7 years ago

Smashing Gender Stereotypes

by Rawan / Her

Bringing awareness to gender inequality in this country has arguably become my strongest passion. I am promoting gender equality in half of my projects because I have committed my service to it. Thus, when my friend Kate asked me if I would like to collaborate with her on a gender specific project, I said yes. On a cold November afternoon, we both visited the American Corner, in Kutaisi, in hopes to create some sort of a gender-related club. We were both bouncing around ideas like doing a film club featuring strong female role models. Another idea was creating a book club. Essentially, we wanted to break down some of the gender stereotypes and promote gender equality through lively discussions and interactions.

19095540_10154854499788867_7163361059152152699_o — My friend Kate and I in Tbilisi in April 2017. She is easily one of my favorite people in Peace Corps 🙂

After much thought, our idea expanded into creating one-day workshops in various villages and towns throughout Georgia. Along with our two other friends, Liv and Rose, Saqartvelo Smashes Stereotypes (SSS) was born. Saqartvelo means Georgia in Georgian and I couldn’t be more proud of my friends for coming up with an awesome name. The strategy was simple: each workshop would have 3 sessions. The sessions are identified through a needs assessment. The community chooses the top 3 topics they would like us to cover. The sessions range from Employability, Social Media Best Practices, Gender Norms/Stereotypes, Community Activism, Domestic Violence/Early marriage, and more. Typically, the local English teachers in the community act as our translators.

IMG_20170604_140903 — My friend Liv and I leading a session on Gender Stereotypes

We have had 5 separate workshops throughout Georgia. Workshops have ranged anywhere from 7 participants to over a 100. During the sensitive gender topics, we have gender-split discussions. Our male Peace Corps Volunteers will lead the discussion for the boys, and we lead the discussions for the girls. The session sparks great conversations and discussions. Sometimes, I will catch the students having side-conversations during the sessions. At first, I want to tell them to pay attention to the topic at hand. However, I’ll eavesdrop and I will notice that they are actually discussing the topic! Since this is not a formal educational session and attendance is optional, we will let the side-conversations continue if they are not distracting.

Other times, the exact thing happens. A student will make a comment and participate in the session, but the comment can derail the discussion. For instance, I was leading a session on gender discrimination in the workplace. I asked the teenagers to provide examples of gender discrimination. They started mumbling amongst themselves for ideas. A brave young girl raised her hand and proclaimed, “There is gender discrimination in the U.S, but there is no gender discrimination in Georgia.” This girl was trying to convince me that Georgia, which is listed as number 79 in the world on the Gender Inequality Index, has no gender inequality! I took a deep breath and said, “Just because we don’t recognize something, it doesn’t mean it is not there.”

IMG_20170604_113718 — Some of the students working on activities that we give them during the ssesions.

These comments fuel my motivation for Saqartvelo Smashes Stereotypes. Girls in Georgia are encouraged to do all the housework while the boys are not. It might not seem like a big deal, but it was a huge cultural shock aspect when I first came to Georgia. During training (PST), Justin and I would take our empty, dirty plates to the kitchen after eating. My host mom and sister welcomed the help- but only from me! In fact, they insisted that Justin leaves the plates on the table. Then, they yelled at me at said, “Bechi Ara! Marto Gogo!” Which translates to, “Boys, no! Only girl!” To combat the gender stereotypes in a polite way, I said, “In America, both can do it. Why only girls? Justin wants to help.” My host sister literally had no answer other than, “this is the way it has always been done.” This is a train of thought that needs to be questioned.

According to the World Bank Group’s Georgia Country Gender Assessment in 2016, “Household responsibilities appear to play a critical role in reducing female labor force participation, but not male labor force participation.” It is important to learn how to identify what is gender discrimination and the simplest forms it can take place. So when I told that teenage girl that example, she remained speechless. I could tell that she too started thinking about the “logic” behind the tradition. If no one ever questioned tradition, women today will not be able to vote or own property- even in the United States.

We also try to instill a sense of self-confidence and self-power. During the domestic violence session, Rose does a beautiful job in explaining that help is available in Georgia. She discusses the resources and the hotlines available in the country. It would be useless if we discuss American self-help tactics, so we provide local resources as much as possible. Domestic violence is a big problem all around the world; however, talking about it is more stigmatized here. According to EurasiaNet, “In 2015, police registered 901 domestic-violence cases – an 88 percent increase over reported instances in 2014, based on police figures cited by the ombudsperson’s office. In 2014, the latest year for which data is available, the government’s emergency-assistance hotline recorded 9,290 calls related to domestic violence.”

FB_IMG_1496638712666 — The Georgian PSA to make people aware of the Domestic Violence Help Hotline.

Therefore, to aid in positive change, we create a safe space for these discussions. One of my favorite parts of this project is the community involvement. The teachers at these schools are highly involved and are excited to co-lead these discussions. The students that participate come voluntarily; therefore, they are motivated to learn about these topics. Witnessing the community involvement and the student’s eagerness is a sign of a bright future for Georgia in combating these gender stereotypes.

8 years ago

Job Shadowing: Making One Child Smile at a Time

by Rawan / Her

As cheesy as it sounds, one of the biggest joys of my Peace Corps service is putting a smile on a child’s face. As Justin puts it, it’s very easy to do in Georgia. I consider last two weeks ago a success because I received dozens of smiles, hugs, and kisses from the children in my community. Prior to Peace Corps, I had an awkward stage in life where I did not know what to say to children and sometimes I would walk away by patting them on the head. For me to start off a blog about kids is truly a success and a sign of personal growth- or dare I say, maternal instincts kicking in?!

Two weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to host two wonderful Peace Corps Trainees: Miranda and Rose. Peace Corps Georgia gives trainees an opportunity to job shadow a Peace Corps Volunteer, at their site, so the trainees can gain perspective on a volunteer’s daily life in the community and at their job. On Monday morning, Miranda and Rose had the opportunity to speak with my counterparts. My counterparts informed them about the various work that we do together and the strategic initiatives World Vision and Youth2Georgia work on.

19142286_10158905211325714_1427277376_n — My friend Neil and I cooked a feast (supra in Georgian) for our Job Shadowers the day they arrived.

