On Relationships and Development

Two things that make me excited to become a Peace Corps Volunteer: 

Meaningful Relationships and Sustainable Development

On Relationships: 
Today I had my last home visit with the mom I've been working with for training. This project started out so incredibly awkward as I asked a stranger if I could come into her home to practice giving educational sessions with her. I met Emilin and her baby Micaela when "Mica" was having her 9 month birthday. I left Mica today at 10.5 months. I honestly spent a total of < 5 hours with this lady over the past 6 weeks. However, I left her house today like I was saying bye to a friend. I left feeling like mutual learning took place. I left feeling like I made a difference.

Working with Emilin was incredibly valuable for me. First, it taught me that I can do this. I can teach parents of babies about nutrition, anemia, hygiene, early stimulation, etc. Not only can I teach this stuff but I can teach it in Spanish! How cool is that? Second, it taught be about relationships. It taught me that it is possible to form a strong bond with a woman from a different culture in such a short time. Not only was it possible, but it was relatively easy. To build "confianza" (confidence) with the people we work with, we are taught numerous tactics: dress nice, smell good, be punctual, spend time just talking, play with the baby, etc. All those things are completely valid. The number one thing, though: be genuine. If your heart is in the right place, people will recognize that. People will appreciate it and trust you. I will hold that close as I start my service in 3 weeks...

On Development:
We had a speech on Tuesday from our country director. The topic was "development." We spoke about Peace Corps mission: sustainable, capacity building, development. Those just sound like big fancy words. Let me explain to you what they mean. We, as Peace Corps Volunteers, are not here to complete projects, and improve the lives of people in our communities. We are here to train and support community members in THEIR projects to improve the lives of people in our communities.
When a Peruvian does the work from the beginning, they will be more invested, and the project becomes sustainable. This is an awesome part of our work but also one of the toughest parts. As young people from the United States, we want things done right in the quickest way possible. Development through the Peace Corps is never fast. It's excruciatingly slow most of the time. Many times we won't even get to see the result of a project. But if we do everything for the people we work with, they don't learn. If we do a project our way, they don't grow. When we leave after two years, nothing has changed.

During this training, I'm learning to be prepared for ups and downs, moments of frustrations and moments of pride. All I can say now is, bring it on! I'm ready, I got this :)