As someone who’s now lived on four continents, I like getting help from people when I don’t know what I’m doing. Whether it’s not speaking the language, not knowing which bus to take, or just a general ignorance as to what I should be doing, the average dude coming over to me and helping out can make a huge difference. But, as I’ve seen in Colombia, this sometimes backfires when trying to make a somewhat odd purchase. …..click here to read more

The following is an article I pitched to a few of my fellow Volunteers that run “Oiste”, Colombia’s official Peace Corps Newsletter. My idea (which fully outlined what the article would contain) was pre-approved without reservations and submitted before the publication deadline. I was not contacted regarding it’s status until I sent a follow-up message, after which I received two replies (portions of which appear below):

After reading your article, <xxx> and I have decided that, unfortunately, we are unable to publish it in Oíste. We value Volunteers’ stories–both positive and negative–and consider Oíste a medium for sharing those stories. However, we feel that elements of your article amount to accusations, and Oíste is not the appropriate place for that kind of discourse. We want to promote constructive dialogue among Volunteers and between Volunteers and staff, and we have decided that your article would detract from the productive tone that we want Oíste to have. …..click here to read more