Peace Corps at Midlife
By Alane Brown
When I tell you I'm recently returned Peace Corps Volunteer, you probably imagine a recent
college graduate in her 20s. You might not picture me. I'm 55. I began my Peace Corps service in
the Andes of Peru at age 53. Only 5 percent of Peace Corps Volunteers worldwide are over 50,
and in Peru the 3 of us over 50, out of 230 Volunteers, comprised just 1.3% of our post. Peace
Corps is hard, but if you're up for a challenge, you can serve successfully at any age.
I had taught at Fort Lewis College for over 20 years and frankly, I was getting burned out.
Teaching college is a great job, don't get me wrong. But anything can get stale after a couple of
decades. I found myself dreaming more and more of escape, especially escape abroad. My
daydreams came into focus when a friend my age said she wanted to apply to the Peace Corps
and we decided to go through the application process together. At first, I was just tagging along
to keep her company, but as I read more about the Peace Corps I fell in love with the idea. I
became fiercely determined to serve.
Fortunately, Fort Lewis College was supportive of the plan and agreed to give me an unpaid
leave of absence—and hold my job for me. It was good timing, as my daughter was leaving for
college and my nest was about to be empty. I was also in a good financial position—my house
was paid off, I had no debts, and the income from renting my house could cover the expenses
that I anticipated over the 2 years I'd be gone. Peace Corps requires applicants to submit
financial documents proving that they are in a position to leave the United States for 27 months
without causing financial hardship for themselves or others. Leaving behind dependent children
is not allowed, nor is bringing children along with you. Most of the Volunteers in Peru where
young people who didn't have children yet, six Volunteers who were in their 30s or 40s who
didn't have kids, and the three of us over 50 whose children were no longer at home.
Peace Corps applicants must pass a medical screening and the requirements are the same,
regardless of age. There's a list of conditions that disqualify an applicant. Those of us who are
older have a more complicated medical history and therefore a more lengthy evaluation
process and a higher probability of being rejected on medical grounds. But you won't be
rejected just on the basis of age if you're healthy. I had several issues that had to be addressed
or documented, and that explains why my application process was about twice as long as the
average. I sent in my initial application December 31, 2010 and landed in Peru on September 12
of 2012, a lapse of over a year and 8 months. Fortunately, Peace Corps has just rolled out a
more streamlined application process that should move more quickly at every stage.
In many ways, my Peace Corps experience was just like that of the 20-somethings around me.
The three-month training was a lot of work. I got homesick. Living in a different culture was
often delightful. The two years in site were really hard work. Peace Corps is a roller coaster of
excitement, boredom, achievement, frustration and learning, learning, learning. It's a gratifying,
transformative experience. I am glad I did it and I am equally glad it's over.
Still, there were ways that it was different for me because of my age. Overall, I found being
older to be an asset. Especially in the more traditional cultures of the countries where Peace
Corps operates, people respect age and experience. When I spoke in front of the local
environmental committee, people took me seriously right away and I think being older was part
of that. The children in my classes were better behaved for me than for my younger peers. The
young women found the Peruvian high school boys to be especially difficult to manage, but as a
woman the age of their mothers, it was easier for me to get them to behave respectfully. As an
older Volunteer, you have an edge when walking into any situation.
Another advantage is the wealth of experience older Volunteers bring to their service. Some of
the skills I used included project management, public speaking and the teaching techniques
that I have honed to an expert level over decades of work as a college professor. Any 50+
Volunteer arrives with a wide range of skills developed while raising a family, managing a home,
volunteering in the community and from the whole array of jobs they've had over decades of
work life. Our suitcases are full of useful skills.
Older Volunteers have another important asset: self-confidence. I can't emphasize enough how
intimidating Peace Corps service can be. You have to function in a new culture where you don't
know the rules and you inevitably make embarrassing mistakes. You have to work
collaboratively with people who have never worked with a foreigner before. You work together
to confront the community's problems that may be difficult or impossible to solve. Yes, you do
contribute during your 2 years in site, but the work is hard and it can be discouraging. Older
Volunteers have overcome a lifetime of challenges and have the self-confidence to tackle those
they encounter in Peace Corps. I had to deal with corruption and apathy in my local
government that threatened to torpedo my projects. I reminded myself that I had faced more
difficult problems over the course of my career and found a way around the difficulties. In that
case, I searched for another avenue for our conservation work, found an energetic
environmental initiative in the Catholic Church, and successfully launched a watershed
conservation project with them.
During my 2-years of service, there were a few ways that being older was a drawback. In Junin,
the region where I served, there were 5-7 Volunteers at any one time. I was the only one over
the age of 26. Given that my peers were less than half my age, their interests and issues were a
little different than mine. When we gathered in the state capital for our monthly meeting, they
wanted to go out and drink and dance all night. I am long past the age where getting drunk is a
goal to be pursued. Still, I formed close friendships with the 20-somethings, and they tried to
empathize with my concerns, such as balancing Peace Corps service with getting financially
prepared for retirement, and parenting from a distance of 6,500 miles. I tried to relate to their
concerns over graduate school applications and missing boyfriends back home. Still, it was
stressful to lack anyone who could truly relate to my experience as a 50+ Volunteer.
The other disadvantage to serving in the Peace Corps at an older age is that service is physically
demanding. I was very active during service. Volunteers are not allowed to drive, so I biked
everywhere. One of my main activities was an ecotourism project that involved hiking from
where I lived at 11,350 ft in altitude on up to 13,450 feet to set up trail circuits and train guides.
I was able to do it all, but had to go slower than the young people and was more exhausted
afterward. I strongly urge older Volunteers to start training for Peace Corps throughout the year
before posting. Most Peace Corps sites require good physical fitness. My placement was fairly
extreme—I was the second-highest Peace Corps Volunteer in the world and the altitude was my
biggest challenge.
Now I'm back in Durango, having returned on Halloween, 2014. I'm so glad I served in the Peace
Corps. I have many happy memories. I got to participate in traditional Andean ceremonies for
the Pachamama (Mother Earth). I became very close to the students in my English classes and
will never forget them or the fun we had dancing the Hokey-Pokey. My geocaching tourism
project was a blast to set up and it's gratifying to read the blogs of the international tourists
who are now visiting my Peruvian community, and bringing extra income to the people there.
Now that I have the perspective of living in the 3rd world, Durango seems like heaven. I
appreciate things that I took for granted before: clean drinking water, functional solid waste
management, indoor plumbing, a public library and so much more. The life we live here is so
comfortable and clean and healthy. I bask in the luxury that is Durango.
Serving in Peace Corps was like pushing the reset button on my life. I have returned to my job
as a Fort Lewis College professor with renewed energy and enthusiasm. I'm re-creating my life
here in Durango, but with a greater level of consciousness of what sorts of activities really serve
me or the community. I'm the same person I've always been, but my perspective is different—
broader and somehow more at peace. I know that my service in Peace Corps benefitted my
Andean community, but in the end what I have gained from my years in the Peace Corps far
outweighs what I gave. I recommend Peace Corps service—at any age.