a formal educational session and attendance is optional, we will let the side-conversations continue if they are not distracting.

Other times, the exact thing happens. A student will make a comment and participate in the session, but the comment can derail the discussion. For instance, I was leading a session on gender discrimination in the workplace. I asked the teenagers to provide examples of gender discrimination. They started mumbling amongst themselves for ideas. A brave young girl raised her hand and proclaimed, “There is gender discrimination in the U.S, but there is no gender discrimination in Georgia.” This girl was trying to convince me that Georgia, which is listed as number 79 in the world on the Gender Inequality Index, has no gender inequality! I took a deep breath and said, “Just because we don’t recognize something, it doesn’t mean it is not there.”

IMG_20170604_113718 — Some of the students working on activities that we give them during the ssesions.

These comments fuel my motivation for Saqartvelo Smashes Stereotypes. Girls in Georgia are encouraged to do all the housework while the boys are not. It might not seem like a big deal, but it was a huge cultural shock aspect when I first came to Georgia. During training (PST), Justin and I would take our empty, dirty plates to the kitchen after eating. My host mom and sister welcomed the help- but only from me! In fact, they insisted that Justin leaves the plates on the table. Then, they yelled at me at said, “Bechi Ara! Marto Gogo!” Which translates to, “Boys, no! Only girl!” To combat the gender stereotypes in a polite way, I said, “In America, both can do it. Why only girls? Justin wants to help.” My host sister literally had no answer other than, “this is the way it has always been done.” This is a train of thought that needs to be questioned.

According to the World Bank Group’s Georgia Country Gender Assessment in 2016, “Household responsibilities appear to play a critical role in reducing female labor force participation, but not male labor force participation.” It is important to learn how to identify what is gender discrimination and the simplest forms it can take place. So when I told that teenage girl that example, she remained speechless. I could tell that she too started thinking about the “logic” behind the tradition. If no one ever questioned tradition, women today will not be able to vote or own property- even in the United States.

We also try to instill a sense of self-confidence and self-power. During the domestic violence session, Rose does a beautiful job in explaining that help is available in Georgia. She discusses the resources and the hotlines available in the country. It would be useless if we discuss American self-help tactics, so we provide local resources as much as possible. Domestic violence is a big problem all around the world; however, talking about it is more stigmatized here. According to EurasiaNet, “In 2015, police registered 901 domestic-violence cases – an 88 percent increase over reported instances in 2014, based on police figures cited by the ombudsperson’s office. In 2014, the latest year for which data is available, the government’s emergency-assistance hotline recorded 9,290 calls related to domestic violence.”

FB_IMG_1496638712666 — The Georgian PSA to make people aware of the Domestic Violence Help Hotline.

Therefore, to aid in positive change, we create a safe space for these discussions. One of my favorite parts of this project is the community involvement. The teachers at these schools are highly involved and are excited to co-lead these discussions. The students that participate come voluntarily; therefore, they are motivated to learn about these topics. Witnessing the community involvement and the student’s eagerness is a sign of a bright future for Georgia in combating these gender stereotypes.

7 years ago

Job Shadowing: Making One Child Smile at a Time

by Rawan / Her

As cheesy as it sounds, one of the biggest joys of my Peace Corps service is putting a smile on a child’s face. As Justin puts it, it’s very easy to do in Georgia. I consider last two weeks ago a success because I received dozens of smiles, hugs, and kisses from the children in my community. Prior to Peace Corps, I had an awkward stage in life where I did not know what to say to children and sometimes I would walk away by patting them on the head. For me to start off a blog about kids is truly a success and a sign of personal growth- or dare I say, maternal instincts kicking in?!

Two weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to host two wonderful Peace Corps Trainees: Miranda and Rose. Peace Corps Georgia gives trainees an opportunity to job shadow a Peace Corps Volunteer, at their site, so the trainees can gain perspective on a volunteer’s daily life in the community and at their job. On Monday morning, Miranda and Rose had the opportunity to speak with my counterparts. My counterparts informed them about the various work that we do together and the strategic initiatives World Vision and Youth2Georgia work on.

19142286_10158905211325714_1427277376_n — My friend Neil and I cooked a feast (supra in Georgian) for our Job Shadowers the day they arrived.

But later, I thought it would also be fun to do an English Club lesson with them at the Day Care Center. If you read my English Club blog post, you would know that my English Club is anything but an English Club. It essentially me attempting to get vulnerable children to sit with me to learn anything. Since the lessons fall apart within 20 minutes, I no longer lesson plan for long activities. So, when Miranda said, “so we should plan for an hour lesson?” I simply looked at her and said, “ha, we are lucky if they sit still for 10 minutes. I think 20 minutes should be sufficient!” So, we planned for a couple of activities and walked to the Day Care Center.

The children were so excited to meet Miranda and Rose. It was the first time I personally brought guests to the Day Care Center. The weather was beautiful, so for the first time ever, we held our activities outdoors. Then, a miracle happened! The children behaved. For. The. First. Time. EVER! Tamta (my Day Care Center counterpart) and I looked at each and were dumbfounded. We have dreamed of this day and when it actually happened, we did not know what to do.

The children literally stayed for the entire duration of our planned activities. Then, they wanted more! They actually wanted more from us. I looked at Rose and Miranda and I was so surprised, “you don’t understand, this has never happened.” So, if you are in need of a miracle, please contact Miranda and Rose- they will be our new official Peace Corps Volunteers in July. They literally have magical powers beyond our imagination. Their magical powers had the kids smiling and laughing. The kids were participating in Simon Says! They were following directions! They craved our attention instead of running away from us!

