PCV-Eve

You may be wondering, how does one prepare to participate in the 'Live Like a PCV Challenge?' Let me enlighten you.

My roommate and I - both giving up air conditioning, microwaves, refrigerators and television, as well as committing to a reduced living space for the week - took a couple of steps to gear up for a week sans first-world-amenities. Here are my tips to successfully prep for the PCV Challenge:

1). Air Conditioning: Spend lovely summer Sunday indoors (wrapped in the last blanket you will want to look at for a week), soaking up pre-deprivation air-conditioning.

2). Television: While indoors, get final fix of top-tier TV obsessions (The Glee Project and True Blood - duh).

3). Microwave & Refrigerator: Undertake some strategic grocery shopping. The challenge? The vast majority of my packed-lunches and eat-in dinners involve use of either a microwave or refrigerator: salads, cereal (milk), tortellini, soups, sandwiches (cheese, lunch meat, jelly), bagels (cream cheese)...just to name a few.

Now, luckily no one will be forcing me to drink fermented goat's milk this week, or serving me rice and beans three meals a day. However, while grocery shopping I was still faced with the challenge of preventing starvation for the seven days I would be deprived of Kraft spiral mac-and-cheese. Here are some options I came up with:

• Sandwich (PB and banana)
• Fruit snacks
• Granola bars
• Goldfish crackers
• Soups (the stovetop kind - dinner only)
• Pasta (with olive oil - sauces, Parmesan, etc. all in fridge - drat)
  

As this will only feed me until about tomorrow afternoon, please feel free to make suggestions!

5). Reduced living space (living room, kitchen and bathroom):

• Do seven loads of laundry: Our washer/dryer both lie in our scary, dungeon basement - an area we are not allowed to access until Monday the 8th. We collectively washed enough clothes to allow us to sweat through three outfits/day during this week's no-air-conditioning-heat-wave.
  
• PACK: More significantly, we cannot enter our bedrooms for the space of a week. Not only does this entail the pair of us sleeping on a couch that can uncomfortably sleep two people, but it means gathering enough clothes, shoes, jewelry, chargers, medicine, make-up and entertainment (Kindles, laptops) to last us until through next weekend.
  

Obviously, refrigerated wine/beer will be inaccessible to us for the next week, so a six-pack of Blue Moon accompanied us through this last day in the first-world.

More updates on how we are surviving the Challenge to come...

The Live Like a Peace Corps Volunteer Challenge

This all started because two friends from our high school group left for the Peace Corps in the space of a month. My boyfriend Pete left for Nicaragua on May 10, and my favorite redhead Stephanie departed for Mongolia three weeks later, on June 2.

Last Spring, however, Stephanie stumbled upon something called 'The Live Like a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) Challenge.' Created by actual PCVs, the Challenge encourages the friends and family of volunteers to sacrifice first world amenities for one week in order to better understand the living conditions of both PCVs and locals.

Stephanie and Pete presented the Challenge to me un-seriously, joking about how I would never voluntarily sacrifice my hair-dryer (apparently something about me doesn't give off the "likes to rough it" vibe?). Well, if they were trying to pull some sort of reverse psychology, it worked. Not only did I commit to the Challenge (hey, they failed to read the fine print - I get to keep my hair dryer), but I've also rallied ten friends into giving up first world luxuries along with me, from August 1-7.

Specifically, my roommate Caroline and I will give up use of air conditioning, microwaves, refrigerators and the television. We will also occupy a reduced living space, using only our living room, kitchen and bathroom for the week. Our other participants (shout out to Sarah, Jill, Sean, Tom, Dan, Jenna, Tia, Christy and Rachel!) are mixing-and-matching the below:

• Reduced living space
• No air conditioning
• Shower every other day
• No debit/credit cards (cash only)
• No oven/only one stove burner
• No refrigerator
• No microwave
• Internet every other day
• No restaurants/bars/fast food/coffee shops
• No washing machines
• No dish washers

Now, as exciting as our lack of showers and bar-patronage are, the real point of our Challenge participation is to bring attention to the conditions that Pete and Stephanie live in, and the work that they do.

Impressed that Caroline and I will likely have to spoon on our couch sans air conditioning in the height of summer? Well, Pete has not had air conditioning since May. And further, since he failed to successfully kill the tarantula that he found in his room last week, we can all agree that Pete has been probably been big-spooned by a wounded arachnid.

Can't quite believe Sarah will give up use of all microwaves, refrigerators and ovens for a week? Stephanie frequently posts pictures of Mongolia dining - I'm still trying to decide if her host family feeds her goat brains or goat intestines.

We're getting a taste of PCV life. They're actually doing it. So, read their blogs. Check in with them via Facebook, email or snail mail. Their replies will make you truly appreciate your wonderful, indoor, flushing toilet.

• Pete: http://peaceoutusahellopeacecorps.blogspot.com/
  
• Stephanie: http://daphnejo.tumblr.com/

Finally, interested in participating in the Challenge? Check out the rules here and stay tuned for updates this week as we all dive into faux third world conditions.