Today, I was a part of a meeting where Rachel Hatch was the moderator for the topic of the Peace Corp. Rachel is a returned Peace Corp volunteer (from Mongolia – “Land of the Blue Sky”). During her service, she taught English at a local high school (she didn’t know Mongolian to begin her experience there; she also lived with a host family that she still keeps in contact with).
The main aspect of the Peace Corp seemed to be us helping people in INTERESTED countries. Meaning, we have to be invited; we cannot simply enter and take over aspects of their community or education. The Peace Corp helps with community, health, youth, economic, agriculture, environmental, and educational development. There was an emphasis on using the experience through the program to build lasting relationships and strong intercultural ties. They also spoke of getting rid of stereotypes, etc. on both sides of the scale. The additional people speaking at the webinar were volunteers for areas like Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, and the Dominican Republic. They all had strong ties and passions for helping others, traveling, and helping to promote other cultures.
This webinar in general relates to international relations fairly obviously. Not only it is volunteer work on an international scale, but it is also learning about other cultures and forming new perspectives/thoughts/views on topics through a more in depth look on something in a way different than you are used to. I think this is definitely something that I am interested in. I’m just not sure yet how I want to tie this into my future. God willing, I will be able to do something like these people did and make a world of a difference in a small community.