It's been over two years since I have made the decision to become a volunteer myself. I can remember an afternoon in late February of 2012 when a FedEx driver knocked on my door to deliver an envelop from the Peace Corps. This envelope contained a letter and other papers that outlined the next two years of my life. My roommate watched in anticipation as I opened the envelop to reveal the details of my upcoming assignment. I began reading my letter and learned that the Peace Corps would like me to serve as a Primary Teacher Trainer in The Gambia, a country that I had never heard of before. I immediately searched for it in Google Maps and was shown a very small country in West Africa. At that moment I was a mix of mostly excitement and confusion. For the next few days many thoughts went through my mind. Was it the right decision to make? Do I really want to be away from home for two whole years? What if I don't like the country? All these questions went through my mind. Eventually I made the decision to go for it!
As you all have read from my previous posts, it was a very rewarding, as well as a very challenging time in my life. I faced many challenges prior to becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer, but the challenges I faced while living in The Gambia were in a league of their own. Even now I can vividly recall some of the physical ailments and discomforts that I felt. There were days when I was curled up on the floor, writhing in agony from a parasite coursing its way through my intestines. I had to take antibiotics for a whole week because my foot swelled up like a balloon after getting infected from a spider bite. And there were countless nights when I fell asleep completely drenched in sweat because of the relentless heat. There were also other circumstances that made life difficult in The Gambia. One of them was of course the limited means to call home. It would cost 15 dollars for me to speak with someone back home for 30 minutes. And if whoever I tried calling did not answer then I was out of luck, because they could not call my phone. I lost count of how many times I have tried to call certain people and they were unable to take my call and I did not get to speak with them. It was a terrible feeling every single time. And if I was fortunate enough to be able to speak with someone back home, I would have to time the call so I could make sure that I said goodbye before my credit ran out. There were a couple times when my credit ran dry during a conversation and I was not able to give a proper goodbye. This too made for a terrible feeling every time it happened.
I also touched on some of the rewards of living in The Gambia in my previous posts. Bar none the most rewarding thing for me was being able to help my baby host sister, Isatou. I told my host father about the dangers of Malaria and he took the initiative and bought Isatou her own mosquito net. I remember when I saw her sleeping under her mosquito net for the first time safe and sound, I started to cry tears of joy. Even now I am getting teary eyed as I write this post and reflect on that moment. Just seeing her like that made me feel so good, and it made everything worth while. I did not care if anything else went my way during my time there. The most important thing for me was her having that mosquito net, and that she was safe. I would endure all the hardships I faced again and again, just so long as it meant that I was able to help her. I will never forget that little girl, she is my hero.
It has been over six months now since I have returned home. It was August 2nd of last year when I flew into Chicago Ohare. My five hour layover was quite overwhelming. The concrete jungle that I stepped into was much different from the open landscapes of the sahel. I walked through the terminal in shock because of all the food choices. I decided to eat at Macaroni Grille. I ordered bruschetta and salmon, and they were phenomenal! I arrived at Flint Bishop Airport later that evening and was picked up by my brother. He had taken the liberty to order my favorite Jimmy John's sandwich for me to have as a late dinner! The next morning I surprised my parents as they came home from church. They were expecting me to come home a week later. My brother and I had it all planned out for me to surprise them, they had no idea!
My first month back was filled with excitement. I got to catch up with people and eat some foods that I missed. Sushi was awesome! I also got to drive again, fortunately I had not lost my touch. However, readjusting to life back home has not been entirely easy. Before I left The Gambia I had some briefings regarding what to expect when I arrived home. I was told that some people back home may have a hard time relating to me, and that it will be difficult to share my experience. I found this to be true for the most part. Though I cannot blame anyone for not being able to relate to me. I know that most of them are trying to put themselves in my shoes. But unless they have actually experienced something like what I went through themselves, then there really is no way for them to know exactly. It is kind of hard for me though. Serving in the Peace Corps was two years of my life, two years of my youth, that I suddenly had difficultly talking about with others. But there have been some people who keep an open mind and ask a lot of good questions. They have helped make the transition easier for me. On the other hand there have been certain people that I have come across that simply got on my nerves. They would say completely asinine things to me as if I would find them funny. Usually based on some sort of stereotype or perception that the person had. A woman at a store took a step away from me and held up her hands as if to keep me at bay after I told her that I had recently came back from Africa. She tried saying in a joking voice "Oh, you're not about to infect me with Ebola are you?" I slowly dropped my face into my hands after she said that. I felt that was a completely inappropriate thing to say to me. There was another time when a man said disrespectful things about my host siblings after I showed him a picture of them. It took a lot of energy to maintain my composure. Hearing someone say those things about the people who took me in and looked out for me for two whole years was almost intolerable. Even now I still come across people who say things like that to me, and I pity them for their ignorance. But overall things are going good for me. I recently started a new job that I am liking. I have also gotten back into scuba diving, as well as other activities that I did not get to do while I was away. I got to explore four different shipwreck sites in Lake Superior back in September, and I will be getting my advanced scuba certification this coming spring!
This will be my final post for this blog. I hope you all enjoyed reading about my adventure as a Peace Corps Volunteer in The Gambia. Even though I am back home now living a "normal" life, I am sure it will not be too long until adventure finds me once again. But until then, I am just going to take things one day at a time and just enjoy life. I will never forget my West African experience, it was truly amazing! I hope Isatou is doing alright, she will be turning two this month!
If you have any questions for me, feel free to send me an e-mail at joshua.guerrero1097@gmail.com.
Nuwari, ma kata kane! (Sarahule: Thank you, see you later!)