I’m so sad that I didn’t take any pictures of the event to document this rare miracle. In a sense, that is true Peace Corps. We live for the tiny miracles that occur during our service. The rare glimpse of hope that our work is doing something meaningful. As much as I have struggled with my English Club, last week was a moment I will always cherish.

On Tuesday morning, Justin invited Miranda, Rose, and I to his school. Collectively, we thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of the opportunity to allow the trainees to see another Peace Corps Volunteer’s job as well as mine. However, Justin also had something sinister in mind. He creatively crafted a “spousal revenge” episode of the century. He started off the lesson by giving his third graders questions to ask us. The first question was, “Do you like Star Wars?”

Hmm, that is odd. I see Justin pull out his iPhone to take a video. I knew something was brewing. I choose my words carefully to answer the first question. Then, another third grader asked, “Why don’t you like Star Wars?” Ah-ha! Justin crafted this to publicly shame me in front of his third graders! Why do you ask? Because I refuse to watch Star Wars. I am one of the few Americans who just has no interest in the subject. Justin, on the other hand, has made it his life mission to get me to watch it at least one time in my life (and to enjoy American football). (Sidenote: Justin did get me to play fantasy football, and, while it was totally awesome, it just wasn’t my thing.)

Therefore, be careful who you marry. Their interests might become your interests. After his revenge, we all drew pizzas and hamburgers with the cutest third graders. The children had learned the ingredients for the dishes the week before and this was a creative way for them to review the words for pickles, meat, bread, cheese, etc.

After the class was over, Justin asked us if we would like to stay for the fifth-grade class. At first, I personally felt compelled to return to my job. It was already 10 a.m., but then I saw a bunch of the fifth graders spying on us in the teacher’s lounge. So the three of us thought, “Why not make a bunch of kids happy?” Literally, that is how we decided to stay. At 10:30 a.m., we stood in front of the fifth-grade class introducing ourselves. Justin’s counterpart told the students to ask us questions. All of them were mumbling and laughing. They were so excited that they were nervously giggling and stumbling on their words. The typical questions ensued, such as, “Do you like Georgia?” “Do you like khachapuri?” “Do you like us?” Both younger and older generations ask the same questions, so at this point, I have well-crafted responses to these questions.

19141554_10158905211890714_765657439_n — With Justin’s 5th grade class

Towards the end of the questions, I whispered to Justin, “Do you think they would want a picture with us?” So, Justin asks, “Do you want a picture with our guests?” Never in my life have I seen a bunch of fifth graders get up out of their seats so fast. I thought that Rose, Miranda, and I were going to get trampled. They were so excited and they were all pushing each to be next to one of us. That my friends is what it feels like to be a micro-celebrity. I’m just kidding- we aren’t celebrities. But we do get kids excited when we take pictures with them 😉

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7 years ago

Youth Empowerment Summit

by Rawan / Her

This month, my organization, three other Peace Corps Volunteers, and I hosted a Youth Empowerment Summit in Kutaisi, Georgia. In fact, there were three other summits that took place this Spring. It was all inspired by our training last November. Peace Corps held a Training of Trainers (ToT) for 20 Peace Corps Volunteers, selected World Vision staff, and some youth in Tbilisi last November. All the Peace Corps Volunteers that are on official programmatic committees were invited to attend. Since I’m on the Gender Equality committee and partnered with World Vision, I was invited to this training. We learned the importance of clubs and volunteerism. The objective of our training was for us to hold summits for the youth in our communities on how to create and sustain clubs.

TOT — Our Training of Trainers in November 2016

During the week-long training, we practiced presenting various topics that might be useful for the youth. Session topics included: leadership skills, collaboration, volunteerism, asset identification, and more. I really appreciated that after our training, Peace Corps provided us with resource books on these topics. Our post also invested in these resources since they also translated the books to Georgian so our counterparts can also take advantage and utilize the books.

IMG_20170524_105312 — Some of the resource books that Peace Corps provided us after the Training of Trainers

The ToT was essentially organized by the regions that the World Vision Georgia offices are located in. Since World Vision works with youth and is a leading non-profit in this field, Peace Corps invited and requested them to be our partnering organization for the summits. As you may recall from this post, our Peace Corps projects are always partnered with the community’s leaders, schools, or organizations. However, my region has so many volunteers, it was decided to split my region into two groups. Thus, that is how we ended up with the four groups.

FB_IMG_1495607399350 — The World Vision team: the staff, the Peace Corps Volunteers, and the youth.

Thus, for the months leading up to May from November, my small group have been working hard to replicate some of the Training of Trainers elements into a Youth Empowerment Summit. The goal to create and sustain clubs beautifully complements Peace Corps’ and the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Georgia’s. Both the Peace Corps and the Ministry know that when the youth participate in clubs, they are more active citizens. The sense of achievement in clubs could easily bleed into other parts of their lives and help develop skills in the future.

Justin with his youth from his school working on the project plan to implement their travel-themed club

Together with my other Peace Corps Volunteers, we wrote a Let Girls Learn Grant for this project. We focused on developing leadership, communication, and collaboration skills that are needed for club development. We created activities that would identify their assets and their interests in creating a meaningful club. Essentially, we wanted to make sure that the event was fun as well as impactful. In the end, we invited 9 Peace Corps volunteers along with 19 youth to participate in the two-day, two-night summit.

One of the biggest challenges with trainings like these is teaching the creative and critical concepts. I’ve noticed that the youth do not have the language that American youth use- and I’m not talking about the difference between Georgian and English. Georgian youth tend to have a more difficult time understanding certain creative concepts. For example, many of them have a hard time identifying personal assets. They do not grow up in a society that values every little achievement wrapped with “you are so special” cocktail mix.

