Peace Corps According to Ron Swanson

Those of you who follow my posts on Facebook may have noticed some quotes cropping up sporadically attributed to one Ron Swanson.  That's because I find his wisdom and guidance particularly helpful in my time as a PCV.  Though Ron was giving general life advice with his random maxims, or Swansonisms, I feel that many of them are specifically appropriate for the Peace Corps and I will proceed to explain why in this post.

For those of you who do not watch TV, or for some reason do watch TV but have never seen an episode of Parks and Recreation, Ron Swanson is the brilliant character on the show played by actor Nick Offerman and is depicted below:

Also, here, when he got a little drunk and decided to wear April's hat.

This pinnacle of masculinity and wisdom has said some of the most insightful gems on the whole show, and they have truly been an inspiration to me in the Peace Corps.  Allow me to explain why.

Ron Swanson Words of Wisdom #1: "Don't half-ass two things.  Whole-ass one thing."

When you first get to site, it's easy to become overwhelmed.  Even though you've been in country for three months already, everything is still new, and you've just moved to a new location in your host country where you're expected to stay and work for two years.  On top of that, you have to work on completing a needs assessment for that community so you can see what projects will be most helpful and most well-received by the community members.

This is where the trouble can start.  Talking with colleagues and community members can spark all sorts of ideas in your head, but the reality is that most of those projects will either never begin, or fail rather quickly.  The important thing to remember in Peace Corps is not to spread yourself too thin.  Focus on one project at a time, and work really hard on it.  Even if it ends up falling through, odds are you'll have accomplished something, even if it's just catching the attention of someone else who wants to work with you.  I know my friend who lives near me had an English club that none of her teachers attended, but the biology teacher came.  They ended up getting along really well, and she found a new ally in her community outside of the English teachers.

So Ron Swanson really has this one pegged.  When it comes to projects in your community, find something you really care about, and do that.  I may not have gotten much done in my first year here, but at least what I have completed has been successful.

Ron Swanson Words of Wisdom #2: "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day.  Don't teach a man to fish, and you feed yourself.  He's a grown man, fishing's not that hard."

This one may sound harsh, especially as the original "give a man a fish" quote is very inspirational and relevant to Peace Corps without alteration.  However, this new Ron Swansonized version captures something that I want to stress: Don't try too hard.  Like with the first Ron Swanson Words of Wisdom, if you try too hard, or stretch yourself too thin, you'll burn out and exhaust yourself.  Pick your battles.  Don't try to fix every problem in one fell swoop.

For example, one of my "projects" involves teaching a full-time class, as you know.  I could choose to micromanage my class and nitpick everything from spelling and grammar to always getting the right answers.  I could hover and always be there to make sure they're not cheating.  But I prefer to let them learn and grow on their own, at their own pace.  Also, I don't like to assume that just because we're doing something new that they are going to need extra assistance and hovering.  I also focus on one thing.  Last semester, it was content accuracy.  This semester, I've learned a bit more, and have decided to focus on effort and discouraging cheating.  As a result, students have been working harder, learning more, and the incidences of cheating in the class have declined.  Inadvertently, this has also caused a decrease in tardiness and an increase in students coming to my office for extra help.  So I guess when you focus on one thing and give students the opportunity to prove themselves, you may be pleasantly surprised.

After all, it could be they already knew how to fish, but everyone was too busy trying to teach them to figure that out.

Ron Swanson Words of Wisdom #3: "It's always a good idea to demonstrate to your coworkers that you are capable of withstanding a tremendous amount of pain."

It's hard living in a host community where you are constantly viewed as an outsider, especially for young female volunteers like myself.  Many things can work against you in the workforce that you have no control over, including your skin color (especially for non-white American volunteers), your gender, and your age.  If you are young, especially if you are significantly younger than your colleagues, some people may assume you are inexperienced and have nothing to offer.  If you are a non-white foreigner, some may not see you as being as impressive as if you were white.  And if you're a woman, some people (especially men) will not take you very seriously.  This can be frustrating, which is why I turn to this quote.

If every day you persevere and endure and come back, you are proving your seriousness, woman or not.  If you discuss your qualifications, including relevant trainings and degrees you have, then you are showing that no matter how old you are you know what you're talking about.  And if you refuse to take bad treatment from anyone, you are showing that your skin color doesn't determine your worth or your nationality (many non-white Americans here get accused of not being American).

In other words, show them you are capable of withstanding anything they have to throw at you.  If nothing else, at least a few individuals may learn that you're a force to be reckoned with.

Ron Swanson's Words of Wisdom #4: "One rage every three months is permitted. Try not to hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it."

