Back To The Land Via The Peace Corps

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HOW AND WHY WE DECIDED TO "TAKE THE PLUNGE"

Back in March of 1974—before we ventured abroad—my husband and I were dissatisfied, goalless members of middle-class society. Wayne had a good-paying job and our home contained all the creature comforts we needed (and then some), but we both had a strong gut feeling that we were on the road to nowhere. That's when we decided to write to ACTION (Washington, D.C. 20525), the government agency that administers the Peace Corps and VISTA (the Corps' domestic equivalent).

We filled out our applications to join the Peace Corps and—with fingers crossed- sent them in, half-expecting to be turned down. Three months later-much to our delight—we received an invitation to go to the Yemen Arab Republic ... Wayne as a community developer, me as a health educator.

Without further ado, Wayne and I sold as many of our earthly belongings as we could and used the money we got for our things to buy a high-interest savings certificate (so that our money would grow—or at least hold its own against inflation—while we were off seeing the world). What a sense of freedom and relief we felt, not having a storehouse of valuables to worry about back home. We were free at last!

A NEW LIFE

The first months of our Peace Corps experience were filled with the glamour and excitement of traveling in new lands, meeting new people, and learning a new language (Arabic, in our case). By the end of our first six months in Yemen, the glamour had-to a great extent-worn off and the excitement dissipated ... but—by the same token-Wayne and I had already become much more adaptable and aware as a result of our attempts to cope with life in a new land.

Peace Corps philosophy requires that volunteers live at the same level as their host-country's nationals (so long as that level is consistent with the maintenance of good health). For the two of us-living in Yemen-that meant eating and sleeping in a small, unheated, stone-and-mud house, having four gallons of water per day total for the both of us, and no electricity. We learned quickly, though, that we could be happy—indeed, happier-without double-door refrigerators, shag carpets, cars, stereos, etc.

For example: The first time I'd ever really seen the stars—thousands upon thousands of them, blazing all across the sky-was in Yemen. (I'd never been able to see more than a small fraction of these cosmic wonders through the haze back home.) Also, in Yemen-for the first time in our lives—Wayne and I ate meat from cows that'd never been near a hormone, food additive, or artificial substance of any kind ... and was that meat ever good! (The same was true for the other food we ate.)

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