But later, I thought it would also be fun to do an English Club lesson with them at the Day Care Center. If you read my English Club blog post, you would know that my English Club is anything but an English Club. It essentially me attempting to get vulnerable children to sit with me to learn anything. Since the lessons fall apart within 20 minutes, I no longer lesson plan for long activities. So, when Miranda said, “so we should plan for an hour lesson?” I simply looked at her and said, “ha, we are lucky if they sit still for 10 minutes. I think 20 minutes should be sufficient!” So, we planned for a couple of activities and walked to the Day Care Center.

The children were so excited to meet Miranda and Rose. It was the first time I personally brought guests to the Day Care Center. The weather was beautiful, so for the first time ever, we held our activities outdoors. Then, a miracle happened! The children behaved. For. The. First. Time. EVER! Tamta (my Day Care Center counterpart) and I looked at each and were dumbfounded. We have dreamed of this day and when it actually happened, we did not know what to do.

The children literally stayed for the entire duration of our planned activities. Then, they wanted more! They actually wanted more from us. I looked at Rose and Miranda and I was so surprised, “you don’t understand, this has never happened.” So, if you are in need of a miracle, please contact Miranda and Rose- they will be our new official Peace Corps Volunteers in July. They literally have magical powers beyond our imagination. Their magical powers had the kids smiling and laughing. The kids were participating in Simon Says! They were following directions! They craved our attention instead of running away from us!

I’m so sad that I didn’t take any pictures of the event to document this rare miracle. In a sense, that is true Peace Corps. We live for the tiny miracles that occur during our service. The rare glimpse of hope that our work is doing something meaningful. As much as I have struggled with my English Club, last week was a moment I will always cherish.

On Tuesday morning, Justin invited Miranda, Rose, and I to his school. Collectively, we thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of the opportunity to allow the trainees to see another Peace Corps Volunteer’s job as well as mine. However, Justin also had something sinister in mind. He creatively crafted a “spousal revenge” episode of the century. He started off the lesson by giving his third graders questions to ask us. The first question was, “Do you like Star Wars?”

Hmm, that is odd. I see Justin pull out his iPhone to take a video. I knew something was brewing. I choose my words carefully to answer the first question. Then, another third grader asked, “Why don’t you like Star Wars?” Ah-ha! Justin crafted this to publicly shame me in front of his third graders! Why do you ask? Because I refuse to watch Star Wars. I am one of the few Americans who just has no interest in the subject. Justin, on the other hand, has made it his life mission to get me to watch it at least one time in my life (and to enjoy American football). (Sidenote: Justin did get me to play fantasy football, and, while it was totally awesome, it just wasn’t my thing.)

Therefore, be careful who you marry. Their interests might become your interests. After his revenge, we all drew pizzas and hamburgers with the cutest third graders. The children had learned the ingredients for the dishes the week before and this was a creative way for them to review the words for pickles, meat, bread, cheese, etc.

After the class was over, Justin asked us if we would like to stay for the fifth-grade class. At first, I personally felt compelled to return to my job. It was already 10 a.m., but then I saw a bunch of the fifth graders spying on us in the teacher’s lounge. So the three of us thought, “Why not make a bunch of kids happy?” Literally, that is how we decided to stay. At 10:30 a.m., we stood in front of the fifth-grade class introducing ourselves. Justin’s counterpart told the students to ask us questions. All of them were mumbling and laughing. They were so excited that they were nervously giggling and stumbling on their words. The typical questions ensued, such as, “Do you like Georgia?” “Do you like khachapuri?” “Do you like us?” Both younger and older generations ask the same questions, so at this point, I have well-crafted responses to these questions.

19141554_10158905211890714_765657439_n — With Justin’s 5th grade class

Towards the end of the questions, I whispered to Justin, “Do you think they would want a picture with us?” So, Justin asks, “Do you want a picture with our guests?” Never in my life have I seen a bunch of fifth graders get up out of their seats so fast. I thought that Rose, Miranda, and I were going to get trampled. They were so excited and they were all pushing each to be next to one of us. That my friends is what it feels like to be a micro-celebrity. I’m just kidding- we aren’t celebrities. But we do get kids excited when we take pictures with them 😉

8 years ago

Youth Empowerment Summit

by Rawan / Her

This month, my organization, three other Peace Corps Volunteers, and I hosted a Youth Empowerment Summit in Kutaisi, Georgia. In fact, there were three other summits that took place this Spring. It was all inspired by our training last November. Peace Corps held a Training of Trainers (ToT) for 20 Peace Corps Volunteers, selected World Vision staff, and some youth in Tbilisi last November. All the Peace Corps Volunteers that are on official programmatic committees were invited to attend. Since I’m on the Gender Equality committee and partnered with World Vision, I was invited to this training. We learned the importance of clubs and volunteerism. The objective of our training was for us to hold summits for the youth in our communities on how to create and sustain clubs.

TOT — Our Training of Trainers in November 2016

During the week-long training, we practiced presenting various topics that might be useful for the youth. Session topics included: leadership skills, collaboration, volunteerism, asset identification, and more. I really appreciated that after our training, Peace Corps provided us with resource books on these topics. Our post also invested in these resources since they also translated the books to Georgian so our counterparts can also take advantage and utilize the books.

IMG_20170524_105312 — Some of the resource books that Peace Corps provided us after the Training of Trainers

The ToT was essentially organized by the regions that the World Vision Georgia offices are located in. Since World Vision works with youth and is a leading non-profit in this field, Peace Corps invited and requested them to be our partnering organization for the summits. As you may recall from this post, our Peace Corps projects are always partnered with the community’s leaders, schools, or organizations. However, my region has so many volunteers, it was decided to split my region into two groups. Thus, that is how we ended up with the four groups.

FB_IMG_1495607399350 — The World Vision team: the staff, the Peace Corps Volunteers, and the youth.

Thus, for the months leading up to May from November, my small group have been working hard to replicate some of the Training of Trainers elements into a Youth Empowerment Summit. The goal to create and sustain clubs beautifully complements Peace Corps’ and the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Georgia’s. Both the Peace Corps and the Ministry know that when the youth participate in clubs, they are more active citizens. The sense of achievement in clubs could easily bleed into other parts of their lives and help develop skills in the future.

