June 26, 2012 – Peace Corps Worldwide

A Writer Writes: My Peace Corps Report Card

Jun 26 2012

My Peace Corps Report Card by Bob Criso (Nigeria & Somalia 1966–68) A FEW MONTHS AFTER RETURNING to the States in 1968 I got a letter from the Peace Corps stating that I had “satisfactorily” completed an intensive nine week training program in the Virgin Islands and then served “satisfactorily” as a Volunteer in Nigeria and Somalia. The letter briefly described my teaching responsibilities and community projects. At the time I wasn’t sure if “satisfactorily” was a judgment on the quality of my performance or if it was just a standard form letter. Later I learned that the Peace Corps doesn’t comment on how the job was done, nevertheless I wondered how I would have graded myself. I was the third PCV teaching at St. John Bosco Secondary School in Ishiagu, Nigeria. The first Volunteer was talked about with such reverence and admiration by the principal, the students and the . . .

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Jun 26 2012

Vacancy Summary Peace Corps Writer-Editor, FP-1082-3 Announcement Number: DPC12-A0144-CC Application Deadline: 07/06/2012 Job Location: Washington,Dist of Columbia Open Date: 06/22/2012 Salary Range: Min: 81256.0 – Max: 119327.0 Location Notes: Pay Schedule: Annual Who May Apply: US Citizens Time Limit: Term Promotion Potential: 3 Number of Vacancies: 1 Work Schedule: Full Time Notes: Ten Reasons to Work for Peace Corps! (1) Voted in the top 4 “Best Places to Work in the Federal Government” for small agencies in 2011, (2) the Peace Corps has a unique global mission. (3) Benefits include higher salary caps than the Federal standard with (4) quicker step increases. (5) Peace Corps employees earn non-competitive eligibility after 3 years of service and (6) have the chance to be selected for an annual Leadership Development Academy. (7) The working environment is highly flexible with alternative schedules, credit hours, teleworking. (8) There’s a Distinguished Speaker Series, and (9) work-life . . .

Paul Theroux's (Malawi 1963-65)The Lower River

Jun 26 2012

Over the weekend I read Paul Theroux’s latest book, The Lower River. This novel is his most direct use of his Peace Corps experience. Paul’s first three novels: Waldo, Fong and the Indians, and Girls at Play all were East Africa based, but not about the Peace Corps. Girls at Play, set at a girls’ school in western Kenya, has a ‘Peace Corps character,’ and unhappy, Midwest woman, as I recall. I believe this is the first use of a ‘Peace Corps character’ in a work of fiction. (Mary-Ann Tyrone Smith’s (Cameroon 1965-67) Lament for a Silver-Eyed Woman published in 1987, would be the first novel about a Peace Corps Volunteers.) Later, in his collection of nonfiction pieces, Sunrise with Seamonsters, Paul republished a few of his essays that focused on the agency and Africa, and how he was kicked out of the corps. Theroux wrote a wonderful ‘peace corps short . . .

Archive - June 26, 2012