We had the youth and the Peace Corps Volunteers compete in an activity that focuses on collaboration called the “human knot.”

Most Georgian youth in schools are taught to memorize Georgian poems and recite other facts. There is little room for creative projects that imparts critical thinking. Thus, asking the youth this weekend to “create a sustainable club” was not an easy feat. For many, it was the first time in their lives that they had to truly create something original and not replicate or summarize someone’s else work. Which is why opportunities like these trainings are so important.

Our summit helped some youth to think “outside the box” to create clubs that their peers would enjoy participating. Some of the youth with their respective Peace Corps Volunteers will be implementing their clubs soon. However, most will be creating them for the upcoming school year. Thus, wish them luck on this journey!

7 years ago

Gender Preference in Georgia: Do Parents Prefer a Baby ...

by Rawan / Her

When this article was published, a lot of chatter was going around in the Peace Corps world. In summary, many people thought (Peace Corps Volunteers or otherwise) that Let Girls Learn, as a program, was going to be discontinued. Michelle Obama started Let Girls Learn (LGL) which facilitates educational opportunities for adolescent girls in developing countries. Peace Corps partnered with Let Girls Learn and Georgia is one of the participating countries. At this point, it seems that the program will change its name only and the funds available can still be used to champion for girls’ education.

I strongly believe that Let Girls Learn is needed because it helps improve the self-esteem of many young females. Georgia is not an easy country to grow up as a girl. Girls are less valued than boys and the statistics show that this starts before birth. If fact, sex-selective abortions rates in Georgia are one of the highest in the world. In other words, Georgia is one of the countries where pregnant women choose or are encouraged to get an abortion simply because the baby would be a girl.

Many of us have heard about this practice in China and in India, but people do not typically think of Europe when they hear sex-selective abortion. In Georgia, the average number of boys to girls born between 2005-2009 was 110 boys to 100 girls. Based on how natural selection works, the numbers suggest that for every 100 boys born, there are 4.2 girls missing in Georgia during that time period (Source: eurasianet).

In September 2016, I attended a World Vision training on this very topic. The instructor pointed out how this typically looks like in families. When the wife gets pregnant with the first child, she typically keeps the child regardless of gender. If it is a girl, then they hope that the second pregnancy will be a boy. If the first born is a boy, then they feel secure in society and all is good. Things get complicated when the first and second pregnancy are both females.

If both the first and second pregnancy are girls, then a women might feel inclined to have a sex-selective abortion. The “missing middle child” is an indicator that sex-selective abortion may have occurred. Typically, Georgians have two children. More so, the common practice is to have the two children about two years apart. Therefore, if a family has a daughter as the first born child and a four-year gap between the first child and the second, it is an indicator of a sex-selective abortion. Most likely, the mother got pregnant two years after the first child and found out it was a girl. Since the family only wants two children and they desperately want a son, they abort the almost-second-to-be daughter. This is the most common pattern among families who have chosen to have a sex-selective abortion.

Yesterday, Justin and I attended a first grader’s birthday party. The first grader happened to be a sweet 7-year-old girl. I noticed that her little sister playing in the background with a balloon. I asked Justin how old he thinks the little one is and he said, “2 or 3 years old.” So doing the math, there is a four-year age gap between the first born daughter and the second born daughter. I immediately thought of the demographics of sex-selective abortion I learned in training. No joke, ten seconds later, a toast was being made by the uncle to the parents of the birthday girl. Want to take a guess of what he said? In loose translation from Georgian, “I hope one day God will bless you with a son!” Here we are celebrating the birth of this sweet little girl, but a toast is made to the unborn son.

The mother turns and looks at me and explains that in Georgia it is important to have a son and it is a sign of strength for the family. I smiled painfully and thought to myself, “this is utter BS!” I can confidently say here on the internet that this infuriates me because I grew up in a culture that favors boys over girls as well. In my family, I only have sisters. Growing up, I remember countless of men and women tell my parents, “so when are you having a boy?” My favorite was when my youngest sister was born. Minutes after she was born, the congratulations were followed by, “hopefully God will bless you with a boy the next one around.” So I completely understand why Georgian parents feel this immense pressure to produce a son. My family went through the same thing.

In fact, as a running joke, when people ask my father how many children he has, he answers, “2 girls and a girl.” He doesn’t say “3 girls” because my youngest sister was supposed to our hope for a brother/son. Thus, if she were born as a boy, the answer would have been, “2 girls and a boy.” To keep that sentence formula the same, my dad jokes, “2 girls and a girl.” It is a preemptive comic relief to avoid people to say, “where is your son?” As a young child, I picked up on this. I remember thinking that my family must not be complete if I do not have a brother.

Thankfully, my parents are loving and supporting, so they never made me or my sisters feel that way. So wanting a brother was only surface deep. Luckily, my parents never made my sisters and I feel like we weren’t good enough. The difference in my culture and the Georgian is that in my culture, the norm is to keep having babies or giving up. In Georgia, the practice is to have those pre-selective abortions. In fact, abortions are a common form of birth-control.

When there is a culture that favors males over females, it shouldn’t be a surprise that girls and women are not encouraged to be as active in society as boys and men. Thus, this is why Let Girls Learn is needed here. I’m not saying that LGL is the solution to the sex-selective abortions; it is not. I’m just saying that LGL allows girls to feel valued and encouraged to do more. When little girls hear at their birthday parties toasts to their unborn brother, they might not feel as important. Girls might not feel as entitled to have their own freedom or create their own independent path in life.

