always on

     One of the most difficult things about being a PCV is that you’re ‘always on’. PC makes this extremely clear in all their paperwork even during the application process; once in country, PCVs represent PC, and the United States for that matter, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Host Country Nationals (HCNs), as they put it, are noticing what we do all the time, round the clock. It doesn’t matter if you’re just going for a stroll, or buying bread at the local shop, or talking on the phone in your pajamas on your front porch.

Jr. Council fundraiser: MOVIE NIGHT!

It’s difficult to let your guard down, or think that nobody’s thinking about what you’re doing. This is a LOT of pressure sometimes. Especially considering that many of us PCVs feel that one of the most powerful things we can do as PCVs is ‘model’. I can talk up and down to the children about how reading is important, but often times this isn’t nearly as effective as them seeing me a read a book myself, especially if it’s reading to them. Matt can educate, educate, educate about waste removal, but when he constantly picks up his own trash instead of burning it or throwing it down the gully, people are impacted.
     So, since everybody’s watching us, and we’re seen as role models, it’s important that we’re always aware of the things we say, how we say it, what we do, who and how we talk to, etc. This is tiring….and draining…I’m getting worn out just telling all of you about it.
     Plus, being a PCV comes with expectations. Expectations that the community has for you, PC has for you, PCVs have for you, you have for yourself, etc. These expectations are also a lot to live up to, especially considering that you’re a foreigner in a foreign land, living with little resources, away from your family and friends. Sometimes we feel like our community sees us as their saviors, which can be endearing and empowering, but savior shoes, well I think they’re the biggest shoes there are.
     So of course, it’s not easy trying to fit in those ginormous shoes, especially when everybody’s watching…