Forging My Own Path

Pictured: Jessica Raines (EUPS Class of 2010) in Santiago, Chile.

By Jessica Raines

I was part of the third year of the EUPS program, and it truly was an invaluable experience for me. I loved hearing the origin story of the EU and learning about the role culture plays in how the EU was formed and is governed. I extremely enjoyed the summer seminar where we pretended to be an EU Commission DG, were given a topic to research, and produced a white paper on that topic. Of course, enjoying copious amounts of gelato while sitting on “our” bridge overlooking the Arno and Ponte Vecchio and sharing bottles of wine with my cohort on the steps of Santo Spirito also helped to make that year one of the best of my life.

Not long after graduating in 2010, I accepted a job as a public policy analyst with the USPS Office of Inspector General. For six years, I used the skills I gained through the program (and sometimes even the EU-specific knowledge I learned) in my work. Although the EUPS program did not impart a lot of postal sector-specific knowledge, my job was essentially the same as that summer seminar: I would be assigned a topic I knew little about, I would spend some months researching it, and then I would write a white paper about it. It was a great job that allowed me to apply my public policy research skills in a slightly different arena. There is actually another EUPS alum working in my old group now (shout out to Molly Bashay).

However, I recently decided to leave that job because I no longer felt like I was moving forward in my career or growing as a person. I was not being challenged, and I felt like I was doing the same thing day after day, year after year. I wanted something different and I needed a change.

Something else the EUPS program taught me was about the value of traveling and learning about new cultures – especially from inside that culture, if you can. It taught me about the kind of people you meet and the experiences you have when you try to learn the local language. In many ways, the cultural education the program provides is just as important as what you learn in the classroom, if not more. I wanted to get back to that.

And so, I find myself on a mid-career break, on a trip of unknown duration to South America. I am currently teaching English for a semester in Maria Elena, a small mining town in Northern Chile’s Atacama Desert. The environment is harsh. It is extremely dry, and my lips are constantly chapped. There is little plant life anywhere around. The town is isolated. The next nearest population center is over an hour’s drive away. Few people in town speak any English.

Teaching is hard. Learning Spanish is hard. Making new friends is hard.

I am being challenged every day, whether it be through trying to express myself in a foreign language, creating a new lesson plan, or learning how to ignite the gas stove in my host family’s house. But it is also rewarding and confidence-building. I have been welcomed so incredibly warmly by the residents of this tiny town who want to both share their culture with me and learn about where I come from. I have already created many wonderful memories driving around the desert or attending asados (barbeques) with new friends. As an aside, for those in the market for their next travel destination: Chileans take great pride in their ability to grill mountains of meat, and their wine rivals the quality of Italy’s for sure.

I do not know what is next for me. And I am totally ok with not knowing. So much pressure is put on people to figure out their lives. Choosing a major when you enter college can feel like declaring what you want to do with the rest of your life. Upon graduating you are expected to get a job, put in your thirty years, and then retire. It is easy to get caught up in the expectation that you become an adult and work a normal 9-5 when you graduate. I did. And honestly, having a stable job and income made it very difficult to leave, to try new things. Stability has its benefits, after all.

But spontaneity also has its benefits. Eventually, I expect I will move back to the DC area, get a different policy-related job in the government, buy a townhouse, and adopt a dog. For right now, though, I have so many hopes and dreams of what I want to do during this time of exploration and personal growth. My current lack of a plan for what I will do after I leave Maria Elena in November gives me complete freedom with my schedule to let it all play out. There are so many new places I want to go and things I want to try – I can’t wait to see where I end up!

Jessica Raines is a Double Duke, receiving her BA in Justice Studies and BS in Psychology from JMU in 2009 before receiving her MA in EUPS in 2010. A former Americorps service member and employee of the USPS Office of Inspector General, she currently teaches English through the English Opens Doors Program sponsored by the Chilean Ministry of Education. If you would like to reach out, you can email her at rainesjl@gmail.com, or follow her blog at itsnotaboutthedestination.com.