Integration

I've spent the past two days working on my VRF (Volunteer Report Form) and came across a question about integration. After reading my response I thought it was blog worthy. Take a look at what I had to say about cross-cultural integration. 

"Integration is something that is entirely up to the individual. From my experience and discussion with other PCVs, the amount of integration depends entirely on your attitude. If you have a willingness to learn and get involved in something by being a team player, integration will be quite easier than if you keep a closed mind and are timid to meet people.

In my community and even the neighboring communities, people have come to know me well. It’s an advantage that I live in a small city setting where houses are side by side, and you can’t help but be noticed. The thing I pride myself in is that people don’t know me simply because I am a white American. People know me in my community because of the work I have done. I refuse to sit in my house all day, so if I find myself going astray, I force myself to go sit in the library or take a stroll through the grocery store. My outlook on my service is since I am going to be here for two years—this is now my life; rather than since I am only going to be here for two years, I need to do as many projects as I can. By readjusting my position to establish this as my home, making relationships are the only way I can survive here. When those relations are genuine, people genuinely want to help you, and I think that is what makes a successful integration"