Kyle’s Journey in Armenia

It was about time. Walking around my town here in Armenia, it’s hard not to feel like a rock star. Not withstanding my wearing bright colors (and not wearing pointy shoes – usually), I’m a 6’5″ gangly English speaker, so I get a few looks. The children like to practice their “hellos” with me, and my older friends like to make sure the horns on their Ladas still work as I walk down the street. In a town where not much is different from day to day, I like to think I can be a liason to what’s going on outside the (almost literal) walls of Armenia. But while here, where everyone from our Peace Corps Country Director to my host mother know where I am and what I’m doing, I doubt many people in America know, or even care.

Thankfully, I had a chance run-in with my friend Winston, a publications designer at Truman State, while I was home over Christmas. After telling him my story, he worked with the Kirksville newspaper and got my picture splashed all over the front page! So, without further ado, my 15 minutes of fame: http://kirksvilledailyexpress.com/articles/2008/01/29/news/news1.txt

Ok, as you may have noticed if you click the link, it’s not really about me at all, but about how, “Truman State University has made its first appearance in the Peace Corps’ annual rankings of schools producing volunteers for the organization. Truman has 20 alumni currently serving as Peace Corps volunteers, ranking the school at 25th on the organization’s list of medium-size schools producing volunteers.” Exciting, huh?

For those of you who are already bored, head over to this link if you want to read something far more amusing. Otherwise, scroll down to the “comments” section and read the, um, thoughts of some Daily Express readers regarding the Peace Corps. With such intelligent insight as, “…translates into, ‘Do you want fries with that?'” and, “I suppose that ‘working’ for $2000 a year showing Africans how to dig a ditch beats trying to hide their dope while living in their parents’ basement,” it really made me wonder what people think of the Peace Corps these days.

First of all, I think it’s ridiculous to imply every person (or even most) who joined PC is an unemployable bum. Looking at my group alone, we have teachers with 40 years of experience, Ivy League graduates, computer programmers, a professional opera singer, and the best banjo player I’ve ever heard (yes, in Missouri, I’ve heard my share). And there’s been plenty of RPCVs who have made a good life for themselves. But more than that, we’re all hard workers who have dedicated two years of our lives to serve our country, transfer meaningful skills, and show people that America isn’t just about blowing up other countries, and that we are a diverse, democratic people who care about our country and our freedoms.

It just makes me upset that people would degrade the work we do because they don’t understand it. In the same way I would never criticize a soldier for the war in Iraq, I’d never blame a volunteer for trying to improve the world. After a year and a half in Peace Corps, I’ve realized nation-building and development are destined to be a failed effort the way we’re doing it now. By simply comparing the numbers, our government spends much more on our military efforts overseas than they do the Peace Corps. While I don’t discount the importance of the military or security abroad, I think we spend far too much money destroying countries (and ultimately their infrastructure, schools, hospitals, etc) than improving them (making sure people in the regions, such as where I live, have jobs, good education and running water, which we don’t). I’ve found that when people are desperate to have their most basic needs fulfilled, they will turn to the easiest answer, which unfortunately in much of the world has become fundamentalist Islam or corrupt governments.

As a Peace Corps volunteer, I haven’t made a big difference here. In fact, I’ve learned to accept that I can’t, and furthermore shouldn’t be making that difference – the people here need to. But our role, as a country with a vast amount of trained people and resources, should assist these countries and make that happen. The Peace Corps does that through little victories – which is what I’ve come to accept as my role as a Peace Corps volunteer. I’ve helped students learn English and civics to be better leaders; I’ve promoted computer literacy and access; I’ve given children with disabilities access to education; finally, I’ve taught people that all Americans aren’t like those leaving these ignorant comments on a web-page.

I would love to here your opinions on what the Peace Corps is and its role in the modern world. Personally, I think now, more than ever, the Peace Corps is needed to promote the values and diversity that really are America, not just what they see on TV. And the Peace Corps is needed to make these little victories happen so the large ones come easier. But let the world know what you think – after all, that freedom is what we’re here promoting, anyway, right?

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