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"So......why Peace Corps?"
That's a question I've been receiving quite often - but also one that I have been asking myself over the last couple weeks as my departure date draws (worryingly) close. My Peace Corps application, where I had to answer this very question, was so optimistic and self-righteous that I have to laugh at myself. I told them that "the most important contemporary issue to me is the global disparity in health care" - which I do believe, of course, and is a large part of why I want to come to Cambodia. My career goal is to work as a doctor in global health to provide medical care and education to those who have little of both. I am excited to be given the opportunity to get a head-start on my dreams and make impactful and long-lasting changes in the community I will live and work in. But, that's only half the reason why I'm shipping myself literally across the world to live in a completely foreign country with questionable internet for two years.
It's because I'm selfish, curious human being. Yeah, seriously.
Me, a selfish and curious human being.
I am a firm believer that nobody does service work because they are 100% selfless. From an evolutionary perspective, that is simply not enough motivation for animals to give aid to their kin and community. So - what's in it for the chimp with a few more bananas to go around? Some warm and fuzzy feels, bragging rights, a bangin' resumé?
Yeah, all of those things. But really - for me, the beauty and promise in this whole experience lies in taking the opportunity to fully immerse myself in a new and vastly different culture. Traveling a country for a couple weeks, or even a couple months, is barely scraping the surface. Living with a host family for two years, working alongside local people, and speaking (or attempting to speak) the official language promises a wholly unique challenge of which I, like many Americans, have never attempted before - to live and understand life outside of a Western perspective. What is it like to experience the world outside of our ever-expanding American reach? An alternate reality where everything is not convenient nor easily available, and where the process is valued rather than just the end result. Where it's easy to trace the source of our food, our clothing and our material goods (and where people actually appreciate this source). A reality where, unlike America, people value their family and community over the individual, and are proud of thousands-of-years-old history and traditions.
Now, I realize that I am absolutely romanticizing living in Cambodia. This is a common line of thought perpetuated by Western perspectives on developing countries - take the 'noble savages' narratives of white explorers from centuries ago. Although my own thoughts are on a far less insulting and belittling level, it's important to recognize that we are brought up to think that simple = happy, and ignorance = bliss. Although I am fairly well-traveled, I am not exempt from this line of thought. I know, consciously, that this narrative is NOT the truth, and that people are struggling in rural Cambodia (thus why they are bringing in Peace Corps volunteers and why there are many NGOs operating there) but I still feel the urge to romanticize what my time will be like there - most likely because I feel a great need to reassure myself that this will be an wonderful, positive experience and that I will better myself through it.
But anyways, back to the question - why am I doing this?
Well, as all of you more experienced folks know - when will you ever get the chance to go abroad for this long again? With no responsibilities except for myself, this is prime time - and really, the only chance I'll get - to just go away for two years and do my own thing. After Peace Corps, real life is going to hit me once again - medical school, and residencies, and jobs where you get no three-month summer vacations or gap year options. It's now or never, folks. Now or never. Essentially, I'm trying to postpone 'the grind' for as long as possible and revel in my freedom (ironically, by joining a 2-year program...funny how life works out that way). So, I'm going to make the best of it and truly challenge myself to grow as an open-minded, compassionate individual, so that I can not only be a better future doctor but a better human being.
Here's to taking the ultimate leap of faith.
With unending love for all of my family and friends,
Michele