Therefore, I am passionate about creating a difference here and helping other volunteers to do the same. During my service here, I am a member of the Gender Equality Committee here in Peace Corps. It is an official programmatic committee, which means it supports the US Government’s strategy to promote gender equality, integration, and empowerment. Our committee specifically aims to increase awareness of gender issues and encourage gender egalitarianism in Georgia by being a primary conduit of gender-related resources for Peace Corps Volunteers and by promoting and supporting gender-based projects such as campus, trainings, informational fairs, and special activities.

We have supported various projects and activities. We have also created informational resources for the community or specifically for Peace Corps Volunteers. In March 2017, we did a special edition newsletter for Women’s History month. The newsletter highlighted local “Gender Heroes.” Each Gender Hero talked about how they promote gender equality in their own special way. If you would like to read it, click on the link: GenEqSpecialEditionMarch. If you would like to check-out our Facebook page, click here.

Gen_eq committee — The Gender Equality Committee (GenEq) for the year of 2016-2017.

7 years ago

My Visit to Georgia: Little Things Make Great Impacts

by Guest Writer / Guest

My friend Sarah visited Justin and I last month during the Georgian Easter holidays. I thought it would be more interesting to get her perspective and post it on the blog. Enjoy our first guest writer on our blog! – Rawan

I landed in Georgia around 4 A.M. to visit Rawan, thinking, “Alright, whatever happens next is all part of the adventure.” This trip abroad had been the first that I had entirely planned solely by myself, no parents to guide me or hold my hand. The focus and intention I had for myself were to have an experience that would help me learn and grow as an adult.

Seeing Rawan at the airport, excitedly waving with both hands, is a moment I hold dearly. We were both so happy to see each other after a year. Rawan and I had both worked at EMC for different departments and surprisingly, we did not meet at work. Telling people our story how we met is a little embarrassing but also funny from my perspective. The way Rawan’s husband puts it is, “I was out with my buddy having a beer, Rawan had her friend for a drink, and Sarah was out drinking with her dad.” I think the way he put it was the funniest, but really the awkward part was that my dad was hitting on Rawan’s friend. I didn’t think I could make such lasting friendships from it but look where we are now.

Honestly, I was so relieved to see Rawan at the airport. Everyone was so worried about me going to Georgia, a former Soviet Union territory. My parents, colleagues, friends had their own ideas and thoughts of me traveling to the country. I had also planned a trip alone to Berlin after Georgia so that added more concern and worriedness.

My first night in Georgia, Rawan, Justin, their friend Kate (another PCV), and I stayed at one of the nicest hostels in Tbilisi. I loved standing on the roof patio that overlooked the historical city, up close I could see the cobblestones in the old town and from afar I could see beautiful Cathedrals.

Old Tbilisi from Envoy — Rawan and I standing on the Envoy Hostel’s patio overlooking Old Tbilisi

The day spent in Tbilisi was calming and I hadn’t been feeling so jetlagged. I really enjoyed sightseeing, going under the Bridge of Peace, seeing the Mother of Georgia statue, and walking around the Sulfur Bath area. We only needed a half day to see everything and this is something Rawan told me prior to arriving in Georgia.

17951677_10155270406470984_8663640769374910589_n — Rawan, Justin, Kate, and I on the Bridge of Peace

As she puts it something along the lines of “Georgia is really pretty and we’ll get to see things but you’ll really be coming to hang out with me.” Rawan told me a lot of things, she was good with giving me a lot of information before the trip but nothing really clicked with me until I arrived in Georgia for the full ride. I loved it though, how often could someone say they got to visit Georgia and catch a glimpse of the Peace Corp life for a few days. Rawan and Justin had to commit to two years as a volunteer and I was able to come see their lives after a year of their service and gather their thoughts and emotions.

Cable Car — Our view from the cable car to see the Mother of Georgia Statue.

The plan was to leave Tbilisi after half the day which felt like a week because we were non stop moving. I took my first marshrutka, bus transportation, to Rawan’s host family to spend the night. We used these long rides to catch up. We spoke some Arabic with each other. She told me of how she works for World Vision and Justin is a teacher. They were impacting the world for the greater good but life wasn’t necessarily easy. Rawan wanted me to see the real side of the Peace Corps life. We may laugh now but this is when I started to see a whole different side to Georgia like I was going back in time and things no longer were luxurious.

Rawan’s host family did not speak English but I was more shocked at how well Rawan and Justin could communicate with their host family in Georgian. In roughly a year, with 3 months of heavy Peace Corps training, she could speak better Georgian than I could speak Spanish…and I took Spanish classes for seven years. The house was small but filled with people. The grandmother was a sweetheart; she gave us a tour of the house, first to the pigs which freaked me out!

IMG_20160708_070434366 — Rawan and Justin’s PST Host family’s chicken coop

The huge pigs smelled so bad and the best part, right across from the chicken coup, Rawan opened the outhouse door. Conveniently, I had to pee and when Rawan told me to go in, we laugh now, but I had this horrific look and just shook my head saying I can’t. Rawan literally pushed me in and shut the door and she was coaching me through. “Put your feet on the two blocks and just squat down” and lucky me realized mid pee that there’s no toilet paper. “Rawan, there’s no toilet paper!” “Just shake it off, shake it off.” What else was I supposed to do? So I jumped out feeling disgusted with myself and Rawan sees her host mom coming back with toilet paper and she tries pushing me and telling me to go back inside. Rawan asked me what I did and I

Rawan asked me what I did and I said “you told me to shake it off!” That was the funniest moment and we couldn’t stop laughing afterwards. In the moment was funny too but really I wanted to give Rawan a hard time. I had asked Rawan afterwards, “You really wanted me to struggle huh?” Her response, “Kind of…I also thought this would be a great bonding experience and you would really understand what I went through and the life of Peace Corps.” This was all out of love. We joked and laughed, and we got frustrated. Basically, there were highs and lows but it was just the nature of Peace Corps. It’s not easy.

