With the group of education volunteers before me getting ready to leave in November, I have been thinking a lot about what exactly have I learned in Peace Corps? My roommate has been filling out an application to teach in Korea, and we have been laughing at our skill set since living in Mozambique. I must say, I am never going to be able to have a normal interview again.
Interviewer "Well Mr. Davis, what can you bring to our Company?"
Nick "To be honest, I can poop in a hole and make xima."
For some reason, I do not see that helping me get a job. Although some of my skills as a Peace Corps Volunteer do not translate well into the working world of the United States, I must say... I am proud of my new way of life.
Skills that Kills
1) I can poop in a hole (who hasnt ever wished that?)
2) I am fluent in Portuguese
3) I can carry a trashcan size bucket of water on my head
4) I am phenomenal at ignoring people calling me Mulungu,Muzungu, or Makunha
5) I can live for 7 months off of beans, rice, and veggies
6) I can cook a delicious dish using every single part of the pumpkin plant
7) I can tolerate gross instant coffee
8) I can tolerate the largest of cultural differences in mass quantities
9) I can eat fried bugs, boiled giant snail, monkey, gazelle, and who knows what other types of food...
10) I can sleep without a mattress for months at a time
11) I can get completely clean using only a bucket of cold water and soap
12) I can wash any article of clothing with my hands
13) I can shave my face without a mirror
14) I can patiently wait for people to show up 20-30 minutes late... consistently
15) I can walk 8km from a farm with a sack of corn on my head and enjoy all the people staring at me and speaking in their local dialects as I do so.
16) I can teach chemistry, physics, biology, and art classes to high school students... in Portuguese
17) I can get an entire market crowded with people to look at me just by saying a phrase or 2 in their local language.
18) I kill, clean, and cook a chicken, duck, and goat. (Dont do this often)
19) I can travel a 3rd world country in ways that I never thought I would ever have to (packed beds of trucks with 25+ people, hitchhiking, and bicycle)
20) I can weigh 300 babies in a single day
21) I can surprise people by saying that I am not Brazilian, Chinese, or Portuguese.
22) I can read book, after book, after book without getting bored
23) I can live 8 months on only 12 cents per day...
24) I can integrate into different cultures without feeling stressed or feeling overwhelmed
25) I can say that I helped a witch doctor cut off a chicken's head that was used for a ritual...
26) I can make entire meals from food that I had grown in my own backyard
27) I can make children cry just by being a white person
28) I understand what homesickness actually is
29) I know what true corruption can look like and function
30) I know what its liked to be asked for sex multiple times per day on a fairly regular basis
31) I can kill black mambas with shovels and hoes.
I have given you a list of 31 things that I can and am able to do because of the Peace Corps. I am hoping that they can translate, somehow, into my life... but for some reason, I think a few will be "talents" that are only there for the story
I love all of your blogs but this is probably my favorite! Your sense of humor shines through. I love #27. Love you! Can't wait for your next blog. Good luck to your roomie on the job hunt!
ReplyDeleteLove your blogs, Nick. You have great sense of humor, which you should add as #32. It can get you through most anything. My favorite is #25.
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ReplyDeleteDude, you mean to tell me you're walking around battling black mambas down there?! We need to get you a pet mongoose to walk around with as your security guard. For real though, it's great to see that you're doing so well and loving what you're doing. It may not seem like the most lavish lifestyle (it's not), but it's something most will never get to experience and many would trade anything to go back in time to join you in your adventure (although, if they're trading for the ability to travel back in time, other things may take precedent. See Back To The Future I - III for reference. *edit*: Strike that, never watch Back To The Future III, ever). But we're all crazy proud of you Nick, and I'm SO incredibly sorry we haven't been able to work out a way for me to visit yet. I really hope I'm able to make it down there to see you in action before you get back, but if not I can't wait for you to regale us all with your tales of new cultural experience and pooping in holes. Take care, and hopefully speak to you soon dood!
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