The True Spirit of Peace Corps

Just recently Peace Corps Zambia had there biannual provincial meetings. It is a time for the volunteers to come together and share their progress, concerns, and needs with a member of senior staff and fellow volunteers. In previous years the provincial meeting was quarterly. Then it was three and now, because administration has a fear—not dissimilar to communists—of large gatherings of volunteers, it has been reduced to two. The meeting was on Friday but everyone comes in a day early—at least.

Provincials are a celebration and testimony of volunteers’ survival and fortitude in situations of adversity. Historically, a theme is chosen and extravagant meals are formed from meager resources, like the pilgrims at Thanksgiving, stone soup, or water into wine (maybe that last one is a stretch.) Midway through 2006 a wave of Brave New World thinking came through PC Zam-rock in an attempt to homogenize us and steal our soul by banning themes, posting photos in the house, having murals, and—I’m pretty sure—that any gathering of more than five of us ladies made the place a brothel. Luckily, some soul survived and we were allowed to have themes again.

Our festivities began Thursday with an Iron Chef competition. The special ingredients were bacon, eggs, and sweet potatoes. Being the head chef, I decided that egg rolls, spinach bacon quiche, egg plant parmesan, sweet potato pie, and banana cream pie would be the menu. It was a success of taste. The judges didn’t want to have to choose a winner so they made us have a dance off after. As our song we choose “I don’t feel like dancing” by the Scissor Sisters. Team Mukushi (the other district in Central Province) choose Beethoven’s 9th symphony. Although their routine was funnier than ours it was not actually a dance and eventually they could deny team Serenje the “W” no longer.

Our theme for Friday night—post meeting/business—was “Murder Mystery.” We all picked characters and dressed accordingly. A murderer was chosen at random and the poster to indicate that you died was posted and the game began. In between all of this was dancing and a great deal of suspicion. Who could it be? The over the top yoga instructor? The 80’s pop star? The bike cop? Maybe the handsome butler or leggy maid? But we danced the night away as one by one we were assassinated to the stylings of Michael Jackson. Turns out it was the yoga instructor and if our dance party hadn’t taken over we would have recognized her cunning and caught her for sure.

However, the moment that most caught me that night was when we were all dancing together (the 18 of us) to MJ’s eternal song “Man in the Mirror.” Here is a group of people who moved to a developing country to work in the bush dressed up in silly costumes singing their hearts out. I mean we were into it. Maybe it was our childhood memories of listening to MJ in the backseat creeping up on us but it looked like a televised evangelical church service. Eyes were closed, fists were pumping, hands were being held. It was almost certainly the most intense five minutes and 19 seconds I’d had in a long time. There are few things more intense than 20 something 20 somethings acting out their feelings in a focused way.

I really think that “Man in the Mirror” is the spirit of what Peace Corps is about. More than a few of us are smart enough to be making plenty of money in the states where MJ’s novelty is in his constant state of weird. The mirrors where we could be would not be small, round, made of plastic, and cost the equivalent of 30 cents, and they certainly wouldn’t tell us to make a change—unless it was to the cut and color of our hair.

“I’m going to make a change
For once in my life
It’s going to feel real good
Gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right

As I turned the collar on my
favorite winter coat
This wind is blowing my mind
I see the kids in the street
Without enough to eat
Who am I to be blind
Pretending not to see their needs…

I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to make a change…

If you wanna make the world a better place
take a look at yourself and make that change…

Gotta make that change,
jamone…man in the mirror…
Take a look at yourself
and then make that change”

MJ, too much.