Posh Corps

I have heard through the grapevine that the PC Rwanda program has the nickname Posh Corps. I wholeheartedly agree. We are able to have cell phones, more importantly - with good service. We have internet readily available. The culture isn’t a drastic change. For that matter, the food isn’t either. Most of our sites have electricity and running water. There is nothing in Rwanda that is incredibly rural. In a country of 10 million people it is difficult to be isolated. Many in my group were disappointed that they wouldn’t be a ‘rural area’. Our definition of rural needs to be redefined though. Rural no longer means remote.

That being said, many people were placed in large cities. Sure this isn’t the ‘true Peace Corps experience’ but it comes with its own set of challenges. How do you integrate and bond with a community that large? How do you stay true to learning the native language when most people around you speak English? How do you affect change without being swallowed up by the crowd? Do you feel less special with so many Westerners around? How do you not spoil yourself with so many amenities readily available? Although I am not in a large city, I am only an hour outside the capital. This is definitely temptation in having so much free wireless internet, great food that reminds me of home, and the comfort of fellow volunteers so near. As with anything it’s about balance.

I am not disappointed in having the Posh Corps experience. I will still have no electricity and no running water. And let’s be real, I’m not incredibly hard core.