Peace Corps is not the Greatest International Development Organization in the World
I spent my winter vacation in Morocco – a lovely and exotic destination made more compelling by the fact that it is a Peace Corps country. As we enjoyed the sun on the beach, the flavorful food, the architectural splendor, the artfully placed tiles, my traveling companions and I had to continually resist comparing our PC experience with what we imagined a PCV’s in Morocco would be.
This particular blog posting from a Moroccan PCV is one of those that seems to have taken on a viral life of its own, I think because the truth she voices resonates so deeply with so many of us, both current PCVs and RCPVs, as well Peace Corps agency staff. (Be sure to read the comments below – they are a lesson in themselves and have continued on long past the original blog post date.)
As I reflected in my own comment on the blog, the grass may seem greener elsewhere when gazed upon from afar, but then again we may not realize why the grass is so green (when desert surrounds it) and whose playing ball on that particular field….
From Now On I Live Mad 
A very interesting blog. I takes certain level of maturity to reach the conclusions she did about her PC service. What is so difficult for an idealistic person to realize is that many people who could benefit from what they have to give, don’t want to even give it a I know it’s not the same situation, but I remember being sent as an intern into the Latino community; it was a ridiculous assignment, I realize, but the shunning I experienced, the being treated like I was a leper, was a very hurtful, (but also a learning experience.) I had to ask to have the whole thing terminated after about a month which was embarrassing and made me think less of myself; I was too young to handle that much rejection. I hope, if she is selected, that she has some idea of what may happen. I reading about WWII and I had something really stun me. Of course, I must have know this, that all mail service was cut off between GB and Germany, but because our communication is so important to me, I hit me what the world was like before email. Can you imagine having your daughter in a place where years could go by without knowing whether she was dead or alive or suffering terribly? Sent from my iPad
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I like your comment. As a gay RPV there are many times I wonder if could have been more productive if I were straight. The Lesotho culture is that boys will be boys but you are not a man until you are married. The hierarchy is Married men, Women, and then children. Women were minors so they are not really respected, or they have to really be exceptional to earn a little respect. As an outsider, I was treated better than if I were native born. The odd outsider. I would walk out of a restaurant if the attendant stopped serving when another man entered the restaurant after me to serve him first. Some of the women PCV said I over reacted. Returning home, I am in the middle of gays fighting for the right to marriage. So, I left an America where I thought the American culture of, “roll up your sleeves and get the job done” superseded the culture that gays are not equals and I came home to a country that is just not ready to make that leap. In America, being shunned from church is very effective way to shame. It is very difficult to be treated like a leper. I had accomplishments that I am proud of in Lesotho. I just wonder how much more I could accomplish there and here if I were straight.
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