Justin with his youth from his school working on the project plan to implement their travel-themed club

Together with my other Peace Corps Volunteers, we wrote a Let Girls Learn Grant for this project. We focused on developing leadership, communication, and collaboration skills that are needed for club development. We created activities that would identify their assets and their interests in creating a meaningful club. Essentially, we wanted to make sure that the event was fun as well as impactful. In the end, we invited 9 Peace Corps volunteers along with 19 youth to participate in the two-day, two-night summit.

One of the biggest challenges with trainings like these is teaching the creative and critical concepts. I’ve noticed that the youth do not have the language that American youth use- and I’m not talking about the difference between Georgian and English. Georgian youth tend to have a more difficult time understanding certain creative concepts. For example, many of them have a hard time identifying personal assets. They do not grow up in a society that values every little achievement wrapped with “you are so special” cocktail mix.

We had the youth and the Peace Corps Volunteers compete in an activity that focuses on collaboration called the “human knot.”

Most Georgian youth in schools are taught to memorize Georgian poems and recite other facts. There is little room for creative projects that imparts critical thinking. Thus, asking the youth this weekend to “create a sustainable club” was not an easy feat. For many, it was the first time in their lives that they had to truly create something original and not replicate or summarize someone’s else work. Which is why opportunities like these trainings are so important.

Our summit helped some youth to think “outside the box” to create clubs that their peers would enjoy participating. Some of the youth with their respective Peace Corps Volunteers will be implementing their clubs soon. However, most will be creating them for the upcoming school year. Thus, wish them luck on this journey!

8 years ago

Gender Preference in Georgia: Do Parents Prefer a Baby ...

by Rawan / Her

When this article was published, a lot of chatter was going around in the Peace Corps world. In summary, many people thought (Peace Corps Volunteers or otherwise) that Let Girls Learn, as a program, was going to be discontinued. Michelle Obama started Let Girls Learn (LGL) which facilitates educational opportunities for adolescent girls in developing countries. Peace Corps partnered with Let Girls Learn and Georgia is one of the participating countries. At this point, it seems that the program will change its name only and the funds available can still be used to champion for girls’ education.

I strongly believe that Let Girls Learn is needed because it helps improve the self-esteem of many young females. Georgia is not an easy country to grow up as a girl. Girls are less valued than boys and the statistics show that this starts before birth. If fact, sex-selective abortions rates in Georgia are one of the highest in the world. In other words, Georgia is one of the countries where pregnant women choose or are encouraged to get an abortion simply because the baby would be a girl.

Many of us have heard about this practice in China and in India, but people do not typically think of Europe when they hear sex-selective abortion. In Georgia, the average number of boys to girls born between 2005-2009 was 110 boys to 100 girls. Based on how natural selection works, the numbers suggest that for every 100 boys born, there are 4.2 girls missing in Georgia during that time period (Source: eurasianet).

In September 2016, I attended a World Vision training on this very topic. The instructor pointed out how this typically looks like in families. When the wife gets pregnant with the first child, she typically keeps the child regardless of gender. If it is a girl, then they hope that the second pregnancy will be a boy. If the first born is a boy, then they feel secure in society and all is good. Things get complicated when the first and second pregnancy are both females.

If both the first and second pregnancy are girls, then a women might feel inclined to have a sex-selective abortion. The “missing middle child” is an indicator that sex-selective abortion may have occurred. Typically, Georgians have two children. More so, the common practice is to have the two children about two years apart. Therefore, if a family has a daughter as the first born child and a four-year gap between the first child and the second, it is an indicator of a sex-selective abortion. Most likely, the mother got pregnant two years after the first child and found out it was a girl. Since the family only wants two children and they desperately want a son, they abort the almost-second-to-be daughter. This is the most common pattern among families who have chosen to have a sex-selective abortion.

Yesterday, Justin and I attended a first grader’s birthday party. The first grader happened to be a sweet 7-year-old girl. I noticed that her little sister playing in the background with a balloon. I asked Justin how old he thinks the little one is and he said, “2 or 3 years old.” So doing the math, there is a four-year age gap between the first born daughter and the second born daughter. I immediately thought of the demographics of sex-selective abortion I learned in training. No joke, ten seconds later, a toast was being made by the uncle to the parents of the birthday girl. Want to take a guess of what he said? In loose translation from Georgian, “I hope one day God will bless you with a son!” Here we are celebrating the birth of this sweet little girl, but a toast is made to the unborn son.

The mother turns and looks at me and explains that in Georgia it is important to have a son and it is a sign of strength for the family. I smiled painfully and thought to myself, “this is utter BS!” I can confidently say here on the internet that this infuriates me because I grew up in a culture that favors boys over girls as well. In my family, I only have sisters. Growing up, I remember countless of men and women tell my parents, “so when are you having a boy?” My favorite was when my youngest sister was born. Minutes after she was born, the congratulations were followed by, “hopefully God will bless you with a boy the next one around.” So I completely understand why Georgian parents feel this immense pressure to produce a son. My family went through the same thing.

In fact, as a running joke, when people ask my father how many children he has, he answers, “2 girls and a girl.” He doesn’t say “3 girls” because my youngest sister was supposed to our hope for a brother/son. Thus, if she were born as a boy, the answer would have been, “2 girls and a boy.” To keep that sentence formula the same, my dad jokes, “2 girls and a girl.” It is a preemptive comic relief to avoid people to say, “where is your son?” As a young child, I picked up on this. I remember thinking that my family must not be complete if I do not have a brother.

Thankfully, my parents are loving and supporting, so they never made me or my sisters feel that way. So wanting a brother was only surface deep. Luckily, my parents never made my sisters and I feel like we weren’t good enough. The difference in my culture and the Georgian is that in my culture, the norm is to keep having babies or giving up. In Georgia, the practice is to have those pre-selective abortions. In fact, abortions are a common form of birth-control.

When there is a culture that favors males over females, it shouldn’t be a surprise that girls and women are not encouraged to be as active in society as boys and men. Thus, this is why Let Girls Learn is needed here. I’m not saying that LGL is the solution to the sex-selective abortions; it is not. I’m just saying that LGL allows girls to feel valued and encouraged to do more. When little girls hear at their birthday parties toasts to their unborn brother, they might not feel as important. Girls might not feel as entitled to have their own freedom or create their own independent path in life.