At her host family, the house was so cold I wanted to cry. Her host mom saw me shivering and she offered to turn on the heat before bed so that I could be warm. Rawan said I was lucky because when she lived with them while she was going through PC training, there was no heater. I was a little embarrassed but I had to politely accept the offer. Rawan told me I was doing great, better than most people had done in PC in their first week. I didn’t believe her. I told her that I felt like I was being high maintenance. She reassured me that I was doing great and I really appreciated that. She had been there for almost a year now and these obstacles she had already faced long before I came to visit.

Rawan gave me a heads up that most likely I wouldn’t be taking a shower in the next few days or until I would get to Berlin. I said okay, these were the circumstances and sometimes you just have to learn how to deal. I’ve gone through a few similar situations and even though it wasn’t as rough as the Peace Corps, it helped me get through. In Lebanon, the electricity would go out at least 5 times in a day and you’d have to manage. I wasn’t ever one to complain but things like this can be stressors and it could be frustrating. Rawan had a sense of calmness and I told her that she had calmed down since EMC. Even though I know sometimes things got to her, she told me that Peace Corp tame the Type A personality. I remember we were in a Marshrutka and I had bought a homemade Churchkhela, a traditional Georgian candy, and I broke off a piece which ended up having hair in it. I put it back in the bag as if I was about to throw it away and

I remember we were in a Marshrutka and I had bought a homemade Churchkhela, a traditional Georgian candy, and I broke off a piece which ended up having hair in it. I put it back in the bag as if I was about to throw it away and Rawan stopped me. She couldn’t believe I was about to throw away a good piece of candy, if only I just removed the hair. I said, wow Rawan, you really did change in a joking matter. Rawan and I used to have lunch every day at EMC and she always made sure to use hand sanitizer. I liked how Rawan handled things and really made the best of her situation. She loved the Peace Corps, she said it was the best job she’s ever had and that’s what got her through tough times, reminding herself that.

I remember we were on another Marshrutka and the driver refused to return Rawan the correct amount of Laris, their money exchange. I think the driver stole about 6 Laris, about 3 USD. I hadn’t ever seen Rawan so upset and I remember her saying that she didn’t want to dwell on those moments because it would take away her love for the Peace Corps. I was really proud of her at that moment.

It was the little things. We went to Gori, where Stalin was born and raised, we saw his house, and did a little shopping. I bought Rawan a scarf that she liked and she was so appreciative of this gesture. I love that. We traveled with a group of Peace Corp volunteers to Vardzia, a monastery cave in Southern Georgia, very close to the Turkey border. Everyone was so nice and welcoming; everyone from the PC volunteers to the Georgian people, I felt so safe and comforted. We were on another Marshrutka and this young boy sitting behind us was talking to us and telling Rawan that she’s beautiful and he hands us two red eggs, an Easter tradition, and we gave him a lollipop. This special moment made our hearts melt.

Vardzia (photo credit: Christy W., current Peace Corps Volunteer Georgia)

Ups and downs, highs and lows are all part of life. I came to Georgia from Berlin and could see the change in scenery like night and day. Everyone lives different lives but we all go through things and have our own story to tell. I missed my flight back home from Georgia and I thought it was the end of the world. Rawan was there to comfort me, Rawan had PC duty, but she made sure I had the best company all day and I really did. I spent the day with a PC volunteer, Emily, who was the sweetest.

I had a mission and a purpose for this trip. I learned, laughed, experienced things, and grew as a person. I loved my trip, from start to finish. I faced challenges that I had never faced before. I got upset one day, I was overwhelmed and fatigued. I couldn’t put it into words how I was feeling but I had Rawan their understanding me. I had a lifelong friend and memory I will hold eternally. I’m so happy I got an in depth understanding of the Peace Corps life and I can’t thank Rawan enough for introducing me to all her PC friends, putting me first and making sure I was doing okay, planning the week trip, and positively reinforcing me every day. The times Rawan and I laughed together, communicated through an obstacle we were facing, or even just got excited over a new scarf, I hold those moments tightly because those small things were the greatest part of this learning experience after all.

7 years ago

My English Club

by Rawan / Her

I’m going to tell you about the most challenging English Club in current existence. I have not directly spoken to every Peace Corps volunteer who organizes an English Club, but it seems that my English Club possesses unparalleled challenges. First, let me describe a “typical” English Club organized by a Peace Corps Volunteer. The club’s motivation could start either by the volunteer or by the request of the community.

The community members who participate in the English club would be youth or adults, or even a combination of both. Skill level can be all over the map. However, members do have some sort of grasp of the English language and have the motivation to strengthen their English skills. Even volunteers who do not teach English have English Clubs. For instance, two of my site-mates have English Clubs and they work in organizations.

Now, here goes a quick description of my English Club: zero grasp of the English language and more than 90% of its members are NOT interested in English. To be frank, I’m not sure what actually interests my English Club members. When I first arrived to site, my organization was hopeful and excited to start an English Club. World Vision partnered with the local government and opened a “Day Care Center” a few blocks away from our office. The term “Day Care Center” is used loosely.

This center functions as a crisis intervention center for vulnerable children in the community. The children are from abused homes, vulnerable families, or from the Roma community. Recently, the center got a license to actually host a small number of children full-time and live in the center temporarily. At this moment, we have 5 children who actually live in the center for the time being.

