Why I blog

When I set my mind on something and am passionate about what I want to do, I try to absorb as much information as possible. This has proven to be true with the Peace Corps, as I have attempted to retain a ridiculous amount of information since I first started the process towards becoming a volunteer. I obviously started with www.peacecorps.gov but one of the most valuable pieces of information was current volunteer blogs. I found the site, www.peacecorpsjournals.com, and was instantly hooked to current volunteers stories in Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Ethiopia, among others. I allowed my mind to drift off to these foreign lands that I knew close to nothing about. I tried to understand some of the culture, and examine the Peace Corps experience through the words of those living it out.

Needless to say, the blogs of current Peace Corps Volunteers were a huge inspiration for me to continue the process towards joining the Peace Corps and are still a part of my decision to serve for 27 months in South Africa. Looking back though, I had little representation of my demographic (single, male, recent college grad, serving in Africa). I often found that females and couples were the most likely to keep blogs, but I did not have much success finding informative blogs for my demographic. This gets to my reasons for blogging. While my primary purpose will, of course, be to update my friends and family on what I am actually doing while in South Africa for twenty-seven months, I would also like to provide a resource for those that are thinking about applying, or joining the Peace Corps. My story is unique, just as every Peace Corps story will be, but I hope to provide insight into what goes into becoming a volunteer and also give one man’s interpretation of life, culture, and all things Peace Corps during my time in South Africa. Although I will never claim that I am an expert on the PC or South Africa, I hope that by contributing this site to the blogosphere, and making it available on www.peacecorpsjournals.com, I will be able to give my demographic a little more representation.

In saying that, I also must give myself up as a resource. In my time during the application process, I was entirely anonymous while reading other volunteer’s blogs, and only contributed as a silent observer. However, I always wished that I would have established a connection with the individuals whose stories I was following so intently. I guess I am just too superstitious and didn’t want to jinx anything by getting ahead of myself, so simply reading the blogs of current PCVs was my best option. What I am getting at, is that I encourage future volunteers, current volunteers, or prospective volunteers to email me about questions you have. I am trying to make this blog as informative as possible, but I hope that anyone who has questions about me, my application process or general questions about the PC would please email me! My email address is on my profile page if you click on the About Me link to the right. Like I said, I hope to be a resource for those searching the blogosphere for all things Peace Corps, just as I have done for the last 6 months.

In other news, I finally finished my passport/visa application and sent it all to the Peace Corps office. I am now one step even closer to becoming a true Peace Corps Trainee! That’s all I got for now, over and out.