Debating PCV Alcohol Consumption
By The Peer Support Network (PSN)
Throughout our service, drinking has been brought up so many times by so many people. So this is a debate about drinking. The purpose of this debate is not to try to convince you to drink or to stop drinking. It is our hope that this will start a dialogue about the reasons why you choose to drink or not. Most Peace Corps countries have a problem with volunteers drinking excessively and are trying to find ways to circumvent this behavior. We hope that after reading this debate, you will pay more attention to the reason why you are choosing to drink or not to.
Don’t drink. It’s easy.
Why not, you ask? Glad you inquired. Here are some perks of "saying no" to the tempting delights of Primus, Mutzig, Waragi, and, the most potent of all, our beloved local banana beer. Money!! You save so much money by not drinking. Say you average 15 beers a month at an average of 800 RWF/bottle. When you add the hotel room that you need for a night or two, we‘ll average it at 16,000 Rwf a month, a THREE days salary for us. Think of all the other awesome things you could buy with that saved money: 4 Meze Fresh burritos, 53 liters of milk, 33 holographic Obama belts, 320 avocados, 40 goat brochettes, etc. If you were pulling a $30,000/year job in the States, you would be spending an average of $82 per day. Spending a THREE day salary on alcohol would put you out $246 per month. Dang, with that money saved, you could financially provide for 6 children through Compassion International or get a fancy new hair cut in New York. We know the idea of sitting down with English-speaking, cultural-sharing peers and relaxing with a few beers is a favorite pastime and habit of many here. Habits are hard to break. Who doesn‘t enjoy throwing a few too many back and getting their silly on with the handy excuse of "I was drunk" conveniently resting in their pocket. With Jamie Foxx‘s wise words dancing in our heads, we look forward to these crazy nights guilt-free: nights where we can just let go and be ourselves. Because honestly, being in an environment where we are constantly looked at, weighed, judged, and |
usually found wanting, our baseline stress levels tend to be a bit higher than average. We need the autonomy to decide: "Tonight, I‘m throwing it all to the wind!"
One of the best kept secrets though: You don‘t need alcohol to act drunk! That‘s right. Everyone has been lying to you all these years. Our inner uninhibited selves are there all the time, wait-ing to spring out at our most meager command. Have the urge to make out with someone willy-nilly, don‘t let the absence of alcohol stop you! Want to finally be rude to that PCV who was driving you crazy, why let soberness get in your way? Drunkenness is a state of mind. If a woman can trick her body into thinking it‘s pregnant by sheer mind power (which legitimately happens), then I think it‘s safe to assume we can trick ourselves into thinking we‘re drunk. Why is this a plus? Because you can turn it off at the drop of a hat, almost like a friend-with-benefits deal. You get the good time, but you can put your sober-headed hat back on right away in case a security incident happens or you realize the "attractive" girl you picked up is really just a prostitute. Win-win all around. Fact: It‘s harder to steal from a sober person. Guard well your spiffy electronics and hard-earned money! No matter where you find yourself in the world, there will always be people on the prowl seeking to take advantage of the unsuspecting or vulnerable. Why make it easier for them? Make them work for their goods like you do! |
In spite of all our advancements in medical technology, regrettably, we still have no cure for the common cold or the even commoner hangover. Is a night of revelry and fun truly worth a morning of pain and…(wait, scratch that [I‘m thinking most of you would answer "yes" anyway]). Let me re-phrase, hangovers suck. They make you wake up late. They make you wake up miserable. They make you miss site installation. Basically, they make everything worse. So avoid them.
Not drinking can also earn us the gold medal of compliments here: "You are serious." In a culture where true respect and true love is hard earned for foreigners, choosing to abstain from alcohol sets you apart and makes Rwandans take you seriously (well, maybe less seriously if you‘re a guy, but hey, just tell them you‘re protestant and all is forgiven). We have chosen to spend two years in a culture that judges us by our actions and by the cleanliness of the shoes we wear and by the reputations of company we keep. We chose to live in this culture and learn from this culture and share with this culture. And ladies, you aren‘t going to get no respect from the older mamas and papas if they know you get drunk and party. That‘s just the way it is. And guys, when village women see you have the habit of drinking and partying, you are doing nothing to fight the culture that it‘s okay for women and girls to work all day while boys and men get to drink and play.
Drinking is not bad: Why?
American Culture. It‘s part of American culture to meet up with friends for a drink. It is typical to go out for drinks after work or to catch up with friends. A lot of our social interactions revolved around casual drinking in the United States. Being in Rwanda our social lives have been drastically altered. Therefore it is normal and common for us to feel inclined to grab a drink, especially when we are surrounded by other Americans. It‘s one of the few things we can do here that is similar to something we‘d do back in the states. One of our goals as a Peace Corps Volunteer is to share our culture with host country nationals. Going to the bar, having a beer with our meal is part of our culture. Also, having the female volunteers going out and drinking in a bar with other Americans shows Rwandans that women should be treated equal. It is all about Gender Equality.
Comfort to do some-thing we are used to. Going out after work to grab a drink is a way for us to de-stress in Amer-ica. In Rwanda it provides a comfort of doing something familiar when we are surrounded by something we are not familiar with. It is a normal outlet for us especially after being in the village for weeks at a time where we cannot truly be ourselves. There‘s nothing wrong with this. When we go out, we are usually with other like-minded people and during this time we can talk about the difficult times and get the support we need while relax-ing with a drink of our choice.
To Add Variety. When we go out and meet up with other volunteers, we do not want to drink tea. We drink enough tea and Fanta in the village. We want something new. In the States we have a huge se-lection of beverages to choose from, so in Rwanda when we are able to have choices other than Fanta or tea, we are going to choose that. Our choice in alco-hol to drink at these gatherings might just mean we want a varia-tion from what we‘ve been drinking the past few months alone at site. We need a little variety for our sanity. Nothing wrong with that.
