In this interview, we hear from Emma Vacek. Emma is a Peace Corps volunteer working as an TEFL Education volunteer in Benin. What Emma shares gives us a better understanding of the work volunteers do. We learn about the challenges, rewards, and personal growth that happens from volunteering in a new place. Emma talks about living in a different country, working with local people, and dealing with surprise situations. Join us as we learn about Emma’s journey and see how volunteering with Peace Corps can change lives.
Table of Contents
Motivation and Background
What inspired you to join the Peace Corps?
I was studying abroad for the first time in my junior year, and I realized I had what it took to live abroad. I wanted to challenge myself. Peace Corps was on my mind from a recent grad who had just gone to PC Morocco and I decided It would be perfect for me to gain the experience I wanted. I liked the idea of serving anywhere and letting PC decide for me where I could be of the most help, my French skills meant I knew it was likely I would be in a francophone country.
What were your initial expectations before starting your Peace Corps journey?
When I was told I was going to Benin I had no clue where it was on the African continent. I dove into research and learned a bit about the history and the vodun. Now as I am in Benin learning about vodun and cultural and religious practices that spread to Haiti during the slave trade and started the Hollywood ideas of what we know as voodoo i am amazed. I have seen some truly mystical things.
in Teaching English as a foreign language seemed like something anyone could do because it seemed so easy to get started, through Peace Corps or TEFL certifications. I was wrong, as a native speaker I dont understand many grammar rules or why we do certain things and this makes it hard to teach it. I also thought it would be way hotter and sweatier, but I found myself getting used to it quickly.
Experience and Challenges
Can you describe a typical day as a Peace Corps volunteer?
Wake up at 6:30, cook breakfast, and have a bucket bath. Choose an outfit for school and walk about 5 minutes to school. I teach one or two classes a day for 2-4 hours. Then I go home eat and rest practice the local language, watch movies, or grade tests. People told me that the Peace Corps you have a lot of time, I have read over 75 books during my service and streamed definitely over 200 hours of shows but when you are busy in service everything seems to happen at once and for weeks you will wonder where the time went.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during your service?
Classroom management and being a strict teacher is really hard for me. I want to let the kids have fun and be creative but there isn’t time for that in the curriculum. I try to add some fun into the lessons, for instance, last week I was teaching classroom objects and I gave all the students crossword puzzles with pictures on them and they were so excited. I was teaching them while also playing a fun game. Classroom management is still an issue for me in year 2 with a class of 73 students but I am trying new strategies like learning every student’s name so I can call on them when they are acting out.
Can you share a memorable experience or story from your time in the Peace Corps?
In Benin, towards the end of the year, there is a cultural day where students and teachers celebrate. In May of 2024, I attended my first 2-day cultural day festival. Day one each class had 4-8 groups of dancers and singers. We all sat in a small room and watched the performances, I witnessed salsa dancing, rapping, and skits that made the whole room shake with laughter.
On day 2 each classroom held its own festival, making food and playing music, as a teacher my job is to visit my students and dance. I was dragged into each classroom and fed an enormous amount of food and then danced until I nearly lost it all. It was a day full of laughter and smiles and displays of my students’ creativity!
Impact and Achievements
What were some of the most rewarding aspects of your service?
I had an English camp in May of 2024. I was so nervous to run my own camp and I was sick right before so I was worried how it would all work and if the students would show up. Lo and behold the first day was a slow start, many students came 30 minutes late but on day 2 we started getting into what it means to be a leader and singing songs. I wanted to try to have students write their own songs in English. My counterparts said no it was too difficult for them and I wanted to give up but I gave them a beat and groups and they wrote music. At the end of the camp, each group sang their songs and I couldn’t be more proud.
How do you feel you made a positive impact in your host community?
As a teacher, I know mostly kids in my community. When I see them on the streets they greet me in English or wave and I know I am not a teacher that they are scared of or hate. I have students walk me home every day, and we sing songs on the road and my dog follows behind us receiving lots of pets from my students. I know I haven’t changed the world but I have brought love and kindness and received it in overflowing amounts as well.
Wild World Voyager – I’m continuing my journey of exploring and sharing stories from around the world. In Benin, I’m learning daily from the people around me, finding inspiration in their stories, and sharing my experiences through my blog. Follow along HERE as I document the highs, lows, and insights from my time in Benin and beyond!
And for those you love video, check out my YouTube channel for the fun and excitement HERE.
Reflection and Growth
How has your experience influenced your perspective on development work and international relations?
It really is all about people, getting to know individuals will let you learn about what the community needs and how you can help them. Showing how you care and you aren’t just a tourist is the start. I have learned that if I have any problem people will do anything to help me, even stop their own work and take me somewhere if I need. Working in development is no different, I am starting a project to bring water to my school and my community members are going out of their way to help me get information and funding!
As I apply to grad schools many of the essays speak directly to my experiences that I have had here and I am able to reflect on what I have done and how many people I have made an impact on.
What skills or lessons did you learn that you think will be valuable in your future?
One that I think I have learned is patience, here in Benin time is not money. It is more important to spend time greeting everyone and being late than to be on time. I still get annoyed by excessive lateness, like when the meeting I was attending at 10 am started at 11:30 but I also learned to relax and it will all get done anyway, I can’t control everything. Another lesson I learned is how to laugh at myself and my mistakes. I make a lot of language errors, people laugh at me and repeat my errors and giggle. It doesn’t bother me, I just laugh also, I am a teacher of a third or fourth language that these kids are learning, and I can afford to have patience with myself as well.
Advice and Recommendations
What advice would you give to someone considering joining the Peace Corps?
Come if you are passionate if you want to learn so much more than you teach, and if you are okay with things moving so slow. Your impact will not be immediate changes but instead, small seeds that are planted and will grow once you have left.
What are you waiting for? Opportunities like this don’t come often. If you have a passion for service and an adventurous spirit like Emma’s, apply to the Peace Corps today. Expand your horizons, push your limits, and create positive impact as a volunteer. You never know how serving as a Peace Corps volunteer could change your life.
The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or Benin Government.
