My 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps

Fifty years ago this month (the first of the month to be precise), John F. Kennedy followed up on his speech at the University of Michigan during his campaign by signing an executive order forming the Peace Corps. Now, more than 200,000 volunteers have served in 193 countries. This is an often exasperating and exhausting job, but it has been said that this is “the hardest job you’ll ever love.” Even with all the frustrations I have faced and will face, this is an important and impressive legacy that I am fortunate to be a part of. The Peace Corps experience in Azerbaijan is considerably different from other Peace Corps posts. I have ready access to Internet, but the idea of volunteerism and the goals of Peace Corps are more foreign to people here, as opposed to sites in places such as Africa, where volunteerism has had a long history. This is something that in fact led me to accept the post, knowing that as a part of a young program, I would be building on a new concept and spreading ideas about volunteering that are important to me.

I’ve got to say that my 50th anniversary showcased all the highs and lows of Peace Corps service. Frustration over mixed messages about meeting time, frustration over language barriers, success with a language group game, a package from home, dinner with my host family, and the celebration of Chershemba leading up to Novruz (see previous post for information).

The celebration in Ismayilli is ongoing, as on Friday, my school will hold an assembly, celebrating Peace Corps, Novruz, and March 8th, National Women’s Day. The students are planning to read poems, perform songs, give short presentations, and dance, and I’ll speak briefly about Peace Corps.

I also happened to choose to watch several episodes from the first season of How I Met Your Mother. In two of the episodes, Peace Corps got a call out, and in another, Azerbaijan was referenced. In one, the Neil Patrick Harris character, Barney, uses the Peace Corps as a way to pick up a woman at a wedding reception, saying he’s leaving the next day, and relying on the perceived nobility of the Peace Corps. “You know, some people say the Peace Corps is the most noble thing a person can do, and to those people, I say ‘Is it?’ And usually they say, ‘Yes, it is.’” The woman he’s hitting on makes the fatal flaw of saying “I wish there was something I could to,” to which Barney smarmily replies “Oh, Tanya, I’m so glad you said that.”

In another, it is revealed that Barney, before becoming the womanizer he is at the time of the show, was once a romantic hippie, who planned on joining the Peace Corps and going to Nicaragua (which he pronounced Neecaragooa, attempting to be as culturally correct as possible before even entering the country—see the Stuff Expat Aid Workers Like blog for more on this phenomenon). When the girl leaves him for a suit, Barney turns himself into just that sort of man, the Barney we the viewers know and love (and love to hate).

Finally, in a little throwaway line, Marshall (played by Jason Segel), on how he and his fiancé manage to book their dream wedding location, says “It’s on like the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan.” Not sure what’s so on about Azerbaijan (or what was on at the time the episode aired—2005), but I appreciated the reference.

So that was my March 1. To whoever on the HIMYM writing staff who either did Peace Corps, or is drawn to it in someway, thank you, you certainly added a nice touch to my day.