It goes without saying that my organization has the motivation to increase the skills of these children. This is where I come into play. They wanted me to organize an English Club for them and teach them English and I was ready for the challenge. The idea originated during the first few weeks I started at my organization in July 2016. I informed my organization that I have zero skills in teaching English, yet alone, teaching children. During college, I’ve participated in English conversational clubs with exchange students, but that is the extent of it. Thus, I have no professional skills in teaching English as a second language. It did not bother them, because, as an American, I was qualified enough.

Attempting to set up the English Club as a success, I “interviewed” the Day Care Center’s staff members. I uncovered several challenges during my discussions with the Day Care Center:

They have six teachers on the payroll, but only two at a time teach together on a given day. The teacher’s schedule rotates and it is not fixed; therefore, setting up the English Club on a given day would mean different teachers each time. At first, I thought having consistency is key to foster the children’s learning.
None of the teachers speak English. Thus, there would be no translator to co-teach the sessions. However, we mitigated this challenge by having the child psychologist essentially act as my co-teacher and translator. At this time, the child psychologist is the only English speaking staff member at the Day Care Center. This also poses another challenge because most of her work is in the field, therefore, determining the days she is in the center will also be difficult.
The children’s attendance at the day care center is not consistent. Therefore, it would be impossible to have the lessons build-up on each other since I could not anticipate in advance which child will be attending.
Some of the children are completely illiterate; therefore, using Georgian as a base language would even be difficult.
The biggest challenge of all is that almost all of the children are completely uninterested. It has become apparent that keeping them engaged in any activity for an extended period of time is a chore.
The second biggest challenge is that most of the children have some sort of behavioral problems since they have no structure or regular discipline in their daily lives.

Nevertheless, I persisted in setting up this English Club with my highly motivated organization. With the stated challenges above, I think it is easy to conclude that my English Club has not been easy. Some days I feel like I am Erin Gruwell (performed by Hillary Swank) in Freedom Writers (2007). Instead of at-risk teenagers in an underprivileged neighborhood, I have vulnerable, street children. Also, I am not a trained teacher by profession.

Curious on what an average English Club session looks like? I enter the Day Care Center filled with hugs and kisses. Then the children return to running around wildly in the center. It takes 20 minutes for Tamta and I to calm the children down and have them sit in chairs. Once they realize they might actually have to pay attention and learn something, at least one child misbehaves. The misconduct starts about 5 minutes into the lesson.

IMG_20161109_163331232 — One the children drew me a wonderful picture. “Miyvarxar” means “I love you” in Georgian with the latin alphabet.

My first lesson included one child jokingly choking another one. By the time we were able to stop that form of bullying, we noticed two other kids were slapping each other. My second lesson included a nine-year-old constantly disrupting my lesson by stealing the markers out of my hand. On my third lesson, one child threw scissors across the room. I’ve also seen crying and yelling. My personal favorite is when they simply are like, “nope, not for me,” and they walk out.

The cool kids walk out around the 10-minute mark and then most of the kids follow. I’m left with a few kids sitting in a chair waiting to see what I would do. At that point, the lesson is deemed useless. Thus, the lesson abruptly concludes within 20 minutes.

However, there is one kid who is always the most excited to see me and gives me extra hugs and kisses. His name is Rati and he literally makes my day. He is the only one who pays extra attention and stays throughout the entire lesson.

IMG_20170322_143706750 — Rati and I during one of my English Club lessons

Rati gives me hope that maybe I am teaching something to one of the kids, even though it is not English. I’m hoping that at leat my presence highlights the world’s diversity. That there is something beyond their current worldview. I could confidently say that he now knows that the United States has different states and one of them is California. He knows that people in America speak English. He also has seen different pictures of American food and famous attractions.

I also want to say that Rati is such a bright star. He is one of the children that currently lives in the Day Care Center full-time for the time being. Despite his rough childhood, he always full of love and positivity. For the longest time, I thought he was 9 years old because of his stature. I recently found out that he is actually 12 years old. I hope that despite his malnourished diet that maybe, just maybe, he will still grow happy and healthy.

7 years ago

Shockingly Searching for Glasses in the Peace Corps

by Justin / Him

I saw the craziest thing behind my Georgian tutor’s apartment: a guy welding. Ok, that’s not the crazy part though-he wasn’t protecting his eyes with anything. He wasn’t even squinting! The brilliant white arc was just scorching his retinas. My eyes hurt just catching a glance from twenty feet away. He was staring at that arc like a farsighted man trying to read a nutrition label.How crazy was this guy? Suddenly, a thought shot through my mind, Georgians don’t wear glasses.

Flashes of every one of the 198 kids at my school shot through mind trying to recall if any of them wear glasses…. Not even one is bespectacled. I was walking around through the center of town looking for every man, woman, and child trying to spot some spectacles. No glasses to be seen. I saw some sunglasses, but only the ugly 90’s ones that are all the rage in this country for some reason. Had anyone else noticed this phenomenon? Not the ugly sunglasses trend (that’s very clear), but the glaring lack of real glasses.

Maybe other volunteers had noticed the same thing I had. I started asking around to others, and they were seeing the same thing as me. They mentioned seeing people in the capital, Tbilisi, wearing glasses, but I was focused on the rest of the country. Someone threw out the idea that maybe Georgians just have amazing eyesight, but I was skeptical. My inclinations led me to ask someone from the Caucasian persuasion, a Georgian, to get to the bottom of this once and for all.

I decided to speak with my counterpart because she’s my best (and only) consistent convenient option for daily cultural insights. In her opinion, parents don’t want their kids to look weak by wearing glasses. To make a long story short, glasses aren’t cool. People don’t want to be seen in glasses. GLASSES ARE FOR NERDS. The cost might be an issue as well, but I’m just spit-balling here. One thing is for certain though, Georgians do not possess super human 20/20 eyesight.

