As promised, this post is exploring Peace Corps' catchphrase, "the hardest job you'll ever love." At first when I read this back in Prague, as I was applying for the Peace Corps, I didn't really give it much thought, considering it nothing more than a nice logo. Coke: open happiness. McDonald's: I'm lovin' it. Nike: just do it. Next, when I was in New Mexico preparing for Peace Corps service after being accepted, I looked at it more or less as a chiché little phrase meant to keep you excited and keep you going before you got there, something to keep you fighting through the piles of paperwork and testing that one must slog through to gain clearance to serve.
During certain parts of the three months of Pre-Service Training I thought, "Maybe this is the hard part and the part you love comes afterwards."
Now, after a mere two weeks at site, I already realize that "the hardest job you'll ever love" is not just a logo, it is not cliché, nor is it something that I will ever be able to break down into clean 'sections' or compartments; the part that is hard and the part that I love are separated by a mere day, by hours, by minutes, or even are found together in the same moment as I move through my life here.
This is the result of living in an environment and culture that is completely different and being forced to adapt and modify myself and my daily routine, but it is also the result of being in an environment that is a lot less stable and predictable than many of the ones we have left in the United States. Yes, maybe I have to walk quite a ways to get water, which is different, but maybe the pump isn't working when I arrive as well. I might have to work hard to find people to work with on various projects at the local hospital, but the person I find might also be transferred to a different district without warning the following week. Part of my new job might be to ride out into the countryside and work on health education and treatment adherence issues, but the car that's meant to take us might not show up that day. An acquaintance of mine might finally go to the hospital to give birth to her child (already a big step, as many women either choose to give birth at home or are forced to do so by circumstances) and then her child might die within 2 hours of being born.
All this might be completely normal.
And THAT is where the hard part of the job. Just because something happens frequently, does not mean that it is normal. Not having access to clean water and children dying within their first 5 years of life are realities of life here, but they are not normal. Nor should they be. The hard part of this job is fighting to prove that many hardships and challenges encountered on a day-to-day basis here are not normal; they are changeable and with teamwork we can find ways to bring about the change needed to overcome them. That's what the Peace Corps volunteers are here for, not to solve problems, but to offer a different way of looking at them and offer ideas about how to move forward once they are recognized. Not that many of these changes or solutions could every happen overnight, they might take years, but as a volunteer sometimes the main goal is simply to convince people that they can and should happen and are something worth looking and working towards. Eventually.
Pouco a pouco. Correr não é chegar.
Now, the part of the job that I do love is the part that IS the normal part: the people. The more I travel the more I realize that we are all the same and that we have created invisible barriers and given them the arbitrary names of countries, religions, colors and cultures, but in reality they only exists as much as we let them. It's normal that some people are kind and wave and greet me, even invite me into their homes for a meal. It's normal that other people are suspicious or closed off and just stare at me as I walk by. It's normal for little children to be unsettled by the sight of someone who looks different and run away. It's normal that hungry people ask me for money. It's normal for people with a good sense of humor laugh at my jokes. It's normal for people who are proud to tend to not let other people in a meeting talk. It's normal that people with a higher level of education look down on those who have a lower one or are lacking one all together. It's normal for people to cry when someone dies. It's normal to celebrate when a couple is married. Humanity is normal and that's the part of this job I love, interacting within it.
Everyday I am thrust into a beautiful firestorm of adventures, tragedies, celebrations, pain, fear, excitement, hopelessness, promises, victories, short-comings, logistical nightmares and a million other situations and it is always the humanity that makes it worthwhile. The environment and circumstances in which we are brought together are hard, but the love that humanity always seems to be able to give when it is needed most is more than enough to get us through. It's a hard job, but I love it!
Right. And now the photos... Thanks for sticking with me!
 |
| Gorgeous view off towards the district capital of Ancuabe from the top of a small hill in Metoro |
 |
| I got this as Metoro's restaurant because it resembled a Koláč (Kolache in Verdigre), but it unfortunately didn't taste anything like one... More in the realm of dry bread stuffed with dry coconut shavings |
 |
| Looking down the road to Montepuez during a weekday meandering |
 |
| In the small town of Minheuene there is a now-abandoned mission. Well, mostly abandoned, as some of the buildings are still used |
 |
| Here is the church in the same site. It is still used, despite many of the surrounding buildings being in a state of disrepair |
 |
| You quickly learn that noticing the little things will get you a long way |
 |
| The census is happening this month in Mozambique... It will only be the 4th census in the country's history, with the last one happening roughly 10 years ago |
 |
| My house is still not ready, but at least the process for making it ready has begun... |
 |
| Dannia, a PCV from the nearby site and district capital of Ancuabe, and her health center picked me up during a quick stop in Metoro and I accompanied them on a Brigada Móvil (mobile brigade), in which we traveled to a couple small villages to do vaccinations and family planning options. Here, Dannia and her colleague are waiting for all of the patients who signed up for the services to show up. In the end, only about half of them did. A big part of being a Peace Corps volunteer is being patient, flexible and waiting |
