In Peace Corps, there are a lot of pre-conceived thoughts
about what you should do during your service. They come from your
friends, family, Peace Corps community and of course yourself; you are your own
toughest critic. But what most of us don’t
release until further on in our service is that all it takes to cause a chain of
reaction is a simple conversation.
This is one of my greatest success stories to date: I am not
a small woman, I understand this, and I also understand that in Ghana, big is beautiful,
but as an American women it hurts when
someone across the street for me calls me Obolo (fat, in the local language) to get my attention. The fact that this
happens multiple times a day, from both men and women can get old, very
quickly. I live with 9 other people in my compound, and for the most part, they
understand where I come from and how they should treat me. After a rough day of
travel, and just a rough day in general, I come home to one of the boys (when I
say boy, I mean he’s around 25 years old) in my compound telling me that I look
fatter and should do something about it. I won’t lie, I lost it a bit, and in my
sternest voice, explained to him that he just insulted to the highest degree
possible. To an American, being called fat is not only insulting but also
hurtful and painful. I wanted to make sure that he understood where I am coming
from and that at my home, in my compound, I would rather not be insulted. He was
very sorry, and pledged it would not happen again. In Ghana, you are never sure
if they are really listening to you or just agreeing with you because you are
white.
The next week, someone came into my compound and proceeded
to call me fat. One of the boys that got
my little sermon the week before, stepped up and explained to the visitor that in America, calling someone fat is a
great insult and to make sure to respect not only me, but in the future respect
other cultures. I sat in shocked silence……did
that really just happen? Did he really listen and learn to what I had said?
Pure Joy radiated through my body; there is no other situation that could have made
me prouder to be a Peace Corps Volunteer and an American woman.
It’s these little things that make your service so fulfilling,
and rewarding. You don’t have to do a huge project to feel completion and success
in your service, all it takes is a conversation and confidence in yourself.
