Before Peace Corps sends its recruits out into the field, it first brings a country’s new volunteers together for a one-day orientation called Staging. During this time, each applicant registers, learns general information about the mission and core expectations of Peace Corps service, and gets to know some of their fellow volunteers for the first time. It marks a recruit’s transition from a Peace Corps applicant to a Peace Corps trainee, which is an encouraging accomplishment. For all of those heading to Mali this year, 81 in all, we were to meet in Philadelphia, PA.
Joye and I traveled in Philly one day early so that we could visit Joye’s brother Scott, who drove down from New York City. Together, we ate a highly overrated Philly cheesesteak, saw the touristy sights (Independence Hall, Congress Hall, and Liberty Bell), and talked a lot about HBO’s John Adams series. Scott also treated us to a lovely dinner in one of the historical district’s trendy restaurants before going home.
The next morning Joye and I slept in before reporting for staging at noon. Most people arrived that morning, looking weary and stressed, and we were very glad we had come a day early to give us some much needed relaxation. We also relaxed more that evening when we used our Peace Corps allowance to splurge on an exquisite American meal. In Philly’s historic City Tavern, we were able to sample beers originally crafted by our forefathers: Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and Hamilton (Jefferson’s was the best!), and treat ourselves to fresh salmon and braised rabbit. An a cappella men’s choir – a barbershop octet – eating nearby completed the romantic aura. It was our last American meal and an unforgettable one!
Joye and I found staging to be a rushed, but practical, experience. Overall, the point was to refresh us on some important Peace Corps policies and to inspire us to work as a family to overcome the future hardships we will face. We learned no specifics about Mali, but spent an entire afternoon discussing general safety information and what anxieties and aspirations we had as individuals, and how, not surprisingly, all of us volunteers shared many of the same ones. There were also a couple of icebreakers, but the group was so big that I can only honestly remember a handful of names. We also discovered that while the average age of Peace Corps volunteers is 27, our group’s is much younger – most are fresh out of college. However, everyone we met seemed friendly in manner and eager to serve.
Another purpose of staging was also to get us together for our departure. This morning we all went to get vaccinated for yellow fever, and now we are waiting in New York’s JFK airport for our ride to Mali. Everyone is exhausted, and I am sure that many are nervous and missing home. We are too, but we are incredibly thankful that we have each other to lean on – a constant in all of the cultural craziness that about to occur. We’ll let you know how our travels go soon. Please pray that they will be largely uneventful. :)
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Guest: Peace Corps Book List
First and foremost, thank you to everyone who participated in our Peace Corps book list on Facebook! Having looked through the list carefully, we have been impressed by both the quantity and quality of responses. We hope that you will take some time to read over others’ recommendations to add to your own summer reading list.
However, before we reveal which books we packed, the following are a list of reasons why we may have or may not have chosen a particular book.
1) Already Read – Many of your recommendations are already some of our favorite books, though you had no way of knowing that! This includes books such as The Kite Runner, The Life of Pi, Three Cups of Tea, Angels & Demons, The Inheritance Cycle, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, and Shadow in the Wind. So, of course, we did not bring these.
2) Peace Corps Library – A couple weeks after we started our book list, we found that Peace Corps Mali has a fairly extensive library. From current volunteers’ blogs, we deduced that this collection contains many titles, including Water for Elephants, Poisonwood Bible, The Alchemist, Things Fall Apart, East of Eden, and other books that you have recommended. Thus, we did not bring these books, but we still hope to read them during our service.
3) Packing Space – Originally we intended to bring 15 books each, but weight and size limits forced to cut down. As a result, we are now bringing about 15 books altogether.
4) Availability – Due to above reason, we were also forced to look for light and small paperback books, but sadly, we could not find many recommendations that met these specifications.
