I found a Peace Corps Wiki, which gives all kind of information on the Peace Corps in general, as well as stories of returned volunteers. I even found a set of questions from past interviews. Obviously I printed off all four pages so I could "study." I like to be prepared, but I don't want to be overly prepared considering the questions could have changed. However, one question that I knowwww they will ask is "What are your reasons for wanting to become a Peace Corps volunteer?" I secretly, yet openly dread this question because I don't want to sound generic because generic I am not! Furthermore, I just don't want my answer to come out incoherently. So here is what I've come up with so far...
Some of my reasons for wanting to become a PCV are the same reasons I want to go into social work. Plainly, I want to help people in anyway possible improve their quality of life. More broadly, I have always been interested in community service because it not only gives the volunteer (me) the chance to create new opportunities for others, but it also makes way for those on the receiving end to create better opportunities for themselves (capacity building). Selfishly, I feel a sense of accomplishment when someone says that I have helped them, whether it was in a big way or a small way. And along the way, I learn so much more from the people I am serving.
I went to the Gambia last summer (2010) to teach English and math to elementary school kids. It was a life changing experience because the whole time I just kept thinking, how are these kids SO happy when they live in one of the most impoverished villages in Africa (in the world even)?? I think I finally know the answer. They take life for what it is. They value every single day they have on this earth because they know, even at such a young age that it can be taken away from them at any moment. They live without electricity, indoor plumbing, money (the average family in Makumbaya makes $200 U.S. dollars a year--I spend $104 every 30 days to buy a metro card!), and many types of material goods. They value their family, friends, and their health. I would like to think I'd be happy with just these things, but it has been enstilled in us that this just isn't enough...
I will end this rant with a story. Five of us went to the Gambia and the very first week we were in a bush taxi going into town. As we're riding along the sliding door falls off and tumbles backwards in the sand. Anyway, a guy jumps off, runs back to get the door, puts it back on, and we go on our merry way. Now, if you were in this taxi, how would you have reacted?? I know my friends and I were like OMG, the door just fell off, how are we going to get to this internet cafe, etc. However, we ended up looking stupid because no one else in this taxi was phased. I mean, just put the door back on, nbd (no big deal). We discussed it later and came to the conclusion that if this happened in America everyone would pull their cell phones out to call someone saying "Check out what is happening right now, I can't believe it, now i'm going to be late", someone would've called the police, there'd be a lawsuit filed, etc. Is that really what we look like?? Because if it is I would work on changing that habit immediately!
That's all for now.
Whew! Good luck on your interview. Just relax and be yourself:)
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