lessons learned from Africa (pcvs) about my Jamaica (pc) experience

Tina and I (and Linnaea) had the opportunity to meet up and stay with some fellow-serving PCVs in the countries that we visited during our trip. Here are a couple of lessons we learned along the way:

#1 - Jamaica is a hard PC post.

So it begins. My first trip out of Jamaica and the frustrating responses from PCVs posted in other countries begin… “Lucky!” “We’re so jealous.” And my own personal favorite, “I just picture you guys hanging out on the beach all day.”…Uh. I try, I really try not to go into a tirade about how difficult Jamaica is as a PC post. But it’s hard. Especially when you’re still in the middle of your service, when you’re still looking at another year…

So Tina and I decided to answer these responses with a brief, ‘Actually, Jamaica is a really hard PC post. It’s very aggressive, very violent, very sexual.” There. That doesn’t sum up everything. But it sums up enough.
This usually is followed by a number of questions about Jamaica, in which we clarify some common misconceptions about the culture. We share our stories and those of our PCJ friends, and our audience listens, usually with mouths gaping open. “I had no idea…”

#2 - Peace Corps service is hard….really hard. No matter what country you’re in.

I want to follow this by saying that all PCVs should feel validated. Because there were many times that Tina and I were the ones left bug-eyed with our mouths hanging open. Every country is different, and even within one country, every PCV’s experience is different. In Jamaica, we aren’t faced with the palpable reality of AIDS that PCVs in Botswana experience daily, nor do I know what it’s like to live as a white man in post-apartheid South Africa. Maybe the average Mozambique PCV hasn’t had repeated shootings in their community, but they can tell you about the long-lasting effects of a brutal war on a people. And surely none of my Jamaican PCV friends know isolation like some of the PCVs serving in Zambia.

But all of us can tell you something about not fitting in. About counterparts who don’t give a damn or supervisors who think they own you. We can all tell you what it’s like to be in the midst of a solution less problem, or our constant inner debates about the effects of foreign aid. We all know how it feels to be lonely, for days, weeks, even months. We’ve all been bored, depressed, beaten down, and flippin’ PISSED off. We’ve all felt underappreciated and misunderstood.


....So a serious shout-out to all PCV and RPCVs out there. I feel blessed, proud, and empowered to be among you…all of you.