Therefore, in addition to our Bibles, the following books will be accompanying us to Mali:
Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
Ella Enchanted (in French) – Gail Carson Levine
Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
The Good Earth – Pearl Buck
Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus – Orson Scott Card
The Reason for God – Timothy Keller
Redeeming Love – Francine Rivers
Reinventing the Bazaar – John McMillan
The Space Trilogy – C.S. Lewis
The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
We really tried to strike a balance between classical literature, a little non-fiction, and just plain fun. But again, thank you to all who gave us a suggestion. It was wonderful to research everyone’s favorite books and it truly meant a lot.
Lastly, in order to track our progress on reading these and other books, we also intend to start a sidebar listing the books each of us have completed during training and service. Feel free to comment on the sidebar or on this blog post if you have any further recommendations.
However, before we reveal which books we packed, the following are a list of reasons why we may have or may not have chosen a particular book.
1) Already Read – Many of your recommendations are already some of our favorite books, though you had no way of knowing that! This includes books such as The Kite Runner, The Life of Pi, Three Cups of Tea, Angels & Demons, The Inheritance Cycle, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, and Shadow in the Wind. So, of course, we did not bring these.
2) Peace Corps Library – A couple weeks after we started our book list, we found that Peace Corps Mali has a fairly extensive library. From current volunteers’ blogs, we deduced that this collection contains many titles, including Water for Elephants, Poisonwood Bible, The Alchemist, Things Fall Apart, East of Eden, and other books that you have recommended. Thus, we did not bring these books, but we still hope to read them during our service.
3) Packing Space – Originally we intended to bring 15 books each, but weight and size limits forced to cut down. As a result, we are now bringing about 15 books altogether.
4) Availability – Due to above reason, we were also forced to look for light and small paperback books, but sadly, we could not find many recommendations that met these specifications.
Therefore, in addition to our Bibles, the following books will be accompanying us to Mali:
Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
Ella Enchanted (in French) – Gail Carson Levine
Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
The Good Earth – Pearl Buck
Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus – Orson Scott Card
The Reason for God – Timothy Keller
Redeeming Love – Francine Rivers
Reinventing the Bazaar – John McMillan
The Space Trilogy – C.S. Lewis
The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
We really tried to strike a balance between classical literature, a little non-fiction, and just plain fun. But again, thank you to all who gave us a suggestion. It was wonderful to research everyone’s favorite books and it truly meant a lot.
Lastly, in order to track our progress on reading these and other books, we also intend to start a sidebar listing the books each of us have completed during training and service. Feel free to comment on the sidebar or on this blog post if you have any further recommendations.
Update: The Times, They are A-Changin
So the time to leave has finally come! As of Wednesday, June 30th, we’ll be leaving on our great adventure. I think Jim and I are both a bit in denial that this is all really happening. That we are not just on a mini vacation, that we are not just going to simply get back in the car and drive to Lansing to return to our normal day to day routine on Wednesday. But at the same time, with the amount of change we have gone through in the past 2 weeks, its hard for reality not to sink in at least partially.
Here’s a quick recap of all the changes we’ve been through these past two weeks.
1. Jim finished his summer classes and cleaned out his grad school desk
2. Joye left her job as a lab tech at MSU.
3. We packed all our stuff in boxes and moved out of our apartment
4. All of our earthly belongings that we are not taking with us are now in a storage facility. Everything else needs to fit in 2 suitcases /person and be less than 80 lbs. Still working on that.
5. We traveled to Jim’s hometown of Harbor Springs and bid farewell to friends.
6. We spent 4 great days with Jim’s family hiking around Pictured Rocks National Seashore and soaking in the beauty of Michigan’s Great Lakes, waterfalls, and sunsets.
7. We said goodbye to the Honda Accord that M&D Allen lent us for the year
8. We spent 4 days with the Kallgrens in Trenton: celebrated the 4th of July, had a BBQ with family & friends, and Joye cut off about 7 inches of hair and donated it (Talk about Change!)!
9. We finished off our time with a great trip to Cedar Point where we got to hang with Hope and sit next to Dave on his first big roller coaster (Millennium Force).
