Peace Corps: The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love

We all know the Peace Corps slogan. I’d read it, heard it many times. But how tough could it actually be? Before I first applied to Peace Corps over 5 years ago I had this idea that I’d be living on a tiny island in the middle of the South Pacific. In point of fact, that’s exactly where I was supposed to go. I thought to myself: “Now this is going to be the real Peace Corps experience. There’s going to be no Internet. There probably won’t be TV. Sending letters, not knowing when they’d arrive or when I’d receive them, will be the mode of communication. It will undoubtedly be hot as hell. The weather will be unpredictable. One day it will be sunny. Another day, torrential downpours. Then, for months straight it will be sunny, almost too much sun. Teaching English will be the primary job assignment. It’s likely that there won’t be a blackboard, and if there is, there probably will only be a very limited supply of chalk. It’ll be lonely. Most days there won’t be many, if any, native English speakers. The housing will be minimal. Will there be running water? Will there be plumbing? It’s definitely going to be remote. It will certainly be man versus nature. It will be community-building at its best. It will be a real Peace Corps experience.”

Wherever they send you, Peace Corps is going to be tough. It’s going to be physically demanding. It’s going to be mentally exhausting. It’s going to require every inch of your being to survive. And every so often you’re going to ask yourself: “How can I do this? Maybe it would just be easier if….”

This is not my reality. Well, the whole Pacific island thing isn’t and it wasn’t then either. I declined the Invitation, deciding to do AmeriCorps instead. Over 5 years later, I reapplied, was again accepted and myself accepted the Invitation. I’m in Mongolia. I don’t live alone; I’m married. It’s not the heat that supposedly lasts for endless months. I have the Internet, a TV, reliable mail (regular packages even), a blackboard and plenty of chalk, running water, plumbing, and yes, a significant and already rewarding host-national community. I’ve only been at site a month and a half and I know now that what I used to think of the Peace Corps is both still true and not. The difference is that I am no longer assuming.


The view from our apartment

Staying healthy, being sound in body are the physical demands. It’s not as easy you might think. Medical care is different, to say the least. Being your own doctor, and by that I mean being cognizant of your own health, is paramount. Should you fail yourself or should your body fail you, your Peace Corps service may likely end early, like it or not.

The mental exhaustion is the daily cultural and language differences. This, I have found, is the most difficult part of being a Peace Corps volunteer in 2007. Often times, I find myself wanting to compare life in Mongolia with life in America. Sometimes that works, but usually it doesn’t. This just isn’t America. Not being able to understand or be understand can be exhausting, especially in the beginning. It’s as if you’re speaking a foreign language and acting like you’ve come from a distant land.

As I was told by numerous Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), the key to survival is not to have expectations. Disappointment does not make for a healthy or productive two years. The highs will be high and the lows will be low. Really, though, where isn’t this true? The same can be said for life in America. I know I’ve asked myself many times, especially in grad school: “How can I do this? Maybe it would be just easier if….”

I can only imagine what life as a PCV would be like on a Pacific island. I can, however, tell you exactly what life is like as a PCV in Darkhan, Mongolia. Expectations aside, I’m beginning to think that this job is one of the toughest I’ve ever had. And, yes, I do love it.