Purpose of This Blog
As I sit here at the hotel bar, drinking probably the last gin and tonic I'll have in over two years, I am contemplating what exactly the purpose of this blog is. On the surface, I am using this blog as a medium to communicate with my loved ones; exciting them with pictures of exotic places; scaring them with stories of strife, but is that all this is? Will these accounts imbue a deeper impact on the ones who read them?
Before I answer this rhetorical question, I think it is important that I give you a glimpse into my worldview. In a world that is more interconnected than it has ever been in human history, it is vital to facilitate cultural exchange. An inadequate understanding of a culture causes misunderstandings and generalized stereotypes; misinformation that inevitably leads to conflict and discrimination. Unfortunately, with the rise of terrorist attacks domestically, xenophobia has been allowed to grow and thrive. The nationalist secession of Great Britain from the European Union, American citizens electing a president that promotes isolationist diplomacy, and France passing laws that marginalizes a sizable Muslim population are just a few examples of how cultural misinformation has established road blocks for international cooperation.
But do we blame the terrified mass? Should we vilify them for their gross generalizations?
No.
They are only perpetuating a single story that is constantly being reinforced in their infinitesimal communities over, and over, and over again. A single story such as that all Muslims are radical jihadist or that all Mexicans are criminals. It is the responsibility of the open minded, the world travelers, the multi-cultural interlocutors, to show them that alien cultures are not to be feared, but to be embraced.
This is, I think, the purpose of this blog.
When I first told people that I was going to be serving in Guinea, their first response was almost always, "Oh, so you're going to Australia?," or "Wow! I've always wanted to go to South America!" Eventually, I gave up trying to explain to people where Guinea was. I just started saying that I was going to Africa instead. I now realize that this was a mistake. My lethargy caused me to perpetuate a single story myself. People relate the Peace Corps with impoverished countries, and now by me saying that I was simply just going to Africa, I was implying that all of Africa was impoverished, and that all of Africa should be pitied.
Believe it or not dear reader, the United States can fit into Africa three times over...
Tomorrow I depart for Brussels, in which I will again depart to my final destination: Guinea. Guinea possesses only a small fraction of Africa; a soliloquy amongst the epic novel that is that continent.
But I am told it is a beautiful soliloquy. A soliloquy that even William Shakespeare would marvel at. It is comprised of complex metaphors, engaging similes, and alluring allusions that necessitates careful analysis. It is my hope, no, it is my duty, as a Peace Corps Volunteer, to teach people about the complex machinations of Guinean culture.
I know that probably only a couple dozen people will ever read these posts, but that is still a couple dozen more people that would otherwise have only a single story of Guinea.
And if I fail to even reach one person...than I'll just turn this blog into one only devoted to funny photos of pets.
For example:
