April 19, 2011
The Peace Corps office was once a bustling hub of activity centered on what was called, the Resource Room. Time, budgets, programs, policies, and personnel have changed all that.
Today, the Resource Room is now what the Trainer’s Office was. The Trainer’s now are in the former Resource Room. The only aspect of the new Resource Room that reminds me of the old one is that it is a junky and filthy as ever. Rooms may change, but Peace Corps Volunteer housekeeping habits do not.
The new volunteer program for Samoa is composed only of rural primary school teachers. They have little time or opportunity to be in the Peace Corps office, like Apia based teachers of the past.
The office staff has also changed along with the volunteers. Only a few of the old faces remain, but they are as helpful as ever.
Of course, there are those really old volunteers from the 1970’s, like the couple with whom I had dinner. Those were the days of no electricity, running water, and muddy dirt roads. Regardless of the amenities, the rewards for their efforts show themselves as the students they taught and the family where they are staying remember them still.
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