The Coolest Job in the World
During Peace Corps training we were told that our first two months should be dedicated to community entry. That getting setup and earning people’s trust should be considered a project on its own and that we should expect it to take us about 6 to 8 weeks. Of course when I heard that I thought it was crazy to spend so much time getting settled, I was ready to get things going, get people moving. Two years is not really that much time after all. Like so many times before during this whole process I was proven wrong.
Perhaps more subconsciously than not we spent our first two months trying everything and not committing to much. Trying meant attending meetings, visiting the towns we work with, meeting people, making contacts, listening to ideas, figuring things out. Things here really work differently, the pace is different, and the rules are different. We are not here to change or even judge these rules, we’re here to help people figure out how to improve their lives playing by these rules. It is ironic that we are the “experts” in a scenario that is so foreign to us, and yet we’ve experienced people’s warmth and respect to us as authorities in something (we still wonder in what). Anyway, enough rhetoric, this entry is about what the heck we have been doing so far.
There are three major things: Guarantee the sustainability of a local vocational center, improve MaderaVerde’s production process and pricing structure; and work with the Garífuna communities on the north coast in grass roots efforts to improve their standard of living. We took Frank’s (RPCV Honduras 96-98, who left a note in our blog) advice by heart and agreed to work on things that would not get done if we were not here; combined with what we thought would be a lot of fun. We are just recently getting neck deep into our own work, but between working with the wood-cutters and artisans up the mountains and having a meeting by the sea with a group of motivated Garífunas, this certainly feels like the coolest job in the world.
Let us tell you more…
Perhaps more subconsciously than not we spent our first two months trying everything and not committing to much. Trying meant attending meetings, visiting the towns we work with, meeting people, making contacts, listening to ideas, figuring things out. Things here really work differently, the pace is different, and the rules are different. We are not here to change or even judge these rules, we’re here to help people figure out how to improve their lives playing by these rules. It is ironic that we are the “experts” in a scenario that is so foreign to us, and yet we’ve experienced people’s warmth and respect to us as authorities in something (we still wonder in what). Anyway, enough rhetoric, this entry is about what the heck we have been doing so far.
There are three major things: Guarantee the sustainability of a local vocational center, improve MaderaVerde’s production process and pricing structure; and work with the Garífuna communities on the north coast in grass roots efforts to improve their standard of living. We took Frank’s (RPCV Honduras 96-98, who left a note in our blog) advice by heart and agreed to work on things that would not get done if we were not here; combined with what we thought would be a lot of fun. We are just recently getting neck deep into our own work, but between working with the wood-cutters and artisans up the mountains and having a meeting by the sea with a group of motivated Garífunas, this certainly feels like the coolest job in the world.
Let us tell you more…
posted by Lynnette @ 4:57 PM
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