Therefore, I am passionate about creating a difference here and helping other volunteers to do the same. During my service here, I am a member of the Gender Equality Committee here in Peace Corps. It is an official programmatic committee, which means it supports the US Government’s strategy to promote gender equality, integration, and empowerment. Our committee specifically aims to increase awareness of gender issues and encourage gender egalitarianism in Georgia by being a primary conduit of gender-related resources for Peace Corps Volunteers and by promoting and supporting gender-based projects such as campus, trainings, informational fairs, and special activities.

We have supported various projects and activities. We have also created informational resources for the community or specifically for Peace Corps Volunteers. In March 2017, we did a special edition newsletter for Women’s History month. The newsletter highlighted local “Gender Heroes.” Each Gender Hero talked about how they promote gender equality in their own special way. If you would like to read it, click on the link: GenEqSpecialEditionMarch. If you would like to check-out our Facebook page, click here.

Gen_eq committee — The Gender Equality Committee (GenEq) for the year of 2016-2017.

8 years ago

My English Club

by Rawan / Her

I’m going to tell you about the most challenging English Club in current existence. I have not directly spoken to every Peace Corps volunteer who organizes an English Club, but it seems that my English Club possesses unparalleled challenges. First, let me describe a “typical” English Club organized by a Peace Corps Volunteer. The club’s motivation could start either by the volunteer or by the request of the community.

The community members who participate in the English club would be youth or adults, or even a combination of both. Skill level can be all over the map. However, members do have some sort of grasp of the English language and have the motivation to strengthen their English skills. Even volunteers who do not teach English have English Clubs. For instance, two of my site-mates have English Clubs and they work in organizations.

Now, here goes a quick description of my English Club: zero grasp of the English language and more than 90% of its members are NOT interested in English. To be frank, I’m not sure what actually interests my English Club members. When I first arrived to site, my organization was hopeful and excited to start an English Club. World Vision partnered with the local government and opened a “Day Care Center” a few blocks away from our office. The term “Day Care Center” is used loosely.

This center functions as a crisis intervention center for vulnerable children in the community. The children are from abused homes, vulnerable families, or from the Roma community. Recently, the center got a license to actually host a small number of children full-time and live in the center temporarily. At this moment, we have 5 children who actually live in the center for the time being.

It goes without saying that my organization has the motivation to increase the skills of these children. This is where I come into play. They wanted me to organize an English Club for them and teach them English and I was ready for the challenge. The idea originated during the first few weeks I started at my organization in July 2016. I informed my organization that I have zero skills in teaching English, yet alone, teaching children. During college, I’ve participated in English conversational clubs with exchange students, but that is the extent of it. Thus, I have no professional skills in teaching English as a second language. It did not bother them, because, as an American, I was qualified enough.

Attempting to set up the English Club as a success, I “interviewed” the Day Care Center’s staff members. I uncovered several challenges during my discussions with the Day Care Center:

They have six teachers on the payroll, but only two at a time teach together on a given day. The teacher’s schedule rotates and it is not fixed; therefore, setting up the English Club on a given day would mean different teachers each time. At first, I thought having consistency is key to foster the children’s learning.
None of the teachers speak English. Thus, there would be no translator to co-teach the sessions. However, we mitigated this challenge by having the child psychologist essentially act as my co-teacher and translator. At this time, the child psychologist is the only English speaking staff member at the Day Care Center. This also poses another challenge because most of her work is in the field, therefore, determining the days she is in the center will also be difficult.
The children’s attendance at the day care center is not consistent. Therefore, it would be impossible to have the lessons build-up on each other since I could not anticipate in advance which child will be attending.
Some of the children are completely illiterate; therefore, using Georgian as a base language would even be difficult.
The biggest challenge of all is that almost all of the children are completely uninterested. It has become apparent that keeping them engaged in any activity for an extended period of time is a chore.
The second biggest challenge is that most of the children have some sort of behavioral problems since they have no structure or regular discipline in their daily lives.

Nevertheless, I persisted in setting up this English Club with my highly motivated organization. With the stated challenges above, I think it is easy to conclude that my English Club has not been easy. Some days I feel like I am Erin Gruwell (performed by Hillary Swank) in Freedom Writers (2007). Instead of at-risk teenagers in an underprivileged neighborhood, I have vulnerable, street children. Also, I am not a trained teacher by profession.

Curious on what an average English Club session looks like? I enter the Day Care Center filled with hugs and kisses. Then the children return to running around wildly in the center. It takes 20 minutes for Tamta and I to calm the children down and have them sit in chairs. Once they realize they might actually have to pay attention and learn something, at least one child misbehaves. The misconduct starts about 5 minutes into the lesson.

IMG_20161109_163331232 — One the children drew me a wonderful picture. “Miyvarxar” means “I love you” in Georgian with the latin alphabet.

My first lesson included one child jokingly choking another one. By the time we were able to stop that form of bullying, we noticed two other kids were slapping each other. My second lesson included a nine-year-old constantly disrupting my lesson by stealing the markers out of my hand. On my third lesson, one child threw scissors across the room. I’ve also seen crying and yelling. My personal favorite is when they simply are like, “nope, not for me,” and they walk out.

The cool kids walk out around the 10-minute mark and then most of the kids follow. I’m left with a few kids sitting in a chair waiting to see what I would do. At that point, the lesson is deemed useless. Thus, the lesson abruptly concludes within 20 minutes.

However, there is one kid who is always the most excited to see me and gives me extra hugs and kisses. His name is Rati and he literally makes my day. He is the only one who pays extra attention and stays throughout the entire lesson.

IMG_20170322_143706750 — Rati and I during one of my English Club lessons

Rati gives me hope that maybe I am teaching something to one of the kids, even though it is not English. I’m hoping that at leat my presence highlights the world’s diversity. That there is something beyond their current worldview. I could confidently say that he now knows that the United States has different states and one of them is California. He knows that people in America speak English. He also has seen different pictures of American food and famous attractions.

I also want to say that Rati is such a bright star. He is one of the children that currently lives in the Day Care Center full-time for the time being. Despite his rough childhood, he always full of love and positivity. For the longest time, I thought he was 9 years old because of his stature. I recently found out that he is actually 12 years old. I hope that despite his malnourished diet that maybe, just maybe, he will still grow happy and healthy.

