*note: copied from my old website, I've decided to switch to using this site since it's more blog-friendly. The original date this was posted was May 5, 2019.
Two years ago I set out on my first solo backpacking trip to South America after graduating nursing school. I spent ten weeks traveling throughout S.A., met so many amazing people and came back to Alaska already wanting to plan my next trip back. So of course last year I returned to Argentina and explored Patagonia with some friends I had met the year prior, and once again fell in love all over with South America. Ever since coming back home, I couldn’t stop thinking about how all I wanted to do was go back. My Argentinan friend put the idea in my head that I should look for work in Argentina, and just for kicks I started looking for jobs, and came upon an opening for a position with the Peace Corps, not in Argentina, but in Ecuador.
So, come August of last year, I took a leap of faith and applied for a job in the “health sector.” The next thing you know I had a Skype interview two weeks later, and on October 3rd, I officially got the invite to serve as a “Health and Wellness Professional” for 27 months. My departure date would be May 27th of 2019.
After being accepted, there’s a long process to go through regarding medical and legal clearance, visa and passport applications, etc, that takes a few months, however by January of this year, most of that was finally completed.
Many people have asked me “so what exactly will you be doing down there?” Great question…. according the the posted job title, the proposed objectives of my job description include HIV/STI prevention, health and nutrition, and water sanitation. However, talking with the current in-country volunteers and reading many blogs, I won’t truly know exactly what I’ll be doing until I get to Ecuador. Additionally, a big part of Peace Corps is becoming a part of a community and earning that community’s trust. You can’t expect a foreigner to be placed in a community and right off the bat try to implement change in their community. You first have to form a relationship and rapport with them. Thus, the first year of service, it’s essentially your job to become a part of the community, make connections, spend time with the locals, and earn their trust.
There are lots of unknowns with Peace Corps, so it’s important to keep an open mind and be open to new experiences and anything that is thrown at you.
Another common question I get is: do you know where you will be living?
My “pre-service training” (PST) will take place over the course of 10 weeks in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. During our 8th week of training we will find out where we will be placed once we “swear in” and become official Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV), instead of just “trainees.”
So what does PST consist of?
My answer? uhh I really don’t know specifics. All I can tell you now is that we will have some additional language training, learn about the Ecuadorian culture and customs, have “experiential training” aka outreach in the community, Peace Corps policies, and beyond that I’m not sure. Once again, will just have to go with the flow. Our basic schedule will be M-F 0800–1700 and the weekdays we have free to spend time with our host families.
Once we are assigned our permanent site, we will be living there for two whole years, there is no moving around to live in other areas, and it is not common that we will be placed in the same town as another volunteer. The three main regions that I could be assigned to include la costa (the coast), la sierra (the mountainous region), or the amazon (the jungle). In addition to being assigned your permanent site, each volunteer is assigned a counterpart, who is a “Home Country National” (HCN) who will be our partner over the two years we are living and working in our community. They will help us create connections within the community and implement our projects.
Each volunteer is required to live with a host family during PST and our first 6 months in our permanent site. After those combined 6 months, we have the option to move out on our own into Peace Corps approved housing.
Another common question, will I have time off?
Yes, each year I will have 24 days of vacation time, however not sure how that works with required National Holidays that will be counted into that. I have yet to decide if I’ll come back to the states during my two years off as there is so much to see and do in South America, but of course that’s to be determined!
Many who know me know how passionate I am about the Latino culture, speaking Spanish, and traveling, so I am excited to be following my passion. Ever since I was a kid I have been traveling to Spanish speaking countries and since have developed a love for these people and their culture. I always knew that one day I wanted to do something to serve these kind and genuine people, and with my travels over the last few years, that notion was only further solidified. And here I am now, less than three weeks away from departing on a life-changing journey. Over these next few weeks leading up to my departure, I will be packing my life away into two 50 lb duffel bags and one carry on that I will take with me to Miami, FL, where I’ll meet up with the other 30 plus volunteers, have a mini orientation, then fly as a group to Quito, Ecuador!
Having my last day of work as a bedside nurse in Juneau last week (April 30th) was definitely a weird feeling, and I haven’t had enough time to register this huge life change yet, however the quote I found that best describes how I feel about leaving for Peace Corps is “if it’s both terrifying and amazing, then you should definitely pursue it.” Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and see what happens in life and be open to whatever may come. Life is too short to not spend it following your dreams❤
I will be posting over the next 27+ months my journey through Peace Corps Ecuador on here so feel free to follow :)
Disclaimer: “The content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or the Ecuadorian Government.”