Georgia has a definite need for everyone to get an eye exam in this country. I would love to partner with an organization that would be willing to provide free eye exams and glasses to children who need it. Kids have a hard-enough time staying focused in school, and eyesight shouldn’t be the causation. Glasses are cool. I’m not just saying that because I wear them-my wife tells me I look great. If she’s saying it, it must be true.

7 years ago

Not a White Savior Complex Program

by Rawan / Her

I read an article recently about the “White Savoir Complex” and it reminded me about my interactions with people regarding the Peace Corps. When I told people last year that I was resigning from my career in Human Resources and joining the Peace Corps, I overwhelmingly received positive responses. Americans highly respect the Peace Corps for obvious reasons. It is a program that makes a positive impact in the world. For the most part, I didn’t explain the Peace Corps in detail. People knew the overarching goal. At the time, people were more curious as to why I joined.

However, conversations about Peace Corps dramatically look different among Americans, Georgians, and other foreigners. For a quick breakdown, here are the different buckets of conversations:

Americans: “That is so cool!” Questions range from how long is my service, where I am stationed, what is my primary assignment, etc. They ask specifics since the overwhelming majority of Americans I’ve met understand that we serve in underdeveloped and developing countries around the world.
Georgians: Conversations go either of two ways. If they have interacted with previous volunteers, they are excited to meet me. I think that Peace Corps is well respected in Georgia and we are valued as members of our community. If they have never met a PCV before, they are confused. How do I speak Georgian? Why do I work in Georgia? Am I seriously not paid? Then, I must be rich if I live here voluntarily! What kind of things do I actually do?
Foreigners: Many people that I’ve met have not heard of Peace Corps, especially if they are not in the non-profit sectors. I mean, it makes sense. For one, the foreigners I tend to meet typically come from highly developed countries. Peace Corps only operates in developing countries. Also, it is an American program and only American citizens are able to serve. Therefore, unless they are a dual citizen or know someone who is American, our paths don’t typically cross.

When Justin and I were in England and Morocco a few months ago, we spent a lot of time explaining Peace Corps. When I meet people (anywhere), a common small talk question is “what do you do?” For some reason, asking someone what their profession is a way to start a conversation as an adult (and secretly judge them). Like with many atypical jobs, I found it hard explaining my job in a perfect, short-sentence.

I didn’t want people to walk away thinking that I have no vision for my life, aimlessly traveling, and volunteering to promote my self-esteem. I also didn’t want to sound like a snob like “oh, look at me, I help people and I’m so special.” I ended up saying something like this most of the time, “It is a way for us to serve our country abroad, outside of the military route. It is a US government funded program in which skilled professionals go to developing countries and aid the host country in skills in which they requested from the U.S. We partner with locals on an equal level where co-teach or co-develop programs. I work at World Vision and my husband co-teaches English.”

A lot of people respond with, “that’s cool, man.” Some are curious and start asking us about Georgia. Then, some people showed a puzzled face and were not quite convinced. Without verbally saying it, some people had the expression that Peace Corps has the White Savior Complex. Let me frank, I strongly believe that Peace Corps does not. We don’t go these countries to “save” them. In fact, I am very uncomfortable when people go the other direction and say “I love how you are saving the world.” I’ll be frank yet again, we are not doing that either. We do ride in on a white horse and save people from their plight so we feel better about ourselves. It is so important to know that. The reason why Peace Corps is so well-known in the United States and respected in the countries we serve is because we are not that. My top reasons to show we are not:

We do not take jobs away from anyone. A white savior complex volunteer position might be where you vacation for two weeks in a remote area and paint an orphanage. First, that is not really helping. Second, you just took away a possibly paid job from a local. Third, do you really think those kids are going to wake up and be like, “omg, I love America because I know have a fresh coat of paint! They made a real difference in my life with that new shade of blue!” Of course not. In Peace Corps, we partner with people. In fact, everything I implement I do with a counterpart.

For example, here is a picture of my counterpart and me co-training at our Project Design Workshop. I worked with him for several hours a week to increase his presentation skills and his project management knowledge. I did not want him to simply translate the training for the youth, I wanted him to lead. It was a lot of hard work, but it paid off. On the day of the training, he was able to answer questions and fully explain the concepts. For more details, read this blog post.

Peace Corps Training — My counterpart and I preparing for our Project Design Workshop in March 2017

We live and breath sustainability. We invest in people and not things. We love training people in skills that they need. We don’t dump money to rebuild infrastructure. No PCV in Georgia will be working on the crumbling soviet union infrastructure. Sure, we might paint a room to spice it up- but that spiced up will be part of a larger and impactful project like a technology room in a public school. Read this section from our Small Grants Handbook regarding Sustainability.

We take integration into the community very seriously. I don’t know of another volunteer program where you train for 3 months to study the local language. Peace Corps wants to provide us with successful tools to become great volunteers. How can we do that if we don’t speak the language? When I speak Georgian in my community, I immediately impress the community members. I definitely earn that respect because I am taking the time to understand them on a deep and cultural level. Most Georgians speak Russian (some fluent, some conversational). Although Russian is more widely spoken than English in the world, we still learn Georgian- because that is the community’s language.

IMG_20170404_101656401_HDR — My Georgian language textbook designed by Peace Corps Georgia that we used during our Pre-Service Training (PST).

We serve for more than two years. Some people tell me, “I want to make a difference in the world, but two years is too long.” I hate to be that person to disagree, but two years is actually limited. Real change takes real time. Development is slow. I’ve been here for almost a year and I’m still getting things set-up. Trust and real relationships take time. Rome was not built in a day and neither is development. As an outsider, I must earn the trust of my community members first and that can take time.