8 years ago

Not a White Savior Complex Program

by Rawan / Her

I read an article recently about the “White Savoir Complex” and it reminded me about my interactions with people regarding the Peace Corps. When I told people last year that I was resigning from my career in Human Resources and joining the Peace Corps, I overwhelmingly received positive responses. Americans highly respect the Peace Corps for obvious reasons. It is a program that makes a positive impact in the world. For the most part, I didn’t explain the Peace Corps in detail. People knew the overarching goal. At the time, people were more curious as to why I joined.

However, conversations about Peace Corps dramatically look different among Americans, Georgians, and other foreigners. For a quick breakdown, here are the different buckets of conversations:

Americans: “That is so cool!” Questions range from how long is my service, where I am stationed, what is my primary assignment, etc. They ask specifics since the overwhelming majority of Americans I’ve met understand that we serve in underdeveloped and developing countries around the world.
Georgians: Conversations go either of two ways. If they have interacted with previous volunteers, they are excited to meet me. I think that Peace Corps is well respected in Georgia and we are valued as members of our community. If they have never met a PCV before, they are confused. How do I speak Georgian? Why do I work in Georgia? Am I seriously not paid? Then, I must be rich if I live here voluntarily! What kind of things do I actually do?
Foreigners: Many people that I’ve met have not heard of Peace Corps, especially if they are not in the non-profit sectors. I mean, it makes sense. For one, the foreigners I tend to meet typically come from highly developed countries. Peace Corps only operates in developing countries. Also, it is an American program and only American citizens are able to serve. Therefore, unless they are a dual citizen or know someone who is American, our paths don’t typically cross.

When Justin and I were in England and Morocco a few months ago, we spent a lot of time explaining Peace Corps. When I meet people (anywhere), a common small talk question is “what do you do?” For some reason, asking someone what their profession is a way to start a conversation as an adult (and secretly judge them). Like with many atypical jobs, I found it hard explaining my job in a perfect, short-sentence.

I didn’t want people to walk away thinking that I have no vision for my life, aimlessly traveling, and volunteering to promote my self-esteem. I also didn’t want to sound like a snob like “oh, look at me, I help people and I’m so special.” I ended up saying something like this most of the time, “It is a way for us to serve our country abroad, outside of the military route. It is a US government funded program in which skilled professionals go to developing countries and aid the host country in skills in which they requested from the U.S. We partner with locals on an equal level where co-teach or co-develop programs. I work at World Vision and my husband co-teaches English.”

A lot of people respond with, “that’s cool, man.” Some are curious and start asking us about Georgia. Then, some people showed a puzzled face and were not quite convinced. Without verbally saying it, some people had the expression that Peace Corps has the White Savior Complex. Let me frank, I strongly believe that Peace Corps does not. We don’t go these countries to “save” them. In fact, I am very uncomfortable when people go the other direction and say “I love how you are saving the world.” I’ll be frank yet again, we are not doing that either. We do ride in on a white horse and save people from their plight so we feel better about ourselves. It is so important to know that. The reason why Peace Corps is so well-known in the United States and respected in the countries we serve is because we are not that. My top reasons to show we are not:

We do not take jobs away from anyone. A white savior complex volunteer position might be where you vacation for two weeks in a remote area and paint an orphanage. First, that is not really helping. Second, you just took away a possibly paid job from a local. Third, do you really think those kids are going to wake up and be like, “omg, I love America because I know have a fresh coat of paint! They made a real difference in my life with that new shade of blue!” Of course not. In Peace Corps, we partner with people. In fact, everything I implement I do with a counterpart.

For example, here is a picture of my counterpart and me co-training at our Project Design Workshop. I worked with him for several hours a week to increase his presentation skills and his project management knowledge. I did not want him to simply translate the training for the youth, I wanted him to lead. It was a lot of hard work, but it paid off. On the day of the training, he was able to answer questions and fully explain the concepts. For more details, read this blog post.

Peace Corps Training — My counterpart and I preparing for our Project Design Workshop in March 2017

We live and breath sustainability. We invest in people and not things. We love training people in skills that they need. We don’t dump money to rebuild infrastructure. No PCV in Georgia will be working on the crumbling soviet union infrastructure. Sure, we might paint a room to spice it up- but that spiced up will be part of a larger and impactful project like a technology room in a public school. Read this section from our Small Grants Handbook regarding Sustainability.

We take integration into the community very seriously. I don’t know of another volunteer program where you train for 3 months to study the local language. Peace Corps wants to provide us with successful tools to become great volunteers. How can we do that if we don’t speak the language? When I speak Georgian in my community, I immediately impress the community members. I definitely earn that respect because I am taking the time to understand them on a deep and cultural level. Most Georgians speak Russian (some fluent, some conversational). Although Russian is more widely spoken than English in the world, we still learn Georgian- because that is the community’s language.

IMG_20170404_101656401_HDR — My Georgian language textbook designed by Peace Corps Georgia that we used during our Pre-Service Training (PST).

We serve for more than two years. Some people tell me, “I want to make a difference in the world, but two years is too long.” I hate to be that person to disagree, but two years is actually limited. Real change takes real time. Development is slow. I’ve been here for almost a year and I’m still getting things set-up. Trust and real relationships take time. Rome was not built in a day and neither is development. As an outsider, I must earn the trust of my community members first and that can take time.

However, the one thing I can agree with is that there is a little of self-benefit joining the Peace Corps. I truly joined for altruistic reasons. However, I do believe that serving others has an impact on me as well. As cheesy as it sounds, the main goals of Peace Corps is actually Peace and Friendship. In a world that is moving more towards Isolationism, Peace Corps’ goals couldn’t be more important.

It is important because we need to remember that the problems abroad are our problems at home too. I know that sounds like a bold opinion, especially in this day and age, but I really believe that world affairs truly affect everyone. Living in another country reminds me every single day to be more emphatic and look at things from another perspective. I have been learning so much about how our American foreign policy literally affects the daily lives of Georgians.

Peace Corps has a job of meaning that truly connects people from different parts of the world together. It has a certain touch of human-ness that you don’t get easily with other jobs. To work with different people in another language is wonderful.

