Miscellany

If there is one career that the Peace Corps has fostered (besides that of a writer!) it is the one of Anthropology Scholar. The classrooms of  colleges teaching Anthropology are full of RPCV professors. (You can hear them saying right now, “When I was in (fill-in-the-blank)…etc. Ron Schwarz (Colombia 1961-63) is an anthropologist, and he was kind enough to send me the link to the December print and online publication of the American Anthropology Association – Anthropology News – features stories about Anthropology and the Peace Corps. It is online at: http://www.anthropology-news.org/index.php/category/in-focus/ Read what Ron and: Ralph Bolton (Peru 1962-64); Michael Sheridan (Kenya 1988-90); Frank Hutchins (Ecuador 1983-85); Scott Freeman (Dominican Republic 2005-07); Veronica Muoiro (Jordon 2011–) and others RPCVs have to say about the transition from being a PCV to that of a scholar studying their host countries, as well as, other parts of the world. You don’t have to be a PCV to be an . . .

Peace Corps’ Enigmatic Five-Year Rule: Updating the ‘In-Up-Out’ Myth by W.M. Evensen ( Peru 1964-66) Long ago I decided to make the cross-country trip to attend Peace Corps’ Fiftieth Birthday Party. I wanted to revisit the heroic beginnings, marvel at Peace Corps’ low-cost accomplishments, the indigenous leaders discovered, the NGOs invented. As it turned out, I found out some modern day things about the Peace Corps that left me bummed and bewildered. My trip to the 50th ended up shattering my most cherished Peace Corps belief: Sargent Shriver’s clever answer to bureaucratic Alzheimer’s, his legendary ‘In-Up-Out’ Five Year Rule, that limited staff to five years service. Because of Shriver’s trenchant ‘In-Up-Out’ Five Year Rule, bureaucratic careerism would not hamper the Peace Corps. Instead, the Agency would be re-born, again and again, by the hiring of newly returned PCVs – the ‘Up’ element: the best of the best – to run a . . .

[Here’s another account of ‘life in the real world’ from one of our farflung RPCV writers. This time it’s  Mike Meyer on the shores of Lake Como who is keeping in touch with the OWS movement and other forms of civil unrest via the International Herald Tribune– and how many of us, as one time or the other, could claim such a routine as our own?–The difference, however, is that  Meyer sums up his experience with vivid prose in a vivid villa.] I’M IN RESIDENCE FOR A MONTH at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, on Lake Como in northern Italy. The residency provides a bedroom, bath and studio in the Villa Serbelloni, a lemon-colored mansion once owned by a princess who was an heir to the Johnnie Walker fortune. Whiskey has yet to make an appearance, but other fellows have sworn they have seen the princess herself, late at night, wafting through the upstairs library where she died. . . .

Emily Balog, 26, a PCV in Paraguay was killed in a car wreck on Sunday, November 27, 2011, according to the Peace Corps. Balog, 26, who is from Burlington, North Carolina, arrived in Paraguay in June 2010 and was expected to COS next August. Balog helped a local women’s cooperative with better business practices, including marketing local goods and improving sales. She also helped create a photography competition for local youth in the community. She is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill in 2007 with a degree in journalism. As of today, more than 250 Americans serve in the Peace Corps in Paraguay.

Native Californian John Givens received his MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He has published novels, non-fiction books, and short stories in the US, Japan and Europe. Givens studied art and language in Kyoto for four years. He worked extensively in Tokyo, San Francisco and New York, and took up residence in Ireland a few years ago. Givens currently lives out on the wet and windy Howth peninsula, and he teaches fiction writing in Dublin and wrote recently about the state of the Irish nation. • Dublin: Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei by John Givens (Korea 1967–69) ANYONE NOT LIVING ON MARS in a cave (without broadband) knows that the euro is in a parlous state. Shared by 17 of the 27 EU countries, the single currency is the glue that holds the whole rickety enterprise together. The absence of a monolithic fiscal authority has long . . .

