welcome to my peace corps blog

an introductory who-what-where-when-why post

why I’m going (or at least the gist of it)

In May of 2023, I graduated from college, moved to downtown Chicago, started a new job, and then immediately had a quarter-life crisis. Without the structure of school, I suddenly had too many choices for what I could do for a career.

I knew I loved working with people, doing creative things, and having a lot of variety in my day-to-day schedule. I’ve also always loved learning, especially about foreign language and culture, social causes, and the arts. I’ve been a bookworm my whole life, and I think education is powerful.

Plus, I also wanted to travel and explore, in order to gain more life experience that way. I admired people who travelled the world and had lots of stories about it.

All this together led me to join the Peace Corps as an English Education Development volunteer. I had been thinking about it for a few years and finally felt ready to join—well, for the most part.

cold feet

When I was beginning my application, I had doubts. Am I the “type” of person to do that sort of thing? I pictured all Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) as people who were class president, had traveled to every continent, spoke a dozen languages by age 20, and had closets entirely comprised of Patagonia hiking gear. Basically I wasn’t sure if I fit the bill.

But a part of me was reaching toward it nevertheless. For every doubt I had, there was a positive side to counteract it. I went back and forth on this decision for ages, which is not unusual for me when I encounter a fork in the road. I talked about it with all my family and friends, consulted tarot cards, flipped coins, and read endless Wikipedia articles.

What gave me the most courage to join was talking to other people who had done Peace Corps before. They all had the same advice: Just go!

Ok, fine. I guess if they could all do it, I could, too.  

So, on October 1 (tomorrow!) I will be joining a group of other Peace Corps Volunteers and heading to Timor-Leste!

sorry, where?

Nine out of ten times I tell someone I’m moving to Timor-Leste, that’s their response. That’s understandable—until I applied to Peace Corps, I barely knew it existed—it is a tiny island, one of the world’s newest countries, and not a place Americans often vacation.

Timor-Leste, or East Timor, is the eastern half of the island of Timor, neighboring Indonesia, Australia, and the Melanesian islands. It’s located in Southeast Asia (& working toward joining ASEAN), and is home to some of the most biodiverse coral reefs in the world.

Most Timorese are from Malay or Pacific Islander backgrounds. Their national languages are Tetum and Portuguese, with Tetum being the most widely spoken language across the country, and Portuguese being a language of government and occasionally school.

a brand new nation

For a few hundred years, Timor-Leste was a Portuguese colony. They gained independence from Portugal in the 70s, and then within two weeks, they were invaded by Indonesia. Under Indonesian occupation, which lasted from 1975 to 1999, between hundreds of thousands of Timorese died at the hands of the Indonesian military—up to a third of their population. Much of their infrastructure was damaged or destroyed as well. Read more about it here.

In 2002, Timor-Leste gained status as its own independent country, making it one of the world’s youngest countries.

As the nation rebuilds, I am excited and daunted by my role in Peace Corps as an English Education and Development volunteer. One current goal of the Timorese government is to increase English literacy. This is part of their benchmark goals for joining ASEAN, as well as growing their tourism industry.

i have no idea what to expect

Even though I’ve read a lot about it, I still feel like I’m going into this blindly. From what I know now, being a PCV in Timor-Leste means:

• living with a host family

• no running water & spotty electricity

• learning a language not many people know

• not being allowed to drive a car

• living somewhere really rural

• getting lots of vaccines, and

• a rare opportunity for immersion in a culture totally different from my own

I’m really excited.

wish me luck!

Throughout my trip I’ll be updating my blog (hopefully at least somewhat consistently) so friends and family back home get an idea of what it’s like. You’ll hear from me again soon, no doubt.

Follow along! Leave a comment! Like and subscribe, idk! TTYL!

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