So now everyone keeps asking us, “Are you excited? Nervous?” Well, we are excited, nervous, anxious, nostalgic, hopeful, melancholy, enthusiastic and everything in between. Really, it’s exhausting! One thing that has really made it difficult to leave is the love and support we have received from our family, friends, and coworkers during our final days here in the States. It seems that we finally made relationships a huge priority (as it should have been all along!) and although we didn’t get to say goodbye to everyone, we have had such a blast this past month and we are certainly going to miss you. (Well , at least a FEW of you… ).
Final Note: Since this is our main form of contact with everyone, we want to emphasize again that we LOVE comments. It assures us that people are actually reading and encourages us to update the blog more often! So please leave your comments, questions, etc!
Here’s a quick recap of all the changes we’ve been through these past two weeks.
1. Jim finished his summer classes and cleaned out his grad school desk
2. Joye left her job as a lab tech at MSU.
3. We packed all our stuff in boxes and moved out of our apartment
4. All of our earthly belongings that we are not taking with us are now in a storage facility. Everything else needs to fit in 2 suitcases /person and be less than 80 lbs. Still working on that.
5. We traveled to Jim’s hometown of Harbor Springs and bid farewell to friends.
6. We spent 4 great days with Jim’s family hiking around Pictured Rocks National Seashore and soaking in the beauty of Michigan’s Great Lakes, waterfalls, and sunsets.
7. We said goodbye to the Honda Accord that M&D Allen lent us for the year
8. We spent 4 days with the Kallgrens in Trenton: celebrated the 4th of July, had a BBQ with family & friends, and Joye cut off about 7 inches of hair and donated it (Talk about Change!)!
9. We finished off our time with a great trip to Cedar Point where we got to hang with Hope and sit next to Dave on his first big roller coaster (Millennium Force).
So now everyone keeps asking us, “Are you excited? Nervous?” Well, we are excited, nervous, anxious, nostalgic, hopeful, melancholy, enthusiastic and everything in between. Really, it’s exhausting! One thing that has really made it difficult to leave is the love and support we have received from our family, friends, and coworkers during our final days here in the States. It seems that we finally made relationships a huge priority (as it should have been all along!) and although we didn’t get to say goodbye to everyone, we have had such a blast this past month and we are certainly going to miss you. (Well , at least a FEW of you… ).
Final Note: Since this is our main form of contact with everyone, we want to emphasize again that we LOVE comments. It assures us that people are actually reading and encourages us to update the blog more often! So please leave your comments, questions, etc!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Guest: How Our Parents Feel
A lot of people have asked Joye and me: "What do your parents feel about you leaving for the Peace Corps?" which I thought that would make for an enjoyable blog post. So, I asked them to think about their ideal answer when people ask them that question and here is how they responded.
Cindy Kallgren (Joye’s mother):
I have mixed emotions. First I think, Wow! what an opportunity for a young couple to experience the adventure of a lifetime, and make memories they will refer back to for years. I was thinking this morning that at this time in my married life (compared to Joye and Jim's), I was already 1 month along with Scottie and really unable to travel to anyplace very rough. So I am glad you are enjoying this time when the traveling is easier. Who me nervous? Desert Heat, no AC, no electricity or running water, no communication? What could a mother possibly be nervous about? Well, all I can say is when you two want to get away from it ALL...you really DO!
Scott Kallgren (Joye’s father):
How awesome it will be one day for Jim and Joye to tell the next generation about their years in Africa as they began their journey together! I truly admire their determination to make a difference in this world and to give back for all the blessings they have received. I’ll probably blubber a bit the moment I realize that visiting them is not as easy as driving up I-96 in a couple hours. (Skype doesn’t substitute for a good hug.) God willing, we will make our first visit to Africa sometime in the next 27 months, and let them culture us as Joye did when we visited France a couple years ago.
