Search Results for “Mad Woman Part Four”

Mad Woman At The Peace Corps: Elizabeth Forsling Harris, Part Four

Mar 30 2010

Reading the Eyes Only memo from the Medical Division to Sarge in her recently commandeered fifth floor office, Betty Harris went ballistic and then she charged into Shriver’s office. “The memo raised the question: What if a married Volunteer got pregnant by her own husband? Oh, no!,” said Betty, remember. ” What if one of our precious, upper-middle-class American flowers got pregnant in one of those dirty, backwater countries? Surely, the Peace Corps would bring the couple home. A nice American couple couldn’t risk having a baby in a country where women squat to deliver a child. “I went in screaming over this one. I screamed to everyone. I could scream to, including Sarge, saying that the one thing that all women in all countries have in common was childbirth, and if we really want to insult these countries-to say, in effect, that your country’s so dirty that this healthy, . . .

Suzanne LeClerc (Gabon) and Protas Madlala wed

Jul 28 2024

In South Africa between 1987 and 1993, the National Party entered into bilateral negotiations with the African National Congress (ANC), the leading anti-apartheid political movement, for ending segregation and introducing majority rule. In 1990, prominent ANC figures such as Nelson Mandela were released from prison. Apartheid legislation was repealed on 17 June 1991, leading to multiracial elections in April 1994. In June 1985, the ban on marriage between people of different ethnic backgrounds was finally lifted. The laws were repealed by the Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act, which allowed interracial marriages and relationships. . . . The Wedding On the morning of the wedding, Protas Madlala and Suzanne Leclerc (Gabon 1979-82) rode to the church together. It was customary for a bride and groom to arrive separately, but caution prevailed. Although there had been talk of the South African government relaxing its laws, and an official from . . .

Robin Seyfert (South Africa, Zambia) | “Handmade Hope”

Jan 18 2024

In the news — By Christine Spicer .Viewpoint, PLNU RPCV Robin Seyfert knows beauty can be found in people and places that are overlooked or even steeped in darkness. As the founder and managing director of Basha Enterprises Ltd., she sees women who have been trafficked or who are vulnerable to exploitation find hope and healing through dignified work in a safe environment. Basha Boutique sells jewelry, kantha blankets, accessories, and Christmas items, all handmade by women who are rebuilding their lives. The kantha is a profound symbol of Basha Boutique’s work and mission. “A kantha is a quilt made of old saris stitched into straight, even rows,” Seyfert explained. “They are all sewn freehand. We take old discarded saris and stitch them into a blanket that is really beautiful. As each artisan transforms the worn cloth, she is also rebuilding her life.” ‘Basha’ means house in Bengali, and ‘asha’ means . . .

Mad Men and Women of the New Peace Corps

Dec 12 2023

John writes — In this series that I published years ago and republishing for those who have come lately to the site, I will attempt, in short-hand fashion, to tell the history of the first years of the agency and the men and women who created the Peace Corps. The history begins In those early days of 1960s the agency was full of Mad Men (and a few Mad Women) who were living in a world-of-work atmosphere very much like the provocative TV AMC drama Mad Men, the program that followed a handful of ruthlessly competitive men and women in New York City who worked in advertising on Madison Avenue. They were living (in case you never saw the series) in an ego-driven world where “selling” was all that matters. That series, set in the early Sixties and has everything many of us grew up with: cigarette smoking, drinking, . . .

PCV Vanessa Paolella | Letter from Madagascar

Dec 10 2023

Sometimes, I imagine I know what it’s like to be Patrick Dempsey. Everyone stares at me when I go grocery shopping. Making small talk on the street inevitably draws a crowd. Strangers want to take photos of me. Girls giggle to each other when I say “hello,” or, too shy to approach, they instead point and call to me from yards away. The major difference in my comparison, as I’m sure you might guess, is that no one has graced me with the title of “Sexiest Man Alive.” Not yet, anyway. That, and my only claim to fame here in Madagascar is presumably being the lone white person for miles. I’m the first Peace Corps volunteer to live in this village and likely the first foreigner. Being able to hold a basic conversation in Malagasy only draws more attention. Foreigners rarely make the effort to learn Madagascar’s native language, . . .

