Busy Busy

My first year of service seemed really slow. I hung out in village not knowing what to do or why I was placed there. I could not find any work to do. I mostly sat around my compound listening to conversations and trying my broken Pulaar. I spent time doing manual labor such as building fences and houses in order to learn about what people did. I would say I was what we call a cultural volunteer who spends a lot of time with the family and community learning about the culture and sharing mine. All I wanted to do was find real work to do.

My second year has been completely different. My this time I mastered their language, Pulaar, which made my interaction with the locals a much easier task. From spring through the rainy season, I was really busy. I had met a lot of people interested in planting trees, and I traveled to their villages almost every day. I spent a lot of time meeting with people to discuss ways to improve their agriculture yields, combat deforestation and increase household income by incorporating agro-forestry techniques with current agricultural practices. I helped them fill and plant polypots, and plant trees. When the rainy season arrived we made development plans for their fields. Looking back at it, while I enjoyed what I was doing, I wish I could have slowed down a little and spent more time in village.

I think it is kind of ironic that the first year I wanted more work because I spent too much time in village but the second year I had too much work and felt I was missing out on the village experience. I think this is typical of most Peace Corps volunteers because the first year we are learning about our communities and surroundings. We cannot speak the language and do not with whom to work. After some time, we discover the people who are willing to work and receptive to trying new ideas. At first, people who approach us tend to be hustlers just looking for handouts. This is frustrating because I wanted to hit the ground running when I showed up in village, but instead I had to wait a year to actually find real tasks. It was a good learning experience that to really help people it is important to take time to learn about the community. Otherwise the project might be a waste because it falls apart after we leave (see marnie’s blog).