Jim & Debra Allen (my parents):
As the parents of Jim (& Joye), we have been asked “How do you feel about Jim and Joye going to Mali, Africa for the next two plus years with the Peace Corps?” We both deeply feel that Jim and Joye are as prepared for this adventure of a lifetime as any couple can be. We will miss them tremendously but hope to have some communication through email, blog and/or skype. We send them with our love and prayers for God’s blessings and grace. We will await their return to us safe and healthy!
Thank you for reading. Next time, look forward to seeing us post the “winners” of our Peace Corps Book List event on Facebook. Until then, God bless.
-Jim
Cindy Kallgren (Joye’s mother):
I have mixed emotions. First I think, Wow! what an opportunity for a young couple to experience the adventure of a lifetime, and make memories they will refer back to for years. I was thinking this morning that at this time in my married life (compared to Joye and Jim's), I was already 1 month along with Scottie and really unable to travel to anyplace very rough. So I am glad you are enjoying this time when the traveling is easier. Who me nervous? Desert Heat, no AC, no electricity or running water, no communication? What could a mother possibly be nervous about? Well, all I can say is when you two want to get away from it ALL...you really DO!
Scott Kallgren (Joye’s father):
How awesome it will be one day for Jim and Joye to tell the next generation about their years in Africa as they began their journey together! I truly admire their determination to make a difference in this world and to give back for all the blessings they have received. I’ll probably blubber a bit the moment I realize that visiting them is not as easy as driving up I-96 in a couple hours. (Skype doesn’t substitute for a good hug.) God willing, we will make our first visit to Africa sometime in the next 27 months, and let them culture us as Joye did when we visited France a couple years ago.
Jim & Debra Allen (my parents):
As the parents of Jim (& Joye), we have been asked “How do you feel about Jim and Joye going to Mali, Africa for the next two plus years with the Peace Corps?” We both deeply feel that Jim and Joye are as prepared for this adventure of a lifetime as any couple can be. We will miss them tremendously but hope to have some communication through email, blog and/or skype. We send them with our love and prayers for God’s blessings and grace. We will await their return to us safe and healthy!
Thank you for reading. Next time, look forward to seeing us post the “winners” of our Peace Corps Book List event on Facebook. Until then, God bless.
-Jim
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Reflection: Past, Present, and Future
In addition to warm summer sunshine and a day to honor our fallen troops, this Memorial Day weekend highlighted three significant events in our lives: 1) the one-year anniversary of our engagement, 2) my 23rd birthday, and 3) the realization that we only have one month before our Peace Corps service begins. It was a weekend of reflecting on our past, present, and future, which seemed appropriate to share here.
1) The Past: Joye and I met in our very first class at our undergraduate institution Alma College, became good friends due to our shared faith and beliefs, and soon became mawkishly inseparable. Our formal courtship began in January and then, in May of that freshmen year, we traveled together on a three-week service trip to the Philippines. Having only been dating for four months at that point, we suddenly saw a different side of each other; illness, severe indigestion, rashes, bug infestations and acne breakouts kept us out of our prime, and yet, we came out of that experience closer then ever.
However, our junior year proved to be more straining on our relationship as a series of poorly-timed abroad opportunities kept us apart for a year, give or take a few weeks. I went from summer non-profit internship in Rwanda to an autumn government internship in Rome, only to have Joye study abroad in France for the winter semester when I finally came home. While our experiences abroad helped us to grow as individuals, we preferred to go on adventures together instead of merely sharing them via correspondence. We also learned the lesson of a wise African proverb: "If you want to go fast, then go alone. If you want to go farther, go with someone." Therefore, as our senior year flashed before us, we frequently discussed our options after graduation and increasingly used the m-word: marriage.
