Becoming a “REAL” Volunteer

For two years I have claimed to be a Peace Corps Volunteer, and although its true, the reality of the situation is that I have it pretty easy here. Sure I wash my clothes by hand, walk or ride my bike everywhere and there is that whole live in a developing country where they don´t speak English element, but in Peace Corps terms I have a great life. I have internet in my house, even if it doesn´t always work, a fridge, which I use duct tape to keep closed, and of course running water and electricity. My town has two large supermarkets, lots of places to eat and even a few bars. So imagine my surprise when I had to “suffer” a bit.

The storms started a week ago Saturday and were heavy with rain and hail. It continued to rain off and on until Wednesday morning with a full 12 hours of downpour Tuesday. Its nice to get a good rain every once in awhile. You get to stay cozy in bed and skip anything planned for that day. Well this rain brought with it an extra surprise. It rained so much that the river where our water comes from overflowed its banks, flooding the pumping station and washing out the road to Villaricca.

Now although Villaricca is a nice town, my suffering did not result from the inability to access it for a few days. No, my suffering is a result of the flooded pumping station. It’s pretty ironic actually. It rained so much that we have been without running water since Wednesday, 6 days and counting. So now I have been forced to live like a “real” volunteer, pulling water from a well and bucket bathing.

Of course it hasn´t made my life too difficult seeing as the well is about 30 feet from my door, but it does make getting up for a run just a little bit harder knowing that I will not have a warm shower when I am done.