I haven't blogged in awhile. It's nice to be back. My goal for this semester is to blog every day. It's seems a little formidable, but I think if I just aim for a short line or two, it'll be manageable. Hannah sent me a link to a New York Times page asking for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers to share their thoughts. I just typed something up quickly, but would like to preserve it here. I find that I have a difficult time articulately my experience. It was so complex and my emotions surrounding that time shift. So, here's what I think of my Turkmen experience today:
Peace Corps made a profound impact on my life. These days, I never put underwear in my washing machine without thinking of the days when I used to hand wash for hours in our little outdoor bathing room. I carried the water in a big plastic bucket from a tap on the main road and poured it over my clothes. I would turn them over and wring them out, all the while squatting over the bucket as my host aunt's six year old and seven year old ran around the yard chasing each other. There are people who will tell you that Peace Corps volunteers shouldn't be doing their laundry. But I will tell you that washing my laundry taught me more about time management, water conservation and gender roles than four years at a liberal arts college ever did. I would brainstorm lesson plans and watch in amazement as my laundry would dry in less than 10 minutes during the heat of the day in July. Turkmenistan is a formidable place with severe weather, an autocratic government and the same types of people I've know my whole life. No matter where we go in this world, people have the same basic desires. They want to sleep in on Saturdays, share meals with friends and family and create relationships with meaning. Peace Corps removed the "othering" we often unconsciously commit as people, regardless of our affiliations or cultural upbringings. Being alone in a new culture taught me how to see the culture as a local person. It probably took me more than a year, but once I did, the culture became my own and I no longer thought of the differences, and instead marveled at our similarities.
Peace Corps made a profound impact on my life. These days, I never put underwear in my washing machine without thinking of the days when I used to hand wash for hours in our little outdoor bathing room. I carried the water in a big plastic bucket from a tap on the main road and poured it over my clothes. I would turn them over and wring them out, all the while squatting over the bucket as my host aunt's six year old and seven year old ran around the yard chasing each other. There are people who will tell you that Peace Corps volunteers shouldn't be doing their laundry. But I will tell you that washing my laundry taught me more about time management, water conservation and gender roles than four years at a liberal arts college ever did. I would brainstorm lesson plans and watch in amazement as my laundry would dry in less than 10 minutes during the heat of the day in July. Turkmenistan is a formidable place with severe weather, an autocratic government and the same types of people I've know my whole life. No matter where we go in this world, people have the same basic desires. They want to sleep in on Saturdays, share meals with friends and family and create relationships with meaning. Peace Corps removed the "othering" we often unconsciously commit as people, regardless of our affiliations or cultural upbringings. Being alone in a new culture taught me how to see the culture as a local person. It probably took me more than a year, but once I did, the culture became my own and I no longer thought of the differences, and instead marveled at our similarities.
