On being gross

I’ve been in Swaziland for more than four months now, and I’ve now been at site longer than I was at pre-service training. This I consider a milestone. Being at site feels much different from being at PST, where we saw other volunteers every day and had a structured schedule. The routine there was extremely rigid. Here, there isn’t much in the way of a routine. That’s fine with me. I keep thinking about how difficult it’s going to be to go back to a 9 to 5 world after this experience.

I’ve also been thinking recently about how Peace Corps changes the way we think about what’s “gross.” (In this way, I suspect it’s a tiny bit like having a kid.)

Examples:

1.     Peeing in a bucket inside. Not every volunteer does this. Some go to the pit latrine at night; guys of course have it easier in this regard as well. But for some of us, if we need to go when it’s dark, we use a bucket and dump it the next day. Chamber pots have existed for ages, but I don’t think most people in the Peace Corps have used them till now.

2.     Food that doesn’t look as delicious as you’d like. As PC tells you, you become a little less discerning about what’s a bit past its prime. I don’t eat rotten food, but I’ve probably eaten some uglier produce than I would back in the U.S. I have a fridge, so this is less of an issue for me.

3.     Bathing infrequently or less thoroughly. I take a bucket bath at least once a day and wash my hair at least every third day. Some volunteers go longer; one volunteer went two weeks without washing her hair. When washing your hair and bathing are a pain, your standards change.

4.     Washing your clothes. My host family is constantly doing laundry. I mean, every day, sometimes twice a day, the ladies are out hand-washing and hanging clothes. There are washing machines in Swaziland, but I haven’t seen one. I tend to let things go about three rounds before I wash them (unless they’re visibly dirty or it’s been really hot). Like my family, I change out of my work clothes and into crappier clothes when I come home every day. I can’t tell you how happy I am that I bought two comfortable cotton knee-length skirts from Old Navy, black and gray. I wear one every single day. Old Navy attire is part of the PCV uniform, which also includes Chacos, a Nalgene and a Leatherman. (Side note: Walker sent Leatherman a letter saying he liked their products and was using them in the PC, and they sent him a thank-you note, a carrying case for his Leatherman and a bunch of stickers. Nice guys, those. He hasn’t heard back from SmartWool or Celestial Seasonings.)

5.     Killing things. I haven’t seen any super scary bugs or pests, but other PCVs have, and they do not hesitate to kill them. I did see my previous host family kill a bat that found its way inside. It was dramatic. But PCVs kill snakes, giant spiders, scorpions, roaches, etc. I am not looking forward to this. But when it’s you or the snake, well, you gotta have priorities.

6.     Diarrhea. It’s not that PCVs love talking about this, it’s that everyone experiences and expects it. So we talk more openly about it than I’d dream of doing back home. I’ve already heard a few stories, man. Lemme tell ya. Before I left, I heard that PCVs said pooping your pants was a rite of passage in PC (this is not Swaziland specific). I’ll go ahead and tell you that I haven’t crossed that particular bridge. Chances are that you won’t hear about it in this forum if/when I do, so don’t get your hopes up. Feel free to ask me when I come back. I’m sure it’ll be a heck of a story if it goes down. In the meantime, I’d be OK with avoiding this.

Topic No. 6 does raise an issue they don’t talk much about before you come. Going to the bathroom when you’re not at home can be something of an issue. In the big cities, there are public bathrooms you can pay to use. In Manzini, the new fancy mall has wonderful free bathrooms. Restaurants don’t seem to be required to have restrooms for customers, as far as I can tell, though some do. But there are some towns that just don’t offer any options. You have to plan ahead, which is often tricky (if not impossible, in an emergency). I don’t love this. But it is, as they say, what it is.

Anyway, I just wanted to share some of the PC realities with y’all. I know some of you thought it was just money, fame, fast women and a life of leisure.