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My wife Lois and I served with the first contingent of Peace Corps volunteers to Liberia in the interior town of Tappita. The local people …
When I came home, she was there – waiting for me. If I let her, she would nibble on my neck while humming her little …
Some villagers brought medications with instructions in English, Russian, French or German. They could read none of these languages, so I translated them as best …
I was ready to leave my magical, down-to-earth home at Bwiru Boys’ Secondary School, near Lake Victoria. On a map, the lake looks like a big …
I purchased a camel, named Gunther, for the equivalent of $40. I parked Gunther next to Balzac in my zanna-mat courtyard. Balzac and Gunther were …
I saw two kinds of volunteers in Botswana back in 1980.Some were endlessly resourceful and went about improving their comfort with ingenuity. They found painstaking …
Before arriving in Dansai, I naively thought that I knew something about Thai Buddhism and how this war affected its neighboring countries. In Dansai, my …
I was overwhelmed by kindness and generosity. I was twenty-two years old. There was no internet, no one had cellphones, few people travelled to far-flung …
“The New Teacher Arrives” oil on canvas, 22×28″ This painting is based on my own experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer Teacher in upriver Sarawak …
I was assigned to teach Kimia dan Fizik (Chemistry and Physics) in Kedah on the northwest coast of Malaysia. The state of Kedah often is called the rice …
Cultures often define their uniqueness by creating epic poems or stories. Ancient Greeks had the Odyssey and the Iliad; Germans had the Nibelungenlied; and—let’s face it—America’s Baby Boomers …
I asked if he owned the hookah. I didn’t understand his answer, but decided to risk seeing if I could buy it. This time I …
Early in my first Peace Corps assignment, I was an architect without a home. In 1968, after summer training in a Colorado migrant labor camp, …
He said the Sufi worship services were secretive, but described ecstatic ceremonies where music and dance were central elements. Shah Mohammed and I climbed out …
After living in two relatively cosmopolitan cities during my first four months in Iran, the Peace Corps office transferred me to Natanz, (نطنز ), a remote …
I love costume parties! But when my husband George and I were invited to a costume party in our town of Martin, we had no …
Perhaps the simplicity of the sandals, or the fibers in their composition, caught my eye. I remember being totally intrigued from the first time I saw alpargatas in …
audio: Poem reading Land of the free and home of the brave, Built on the backs of others – the poor and the enslaved.Supposedly, meritocracy …
I was left in tears as he walked away with my statue under his arm. This was the type of insensitive behavior that Peruvians had …
The Aymara women came down from the cool highlands of the Altiplano of Bolivia. They came because the government provided their families with new farm …
The last day of service in my community—Juan Montalvo, Province of Carchi—was one of the most heartfelt and well attended of my three years in …
Many of the fishermen had only one hand. They were called mochos. In my coastal community of Albornos and throughout rural Colombia, a machete is …
I loved seeing their intricate embroidery, their flashes of gold—and their open faces and confident gazes, even while I bargained with them at the market …
A friend once told me that non-buyer’s remorse is worse than buyer’s remorse, and I think it is true. I served in small business development …
I savored the friendships, flavors, and unique customs of a lifestyle I came to respect and appreciate. My travels to produce Ministry of Agriculture films …
I clearly remember this as the moment I met Fia, the first person I fell in love with in the island country of Vanuatu. A …
“The main thing is to listen to people before you start a program, and then to work at their level.” These words from my wife …
As recently as 2019 scientists found that some of the northern islets were as “hot” as Chernobyl. In much of the world, people take their …
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