This one is essential for anyone who has gone a little crazy from being at site or even just in country for too long.  Being a Peace Corps Volunteer is a highly stressful experience.  From dealing with daily harassment to having all your projects fall through, some days you just want to break down and cry or lash out at something or someone.  As Ron says, it's OK to feel that way and go a little crazy sometimes, just remember who and where you are, and try and keep the collateral damage to a minimum.

Ron Swanson's Words of Wisdom #5: "Capitalism: God's way of determining who is smart and who is poor."

This one is more about accepting the state of things.  There is a lot of poverty in the world, regardless of where your site is, and often this is something that's a result of much bigger systemic inequalities that you are incapable of fixing on your own in two years (like capitalism, among others).  Just remember to do the little things you can at your schools or partner organizations and it's more than enough.

Ron Swanson's Words of Wisdom #6: "America: The only country that matters. If you want to experience other ‘cultures,’ use an atlas or a ham radio."

This is actually one of Ron's quotes that I have incorporated ironically, in that as a PCV it's impossible, or at the very least a very bad idea, to act like America is the only country that matters.  Still, the image of atlases and ham radios draws up memories of Peace Corps' roots, before there was such a thing as internet and cell phones to keep us in touch.  And if Ron Swanson ever did Peace Corps, you know he'd be the one to go off the grid - even from his own community.

Ron Swanson's Words of Wisdom #7: "I like saying 'no.' It lowers their enthusiasm."

Learn to say no.  I cannot stress this hard enough.  I got roped into teaching classes (which is fine) alone (less fine) and being responsible for grades (disaster) because I wanted something, anything to do that felt like it needed to be done.  I wanted to help out with a project initiated by a local so I said yes a lot, but what ended up happening was a lot of it never got done.  Again, this goes with RSWoW #1.  It's important, sometimes, to just say no, even when people are enthusiastic and excited.  Don't worry.  Have them work with you on your current project, and then see if you can get to their thing later if you're already overloaded.  Or if you don't know if it's a good idea, say that outright.  Don't beat around the bush or make excuses, or worse, say yes to be a positive people pleaser.  A bad idea won't get better just because you agreed to "help" with it.

Ron Swanson's Words of Wisdom #8: "Of all my coworkers, he is one of a small number of whom I do not actively root against…uh, there I go again gettin’ all sappy."

Just like in every other job, you're going to work with people with whom you do not get along, or find unprofessional, but this can be more difficult when you're also living a million miles from where you normally call home.  Because you're so out of your comfort zone, your colleagues could also be your biggest pool for potential friends.  So when you find a solid colleague, who's not just professional but a congenial person that you find yourself not actively rooting against, seize the opportunity.  Ask her to coffee to discuss family and work life, and how you are adjusting to your life here.  As for those coworkers you do find yourself actively rooting against, that's OK.  Just do it quietly.

Ron Swanson's Words of Wisdom #9: "Breakfast food can serve many purposes."

I eat eggs frequently, because they are easy for me to buy and easy to prepare.  This is perhaps very specific to me, but I take Ron Swanson's words to heart as I find every way possible to prepare eggs for a meal.  Fried eggs, scrambled eggs, deviled eggs, egg salad, I've done it all.  And when I'm not eating eggs, it's pancakes and nutella.  These are my two easy go-to meals if I really don't feel like cooking.  It's not like you could just hit the drive-thru or pick up some take away.  I think it's important to find one meal that you enjoy and that's easy to prepare so that when you're tired, you can always rely on that.  For me, it's breakfast food.  And now that I've gotten cinnamon from my COSing site mate, and plan to pick up some vanilla, I can make French toast too, and I look forward to it!

Ron Swanson's Words of Wisdom #10: "When I eat, it is the food that is scared."

I have always been an adventurous eater, and I will try everything once.  I've found that Peace Corps is an excellent place for an adventurous eater.  Despite warnings from our PCMO about certain cuisines here, I have at least sampled every one I have come across and have avoided most illnesses.  I would suggest the same to any other PCV.  Don't be afraid to try anything once.  In addition to that, when I go back to the West where delicious food is available everywhere I turn, I become a ravenous monster.  I expect such a transformation soon enough when I go back to the States in a few days.


So there you have it.  Ten succinct maxims that sum up my experiences in my first year as a PCV in Ethiopia.  I hope that by painting the tale through the words of Ron Swanson I can better get my point across, and I also hope that Ron's words can inspire other PCVs like me.  I hope you enjoyed this blog post as much as I enjoyed writing it.

So in conclusion, allow me to leave you with ten more wise words from Ron: "Honor: If you need it defined, you don't have it."