People choose to do different things in their lives and spend years trying to find themselves, but according to Mahatma Gandhi “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. " Over 210,000 volunteers have been lost while serving through the Peace Corps. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Did President John F. Kennedy establish the Peace Corps Corps with an executive order on March 1, 1961. Since then, the Peace Corps has served 139 different countries and has accepted volunteers of all ages and backgrounds. One such volunteer, Gloria Freeland, an assistant professor of journalism at Kansas State University, said : “37 years ago I began the adventure of a lifetime.” Freeland volunteered for the program in Ecuador from 1976 to 1978. After initially being rejected, Freeland wrote a six-page response to the Peace Corps describing her struggles. experiences and qualifications. After being accepted in November 1975, she almost immediately boarded a plane to Ecuador. During his first week in Ecuador a distant earthquake occurred and the government changed hands in a bloodless coup. These two things which would seem very frightening hardly troubled Freeland as he recalled his journey. Freeland stayed in the capital Quito for six weeks to transition and learn Spanish, Ecuador's official language. Freeland then moved to Salinas, Ecuador to begin her official job. While volunteering, Freeland taught English and made sporadic radio spots on health and nutrition. “It's hard to say if I made a difference. When I first broke down I was idealistic and intended to change the world,” Freeland said, “now I think change is possible through individual relationships.” While Freeland loved his experiences through the Peace Corps, he also felt a little abandoned. when she first arrived. According to Freeland, you have to be very flexible and sometimes make your own plans and work. These sentiments were also shared by Steven Graham, assistant dean and director of the agriculture faculty state of Kansas. Graham served as a Peace Corps volunteer for three years as a grain storage worker and extension agent in Benin, West Africa. Graham provided technical expertise to bricklayers who built concrete silos and grain dryers the farmers paid for the building materials and builders' fees, but his technical expertise was free. Even though he felt his work was successful, it took time for everything to work well. “It took a few months of patience, meeting people and networking before we found some farmers ready and able to finance grain storage systems,” Graham said in an email interview. “You just learn a lot of patience and people skills.” While the process can be frustrating, Graham and Freeland both said they wouldn't trade their experiences for the world. Freeland wished he could have stayed longer, but said that in his time in Ecuador he gained a much greater understanding and respect for foreign cultures, as well as a better understanding of what it means to be a minority. For Graham, Peace Corps gave him many things, including “a worldview, friends for life, a wonderful entry into K-State as a student, and a great work life.” Lukus Ebert, a senior in sociology, attended Freeland's presentation to learn everything he could gain from the Peace Corps. The idea of ​​graduating and starting the next chapter by joining the Peace Corps is extremely.”