jpm: The Mission

September 29, 2003

The Mission

For the few who have asked, and the many that have thought…..why? Why the Peace Corps?

Well here you are, as written for the Peace Corps in July 2003.

Expectations:

I expect to learn. To learn to live productively and efficiently and to enjoy life without the excess that surrounds mine now. I expect to understand. To understand what struggle and sacrifice and survival truly mean, and with that understanding, to better appreciate life with, or without, those three. I also hope to escape the materialism and surplus and disregard for human life and the earth that I see everyday all around me. I do know that I shall experience all of these things during my time in the Ukraine and Eastern Europe, but I expect to live comfortably and happily without them and to learn to teach others wherever I live to do the same.
I expect to learn much about the Ukrainian culture so that I can compare it with my own and thus determine how best to live. Likewise, I expect to give all my knowledge and understanding of life to whomever wants it so that they may do likewise. Through this relationship of common knowledge and understanding, I expect to build friendships that are strong and enduring. I do realize that some of the residents in the town, village or city where I will serve as a volunteer may not want to learn, nor trust, what I have to teach them. Thus, I will offer everything I have humbly and will never force my morals, values or ideas on anyone. I expect my neighbors, friends, students and teachers to do the same.

Strategies for Adapting to a New Culture:

I have never experienced a culture that is not industrialized, nor Americanized and I am excited to do so. And though I am often shy and introverted when made to play the part of the outsider, I realize that my ability to make friends and gain trust from those I interact with quickly will positively influence my ability to adapt to a new culture. Overcoming loneliness and the longing for familiar faces will be my biggest challenge—I have always adapted quickly and with ease to new settings and living arrangements and I am quite confident that Ukraine will feel like home to me within weeks of my arrival (this, of course, is an admittedly na�ve statement). Thus, I shall make it a point from the moment I arrive in Ukraine to meet as many people as possible and to make those I do meet comfortable with me. I realize that I will be stereotyped by my nationality, and thus I will make an effort with each person I meet to act truly sincere so that I will be judged by my character and personality, not by my ethnicity.
I will try all things that are new to me and suppress any fears I have for the unknown. I am eager to learn how Ukrainians live day-to-day, and like my knowledge and understanding of life, I will offer how I have lived my life in hopes that I, and all whom I meet, can find our own perfect way to live.

Most of what I have already written describes my personal goals for my Peace Corps service—building friendships based on a common understanding of life and giving all that I have to offer so that someone might make their own life better. Professionally, I hope to define more clearly what I am meant to do with my life. I want to teach people how to live better; teach them that the way things are and the way things have to be are not one and the same. I want to show people that knowledge is the greatest weapon against misery while ignorance is the greatest instigator of it. I want to learn to be happy with very little and to appreciate human relationships and the earth instead of materials and money—and I want to teach this to others. How I want to do this, and where, I do not know yet, thus my volunteer service in the Ukraine shall be a sort of stepping stone to understanding more fully who I am, and how and who I am meant to help.

Posted by jpm at September 29, 2003 10:15 PM | TrackBack

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