2007.02.12: February 12, 2007: Headlines: COS - Poland: Humor: Music: Swans: Poland RPCV Troy Headrick writes: Peace Corps Volunteers have historically been viewed as eccentrics or idealistic, hippie types who were out to save the world
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2007.02.12: February 12, 2007: Headlines: COS - Poland: Humor: Music: Swans: Poland RPCV Troy Headrick writes: Peace Corps Volunteers have historically been viewed as eccentrics or idealistic, hippie types who were out to save the world
Poland RPCV Troy Headrick writes: Peace Corps Volunteers have historically been viewed as eccentrics or idealistic, hippie types who were out to save the world
In the middle of a wonderful meal of traditional Polish food, Mike's mother, a nice woman in every respect, turned to me and said, "You Peace Corps people are just a little different, aren't you? I mean, it takes a very unusual kind of person to live like this, all the way over here, in these conditions. Let's be honest, it's just not as modern here as it is back home. I mean, there are easier and more lucrative things you could be doing in America. Know what I mean?" I certainly did understand what she was saying. There was nothing ambiguous about her message. And she was right. There were other easier and more lucrative things that Mike and I could have been doing, but neither one of us wanted easier and lucrative. What we wanted, on the other hand, was the struggle, the sense of mission, the feeling of being personally and professionally fulfilled, and the authenticity of the experience of building bridges across national and cultural divides. And, on top of all that, we felt wonderfully purified by our simple (i.e., materially poor) lifestyles. Mike's parents -- though I have to give them credit for honestly listening to me that evening -- just found it impossible to get their minds fully around all that I was saying. It was partly because while I was speaking they were thinking that you can't put self-fulfillment in the bank and partly because the vast majority of mainstream, middle-class Americans believe in something called "the American Dream," which teaches all good boys and girls that they should clamor after all the things that Mike and I seemed to have rejected, thus making us first-class weirdoes.
Poland RPCV Troy Headrick writes: Peace Corps Volunteers have historically been viewed as eccentrics or idealistic, hippie types who were out to save the world
A Freak Speaks
by Troy Headrick
Troy Headrick, the freak who stands before you now, is about to speak. For those of you interested in hearing a first-hand account of the personal costs involved in living an alternative lifestyle, you might want to listen up.
I call myself a freak because that's what I am. According to Dictionary.com, a "freak" is "a person or animal on exhibition as an example of a strange deviation from nature." Lots of people who know me and are familiar with my way of living would argue that my lifestyle is certainly unnatural (to say the very least).
[Excerpt]
At the risk of sounding slightly bitter, I want to say that my overseas experiences have never been thought of in the same way that my brother's have. In 1994, after jumping over a large number of application hurdles, I joined the Peace Corps and was sent off, by the same government that sent my brother to kill Arabs or be killed by them, to Poland to teach in one of the upstart educational institutions that were being referred to at that time as "teacher-training colleges."
These new schools were invented just after the collapse of the communist system to provide that Slavic nation with its own teachers of foreign languages (English, French, German, and Spanish) so that Poland would be able to more fully integrate with Europe and the world.
I was called a volunteer -- not quite as noble sounding as "serviceman" -- and was paid the equivalent of 200 dollars a month for two years by the college where I worked. My task was a daunting but inspiring one: I was to serve the people of Poland and the United States, as an educator and good will ambassador.
Here's the deal: American soldiers living and working in foreign countries are thought of as heroes, but Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV) have historically been viewed as eccentrics or worse by far too many Americans. This is perhaps due to the fact that the organization, early on, was made up of idealistic, hippie types who were out to save the world, and thus they were seen to epitomize the sort of bleeding heart liberals that your average Joe and Jane American Citizen, with their tendency to be fairly conservative and isolationist, find so repulsive.
This general attitude about Peace Corps Volunteers still exists and has been made clear to me on any number of occasions, but never so blatantly as the time Mike Wilson's parents came to visit him in Poland.
Mike was my closest PCV buddy during those two glorious years of service. He was stationed in a town not too far away from Tarnów, the city where I was living. During our second summer as volunteers, his parents flew over from Kansas to visit him and have a look at his adopted home. As might be expected, my best friend was keen for me to meet his folks; thus, on a warm afternoon in August, I hopped on a train and traveled to Krakow where the three of them were sightseeing. After disembarking, I met Mike and his parents in the main market square in the city center and then we all went out for dinner.
Suddenly, in the middle of a wonderful meal of traditional Polish food, Mike's mother, a nice woman in every respect, turned to me and said, "You Peace Corps people are just a little different, aren't you? I mean, it takes a very unusual kind of person to live like this, all the way over here, in these conditions. Let's be honest, it's just not as modern here as it is back home. I mean, there are easier and more lucrative things you could be doing in America. Know what I mean?"
I certainly did understand what she was saying. There was nothing ambiguous about her message. And she was right. There were other easier and more lucrative things that Mike and I could have been doing, but neither one of us wanted easier and lucrative.
What we wanted, on the other hand, was the struggle, the sense of mission, the feeling of being personally and professionally fulfilled, and the authenticity of the experience of building bridges across national and cultural divides. And, on top of all that, we felt wonderfully purified by our simple (i.e., materially poor) lifestyles. Mike's parents -- though I have to give them credit for honestly listening to me that evening -- just found it impossible to get their minds fully around all that I was saying.
It was partly because while I was speaking they were thinking that you can't put self-fulfillment in the bank and partly because the vast majority of mainstream, middle-class Americans believe in something called "the American Dream," which teaches all good boys and girls that they should clamor after all the things that Mike and I seemed to have rejected, thus making us first-class weirdoes.
Status Back Baby by Frank Zappa
Everyone in town knows I'm a hand-some football star
I sing & dance & spray my hair & drive a shiny car
I'm friendly & I'm charming . . . I belong to De Molay
I'm gonna try like mad to get my status back today!
Status Back Baby from Absolutely Free
I'm losin' status at the high school
I used to think that it was my school . . .
BOW WOW WOW WOW!
I was the king of every school activity
But that's no more . . . oh mama!
What will come of me?
The other night we painted posters
They played some records by the Coasters
BOW WOW WOW WOW!
A bunch of pom-pom girls looked down their nose at me.
They had painted tons of posters; I had painted three.
I hear the secret whispers everywhere I go
My school spirit is at an all-time low . . . BLA-A-A-A!
I'm losing status at the high school
I used to think that it was my school . . .
BOW WOW WOW WOW!
Everyone in town knows I'm a hand-some football star
I sing & dance & spray my hair & drive a shiny car
I'm friendly & I'm charming . . . I belong to De Molay
I'm gonna try like mad to get my status back today!
Status back baby
Status back baby
Status back baby
Status back baby
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Headlines: February, 2007; Peace Corps Poland; Directory of Poland RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Poland RPCVs; Humor; Music
When this story was posted in February 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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Story Source: Swans
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