2) Peace
Corps service is characterized by a lot of ups and downs. What was the most
rewarding situation that you experienced to an extent that you felt good about
your decision to come and serve here? A situation that made you think that the
time that you are spending here is worthy. (You can share a the full story)
a. I
think the ups and downs are both rewarding experiences that one may not realize
immediately. They are both ways to learn about yourself and your surroundings. My
decision to come to Peace Corps wasn’t to make myself feel good it was to learn
a different way of life and begin to understand the diversity in this world.
However, if I were to give one
example of a situation that warmed my heart and put a smile on a lot of peoples’
faces was the day I taught my sister to write her name. The event was a small
example of life’s challenges and not just in the fact of teaching her to write
her name. The event had depth.
We had been playing with my camera
and drawing pictures then, taking photos of them. She really likes her photo
taken and so, I challenged her. I told her she had to write her name and where
she was from before I took her photo again. She groaned but eventually agreed.
Teaching in Senegal is really just
copying. Here I made my sister sound out each letter and syllable of her name.
I gave her examples of other simple words with similar sounds. When she messed
up I simply said, “I don’t think that letter makes that sound.” Not once with
all her begging, crying, and moaning did my hand take the chalk from hers.
I don’t know how much time passed.
It didn’t matter because we were there with one goal and everyone, including my
now present father, silently pushed my sister on. Again, we sounded out the
letters making it to her last name. She pronounced each syllable and wrote just
a little quicker now until finally she got it….Fatoumata Kamara Togue.
Wow! I was thinking maybe she
wouldn’t do it, maybe she would just give up but no. With enough encouragement
and the write amount of reward she was willing to struggle. Why should I be
shocked? She does it every day. She has a reward: Food, Life. She has a
struggle: Daily chores, farming, washing. And so, she struggles sometimes enjoying
it and sometimes not.
Then, finally something clicks…….Fatoumata
Kamara Togue. Snap….I took her photo as she looked at the chalk board which her
name was written. She smiled and took the camera to admire herself and her
work. Then, I proposed she write her father’s name next. She reluctantly agreed
again for a photo. This time her struggle was less. She remembered the sound of
the letters and how to write her last name and the name of her village. Again,
I took her photo.
