The Life of the Mind
West Africa presents daily insanity. From leaky buses to impossibly slow food to breaking out of your host family’s house to catch a PC bus on time, there are often exchanges that actively test one’s ability to adapt, observe and laugh. However, I have written at length on these high octane adventures and it would be improper if I did not address the long moments of quiet tedium that Peace Corps presents. For these are the things that make the job what it is, a marathon testament to the fortitude of the individual. They are ubiquitous; one finds them in food preparation, laundry, rainy days and especially travel. A quick jaunt to my post takes eleven hours from Cotonou the capital; quite a trek considering the paltry 240 miles between them. Simply put, they become as regular as having to put on a sweatshirt on those brisk nights it gets down to 81* (really, it’s the nippy windchill that gets you).
The first school of thought is that these times are a problem to be dealt with, indeed a void that demands to be filled. Novels, MP3 players, magazines, and an occasional peck of the flask can all clutter these wastelands, distracting from the emptiness. To some extent this is welcome; during an eight hour bus ride, distractions and activities help keep the length from overwhelming one’s sense of humor. But to say that the quiet times are not useful is to misrepresent a vital part of service here.
Their essential role is providing space for the contemplation that could potentially return us to the United States as better individuals. The most obvious subject for thought is oneself. In my opinion, any healthy person with this much downtime has to accept who they are as a person or change so that they can accept themselves. All too often, the only person around is yourself, so you might as well be friends. A similar opportunity is present with relationships with the people close to you. Problems, insecurities or miscommunications can be chopped apart and examined. Of course, undue brooding serves no-one but the beauty is that these issues flit into consciousness in-between subjects such as the different morality schemes present in Batman, the relationship between French internal tariffs circa 1710 and present-day Benin or the secret recipe that ensures every Beninoise tastes differently (likely creative quality control standards). When you combine this reflection with the natural sense of accomplishment that living as a member of the Peace Corps elite brings, some really remarkable things can happen.