However, the one thing I can agree with is that there is a little of self-benefit joining the Peace Corps. I truly joined for altruistic reasons. However, I do believe that serving others has an impact on me as well. As cheesy as it sounds, the main goals of Peace Corps is actually Peace and Friendship. In a world that is moving more towards Isolationism, Peace Corps’ goals couldn’t be more important.

It is important because we need to remember that the problems abroad are our problems at home too. I know that sounds like a bold opinion, especially in this day and age, but I really believe that world affairs truly affect everyone. Living in another country reminds me every single day to be more emphatic and look at things from another perspective. I have been learning so much about how our American foreign policy literally affects the daily lives of Georgians.

Peace Corps has a job of meaning that truly connects people from different parts of the world together. It has a certain touch of human-ness that you don’t get easily with other jobs. To work with different people in another language is wonderful.

7 years ago

My Monthly Tradition: Getting Sick in the Peace Corps

by Rawan / Her

I almost escaped my monthly Peace Corps Service tradition this month. We are just shy of April and my unwelcomed ritual hit me like a ton of bricks. I got sick- again! Like clockwork, I get sick once a month. I was able to skip this awful tradition for a few of the 11 months I’ve been living here. However, about one week per month, I am in bed all day attempting to recover from sort of illness. I get sick so much that even my coworkers and I started joking about it.

In January, right before I got my sinus infection, I made a joke we should make bets on what illness I would contrive next. I imagined a calendar in which people would write the name of a disease and the week I would fall ill. They laughed, but I was half serious. I felt like I had to insert some sort of comic relief into my misery. The calendar didn’t happen, but the discussions continued.In fact, one of my coworkers came up to me last week and said, “Rawan, you have not gotten sick this month.” I replied, “I thought the same thing! But there are a few days left in March, so who knows?” God knows, because a couple of days later, here I am, sick with an undesirable cold.

This cold started just like any other. The first sign was a very sore throat. It hurt to swallow, regardless of how much liquids I consumed. No amount of tea was alleviating that soreness. On Monday morning, I woke up and I felt completely sick. I didn’t have the energy to get out of bed, so I didn’t. I texted my boss and my main counterpart and told them I wasn’t coming into work. What is wonderful about Georgians is that they actually believe you when you tell them that you are sick. The only thing my boss told me was, “have a speedy recovery and let me know if you need anything.” I’m very lucky that he is compassionate and helpful. Our culture in the United States is not typically so forgiving. We have the tendency to be work-aholics. We work even when are sick and then possibly infecting everyone. I believe that our lack of government protected paid sick leave is to blame.

200w_d (1) — I wish I can buy DayQuil….but nope, I can’t drug myself out of a cold.

For example, like many other college students, I worked in restaurants to help pay for my university degree. One day I contracted some sort of stomach flu a couple of hours before my shift. I knew that my boss wouldn’t believe me if I had simply called in sick literally right before my shift. Sure, I would be excused, but I would get “jokes” the next day that I probably just partied too much the night before. So, I had my mother drive me to work since I was too sick to drive. I told her to wait in the car because I knew I would be excused from my shift. Sure enough, the second I walked in, my boss said, “You’re late.” I didn’t even respond, I just ran straight to the bathroom to go puke. When I came out, he apologized and said, “You are sick, that is why you are late.” I nodded and he let me go home. American bosses need hard-core evidence. Because if you can’t work with something mild, then you are weak and not a loyal employee. That simple.

However, the beauty of the Peace Corps is that we don’t have a defined number of sick days in a traditional sense. I’m sure that by now I would have been fired from my job if I got sick like this in America. In the Peace Corps, if you are sick for more than a continuous 45 days, then you may get medically separated. The key word here is “continuous.” So, me getting sick one week out of the month still qualifies me to continue my service. My coworkers are very understanding, because most of the time, I still go to work sick like the American I am. In December, when I got the flu, I walked to work with a fever in the snow. Dumbest mistake ever. If that happens to you, just call in sick. Don’t walk up the snowy hill with a fever. Justin also had the flu at the same time. So fending for ourselves was not fun either. Gosh, I really hated those two weeks.

Tea is my drug. I should just have tea put in an IV at this point because I drink so much of it.

However, it has been difficult. By far, the biggest challenge in the Peace Corps is my immune system. Normally, it functions well in the United States, but apparently, Georgia and my immune system are frien-enemies. Three weeks they are bffs, and one week they hate each other. Let me clear, that one week is brutal. I got food poisoning twice in Georgia, only 6 weeks apart. The first time was in August and the second in early October. I’m not talking about a slight upset stomach, here. I’m talking about where I have a slight fever, curled up in the fetal position, moaning in extreme pain, and can’t eat anything or hold anything for FIVE DAYS. I literally treated myself to a “steak” (it was a piece of meat really, but to me it was a steak) to celebrate when the episode was over.

Regardless, I sick so often now and it has become a fear. If anyone coughs in my general direction, my first thought is “get the hell away from me.” Why? Because I have $hit to do and I don’t feel like being out cold for a week. I also thought to myself, “Am I the only one like this?” Well, the answer is a mixture between yes and no. Some volunteers have had it worse. Some volunteers haven’t even gotten sick. However, a few had similar experiences. A couple of them told me that their first year of service was full of illnesses, but the second year was healthier. In my imagination, once I hit the one year mark, I will be rid of all illnesses and I will be healthy! Logically, I know this is hard to predict, but I don’t care. I need some glimmer of hope. I need a slice of faith.