It is Fun. People say that drinking is fun. And we agree, drinking can be fun when paired up with fun people to drink with. Some people need a drink before going out and dancing. There isn‘t a problem with this. We only see each other every few weeks if not every couple of months so when we get to-gether, why not splurge, have a few more beers, get a little tipsy… It‘s not going to happen again for a long time, so why not? We are working/volunteering in a very stressful environment and some-times for us to loosen up and let go of our troubles to have fun, we need a drink or two. At site, our actions are being closely monitored and watched, like we‘re animals in a zoo. Sometimes we need to let loose, and ―dance like no one‘s watching‖ (for once!)…
We are Adults. Drinking becomes a problem when a person feels like they have no other option but to drink, out of boredom, loneliness, etc... It‘s not up to us to tell the person to stop drinking, or to lecture them about the facts (that they already know). We are adults and we should be able to make the choice of whether we would like to have a beer at lunch/dinner. We are adults and if we are able to function and get our job done, then who are you to tell us that we shouldn‘t drink at all. We are smart, we are educated about the dangers of binge drinking, and we know right from wrong. We are treated like children everywhere we go and to say that we cannot drink, to take away that right is going too far. There may be times when we drink over our limit but we have friends that will make sure we are taken care of. And sometimes, the only way for some people to learn a lesson is by learning it the hard way. Allow us to make the choice and learn from it. Honestly, after one bad hangover, I think many people will learn quickly their limits and refrain from drinking to excess
At the end of the day, there is not much else left for us to do in this country that is the same as what we would do in the States to deal with stress. As long as we know our limits and we are safe, we say go ahead and drink.
Not drinking can also earn us the gold medal of compliments here: "You are serious." In a culture where true respect and true love is hard earned for foreigners, choosing to abstain from alcohol sets you apart and makes Rwandans take you seriously (well, maybe less seriously if you‘re a guy, but hey, just tell them you‘re protestant and all is forgiven). We have chosen to spend two years in a culture that judges us by our actions and by the cleanliness of the shoes we wear and by the reputations of company we keep. We chose to live in this culture and learn from this culture and share with this culture. And ladies, you aren‘t going to get no respect from the older mamas and papas if they know you get drunk and party. That‘s just the way it is. And guys, when village women see you have the habit of drinking and partying, you are doing nothing to fight the culture that it‘s okay for women and girls to work all day while boys and men get to drink and play.
Drinking is not bad: Why?
American Culture. It‘s part of American culture to meet up with friends for a drink. It is typical to go out for drinks after work or to catch up with friends. A lot of our social interactions revolved around casual drinking in the United States. Being in Rwanda our social lives have been drastically altered. Therefore it is normal and common for us to feel inclined to grab a drink, especially when we are surrounded by other Americans. It‘s one of the few things we can do here that is similar to something we‘d do back in the states. One of our goals as a Peace Corps Volunteer is to share our culture with host country nationals. Going to the bar, having a beer with our meal is part of our culture. Also, having the female volunteers going out and drinking in a bar with other Americans shows Rwandans that women should be treated equal. It is all about Gender Equality.
Comfort to do some-thing we are used to. Going out after work to grab a drink is a way for us to de-stress in Amer-ica. In Rwanda it provides a comfort of doing something familiar when we are surrounded by something we are not familiar with. It is a normal outlet for us especially after being in the village for weeks at a time where we cannot truly be ourselves. There‘s nothing wrong with this. When we go out, we are usually with other like-minded people and during this time we can talk about the difficult times and get the support we need while relax-ing with a drink of our choice.
To Add Variety. When we go out and meet up with other volunteers, we do not want to drink tea. We drink enough tea and Fanta in the village. We want something new. In the States we have a huge se-lection of beverages to choose from, so in Rwanda when we are able to have choices other than Fanta or tea, we are going to choose that. Our choice in alco-hol to drink at these gatherings might just mean we want a varia-tion from what we‘ve been drinking the past few months alone at site. We need a little variety for our sanity. Nothing wrong with that.
It is Fun. People say that drinking is fun. And we agree, drinking can be fun when paired up with fun people to drink with. Some people need a drink before going out and dancing. There isn‘t a problem with this. We only see each other every few weeks if not every couple of months so when we get to-gether, why not splurge, have a few more beers, get a little tipsy… It‘s not going to happen again for a long time, so why not? We are working/volunteering in a very stressful environment and some-times for us to loosen up and let go of our troubles to have fun, we need a drink or two. At site, our actions are being closely monitored and watched, like we‘re animals in a zoo. Sometimes we need to let loose, and ―dance like no one‘s watching‖ (for once!)…
We are Adults. Drinking becomes a problem when a person feels like they have no other option but to drink, out of boredom, loneliness, etc... It‘s not up to us to tell the person to stop drinking, or to lecture them about the facts (that they already know). We are adults and we should be able to make the choice of whether we would like to have a beer at lunch/dinner. We are adults and if we are able to function and get our job done, then who are you to tell us that we shouldn‘t drink at all. We are smart, we are educated about the dangers of binge drinking, and we know right from wrong. We are treated like children everywhere we go and to say that we cannot drink, to take away that right is going too far. There may be times when we drink over our limit but we have friends that will make sure we are taken care of. And sometimes, the only way for some people to learn a lesson is by learning it the hard way. Allow us to make the choice and learn from it. Honestly, after one bad hangover, I think many people will learn quickly their limits and refrain from drinking to excess
At the end of the day, there is not much else left for us to do in this country that is the same as what we would do in the States to deal with stress. As long as we know our limits and we are safe, we say go ahead and drink.