“i just called…to say…i love you…”

November 9, 2010 at 12:52 pm (Uncategorized)

thank you stevie for that classic hit circa 1984…

some of my fellow vounteers and i have been discussion how we wishing that were true for us. some lucky volunteers get a lot of calls from home. it makes volunteers like us a bit jealous, since we are the other end of the spectrum that don’t get any calls.

granted, yes its nice in some ways to be “disconnected” from the compulsion and dependence of those shiny electronics in the western world. especially when these new ipad doodads do everything including do your laundry and open your beer. however, this job is tough and some days we just want to quit and go home because we feel no one appreciates us here…or at home.

malawi is one of the least developed nations on earth, and it does feel like i live in a time warp on another dimension some days, ok most days. but it does have technology – like internet, and cellphones, and internet ON cellphones! so its not like Dr Carter going to Africa on season 10 of ER where there is one pay phone for miles and miles. its not like that. really. almost everyone in malawi has a cellphone, and all PCVs have one!

so for most of us, it just feels like we are “outta site, outta mind”. we feel forgotten. we miss home, and worse – we are missing you and and the everyday things. personally, i am tired of missing weddings, births, birthdays. we want to know what is going on back home! it may seem trivial to y’all, but to us its maybe all we have to keep going to motivate us.

the following is taken from a Peace Corps publication called “On The Homefront” describing how you can support your volunteer from back home. I think it has relevance to anyone overseas or away from home (working/studying abroad, military, etc). the entire handbook can be found here:

http://multimedia.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/faf/homefront.pdf

Staying in Touch

“It may be the family member who actually serves in the Peace Corps who gets all the glory, but those on the home front play a key role in the Volunteer’s experience. Anyone who has ever seen a Volunteer open a letter from home knows how much support the families of Volunteers provide. Nothing boosts morale higher than a letter from home (and nothing undermines it more than the absence of mail). While Volunteers receive a lot of support from friends in their host country, it does not replace the special understanding and acceptance that comes from family. Thus, the single most important thing families can do is to stay in frequent touch with Volunteers, even when there is no news to report. What you say in letters, e-mails, or tapes is not as important as continuing to send them. For Volunteers, just knowing that family members are thinking about them is what matters.
Families are not passive players in the experience of Volunteers. Their participation in the Peace Corps experience may feel decidedly indirect, but it is nonetheless crucial. During times of loneliness, doubt, and frustration, what sustains Volunteers is usually a mix of factors. These include not only their own strengths, sense of commitment, and fondness for the host country, but also the love and concern of their families back home.”

i know y’all think we are too busy here saving the world, maybe living vicariously thru our adventures and/or wishing you could be here doing the same. don’t get me wrong, we very much appreciate all your care packages and letters that have been sent! we just don’t have our usual creature comforts from home…no tv, no comfy couch, no chocolate chip cookies. but in the end, those are just things…things that would be traded in a heartbeat for a 5 minute call from home!

i am basing this post on behalf of discussions i have had with other volunteers recently. yes we depend a lot on each other since we get it, we get what its like being here, we also want you could get it too. and someday you will, since that’s part of our peace corps goals is to share with you the life and times in 3rd world countries.

i fear that my huge disconnectedness from american life will be a tough one to tackle come 6 months when i am closing my service and returning home to the motherland. hope you can understand and i know y’all won’t be flooding my phone with calls or texts. but i do have access to email most days of the week, and attempting to use skype for the first time this week! please stay in touch with me and my fellow SV’s (Super Volunteers)! we appreciate it more than you will ever know.

ZIKOMO KWAMBIRI! (many thanks!)