what i’ve learned in peace corps cambodia [pt. 6]
March 30, 2011
how to deal with it.
Sometimes the Peace Corps feels like a vacation. Sometimes it feels like a job. Sometimes it feels like playtime. Sometimes it feels like a sauna. Sometimes it feels like I’m surrounded by friends. Sometimes it feels like I’m on the other side of the world and haven’t had a real English conversation in weeks or months. Sometimes it feels like everybody is watching me. So I’ve had to learn how to deal with it all. With the stares, with the language barrier, with the heat, with the overloaded taxis, with the loud wedding music, with the inconsistent schedules, with the sunburn, with the mosquitos, with the ants, with the bat infestations, with the 4-shower-a-day days, and with those empty days where time just doesn’t seem to move. Take any of those things out of the equation, and it would make it that much less of an experience. Learn to deal with it and it will no longer outweigh the good. It will simply exist alongside the good.