Joye and I were engaged on Sunday afternoon of Memorial Day Weekend in 2009, two days after our last week at Alma College. Through patches of cloud, the sun illuminated a small brick-laden fire pit that overlooked a shimmering Gull Lake. Joye was escorted to the location by her parents shortly after flying down a zip line, while I waited nervously with my parents, whom I had secretly invited for the occasion. After a sappy spiel, I attempted to propose in French; my pronunciation was disgraceful, but after flashing her my grandmother’s ring, she got the idea and said “yes.” It was the best 22nd birthday gift I could have received.
2) The Present: Fast-forward to today, and we have been blissfully married for nearly nine months, having gotten hitched last Labor Day weekend. We held our ceremony in the Alma College chapel and processed out to the sound of bagpipes into the bright September sun. Since then, I have been a graduate student, Joye has worked full-time, and I think we agree that this has been the best year of our lives. Between our honeymoon, visiting multiple families over the holidays, relaxing with friends over spring break, and finally seeing the epic finale of LOST, what was not to like? More than ever, we have made time to have fun and enjoy friends, family, and the beauty of Michigan.
For example, this last weekend, to celebrate my 23rd birthday and the anniversary of our engagement, we visited Kensington Metro Park in Detroit after visiting my extended family for a cousin’s wedding. After kayaking to one of lake’s few natural beaches, we laid down in the shallow warm water, floating so that only our heads and toes stuck out. Little blue gills sparkled in the sunlight and darted all around us. We tried to soak in the moment like a sponge, fully aware that moments like this in Mali will be very few and very far between.
3) The Future: In one month, we will be in Mali, and there is much to do before then: finish classes, complete experiments, sell furniture, purge unwanted junk, store valuable household items, bid farewell to friends and family, and pack our lives up in a few suitcases. It’s alarmingly overwhelming when we look at the big picture, but we try to manage it one day at a time. At this point, we believe we have obtained almost everything that we were advised to buy in the US (ie. hiking boots, bug tents, raincoats), and now it is a matter of just packing and moving out.
If all goes accordingly, we plan on leaving our cozy Lansing apartment around June 20th to spend ten days in fellowship with our families. Next, we will depart for Philadelphia, our Peace Corps staging area, to get our vaccinations and be briefed with some general information. While it would be nice to spend Independence Day in Philly, it is likely that on July 3rd we will be on a plane over the Atlantic. From there, it is two to three months of training in Mali before we finally are assigned and then given our site location, where we will work tirelessly for two years. While these next couple weeks will certainly be a very busy time for us, we will do our best to update this blog with more information as the departure date approaches.
Also, look forward to our upcoming blog post announcing the so-called “winners” of our Book List competition on Facebook. If you have any questions or comments for us, please leave them below. Thanks for reading!
-James
1) The Past: Joye and I met in our very first class at our undergraduate institution Alma College, became good friends due to our shared faith and beliefs, and soon became mawkishly inseparable. Our formal courtship began in January and then, in May of that freshmen year, we traveled together on a three-week service trip to the Philippines. Having only been dating for four months at that point, we suddenly saw a different side of each other; illness, severe indigestion, rashes, bug infestations and acne breakouts kept us out of our prime, and yet, we came out of that experience closer then ever.
However, our junior year proved to be more straining on our relationship as a series of poorly-timed abroad opportunities kept us apart for a year, give or take a few weeks. I went from summer non-profit internship in Rwanda to an autumn government internship in Rome, only to have Joye study abroad in France for the winter semester when I finally came home. While our experiences abroad helped us to grow as individuals, we preferred to go on adventures together instead of merely sharing them via correspondence. We also learned the lesson of a wise African proverb: "If you want to go fast, then go alone. If you want to go farther, go with someone." Therefore, as our senior year flashed before us, we frequently discussed our options after graduation and increasingly used the m-word: marriage.
