Archive - August 24, 2018

Director Olsen with Peace Corps volunteers in China. WASHINGTON – Today, Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen joined U.S. Consul General Jim Mullinax in Chengdu at the swearing in ceremony of China’s 24th cohort of volunteers. The event marks the 25th anniversary of the Peace Corps program in China, where over 1,235 volunteers have served since 1993. The program is formally known as the United States-China Friendship Volunteer program. “At its heart, this program brings together people to share knowledge, world views, cultural riches and the values and shared aspirations of the American and Chinese peoples,” said Olsen. “We could not be prouder of our shared legacy, or more grateful for the friendship and collaboration of our Chinese partners.” The new group of 79 volunteers were sworn into service by Olsen after successfully completing 10 weeks of training. Their training included Mandarin language instruction and sessions on Chinese culture to better . . .

  Everywhere Stories: Short Fiction from a Small Planet Volume III is now available for pre-order. Like the earlier volumes, this book includes 20 short stories, by 20 writers, set in 20 countries. • Mark Jacobs’s story in Everywhere Stories III, “Getting Out, ” is set in Côte d’Ivoire. Mark comments on “Getting Out”: During several visits to Africa, I ran into Lebanese who were living and working in countries that were and were not their own. In some cases, they were born in Africa, like the principal characters in “Getting Out,” who were born in Côte d’Ivoire. But they retained their Arabic, their French, even if they learned indigenous languages. And they retained their cultural identity as Lebanese. It struck me as a condition of permanent exile. Their experience was quite different from that of my father’s family, who emigrated to the United States in the early years of the twentieth . . .