Zuckerberg

I was recently thinking about a story that was played on Voice of America. It was about Peace Corps and how different the experience has been across the 50 years of people serving. They highlighted the program in Rwanda and interviewed our Country Director at the time and a current volunteer. From what I remember the volunteer was happy that she could maintain close contact with her parents. On the other hand, administration were not thrilled that we could complain/panic to our parents and the DC office would quickly receive a phone call. (Sidenote to people who have worked at a university recently: this story could have substituted the words Peace Corps with 'Going to University as an Undergrad').

There's this draw towards being 'authentic' and getting the 'real Peace Corps experience'. These ideas always involve being isolated from anyone who speaks your language, not having access to postal services, internet, telephones. These ideas are about being enveloped into a new society, one that is difficult to reach beyond. Its a romantic vision of touching a society that is incredibly untouched. Back in the day that was natural. Volunteers weren't asking for the unrealistic. Letters were the order of the day.

When we first arrived, many volunteers were disappointed because we are incredibly connected here. They thought that being this accessible would debase our Peace Corps experience. No one was dropped by parachute to their site and left alone for two years. No one anxiously awaits the letter telling of a new birth or a critical illness. We come from a different generation. The concept of not having a computer or even internet is foreign.

My response to this - take a look around. The world is changing. In one ear people are triumphing globalization, how we can build relationships with people around the world, how fast we can travel, how easily we can communicate, the multitude of forums we can interact on. In the other ear they are bemoaning the fact that a government agency experience has changed over the course of 50 years. Look at the military or the CIA. I would be frightened and disappointed if they operated as if they were living in 1961.

The world is a different place, allowing for easier communication. It doesn't mean you have to ram your head against a wall trying to fight progress. It also doesn't mean you have to become the epitome of this age- checking your email on your blackberry, tweeting about everything you do and making sure you always catch a phone call. There is still a thing called relaxation/vacation/taking a break from life. That hasn't become outdated, thank goodness.