Enjoying It

I think at any point during their service, any PCV or RPCV can truthfully say that they’ve had moments where they just wanted to kick and scream at the inconveniences, annoyances, and yes, sometimes people- why don’t they care about getting things done to improve their lives? I don’t think it’s all that far-fetched to say that almost all PCVs have had times where they wanted to pack up their things and catch the first flight back to the land of comfort, convenience and service.

Because that would be the easiest thing, no?

But let’s not kid ourselves either. We didn’t sign up to spend 27 months away from home expecting to find the same luxuries, expediencies, and general ease of life as we had back home- but if we have, then we consider ourselves pretty damn lucky.

Anyone who does find (or has found, for that matter) himself or herself on a plane home shortly after arriving in their host country, or shortly after seeing what their site will be like, the place where they would have been living for the next two years probably didn’t have realistic expectations coming into PC, or else it really wasn’t for them, which is fine too, because there isn’t anything that is for everyone. But let’s be honest here: you don’t come to do aid work in a third world country and expect to be living the same lifestyle with the same excitement as you had back home.

Difficulties come in all shapes and sizes, and though I can only speak on behalf of my experience thus far in the Western Highlands of one of Guatemalan’s poorest municipalities (which certainly does no justice to the array of experiences of PCVs worldwide), I can tell you that life for the everyday Guatemalan here is something we would relate to a Swiss Family Robinson lifestyle. Sure there are modern conveniences such as cell phones, internet (though painfully slow at times, but don’t take that as a complaint!), cars and old school buses (which most likely would have failed any state’s exhaust emission test), electricity and running water, all those things cost money.

If she can’t catch a pickup truck on its way into town, then my counterpart, a wife and mother of eight, hikes one hour into town to work all day in an office, or go out to another community to a women’s group. I don’t think any you reading this right now, be that you’re in the US, Canada, Europe, South Africa or Australia, can fathom hiking one hour to work, only to hike one hour to get home. And after that you’ll most likely still have your chores to do if you’re a woman, because that’s just the way things work here.

Two days after I moved into my apartment, I found myself with no water. None. Not a drop has come out of the shower, emptied into the toilet or come out of the basin faucet since 6 January. Unfortunately I don’t have a pila (to store water and wash dishes and clothes in, something which I plan on talking to my landlord about). Fortunately, though, there was a water source from which I was able to haul up water with my new plastic pail I had bought as a rubbish bin, which has proved effective for the time being.

But leave it to Murphy’s Law. Before bad things get better, they always get worse. And worse they got. I thought hiking one mile to take a cold bucket bath was rough. I was most unfortunate to get food poisoning, which if you know what it comes with, does not mix well if you do not have a toilet that does not flush. I’ve come to the point of being here to just accept things, good, bad or ugly for what they are: good, bad and ugly.

A lot of PCVs have a romanticized idea of “changing the world” during their two year service. Though I have realized that this is pretty much unrealistic, you can definitely change some people’s world during the time you spend in your host community.

Cheesiness put aside, you still have a mountain of inconveniences to deal with, whatever kind of work you’re involved in. And it sucks. But everyone else seems to deal with it, so why can’t you? You’re not accustomed to it, it’s frustrating, gets in the way and slows down what you want to accomplish. Why can’t anyone understand that?

I think what’s more important is to embrace all the inconveniences, annoyances, and things that, from time to time, genuinely piss you off. Come on, if everyone else in your community has been living with the same inconveniences, either because they don’t know what exists out there that could be more convenient, or just that they’re used to the unreliability of, say, electricity or running water, what makes you so much more important than them to not be able to flush your toilet with a bucket of water every night? Your only bucket of water for the day?

Now, I have a wide range of music on my MP3 player, from Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Gorillaz, Led Zeppelin, Corben Cassavette, Ozzy Osbourne, Hungarian folk and pop, and yes, all four Classic Disney CDs I had purchased when I was 12 years old. And I still love them.

The song that I can best relate to any PCV’s service is “Enjoy It” with Hayley Mills (just one) and Maurice Chevalier from the movie “The Castaways.”

Why cry about bad weather? Enjoy it!
Each moment is a treasure, enjoy it!
We are travelers on life’s highway, enjoy the trip
Each lovely twist and byway, each bump and dip

If there’s a complication, enjoy it!
You’ve got imagination, employ it!
And you’ll see roses in the snow,
Joie de vivre will make them grow,
Voila, that’s life, enjoy it!

So, here’s to 21 more months to “enjoy it” and embrace the experience, because after this, it’s back to “normal.” Though I do hope the water comes back before I leave.