John Coyne – Page 323 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Robert Scott Heavner (Sierra Leone 1969-71)

Feb 25 2010

Monday, November 21 5:06 pm I WALKED INTO THE VILLAGE beneath an intense West African sun. As I walked along the bush path, the sun trickled through a canopy of oil palm and banana leaves. Soft squawking of distant birds and spider monkeys balanced the mystical silence. Soon an opening revealed a vastness of rice fields stretching beyond a great river to the Guinean mountains forty miles away. My heart was heavy as I walked and read a letter from my friend,,Ira, telling me that he was too ill to continue and was about to return home. It was just the fifth month of my assignment and already three of my six closest friends from training had terminated. I felt alone and abandoned. I continued on to the road and into the village. I sat down on the banks of the Great Scarcies River and felt like Siddhartha as I . . .

Journals of Peace — Patrick H. Hare (Honduras)

Feb 23 2010

Journals of Peace Patrick H. Hare (Honduras 1966–69) Monday, November 21 6:15 pm • ED CALLED WHEN I was gearing up for a business trip and a presentation, cleaning up my desk and my mind for the trip and leaning into it the way the plane would lean into the take-off the next day. Papers for the trip, getting cash, and polishing shoes hurried through my mind like a drive-thru meal. When I knew Ed in the Peace Corps, we made time to talk. Most Volunteers did. Savings and loan co-ops, check dams for erosion-control, and raising money for sewers in my barrio had the same urgency as the trip I was going on now. But the landscape was different in Honduras, and lonely. There were hills with stunted corn and young rocks seeded together up the sides. The hills had trees on top. They were small, unfamiliar, cone-like hills, . . .

Sandra M. Greenberg (Kenya 1966-68)

Feb 23 2010

Monday, November 21 6:27 pm WHEN LES AND I WENT into the conference we were as discouraged as anybody – the preceding week was not at all a good one in terms of work – we had been told outright that money used for visual aids was money that should be spent on shows – which, of course, meant: no visual aids at all; no educational effort on our part; no fulfilling on one of the – or our – Peace Corps aims to help in education – that all we would have to show for our two years would be having done a bunch of shows, which we didn’t feel were all that important or necessary. We could only hope that we could get them to agree at the start of the next fiscal period that money should be set aside for VAs separate and apart from that used . . .

Meredith Schroeder Green (Ecuador 1967-69)

Feb 23 2010

Monday, November 21 5:33 pm EXCERPTS FROM LETTERS HOME — NOVEMBER, 1967 The bus trip down from Quito to Guayaquil was like a quick tour of Ecuador. The climate and vegetation changed every few miles during the decent as did the type of housing construction and the physical make up of the people. In the High Sierra, buildings were largely of cement, the population predominantly Indian; half way down the side of the Andes mountains the houses were built of brick, the people looked more Spanish, except for the distinct ethnic group of Colorado Indians and the landscape became green and lush. By the time the bus reached sea level, the tropical heat was oppressive, the bamboo houses with tin roofs gave the landscape a sense of temporariness and the small, dark skinned people spoke a rapid fire Spanish that was undecipherable le to my untuned ears. My emotions went . . .

Betty Hite Graff (Ethiopia 1963-65)

Feb 23 2010

Monday, November 21 5:27 pm PRESIDENT KENNEDY SPURRED ME to try new adventures. In 1963, Kennedy said Americans need more physical exercise – take a 50-mile hike in 20 hours – I walked twenty. Then Kennedy said, “Join the Peace Corps, serve in a foreign country.” I joined the Peace Corps. I stepped off the plane in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in September 1963 with much awe and trepidation as to what I was about to begin. A new life for me. A new beginning in the most beautiful country with the most beautiful people in the world. I wrote in my journal that day: “What a magnificent view and what a beautiful airport we landed at! Today is the Ethiopian New Year. The women are dressed in white (off white from washing them in the dirty streams) hand woven dresses with colorful trim around the edges. I guess I’ll have . . .

