This is where I will document my
experiences serving with the Peace Corps in China. At this point, all I
know is that I will be teaching English at the university level in Western
China. I am excited to learn more about what I will be doing!
In the meantime, I
wanted to share how people have reacted to hearing that I will be going to
China with the Peace Corps. My announcement has been met with awe,
inspiration, surprise, indifference, confusion, and even resentment. It definitely
runs the full gamut! There are times when complete strangers praise my
character and entreat me to keep them posted on my experiences (which is
difficult for the times when I do not even know their names), and I have been
buoyed spiritually by the thought that many people, even those I have not met,
will be inspired by my work for the next two and a half years. Some
express surprise that I, a Spanish major, would be sent somewhere as culturally
foreign to me as China. That is true, but I actually gave my regional
preferences as Asia and Eastern Europe because I wanted the full Peace Corps
experience of knowing nothing about a country at the start, to becoming fluent
and able to navigate vastly different cultural norms.
There have also been a small number of people who, after hearing
my plans, say something along the lines of, “Way to out shine us all!” or “I am
not doing anything near as exciting as the Peace Corps.” I was surprised to
encounter such a reaction. This has come
mostly from people who do not have any set plans for life after
graduation. Let me just say that I spent
the entire spring semester not knowing for sure if I would even be accepted
into the Peace Corps: I know people just as qualified as myself who never
received an invitation. That time of not
knowing was nerve-wracking for me, and I know that those people will figure
something out. I realize and fully
appreciate the fact that not everyone gets to do this, and believe me when I
say I will not take it for granted. I want
to salute everyone in whatever path they are pursuing, whether it is working
full time, continuing school, or trying to figure out happens next. There is nothing to be ashamed about in not
knowing what to do. As long as you
pursue your passion, there is nothing wrong in that.
I know that there will be
many challenges and rewards in the months to come, and I eagerly look forward
to each moment because I know that both will allow me to grow. An important idea for Peace Corps Volunteers,
from what I have come to understand through reading blogs and books, is to find
the good in every situation, to trust the process, and to embrace the
unknown. I think that adequately sums up
my mindset going into the whole experience.
Many things will be done differently from what I am used to, and I will
find myself in challenging and uncomfortable situations. I will remind myself to take a deep breath,
find a place of inner peace and focus on it, and above all, to smile. That approach has definitely helped me in my
numerous travel and study abroad experiences, and I know it will help me in
this whole new chapter in my life.
I will go to Washington, DC at
the end of June for a Pre-Service Orientation, or Staging, and then I will fly
out with the other China volunteers.
China, here I come!
