Marching Into the Peace Corps, Pt 37: Tailoring Isn’t Just for Expensive Suits Anymore

I wonder how the idea of exercise in Jordan will play out – if the ultra-conservatives will win, or if the secular portion of society will see the benefits and ignore the crazy assumptions girls seeing each other changing in locker rooms will turn them into lesbians. If the government is smart, they will realize the nonsense of such baseless arguments. They must realize with half the population being under the age of 30, if this generation does not learn to move and exercise, the health care costs of inactivity will bankrupt the country. Who will pay into the tax base if half the country’s elderly, and the other half are sick with preventable diseases? Even worse, how many of that 50% will be medically classified as unable to work? They’ve got a crisis that must be addressed – and soon!

Perhaps I’ll have to take some classes on nutrition and holistic medicine. I’m not talking about chanting a past life liver problem away while burning incense for the benefit of a misaligned charka, I’m thinking more down to earth with vitamins and other supplements. Anything that could help improve the dietary habits of those at risk should be welcomed with open arms, but that’s theory.

I’m wondering if I’ll have to take up some child psychology classes to make things look good, too. People are too big on stroking kids’ egos these days to make them feel great for having done absolutely nothing. A report that came out today said the kids in college have been tagged the “Me” generation and believe the world revolves around them. I think I need to tread lightly around this area or else I could end up in trouble, culturally speaking.

It’s a given I’ll have to learn to teach English as a foreign language and become certified in that area, too. At first I thought, “how hard can this be?” but I soon learned it’s not as easy as it would appear. I grew up having to learn the parts of speech and diagram sentences, and I was so glad when I got out of seventh grade because I knew I’d never have to do it again. Well, that’s one of the many lies I accidentally told myself along life’s little journey, and I do need to relearn all the stuff I’ve forgotten. Ouch!

Arabic lessons will also be in my future – if I can demonstrate a certain amount of proficiency, then chances are good I’ll be sent to Jordan. The other country in the region that’s a possibility is Morocco, but they speak more French than Arabic, which is mainly used as the language of the Qu’ran. I suspect in this day and age, it has been translated into a North African French dialect and is commonly read in their native tongue. It seems the only ones who read the Qu’ran in Arabic are the native Arabic speakers, and in the case of non-Arabic native speakers, Qu’ranic students and scholars.

I’m also seeing volunteering amongst the Arab populations in the area for a good reference. If you have some experience with blending into the population you want to serve, to me it seems like volunteering is a great way to learn first hand. Who knows if I’ll be accepted as my experience has been the Arab community in Dallas are quite closed to outsiders. This is strange considering when I was in Jordan, everyone was very friendly to me.

There are several directions I can go in to make myself more attractive to receive an invitation from Jordanian officials, and as the picture clears, I will know what I need to do. If you’re looking at the Peace Corps and you want to pick a specific country, make sure you tailor your skills to it before you start the process. If you turn down an invitation from another country, the Peace Corps will not extend to you a second invitation. You’ve got one chance – make it count!

If you don’t like trying to find all the segments of this series, you can locate the links to them here and they will return you the exact spot on the appropriate site.