8 years ago

My Monthly Tradition: Getting Sick in the Peace Corps

by Rawan / Her

I almost escaped my monthly Peace Corps Service tradition this month. We are just shy of April and my unwelcomed ritual hit me like a ton of bricks. I got sick- again! Like clockwork, I get sick once a month. I was able to skip this awful tradition for a few of the 11 months I’ve been living here. However, about one week per month, I am in bed all day attempting to recover from sort of illness. I get sick so much that even my coworkers and I started joking about it.

In January, right before I got my sinus infection, I made a joke we should make bets on what illness I would contrive next. I imagined a calendar in which people would write the name of a disease and the week I would fall ill. They laughed, but I was half serious. I felt like I had to insert some sort of comic relief into my misery. The calendar didn’t happen, but the discussions continued.In fact, one of my coworkers came up to me last week and said, “Rawan, you have not gotten sick this month.” I replied, “I thought the same thing! But there are a few days left in March, so who knows?” God knows, because a couple of days later, here I am, sick with an undesirable cold.

This cold started just like any other. The first sign was a very sore throat. It hurt to swallow, regardless of how much liquids I consumed. No amount of tea was alleviating that soreness. On Monday morning, I woke up and I felt completely sick. I didn’t have the energy to get out of bed, so I didn’t. I texted my boss and my main counterpart and told them I wasn’t coming into work. What is wonderful about Georgians is that they actually believe you when you tell them that you are sick. The only thing my boss told me was, “have a speedy recovery and let me know if you need anything.” I’m very lucky that he is compassionate and helpful. Our culture in the United States is not typically so forgiving. We have the tendency to be work-aholics. We work even when are sick and then possibly infecting everyone. I believe that our lack of government protected paid sick leave is to blame.

200w_d (1) — I wish I can buy DayQuil….but nope, I can’t drug myself out of a cold.

For example, like many other college students, I worked in restaurants to help pay for my university degree. One day I contracted some sort of stomach flu a couple of hours before my shift. I knew that my boss wouldn’t believe me if I had simply called in sick literally right before my shift. Sure, I would be excused, but I would get “jokes” the next day that I probably just partied too much the night before. So, I had my mother drive me to work since I was too sick to drive. I told her to wait in the car because I knew I would be excused from my shift. Sure enough, the second I walked in, my boss said, “You’re late.” I didn’t even respond, I just ran straight to the bathroom to go puke. When I came out, he apologized and said, “You are sick, that is why you are late.” I nodded and he let me go home. American bosses need hard-core evidence. Because if you can’t work with something mild, then you are weak and not a loyal employee. That simple.

However, the beauty of the Peace Corps is that we don’t have a defined number of sick days in a traditional sense. I’m sure that by now I would have been fired from my job if I got sick like this in America. In the Peace Corps, if you are sick for more than a continuous 45 days, then you may get medically separated. The key word here is “continuous.” So, me getting sick one week out of the month still qualifies me to continue my service. My coworkers are very understanding, because most of the time, I still go to work sick like the American I am. In December, when I got the flu, I walked to work with a fever in the snow. Dumbest mistake ever. If that happens to you, just call in sick. Don’t walk up the snowy hill with a fever. Justin also had the flu at the same time. So fending for ourselves was not fun either. Gosh, I really hated those two weeks.

Tea is my drug. I should just have tea put in an IV at this point because I drink so much of it.

However, it has been difficult. By far, the biggest challenge in the Peace Corps is my immune system. Normally, it functions well in the United States, but apparently, Georgia and my immune system are frien-enemies. Three weeks they are bffs, and one week they hate each other. Let me clear, that one week is brutal. I got food poisoning twice in Georgia, only 6 weeks apart. The first time was in August and the second in early October. I’m not talking about a slight upset stomach, here. I’m talking about where I have a slight fever, curled up in the fetal position, moaning in extreme pain, and can’t eat anything or hold anything for FIVE DAYS. I literally treated myself to a “steak” (it was a piece of meat really, but to me it was a steak) to celebrate when the episode was over.

Regardless, I sick so often now and it has become a fear. If anyone coughs in my general direction, my first thought is “get the hell away from me.” Why? Because I have $hit to do and I don’t feel like being out cold for a week. I also thought to myself, “Am I the only one like this?” Well, the answer is a mixture between yes and no. Some volunteers have had it worse. Some volunteers haven’t even gotten sick. However, a few had similar experiences. A couple of them told me that their first year of service was full of illnesses, but the second year was healthier. In my imagination, once I hit the one year mark, I will be rid of all illnesses and I will be healthy! Logically, I know this is hard to predict, but I don’t care. I need some glimmer of hope. I need a slice of faith.

8 years ago

Beginning to Plan my Life after Peace Corps

by Rawan / Her

I have not been here a year and life after Peace Corps is a much-debated topic. In fact, it was one of the first questions I received from people when I told them that I joined the Peace Corps! To explain the meaning of life sometimes feels like an easier question to answer than, “What are you planning on doing after Peace Corps?” I’ll admit, I’m also guilty. I’ve asked this question a million times to other volunteers. Mostly because I’m seriously dying to know if anyone else is in the same undecided boat as me.

Mean Girls GIF — I don’t know! Why are you asking about my future plans?!

However, the feeling of being directionless has faded. I’m a better human being now; I’ve evolved. I’m showing promising signs of “adulting” because I currently possess the answer. I’ve wanted to receive my MBA since dinosaurs became extinct. That is a fact and not a hyperbole 😉 Once I found out I could a master’s in business as a kid, I knew that was my future. It was just always a matter of when. That is how I know it is coded in my DNA- this could be because half of my family majored in either business or engineering.

Regardless, Justin and I were discussing what life will hold for us post-PC? Do we work full-time and go to school part-time? Go to school full-time? Or just do the parenthood role full-time for one of us? Then he said the following magical words, “We could probably get more financial aid doing it immediately after Peace Corps because we currently do not receive a salary.” The heavens opened and the angels sang, “You will probably have less debt.” Thus, my friends, we both decided that obtaining a full-time MBA at the same time after Peace Corps is the best answer. Thus, we began planning our next steps after service.

If anyone wants to pursue an MBA, naturally the first step is to study for the GMAT entrance exam. Some universities do not require the GMAT or may accept the GRE as an alternative; however, most of the universities we are researching require the GMAT to apply. One of the benefits of successfully completing service in the Peace Corps is the Coverdell Fellowship. This fellowship allows Returned Peace Corps Volunteers to continue inspiring change in under-served communities through internships, but locally in the United States. It is a Graduate program with over 90 partnering universities that can provide reduced tuition, financial aid, and internship opportunities.