Arnold and Annette Finn (Philippines 1964–66)

Feb 23 2010

Monday, November 21 3:51 pm DEAR PRESIDENT KENNEDY, My wife, Annette, and I began our senior year at the University of Florida in the spring of 1963. We weren’t old enough to vote for you in 1960, but we thanked those who did. We were marching and ducking stones in Gainesville in the summer of 1963 trying to break the color barrier in the local food establishments, eliminate the white-only restrooms and homogenize the bus seating. You were making a tough decision to press on with the Civil Rights Bill. We all knew that what we were doing was right. We loved you. You were young and dynamic. You spoke of things we could understand, relate to, and support. We trusted you. You spoke the truth and seemed to do so with courage. You drew the best from us, the young idealists who thought that we also had a contribution . . .

Patricia I. Eimerl (Ethiopia 1967-69)

Feb 23 2010

Monday, November 21 7:15 pm THIS IS OUR SECOND YEAR as Peace Corps Volunteers in Ethiopia. This year we are working in the city of Axum in Northern Ethiopia. Axum is a 2000-year-old city and the center of Ethiopia’s Coptic Christian Church. Ethiopia’s brand of Christianity began in Axum in the fourth century and spread to the rest of Ethiopia from this city. We enjoy exploring the ruins nearby; all the hills surrounding the city have various kinds of ruins, many of them unexcavated. We also enjoy finding different kinds of agates, quartz geodes, and other kinds of rocks in the fields and valleys of Axum. Our work this year is similar to last year, i.e., teaching. We are more experienced this year and so enjoy our teaching and our students even more than last year. We know how to handle the discipline problem better. Pat teaches English to the . . .

Jill Diskan (Turkey 1964-66)

Feb 23 2010

Monday, November 21 5:21 pm DECEMBER, 1964 Only part of my job as a PCV is to be an English teacher. It’s really not that important, in my eyes, whether some child learns English. What is important is that I am here and that the children and adults of Afyon realize that there is a world beyond Afyon and Turkey. And that they learn that that world is different from Turkey. To me that is my most important reason for being here. I may or may not see any result from my teaching and other projects, but just by being here for two years I shall have accomplished something which in the long run may be more important to Turkey than whether a 13 year old can say “Good Morning, how are you?” in English. MARCH, 1965 Turkey is overflowing with soldiers and the accoutrements of a military establishment. It’s . . .

Jackie [McKee] Day (Turkey 1965–67)

Feb 23 2010

Monday, November 21 6:12 pm LETTER HOME TO MOM August 1, 1967 Got your letter of July 24 yesterday. It’s so good to hear from you. I worry about you – but at the same time I don’t think that you should worry about me. As far as earthquakes go – Bilecik is one of the best places to be in Turkey. They’ve never had an earthquake here. We feel the shakes from Adapazari, but with no serious effects. It seems funny to us that we’re in the “Earth quake stricken north-western Turkey” as reported on the BBC & VOA. We don’t feel very “stricken.” As a matter of fact, I’m at the moment sitting in bed with some good western music – a cup of tea – feeling quite comfortable and happy. CARE is supplying our several small canning houses with Ball jars for teaching purposes – and every . . .

Why You Can Get Published!

Feb 22 2010

Last month (1/30/2010) there was a great article in The Wall Street Journal entitled, “The Death of the Slush Pile” by Kathrine Rosman. It told of the depressing straits in publishing, how an unknown–unless extremely lucky–can’t find a publishers. No publishing house is reading unsolicited manuscripts. Most film producers won’t read anything that comes from a new writers, unless they have an agent. Why? Well, film and television executives are afraid of being sued for plagiarism. There is the 1990 case where Art Buchwald sued Paramount, alleging that the studio took his idea and turned it into the movie, “Coming to America.” Also publishers and movie executives say they can’t avoid to hire young college graduates to read through the mail. And since 9/11 and the aftermath, remember the anthrax scares? Well, everyone is afraid to open the mail. It doesn’t get any easier (getting published) at place where unsolicited work is read. The . . .