Joye and I were engaged on Sunday afternoon of Memorial Day Weekend in 2009, two days after our last week at Alma College. Through patches of cloud, the sun illuminated a small brick-laden fire pit that overlooked a shimmering Gull Lake. Joye was escorted to the location by her parents shortly after flying down a zip line, while I waited nervously with my parents, whom I had secretly invited for the occasion. After a sappy spiel, I attempted to propose in French; my pronunciation was disgraceful, but after flashing her my grandmother’s ring, she got the idea and said “yes.” It was the best 22nd birthday gift I could have received.
2) The Present: Fast-forward to today, and we have been blissfully married for nearly nine months, having gotten hitched last Labor Day weekend. We held our ceremony in the Alma College chapel and processed out to the sound of bagpipes into the bright September sun. Since then, I have been a graduate student, Joye has worked full-time, and I think we agree that this has been the best year of our lives. Between our honeymoon, visiting multiple families over the holidays, relaxing with friends over spring break, and finally seeing the epic finale of LOST, what was not to like? More than ever, we have made time to have fun and enjoy friends, family, and the beauty of Michigan.
For example, this last weekend, to celebrate my 23rd birthday and the anniversary of our engagement, we visited Kensington Metro Park in Detroit after visiting my extended family for a cousin’s wedding. After kayaking to one of lake’s few natural beaches, we laid down in the shallow warm water, floating so that only our heads and toes stuck out. Little blue gills sparkled in the sunlight and darted all around us. We tried to soak in the moment like a sponge, fully aware that moments like this in Mali will be very few and very far between.
3) The Future: In one month, we will be in Mali, and there is much to do before then: finish classes, complete experiments, sell furniture, purge unwanted junk, store valuable household items, bid farewell to friends and family, and pack our lives up in a few suitcases. It’s alarmingly overwhelming when we look at the big picture, but we try to manage it one day at a time. At this point, we believe we have obtained almost everything that we were advised to buy in the US (ie. hiking boots, bug tents, raincoats), and now it is a matter of just packing and moving out.
If all goes accordingly, we plan on leaving our cozy Lansing apartment around June 20th to spend ten days in fellowship with our families. Next, we will depart for Philadelphia, our Peace Corps staging area, to get our vaccinations and be briefed with some general information. While it would be nice to spend Independence Day in Philly, it is likely that on July 3rd we will be on a plane over the Atlantic. From there, it is two to three months of training in Mali before we finally are assigned and then given our site location, where we will work tirelessly for two years. While these next couple weeks will certainly be a very busy time for us, we will do our best to update this blog with more information as the departure date approaches.
Also, look forward to our upcoming blog post announcing the so-called “winners” of our Book List competition on Facebook. If you have any questions or comments for us, please leave them below. Thanks for reading!
-James
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Reflection: Why We’re Joining the Peace Corps
There I was, standing between Gaddi Vasquz and Ron Tschetter, the 16th and 17th Directors of the United States Peace Corps, as they tag-teamed their best recruiting pitch. It was the fall of 2007, and I was a mere intern with US State Department in Rome; then-Ambassador Vasquez was my boss and he had invited his successor and a horde of returned Peace Corps Volunteers for a reception at his luxurious estate. From my perspective, the entire night seemed like an overwhelming Peace Corps recruiting event. Stories from foreign and exotic lands flowed through the room as fluidly as the wine. Given the atmosphere and the company, it would have only seemed logical that I would have signed up for the Peace Corps right then and there, but I could not even feign enthusiasm. Rather, I was convinced that the Peace Corps was not for me. And now, two and a half years later I am waiting anxiously for my departure date to Mali.
So, what changed? Why are Joye and I heading into the Peace Corps? We get asked this question frequently (right after, where? and for how long?), and I thought it best to document it here. It certainly is not because we’re fickle, or because we need “to find ourselves.” Nor do we have some self-righteous desire to save the world and relieve the white man of his burden. Rather, we view Peace Corps service as the intersection between acting on our convictions now while continuing to fulfill future career objectives. Below are our Top 5 reasons for Peace Corps service, listed in a somewhat logical order.
