Life is Calling. How far will you go?

On Thursday April the 10^th, Travis Axton came to our class to talk to us about the Peace Crops. He is the regional recruiter for the San Francisco area. He came to our class telling us how we can get involved, what to expect, why we should consider the experience and about his experience in Zambia.

I was amazed at his experience. A two year commitment in a small village that doesn’t even speak English! Yikes! He spoke a bit of the language to us and found it remarkable how different it sounded from anything I’ve heard and how much he knew just after two years. When he arrived in Zambia, he had to go through three months of training where he learned a bit of the language and the customs. He was given a mud hut from the villagers that he stayed in by himself. And a small monthly allowance to live on. To take a warm shower in the morning could take him 45 minutes just to boil the water. And yes, he did take a shower every morning. How to greet people respectfully in Zambia was very interesting. Most of us today don’t say hello to half the people we pass on the streets, but it was culturally necessary for greetings to take place with everyone.

I took home a brochure that Travis left for our class. I scanned it a bit, and thought about possible applying for the Peace Corps. The process can take up to 9 months and I don’t know what will happen within that amount of time. I do plan on applying. I think I should be done with school in a year and what if I don’t have a job lines up? Travis told us he graduated with a Political Science degree and had nothing lined up, so that’s why he embarked on the experience. I think I might do the same. Such an adventure is totally out of my norm and it might be good for me.

I checked out their website and it’s very informational. There are many personal experiences shared, resources, jobs, news, a place to apply and donate. Basically the website answers any questions that could arise when thinking about joining or helping out the peace corps. They have their policies and contracts listed as well as local events. There is a library full of resources for cultures, languages, teaching/learning, community developement, volunteer resources/support and peace corps publications. On the website a newsletter is also available to people seeking volunteer opportunities.

I really appreciate Travis Axton coming into our classroom and sharing his experience with us. I’ve never spoken to anyone about the Peace Corps and have never known anyone who’s been experiences with the organization. I think this opportunity would be so amazing and would be such a learning experience. I’m going to apply and see where it take me.