Saturday, September 29, 2007

Leave a Candle in the Window

We came, we staged, and tomorrow we leave. We leave and fly and then the plane lands and then it will be real. I feel ready. There are many reasons why I feel ready. One major reason: the group of people with whom I will serve. My fellow PCTs (that’s Peace Corps Trainees for those playing along at home) are friendly, kind, funny, creative and, dare I say, a little more alive than the average Joe(s). Can’t express how good it feels to be in this together.

The most influential studies of combat motivation suggest that when soldiers go into battle they are not motivated by patriotism or idealism. They fight because they are fighting for one another. While the combat experience is not a direct parallel to PC (if I drop my books and cower in the corner of the classroom my fellow PCV won’t be taking a bullet to the head), I think this research remains relevant to my experience. I want to succeed as an individual but I also want to be part of our group’s success.

There are other motivations, of course. I will be motivated by a desire to serve the community where I am placed, a desire to serve Ukraine as a whole, a desire to represent my country in a positive light, a drive for personal accomplishment, and the knowledge that success in Ukraine can lead to exciting opportunities in the future. But when it comes down to those mystudentswon’tlistento meandallIreallywantintheworldisagrandeStarbuckschaiwith expressoandacopyoftoday’sNYTimes kind of days, I think it is the knowledge that there are 80+ others out there in the same position that will keep me motivated to try again the next day. I didn’t think of that before I arrived here. And it is a comforting thought.

If you want to make me happy please send mail, e-mail, and blog comments. I know I have an amazing support system at home. That is just part of what made my decision to join a (relatively) easy one to make. For the first three months mail can be sent to:

Peace Corps Ukraine
PCV Amy Bernath
P.O. Box 298
01030, Kyiv
Ukraine

I will write you back. Promise. The blog may be relatively dormant for a while. I’m somewhat unclear on the guidelines for blogs and I want to avoid causing another postcard incident. But I will be back. Signing off from Philly and looking forward to checking in from Ukraine.

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