Maui woman embarking on Peace Corps mission

Jun 11 2023

Melissa Tanji Staff Writer Wailuku resident and Seabury Hall graduate Renae “Bella” Lallo stands at El Cajas National Park in Ecuador. The 21-year-old is no stranger to visiting foreign countries and will soon embark on her Peace Corps mission in Panama later this month, making her among the first Peace Corps volunteers heading out for overseas service since the agency pulled many of its volunteers from the field at the start of the pandemic. While in college she stayed with a host family in Ecuador. — Photos courtesy Renae “Bella” Lallo For a 21-year-old, Wailuku resident Renae “Bella” Lallo has already seen more places than most would in a lifetime, traveling to Zambia and Iraq for medical missions, living with a host family in Ecuador and vacationing in countries such as Spain and Germany, to name a few.And, later this month, she will soon embark on another quest, perhaps more challenging . . .

“Looking for Albert Schweitzer in Lambarene, Gabon” by Eric Madeen (Gabon)

Apr 29 2022

On Mission By Eric Madeen (Gabon 1981-83) What follows is a reconstruction of memories, which can be likened to partially developed film … at times hazy, at others gaining clarity like images in a developing tray … of one’s mind. My mind. It was first being readied for what lay ahead by intensive French instruction for six weeks, followed by six more during work on rural school construction in Peace Corps/Gabon. With two years of Spanish at university as basecamp, French came easily; classes were named not by level, but by towns in Gabon. It didn’t take me long, however, to learn that mine, Ndende, was at a lower proficiency level. Recent graduates from Ivy League schools to esteemed public ones, we numbered approximately 60 trainees in the programs of TEFL, Fisheries, Agriculture and Construction. We were lodged in a student dormitory whose Turkish shitters went down one by . . .

Peace Corps APCD killed a woman in Africa. The U.S. helped him escape prosecution.

Dec 21 2021

by Tricia L. Nadolny, Donovan Slack, Nick Penzenstadler and Kizito Makoye Published in USA TODAY – 12/21/21 DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — An American Peace Corps employee in Tanzania in 2019 killed a mother of three and injured two others in a series of car crashes that began after he left a bar where he had been drinking and brought a sex worker back to his government-leased home. Witnesses pelted the man’s car with rocks and pursued on motorcycles as he fled the scenes of his crimes. The chaotic and deadly episode ended when he slammed into a pole and was detained by police. But within hours, Peace Corps and U.S. Embassy staff rushed the man onto a plane and out of the country. Tanzanian authorities were unable to charge him first, and the U.S. Department of Justice later declined to file criminal charges because of a lack of jurisdiction. The man . . .

Talking With Eric Madeen (Gabon)

Oct 15 2021

Eric Madeen (Gabon 1981-83) is an associate professor of modern literature at Tokyo City University and an adjunct professor at Keio University. He has been published widely – in Time, Asia Week, The East, The Daily Yomiuri, Tokyo Journal, Kyoto Journal, Metropolis, Mississippi Review, ANA’s inflight magazine Wingspan, Japanophile, The Pretentious Idea, several academic journals and so on. His most recent novel Massage World is a high-octane thriller. Note: John Coyne Eric where are you from in the States? I’m from Elgin, Illinois, which is a suburb of Chicago. I earned my BA in Journalism from the University of Arizona and MFA in Creative Writing and Literature from San Diego State University. Why did you join the Peace Corps? I joined the Peace Corps for several reasons, foremost I wanted to see the world, get down and dirty in the outback of the “third world,” specifically Africa since . . .

Athleisure, barre and kale: the tyranny of the ideal woman by Jia Tolentino (Kyrgyzstan)

Aug 08 2019

Thanks for a ‘heads up’ from Bea Hogan (Uzbekistan 1992-94) Athleisure, barre and kale: the tyranny of the ideal woman How we became suckers for the hard labor of self-optimization. By Jia Tolentino (Kyrgyzstan 2009-10) From The Guardian (US Edition) Last modified on Fri 2 Aug 2019 06.31 EDT The ideal woman has always been generic. I bet you can picture the version of her that runs the show today. She’s of indeterminate age but resolutely youthful presentation. She’s got glossy hair and the clean, shameless expression of a person who believes she was made to be looked at. She is often luxuriating when you see her – on remote beaches, under stars in the desert, across a carefully styled table, surrounded by beautiful possessions or photogenic friends. Showcasing herself at leisure is either the bulk of her work or an essential part of it; in this, she is not so unusual – . . .