Many of these partnering universities offer application fee waivers too. At this moment, I’m elated that Justin and I get to save so much money by only paying for a couple of schools’ application fees. I’m so grateful for this because it has opened up the opportunity to apply to universities we would not have otherwise. Application fees for MBA programs can be $200 a piece (or more!), thus, I may have only applied to more affordable, less prestigious universities without our fee waivers. Now, I have the opportunity to apply to some of the best universities in the nation. There are other benefits of being a Peace Corps Volunteer, but the Coverdell Fellowship was the most important to me. Read about the other benefits here.

But here is a predicament that other Peace Corps Volunteers may not face: Justin and I want to go to school together. Why is this an issue? Mainly because we both have to get accepted into the same graduate program at the same university so we don’t have a two-year long distance marriage. This is hard as it is, but you also have to consider we are both applying for the Coverdell Fellowship as well at most of these universities.

So in a way, we are competing against each other and all other returned or current Peace Corps Volunteers. Other volunteers are probably not competing against their spouse and some are not worried about having a long distance relationship or marriage. We have done the long-distance relationship for nearly 3 years and neither of us is interested repeating that path again. In fact, our entire engagement was long distance and the better half of our first year of marriage.

Long Distance Relationship — Our new mantra: I’ll go wherever you will go. The question is: but where?

Our primary strategy is to apply to at least a dozen universities. The average number of graduate schools that folks apply to is anywhere between 4-6. Thus, doubling that amount will cast a wider net of possibilities. It will increase the odds that both of us will get accepted into the same university of our choice. I e-mailed each Coverdell Partner university and asked them the maximum number of accepted Coverdell Fellows. Any university that only accepted 1 or 2 Returned Peace Corps Volunteer was eliminated. Most of the Coverdell Fellows are located on the East Coast. This also means that attending a university in California (our home state) is slim. So we will most likely be far away from our family and friends again…

Another predicament that we have is studying for the GMAT. In the United States, if money allows, one could attend a GMAT prep course in person or online. The in-person option is obviously not available for me or Justin during the Peace Corps. The online course is also not available unless we have a strong desire to wake up in the middle of the night due to the time difference. The only option for us is to study with books and an online study service. But here is the thing about our internet: it is not always reliable.

In the two weeks that I’ve started studying, the internet has been slow, unpredictable, or just non-existent. When I returned from Tbilisi on Saturday, I wanted to study for the GMAT. Except, I didn’t have electricity, the internet, or water at our apartment. So instead of studying, I was calling my landlord and waiting for my neighbor to help me out. That is my reality. Studying for the GMAT is much harder in a less developed country, with fewer resources, and less financial support.

But let me be honest, the biggest challenge is combating laziness and relearning all the math concepts we forgot. The intermittent internet is more of an annoyance than a true hurdle. Either way, at least for now, Justin and I have a solid plan: study for the GMAT, take the test by the end of summer, begin applying for universities in the Fall, and finally wait for our life to be determined next spring 🙂 And whenever the internet falls short of my expectations, I simply remind myself that at least I have the privilege and the opportunity to even pursue a graduate degree.

8 years ago

My Great Uncle Visits Me in Georgia!

by Rawan / Her

This past weekend, it became apparent where I got my adventurous side. Apparently, I have a genetic disposition for travel and adventure. A lot of people were curious how my parents and extended family reacted when I told them I quit my job and joined the Peace Corps. If you were curious, they were not surprised at all and were extremely supportive. It is probably because they have all done something similar in their lives (the packing up their current lives and doing something very different elsewhere). The adventurous gene runs deep in so many family members. Take for instance what happened this weekend when my great-uncle made a spontaneous decision to come and visit me.

My maternal grandmother called me last week and informed me that my great-uncle (her brother-in-law) was coming to Georgia. When do you ask? Just a few days later. She called me on Monday night to inform me that he is arriving that Thursday night. My great-uncle is 81 years old and he decided to take a spontaneous trip to see me. He does not use Facebook or the internet much in general. He also speaks little English. The only thing he told my Grama was that he will be arriving Thursday and leaving Sunday in and out from Tbilisi. I literally had no idea if he was traveling alone or not, the hotel he was staying in, the time of arrival/departure ….practically nothing. I also had no idea how I would contact him once he arrived in-country.

Georgian Train — Standing on the platform waiting for the train to arrive to leave to Tbilisi. I learned that this is my preferred method of travel.

Luckily, I was going to Tbilisi that weekend anyway. I’m on the Small Project Assistance (SPA) committee, where 5 other PCVs and I review and recommend Peace Corps grants for funding from USAID. Our SPA meeting was on Friday morning, so I was going to travel to Tbilisi from my site on Thursday morning. I had a presentation to give on Saturday morning with other volunteers, but my friends were very understanding when I canceled to spend time with my uncle instead. I was so excited to show him around town and simply spend time with family. I had given my grandmother my phone number to give to him, so I was hoping he could reach me easily that way.

However, life had another plan. On Friday morning, before my SPA meeting, my uncle gives me a call. He is a man of few words when it comes to the phone. He told me that he was in Batumi and not in Tbilisi! Confused, I had no idea why he was in Batumi. All I know is that he took a cab to get to the hotel. Mind you, Batumi is a 7-hour bus (marshutka) ride and a 5-hour fast train ride from Tbilisi. I just kept on thinking why would he do that??? And it must have cost an arm and a leg to get there by private cab!

I asked if he could come to Tbilisi on Saturday and he said no. He said, “So I guess we can’t see each other?” And I responded, “No, uncle, I will figure out a way. I can take the fast train to Batumi because I want to see you.” Instead of being simply excited, I was now excited and worried. How did he take a cab? How is he managing? He speaks little English and can’t walk well. Luckily enough, he told me the hotel he was staying at in Batumi.

I was with a lot of Peace Corps Volunteers Thursday and Friday night, so the topic of my uncle’s visit became was a great topic of discussion thanks to me. I told them that I was confused how he ended up in Batumi when I was told he would be in Tbilisi. We were joking how rare it is to have family visit you…and on top of that, chase them halfway across the country! Nevertheless, I was worried that the train tickets were also sold out. I really didn’t want to be on marshutka for nearly 7 or 8 hours.