1) We feel called to go. Underlying our interest in development work, (before, during, and after the Peace Corps) is the ultimate conviction that we believe it is our privilege and duty, as Christians and as human beings, to make the world a better place. This belief has produced within us a compassion for vulnerable peoples. In this capacity, we strongly feel that God is calling us to go to Mali, not just for the work we intend to do, but also for the valuable lessons we will learn there. But make no mistake, we will not be missionaries. Instead, we simply hope to humbly serve others and be ambassadors of the United States. In our circumstance, that may largely mean providing an example of a Christian American couple that contrasts the immoral stereotype of Westerners that Malians see in Hollywood movies.
2) We need experience. In our senior year at Alma College, Joye and I looked into a lot of development careers and noticed one stark commonality – that every entry-level paying job in this sector requires at least two years of experience in a developing country. While this qualification makes sense, without a paycheck, one can only gain this experience by funding two years of service work on their own, something that neither Joye nor I could afford. Luckily, the Peace Corps can fund this experience, and then provide a meager $6,000 bonus at the end of service. Once we realized this, our perspective of the program changed dramatically.
3) It’s part of our education. After being convinced that the Peace Corps would be our best option for gaining experience abroad, I enrolled in the Master’s International program in Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University. Instead of a two year program, this unique degree allows one to get their Master’s by taking a year of classes and then two years of Peace Corps service; in effect, giving the participant book-smarts and street-smarts. At this point, all I have to do is write my thesis based on work I do in Mali, and I can graduate upon my return. As for Joye, her service will help her to decide our next step as a couple: where we can go to further her education. This year she has worked in a biochemistry lab, next year she will work on community development issues, and then on our return she will figure out what she likes best: the lab, the field, or somewhere in between.
4) We’re young. Another reason the Peace Corps makes sense for us is that our living situation allows for it. We have minimal possessions, minimal obligations, and no children. Every additional day we spend in the United States makes it harder to simply drop everything and go. Moreover, since we are considering careers in development, this experience will help us test the waters of living long-term in a developing country. Will we adapt to the lifestyle? Is it possible to raise a family in that environment? Do we like working with people on the ground, or do we prefer assisting from a distance (as many do)? There’s only one way to find out, and that is to go and investigate.
5) It’s gonna be fun. Lastly, do not get the impression that we are not excited about the adventure awaiting us in Mali. We most certainly are. Committing oneself to over two years of service in a developing country can not be done successfully if motivation merely comes from logic and conviction alone – there’s needs to be a hardwired part of you that actually wants to go and be challenged in unimaginable ways. Thankfully, God has provided us with this zeal. Serving will also give us an opportunity to reinvent our lifestyles and daily routine. Ultimately, we hope that the Peace Corps will bring us closer as a couple and help us to pick up some good habits, including gardening, daily exercise, more frequent reading (especially of the Bible), and a dramatic improvement in our camping/survival skills, naturally. :)
Hopefully, this provides a thorough answer to the tough question of why we are going. In truth, the convictions and zeal have always been there, but only last year did we actually see Peace Corps fitting into the master plan of our lives. And now that it has, we are very anxious to see where it will take us… and hopefully, you are too.
If you have any other questions for us, please leave them in the comments section, and we can try to address them in a later post! Thanks for reading!
-James
So, what changed? Why are Joye and I heading into the Peace Corps? We get asked this question frequently (right after, where? and for how long?), and I thought it best to document it here. It certainly is not because we’re fickle, or because we need “to find ourselves.” Nor do we have some self-righteous desire to save the world and relieve the white man of his burden. Rather, we view Peace Corps service as the intersection between acting on our convictions now while continuing to fulfill future career objectives. Below are our Top 5 reasons for Peace Corps service, listed in a somewhat logical order.