Tony D’Souza (Ivory Coast, Madagascar) talks with Bill Owens (Jamaica)

Jun 17 2019

Talking with Bill Owens (Jamaica 1964–65) By Tony D’Souza (Ivory Coast 2000–02, Madagascar 2002–03) Bill Owens (Jamaica 1964-1965) took iconic photos of the Hells Angels beating concertgoers with pool cue sticks at the Rolling Stones’ performance during the Altamont Speedway Free Festival four months after Woodstock on December 6, 1969. Altamont, which included violence almost all day and one stabbing death, is considered by historians as the end of the Summer of Love and the overall 1960s youth ethos. This series of photos include panoramas of the massive, unruly crowd, Grace Slick and Carlos Santana on stage with the press of humanity so close in, they’re clearly performing under duress. Of that day, Owens has written: I got a call from a friend, she said the Associated Press wanted to hire me for a day to cover a rock and roll concert. I road my motorcycle to the . . .

Review — OUR WOMAN IN HAVANA by Vicki Huddleston (Peru)

Jun 30 2018

Our Woman in Havana A Diplomat’s Chronicle of America’s Long Struggle With Castro’s Cuba BY Ambassador Vicki Huddleston (Peru 1964–66) The Overlook Press 304pages $29.95 Reviewed by Patricia Taylor Edmisten (Peru, 1962–64) • The title of Ambassador Vicki Huddleston’s memoir, Our Woman in Havana, is a riff on Graham Greene’s novel, Our Man in Havana, published in 1958. In the novel, Graham sardonically takes on British intelligence, especially M16 and its use of Cuban informants. Ambassador Huddleston, by contrast, has written a forthright memoir covering the years 1999-2002 when she worked as Chief of the US Interests Section in Havana. As backstory to those years, she provides an interesting narrative of the historical events leading to early US attempts to dominate Cuba and shape its future. In a brief epilogue, she brings us up to the year 2017 when hopes for a continuing Cuban Spring were jeopardized with Donald . . .

Talking with Madeline Uraneck (Lesotho)

May 25 2018

Madeline Uraneck (Lesotho 2007-09) is an educator and writer who has visited sixty-four countries through her role as International Education Consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, several Peace Corps assignments, and her passion for world travel. Her writing has appeared in K–12 curriculum materials, educational handbooks on culture and policy, and publications including WorldView Magazine, Hotline, Global Education, WorldWise Schools, and Isthmus, for which she received a Milwaukee Press Club award. • Madeline, tell us a little about yourself. I’m an Okie, raised by liberal parents in oil country and America’s Bible Belt. My dad said I had to go to college out of state, so I ended up at Grinnell College in Iowa, then University of Wisconsin in Madison, both bastions of the Midwest, to study Psychology then Education. I’ve been in and out of Wisconsin for 50 years now, from the campus demonstrations of the late 60s . . .

# 13 Mad Woman At The Peace Corps: Elizabeth Forsling Harris (Washington, D.C.)

Nov 09 2016

Betty Harris was what we used to call a ‘a piece of work.’ She was thirty-nine-years old in 1961 and had been a political organizer and a public relations executive in Dallas, Texas, before arriving in D.C. She had also been a pioneering journalist in New York City before women had such jobs, working with among others, Newsweek and NBC. When she arrived at the Peace Corps in 1961 she had just gone through a bitter divorce with Leon Harris, the son of man whose department store in Dallas that became the model of Neiman-Marcus. Betty always, in fact, looked as if she had just stepped out of the pages of a Neiman-Marcus catalog. ‘Chic’ is the term that Coates Redmon uses to describe Betty in Come As You Are. Betty Harris knew Shriver longer than anyone else at the Peace Corps, having first met the man in the 1940s when they both . . .

# 2 Mad Men of the Peace Corps–Kennedy (Washington, D.C.)

Oct 31 2016

Pat Kennedy wasn’t a relative to the ‘other’ Kennedys, but he was never anxious to tell others that. It was nice in those balmy days of 1961 to ride the smooth carpet of the most famous name in America. Though, in all honesty, Pat never ‘lived off’ the name. He made his own way to Washington, D.C. and the Peace Corps. He was a good guy who treated everyone fairly, and unlike many others, didn’t use his ‘connection’ to make his way in the agency or the world. [Leaving the government in 1972, Kennedy would move to Columbia, Maryland and become essentially the mayor of that planned community for next 26 years until his retirement.] In 1961, however, he was like most of those early staffers, young, twenty-eight, married to wonderful smart wife, Ellen Conroy, the sister of Frank Conroy, who wrote Stop-Time, and was for years director of the Iowa Writer’s Program. Pat, . . .

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