Some of my friends kept on joking that by the time I’d reach Batumi, he would be back in Tbilisi. Gratefully, I was able to buy a train ticket online. After I bought the ticket, I called him to let him know. He didn’t pick up his cell phone. So hours later, I called him back and was able to get a hold of him. The phone cut out after I told him that I would arrive at 1:00 p.m. At least he knew what time I was arriving?!

I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and was in a taxi by 6:45 to the train station the next morning. Once I arrived in Batumi at 1 p.m., I took a cab to the hotel he was staying at. I saw my great-uncle sitting in a chair in the lobby waiting for me. We greeted each other happily. He told me that he was so scared of not hearing the phone ring, that he sat in the lobby for a while holding his cell phone in his hand to make sure I’d arrive okay. Literally, sweetest old man alive. Justin was not with me in Tbilisi, so he was coming from our site a few hours away by marshutka.

While we were waiting for Justin, he explained to me that he never actually arrived in Tbilisi. Apparently, the Georgian tourist board and the tourist board in his country struck a deal together. It was a free flight and a cheap deal at the hotel if you fly in to gamble. He heard about the cheap deal and booked himself on the plane. He didn’t really pay attention to the details at all. He just heard of this deal, knew I lived in Georgia, and hopped on a plane.

So that abovementioned cab ride he took, was from the Batumi airport with the rest of tourist group. So even though he didn’t travel with anyone specifically, he wasn’t alone. I was so relieved to hear that he was taken care of. Georgia is not an easy country to navigate on your own as a tourist if you don’t speak Russian or Georgian. Also, everything else started making sense as to why he is in Batumi.

Family Lunch — Having Lunch with my great-uncle in Batumi!

When Justin arrived, we enjoyed lunch together. We went back to the hotel/casino after lunch and watched my uncle play Roulette for a while. Then we grabbed dinner at an amazing seafood restaurant. I would speak to my uncle in our native language, Justin in English, and the waitress in Georgian. I’m not going to lie to you, speaking three languages at the same time made my head spin. But it was so much fun showing my uncle my Georgian skills. My uncle ordered so much food, so typical of my family to stuff ourselves. The food was really delicious and I really enjoyed having dinner as a family for the first time in nearly a year.

Family Time — Playing electronic Roulette with my uncle at the hotel-casino where we were spending the night

The spoiling didn’t stop, he got Justin and me a room at the hotel. He didn’t want to trouble us to grab a marshutka late at night to make it back to site. My uncle was so generous and so sweet. So we had breakfast the next morning together, gambled with him some more, and then parted ways. It was difficult for me to say goodbye. I don’t think I realized at that moment how much I missed being around family. I’ve lived away from home for so many years, but I’ve always made visits. These 10 months has been the longest that I haven’t seen a single blood family relative.

There aren’t many times in life you can appreciate the moment you live in, but I was cherishing every moment with my uncle while it was happening. Now it is just a once-in-a-lifetime memory. I also hope that when I’m 81, I can still be as adventurous as my uncle.

8 years ago

Lights Out! Living with Inconsistent Electricity

by Rawan / Her

Are you afraid of the dark? This is a serious question you need to answer for yourself if you are considering joining the Peace Corps. The answer is simple: you will find yourself sitting in the dark. For instance, this very moment, I’m currently sitting in the dark at my office. Granted, some countries do not use electricity widely like Georgia. We have electricity in most places but are also not immune to power outages. Although they are not a daily occurrence, they happen from time to time.

Power is Out — Sitting at my desk with no electricity at work

Thankfully, I’m using my laptop at work today instead of my desktop. Therefore, I’m taking advantage of the battery juice that I have left. The power went out around noon today and I do expect it to come back within 30 minutes or so. Typically, the power outages are in 1-hour increments at best. I’m grateful that they do not derail my day, they simply postpone my activities. Unfortunately, the room I do sit in at the office gets dark. We have wooden shutters for the windows and we use them in the winter. I never asked why, but my assumption is for heat conservation.

I do have to admit that power is much more stable in the city than it is in the villages. During PST, each time it was rainy and/or windy, there was an overwhelming possibility that the power would go out. Believe me, Georgia has a lot of rain in all four seasons. My PST host family did not do much to prepare for such events. They simply lit up one candle and called it a day. A skinny, measly candle at that. I’m not talking about Yankee Candles here. They didn’t fuss or come up with contingencies.

Justin and I have heard in advance about these scenarios, so we prepped for it. We bought a solar panel light and two headlamps from Amazon. They came in handy nearly on a daily basis during training. When our host family discovered our big solar light, they were ecstatic. The solar light solved the problem of a dark dinner. We ate comfortably during those nights around the dining room table. Our headlamps came in handy every night when we walked to the outhouse or did homework.

One day a few weeks into training, the power went out around 6 or 7 p.m. Because it was April or May, it was already dark outside. Justin and I had our dinner and finished our homework. With no internet and no electricity, I was so bored. My entertainment solution: going to bed early. No joke, I literally went to bed before 8 p.m. that night because I had nothing else to do. I wasn’t even sleepy. Thankfully, I was able to sleep through the entire night and was extremely well rested the next morning.

Here is another anecdote, Justin and I come home and it was super windy with heavy rain. I had a feeling that the power was going out, so I pulled out the headlamps. Justin was even better. He looks at me and said, “The power will go out in 3…2…1.” Sure enough, the second he put his index finger down, the power went out like magic. He was able to hone his super power skills to the millisecond. If the power went out in California, we would fret and probably demand a partial refund from our power supplier. In reality, I don’t know what I would do because it never happened. But when it happens in Georgia, we remain calm because more than half the time, it is out of our control.

Headlamp — One of our wonderful headlamps!

Since I’ve come to site, the power only went out a couple of times at night. The lights flicker, but that is probably the most of it. My friends who live in villages are not as lucky as Justin and I. I believe, one volunteer did not have power for a couple of days during a heavy snow storm. It is possible that my site doesn’t have as many of these problems because the weather is milder in my neck of the woods. The other reason could be is because I live in a city with better infrastructure. I’m just grateful that I no longer have to go to the outhouse in the dark anymore.

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