Cultural event 3 - Peace Corps

“Namitemwa” which is I love you in Bimba. Bimba is the language the people in Zimbabwe. The language I believe more beautiful than French because of its rhythm and tones that it uses. The sounds are like singing every time they speak. Beautiful something you have to hear.

Hearing Travis Axton speak is heart warming and all inspiring to join and serve. His is the west coast representative for the Peace Corps. He talked about his experiences serving and what Peace Corps is all about. His experiences seemed so life changing with the people he met, the challenges he went through, the lives he touch, the lives that touched him and the growth, wisdom, and humility he obtained. He was a facilitator between a health clinic and the village he lived in for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Zimbabwe he said was the real Africa the place that tourist don’t get to go because it’s so remote. He got into some specifics cultural norms about the Zimbabwean people, the most important norm is respect. If you don’t show it you don’t get it and you understand or respect their culture. Listening to him speak made me want to join so I could serve and have those life changing experiences like he did.

After speaking to our English class about his experience in the Peace Corps he gave us a quick 10 minute cultural lesson on greeting someone in Zimbabwe. It was fascinated and very interesting. He went on about how to shake some one’s hand formally. Extending your right hand and holding the crease where your arm and forearm meet with your other hand saying something in Bimba and showing some one the utter most respect.

The statement which so true “you give and you get” which is from Peace corps website under what are the benefits. You get out what you put into this program. Most people that have gone and served said it was a life changing experience. The program was started in “1960, when then Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the university of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries, more than 190,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in 139 countries all over the globe.” That challenge is still happening today with 7 different skill sets that people can help out in.

- Education, youth outreach and community development,

- Business Development

- Environment

- Agriculture

- Health

The peace corps is a 27 month commitment. They aid at the grass roots level in 8 different regions: Caribbean, Central America and Mexico, South America, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

I highly recommend checking out the www.peacecorps.gov if you have not done so already. There is a ton of information.