1,000+ Days: What I've Learned

I was asked about a year and a half ago during a presentation I gave on my home leave how my time in the Peace Corps had changed me and I gave some mumbling answer that I can’t remember a single piece of.  In short, I had no idea then how the Peace Corps had changed me, but I knew that it was doing so, I just couldn’t explain how.

Now, I’ve just surpassed my third year anniversary as a Peace Corps Volunteer within Zambia (February 9) and now I’ll be fast approaching my final day (May 29) as a volunteer.  I’ve spent over 1,000 days as in the Peace Corps, so I’ve decided to put down my thoughts and try to understand, as best I can, how the Peace Corps has changed me and to provide at least a semi-insightful answer to that great question from over a year ago.

First, I would say I’ve learned how blessed I am to be born somewhere that’s not here.  It’s nothing against Zambia, but I’ve learned from my time here how lucky I am to have been born into the circumstances I was in the United States.  I truly won the lottery.  I have a family that’s not rich, but they’re doing well enough.  For a reasonable price I earned a great education.  I have worthwhile and meaningful opportunities on the horizon.  I have lived the American Dream.  Opportunities abound for me – largely because of where I was born.

No matter how calloused an individual is I have a hard time believing that living in Zambia for 1,000+ days doesn’t provide some perspective as to how great an American’s standing is within the world.  Context and perspective are two invaluable lessons I’ve learned here.

However, not everything I’ve seen of America from afar has been beautiful and glistening.  I’ve learned that America is fallible and still in need of much improvement.  At no time is this more readily seen than during our senseless acts of crime.  In my time here in Zambia the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, the death of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin, the Boston Marathon bombing, and even the enhancing of a divide between the nation have all occurred.  America is a beacon of hope and promise for many people around the world, but if we look into a mirror we’ll quickly see that our reflection isn’t at all that beacon of equity and understanding we profess to personify.

Yet the issues that we continuously debate in the United States are issues that a country like Zambia could only dream about: unemployment below 9%, an average income of over $30,000 per year, life expectancy in excess of 75 years, and other important demographics. 

How lucky I am to be born somewhere that’s not here.  In America there is a struggle for a better life, but here there’s often a struggle for life.  

And maybe all this means shows that I’ve not seen those dark parts of America where these issues do exist, and that would be my own fault, my own ignorance.  But it certainly isn’t as widespread and pervasive as it is here.

The realization that most people aren’t blessed with the opportunities that I’ve had in my life is extremely difficult to reconcile because of what I’ve seen.  I’ve known Zambians that far exceed my work ethic, my natural intuition, and intelligence – yet they struggle.  The circumstances that most people face here (at least in rural communities) have caused an empathetic reaction in my bones to the plight of people in need.  I’ve never faced hunger, the potential of a crippling disease, or even the lack of an opportunity so simple as going on to an education after secondary school.

In college I studied an agricultural system called conservation agriculture.  Essentially this method allows small-scale farmers (like those that make up the vast majority of farmers in sub-Saharan Africa) to increase yields, while using their fertilizers more efficiently and natural resources more thoughtfully.  I came to Zambia thinking this is the answer – everyone should do this.  But no, what appears on a paper doesn’t always translate to practicality in the real world.  This method is hard, it’s demanding of time and effort, and although it is proven to be effective it’s not easily adopted.


A sense (more like glimpse) of the hardships people face has made me far more understanding and empathetic to how challenging the world can be, because simply put – life in Zambia’s rural communities is challenging, it is difficult, it is a world apart.

Hands down, the most important lesson I’ve learned in the Peace Corps is how wonderful people can be.  I entered the Peace Corps being expected to work in a professional capacity, but looking back I failed far more than a “professional” ever should.  I was more of a professional student as compared to a teacher.  The people I’ve had the opportunity to meet here have given me an education second to none – even the one I paid tens of thousands of dollars for – and all for free… it just took my coming here.

As time passes and I go from being 1,000 days in the Peace Corps to 1,000 days out of the Peace Corps I’ll gain more of an understanding of what I learned and how I changed.  It’ll take time to decompress and decipher all of this, and yet I’ll probably never fully understand because it developed over time, not all at once.  As I was asked over 18 months ago, I know I’ve changed and I’m gaining an understanding of how, but I’m not entirely certain of every point of change – at least I can still definitively say now that it is for the better.