A Belated Introduction

I've been spending the last couple of weeks considering my packing strategy and seeing family and friends as much as possible. I've also been busier than I thought I would be tying up loose ends and such. I was required to cut my hair for service and for the first time since high school I'm going without a ponytail. It was sad to see it go, but I'm sure I will be happier with it once I'm in the tropics. It's been great to see everyone and know I have so much support here at home.

I had intended this blog to be a means to keep in touch with family and friends while I am overseas, but I recently noticed that most of those who have read so far have come from the Peace Corps Journals site. Therefor I thought it would be a good idea to introduce myself and explain a bit about my background and my reasons for joining the Peace Corps.

I am from Sault Ste. Marie a small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I graduated from the University of Michigan in 2007 with a degree in Anthropology and Political Science and since then I have done a variety of things including working with a district court judicial campaign, cooking Greek food, planting trees, gardening, working with the US Census office and traveling around the US. I am very excited to be working as an Agriculture volunteer with the Peace Corps. Although I did not study it much in college, I have always been interested and involved in food source issues. I love to cook and am well versed in food preservation techniques and I hope that this will help me to start value adding programs for farmers in Nicaragua. I am also very interested in world musics and have worked with an ethnomusicology archival project in the past. I hope that my love of traditional musics of Latin America in particular will help me integrate into the community more quickly and facilitate an avenue for cultural exchange.

My reasons for joining the Peace Corps are many. I want adventure. I have always had a desire to travel, but up until now it has been confined to the United States. I need to take every opportunity presented to me to do so. In addition to this, I have led a priveledged life thus far and feel especially lucky to be in a position to volunteer abroad. I hope to help in whatever capacity I can to improve the lives of those with which I am working. I also joined because my anthropological training taught me the value of cross-cultural interaactions and I want to experience first hand the world in a different context. Overall I applied because I believe in the program and I have very much admired any of the returned volunteers I have encountered.

I would also like to mention here how excited I am to serve in Nicaragua in particular. As it turns out I had already familiarized myself with Nicaragua and its culture and history before I received my assignment. One book that especially stands out was a ethnography by Roger Lancaster called Life is Hard I read for a class on Latin American Cultures. It focuses on gender relations in the country, but also gives a very good summary of the history of the ties between the United States and Nicaragua. The United States has been a very aggressive and imposing figure in Latin American generally and Nicaraguan politics specifically since the Monroe Doctrine, and this has left a lasting impression on the character of the area. While in the past we have staged coups and otherwise acted aggressively to protect our economic interests in Nicaragua, I hope that my service with the Peace Corps will help to give the people there a more positive impression of Americans. I know the history of US interventionalism in the area will make it more difficult for me to be accepted, as an American, into the community as someone who is there to help, but I welcome this challenge and hope I can work to improve the image of the United States there while working to directly aid the people.

Thanks for reading and I hope I will have regular enough internet access to keep up with posting once I am in Nicaragua. Again I'd like to mention that your comments are welcome. Also, I decided to take my banjo apart and pack it away in my checked baggage if anyone was interested.