1) We feel called to go. Underlying our interest in development work, (before, during, and after the Peace Corps) is the ultimate conviction that we believe it is our privilege and duty, as Christians and as human beings, to make the world a better place. This belief has produced within us a compassion for vulnerable peoples. In this capacity, we strongly feel that God is calling us to go to Mali, not just for the work we intend to do, but also for the valuable lessons we will learn there. But make no mistake, we will not be missionaries. Instead, we simply hope to humbly serve others and be ambassadors of the United States. In our circumstance, that may largely mean providing an example of a Christian American couple that contrasts the immoral stereotype of Westerners that Malians see in Hollywood movies.
2) We need experience. In our senior year at Alma College, Joye and I looked into a lot of development careers and noticed one stark commonality – that every entry-level paying job in this sector requires at least two years of experience in a developing country. While this qualification makes sense, without a paycheck, one can only gain this experience by funding two years of service work on their own, something that neither Joye nor I could afford. Luckily, the Peace Corps can fund this experience, and then provide a meager $6,000 bonus at the end of service. Once we realized this, our perspective of the program changed dramatically.
3) It’s part of our education. After being convinced that the Peace Corps would be our best option for gaining experience abroad, I enrolled in the Master’s International program in Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University. Instead of a two year program, this unique degree allows one to get their Master’s by taking a year of classes and then two years of Peace Corps service; in effect, giving the participant book-smarts and street-smarts. At this point, all I have to do is write my thesis based on work I do in Mali, and I can graduate upon my return. As for Joye, her service will help her to decide our next step as a couple: where we can go to further her education. This year she has worked in a biochemistry lab, next year she will work on community development issues, and then on our return she will figure out what she likes best: the lab, the field, or somewhere in between.
4) We’re young. Another reason the Peace Corps makes sense for us is that our living situation allows for it. We have minimal possessions, minimal obligations, and no children. Every additional day we spend in the United States makes it harder to simply drop everything and go. Moreover, since we are considering careers in development, this experience will help us test the waters of living long-term in a developing country. Will we adapt to the lifestyle? Is it possible to raise a family in that environment? Do we like working with people on the ground, or do we prefer assisting from a distance (as many do)? There’s only one way to find out, and that is to go and investigate.
5) It’s gonna be fun. Lastly, do not get the impression that we are not excited about the adventure awaiting us in Mali. We most certainly are. Committing oneself to over two years of service in a developing country can not be done successfully if motivation merely comes from logic and conviction alone – there’s needs to be a hardwired part of you that actually wants to go and be challenged in unimaginable ways. Thankfully, God has provided us with this zeal. Serving will also give us an opportunity to reinvent our lifestyles and daily routine. Ultimately, we hope that the Peace Corps will bring us closer as a couple and help us to pick up some good habits, including gardening, daily exercise, more frequent reading (especially of the Bible), and a dramatic improvement in our camping/survival skills, naturally. :)
Hopefully, this provides a thorough answer to the tough question of why we are going. In truth, the convictions and zeal have always been there, but only last year did we actually see Peace Corps fitting into the master plan of our lives. And now that it has, we are very anxious to see where it will take us… and hopefully, you are too.
If you have any other questions for us, please leave them in the comments section, and we can try to address them in a later post! Thanks for reading!
-James
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Guest: Q&A part 1
This week, we’ve been busy with preparations, visa/passport paperwork and finals. Its amazing how quickly our departure date (July 1st) seems to be drawing near! In sharing our plans with friends, we’ve found that some of you have a lot of questions. So this post is an invitation to get some answers! Simply post your question in the comments section and we’ll do our best to reply. Keep in mind that a
Here are a few of the most frequently asked questions:
Q: Where IS 
A:
Q: How long will you be there?
27 months. 3 months of Training and 2 years of service.
Q: What languages will you have to learn?
A: French is the official language. I (Joye) studied French in undergrad and Jim will have completed 3rd semester French before we go. However, 80% of the population speak Bambara and depending on the region other local languages are most commonly spoken. During our 3 month training, we will be learning the language of the region where we will be placed for our 2 year assignment.
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