Review of Yaron Glazer (Panama 1997-99) Islands of Shadow, Islands of Light

Feb 20 2010

Jack Niedenthal is the Trust Liaison for the People of Bikini Atoll. He has lived in the Marshall Islands for almost 30 years. His wife is a Bikinian islander, they have 5 children and one grandchild. He is the author of one book, For the Good of Mankind: An Oral History of the People of Bikini Atoll and their Islands, and is the director/writer/producer of 2 full-length feature films in the Marshallese language, Ña Noniep and Yokwe Bartowe. http://www.bikiniatoll.com/host.html Jack Niedenthal (Marshall Island 1981-84) When an ex-Peace Corps Volunteer sets out to write a novel based on his or her Third World experiences they are faced with some perplexing artistic and humanistic challenges: How does one describe a tremendously unique series of events from ones own life so that others might participate in those feelings and understand those encounters, and moreover, translate, interpret, and describe a strangely foreign culture well . . .

Writing Your Book Is Just The First Step

Feb 19 2010

It takes more than prose to get your book published. First, there is the competition, other writers who have written books they want to sell. For example, more than 5,000 students graduate every year from creative writing programs. Most, if not all of them, have collections of stories or a novels ready to be sent to an agent. Any agent. On top of that you have all those would-be writers who attend literary festivals and conferences all summer long. Plus, and let’s not forget, those silent novelists steadily (we might add cunningly, too) writing away in backrooms of homes somewhere in the world, churning out stories while living in garrets, hovels, or Third World countries. You can’t stop anyone who wants to write. Writing a book, however, is the easy part. You write your book on your own, at your own pace, enjoying (for the most part) the process of creating on paper, or on . . .

Fulbright Program Looking For Peace Corps Writers And Professors

Feb 19 2010

Gary L. Garrison (Tunisia 1966-69) the Assistant Director, Asia, of the Institute of International Education dropped me a note to let me know of “opportunities for international teaching and research available in the Fulbright Scholar Program during the 2011-12 academic year. Open to writers, college and university faculty and independent professionals, the program seeks qualified candidates to teach in higher education institutions in countries worldwide. We value the experience and expertise of former Peace Corps Volunteers who wish to participate in another great international program, the Fulbright Program. Writers have held teaching or research awards in recent years in places such as India, Korea, Philippines, Lesotho, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Romania, Russia, Hungary, Brazil, Colombia and many others. I hope your Peace Corps writers (and teachers) will consider joining them as Fulbright Scholars.” You can check by countries at http://catalog.cies.org/index.aspx. The Fulbright Scholar Program and Fulbright Humphrey Fellowship Program are administered by . . .

100 Days (Or Less) Part Fourteen:Day Nine

Feb 18 2010

Day Nine 1. Write. 2. Write more. 3. Write even more. 4. Write even more than that. 5. Write when you don’t want to. 6. Write when you do. 7. Write when you have something to say. 8. Write when you don’t. 9. Write every day. 10. Keep writing. Brian Clark www.copyblogger.com You now have made: A commitment to writing your book Developed a working schedule Know what your story is Have developed a number of characters Thought of a plot of the entire story Have a short narrative of what your book is about Take the day off. This is the first of the Coyne Holidays. Time to let your book brew in your subconscious while you decide if you want to continue the course, invest money and yourself in How To Write A Novel In 100 Days or Less. To help you decide, I am including now a . . .

Review of Toby Lester (Yeman 1988-90) The Fourth Part of the World

Feb 18 2010

Reviewer David A. Taylor is the author of three books, including Ginseng, the Divine Root, winner of the 2007 Peace Corps Writers Award for Travel Writing, and Success: Stories, a fiction collection finalist in the Library of Virginia’s 2009 Literary Awards. His recent book is Soul of a People: The WPA Writers’ Project Uncovers Depression America, selected as a Best Book of 2009 by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He wrote and co-produced a documentary film of Soul of a People, nominated for a 2010 Writers’ Guild award. Here David reviews Toby Lester’s The Fourth Part of the World • The Fourth Part of the World: The Race to the Ends of the Earth, and the Epic Story of the Map that Gave America Its Name by Toby Lester (Yemen 1988–90) Free Press $30.00 2009 Reviewed by David A. Taylor (Mauritania 1983–85) In The Fourth Part of the World, Toby Lester (Yemen . . .

Author - John Coyne