three goals and ten steps.

Goals look different to everyone. But as Peace Corps Volunteers, we have additional goals that we strive to accomplish during our two-year service:

1.) Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2.) Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3.) Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

These are all fine and noble causes.

However, I came across something funny the other day as I opened up the pages of what appeared to be a long-forgotten book at the Peace Corps library in Diego. In it, I found a small scrap of paper written by a volunteer who served way back in 2006, listing her version of the three Peace Corps goals:

1.) Don't go crazy.
2.) Don't drive other people crazy.
3.) Have fun!

This seemed somehow so much more illustrative of the Peace Corps experience. Which reminds me of a small pamphlet a fellow PCV friend made recently entitled, "The Ten Step Guide to Surviving the Peace Corps," fully illustrated with cut-out cartoons from New Yorker magazines.

Here they are, for all of you considering service in the Peace Corps:
1.) Stay optimistic.
2.) Cultivate that sense of adventure.
3.) Lower entertainment standards.
4.) Love naps!
5.) Apply problem-solving skills.
6.) Forget that you once had a thing called pride.
7.) Be patient with Peace Corps bureaucracy.
8.) Remember you are doing good and noble things.
9.) Self-motivate.
10.) DON'T GIVE UP.