Sara Robson has been stateside less than a year since her two-and-a-half-year Peace Corps stint in Nepal ended last spring, and she's still adjusting
Sara Robson
by Carol Spurling, from the February 2003 newsletter
Get yourself invited to Sara Robson's house for dinner, and you'll find yourself immersed in an eclectic Eastern experience. Thai soup, Nepalese style rice, lentils, and curry comprise the menu. "Because I'm an eclectic kind of person," Sara said. "Pie for dessert. But you wouldn't really need a salad with all of that."
And though you wouldn't be forced to, you would be encouraged to eat your rice and lentils and curry with your hands, as the Nepalese do. Clearly Sara's been somewhere most of us have not.
Sara has been stateside less than a year since her two-and-a-half-year Peace Corps stint in Nepal ended last spring, and she's still adjusting. "I traveled around for a few months afterwards. Europe was a good reintroduction to Western culture. I had to spend money, for one thing," Sara said. "In Nepal you just don't."
The land, her host family, and the villagers there are still in Sara's heart. She brought her Nepal scrapbook to show me her bedroom window's view of mountainous terrain and pictures of people she grew to love while she was working among them.
Sara knew as a youngster that someday she wanted to join the Peace Corps, which might explain why she got so much out of what is a notoriously challenging and sometimes disillusioning experience. "Overall my stay was amazing. Above all, the hardest thing I had to do was say goodbye to my host family and my community. And one of the most frustrating things was learning the language and basic communication," Sara said. "But the fun part was walking to the river near my village, teaching the kids, and birdwatching." Her work there included teaching environmental education, doing kitchen garden training, and even helping porters (workers in Nepal's busy trekking industry) learn some basic English.
Working outside has always been Sara's preference; one of her past "odd jobs" was working as a firefighter at Priest Lake. Before leaving for Nepal, she worked for the noxious weed board in Whitman County; upon her return, she worked for Crossroads Nursery and then began volunteering at the Co-op. "There is such a network of neat people at the Co-op," Sara commented, explaining how her work at the Co-op has helped her boyfriend hook up with folks working with straw bale buildings.
She was hired as produce assistant at the Co-op in November, and when we talked in January, was busy filling in for Dani, the produce manager, who was away on vacation. "I'm doing more ordering and learning a lot. It's a continual learning thing," Sara said.
Learning appears uppermost in her priorities. She is looking forward to taking a noxious weed class at the University of Idaho, and eventually earning her Master's Degree, and perhaps teaching. She has a B.A. in Natural History from the University of Montana.
Sara grew up in Coeur d'Alene and came back to Moscow after Nepal because her boyfriend Peter lives here. "We made it through the three years," Sara said, sounding both proud of and amazed by their fortitude during the long separation.
I'm willing to bet that this same fortitude, along with the positive attitude that got her to Nepal and helped her make the most of her time there, will serve Sara well wherever she goes in the world.
Carol Spurling is a bookseller and writer who is finding herself inspired and encouraged by the Co-op staff she interviews for these profiles.
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