[In our small attempt to keep everyone abreast of what is happening in cities around the world, via our farflung RPCVs,  Peter Hessler (China 1996-98), one of the recent 22 recipients of the $500,000 ‘genius awards’  given by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and who is now living in Cairo, Egypt with his wife and their twin babies, emailed me this morning:] The fighting has been very, very localized, and now has been stopped for a few days.  Even on the square it’s been basically safe; you just didn’t want to go down the side streets where they were battling the police at the Ministry of Interior.   In my neighborhood, less than a mile and a half away, there was really no sign of it.  People were very friendly to me on the square — there have been some reports of foreigners getting harassed and attacked, but that wasn’t my experience.  But a . . .

[Taking a hint from  Tony D’Souza (Ivory Coast 2000-02, Madagascar 2002-03) about focusing on what’s happening in America (and around the world) I have emailed a few RPCV writers and asked them to drop me notes from their cities. Paul Eggers (Malaysia 1976-78)  in California commented the other day on the pepper-spray incident at U of Davis. And soon we’ll have reports from Dublin, Switzerland and Cairo. But first Tony D’Souza tells us what is happening in St. Louis, Missouri, where he is encamped for a few years as his wife earns her MFA and he cares for their two young children. Here’s Tony’s take on the gateway city.] St. Louis: Mutual Assured Destruction We’ve had 51 Occupy-related arrests so far here in St. Louis, daily protests outside Bank of America, union-led marches to the MLK Bridge, and the requisite forcible eviction of the tent encampment from the downtown city park. Covering it for the alternative weekly Riverfront . . .

Love and the Peace Corps By Nina Porzucki ⋅ November 22, 2011 ⋅ THERE’S AN EXPRESSION that was my mantra through college: “Peace Corps, the toughest job you’ll ever love.” The idea was that after graduation I would join the Peace Corps, and do the toughest job I’d ever love. In 2002, I arrived in Washington, DC for orientation to teach in Romania. I sat terrified in a conference room thinking about the next 27 months. The first thing I remember was a guy raising his hand and asking the Peace Corps official, “Is it true that 80 percent of volunteers come back married, engaged or in love?” I was floored. Here I was trying to imagine what Romania looked like and where I’d be living. I had never even considered love. Janice Sims was one of my fellow volunteers in Romania. It turns out she was just as surprised . . .

By ANGELA M. HILL and RANDY KREIDER–ABC NEWS Nov. 21, 2011 – President Obama signed the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act today, less than a year after an ABC News investigation into the murder of the 24-year-old volunteer in Africa. The act, which passed earlier this month in Congress, is designed to protect Peace Corps whistleblowers and improve the treatment of victims of violence and sexual assault. The law is named for 24-year-old Kate Puzey of Georgia, who was murdered in Benin in 2009 after telling superiors she believed a fellow Peace Corps employee was molesting female students. In an investigation that aired on “20/20,” ABC News told the story of Kate’s murder and examined what critics say has been a “blame-the-victim” culture within the Peace Corps when volunteers are assaulted or attempt to report problems. “It’s such a wonderful thing. We’re really, really happy this is happening,” . . .

[Paul Eggers (Malaysia 1976-78) teaches creative writing at Chico State in California. He has a PhD from the University of Nebraska and is the author of two books (Saviors, a novel; and How the Water Feels, a collection of short stories). Besides the Peace Corps, Paul was also a UN relief worker and his fiction is focus mostly on first-world/third-world interactions. On Sunday, Tony D’Souza (Ivory Coast 2000-02, Madagascar 2002-03) made the wise suggestion that I reach out to Paul and ask him for his take–as a California academic–about the pepper spraying last Friday at the University of Davis. Paul emailed me earlier today and this is some of what he had to say.] “I’m outraged by the thuggery shown by the police, as well as by the mealy-mouthed initial response from the Davis chancellor, as well as by the ludicrous claim by the police administration that they were “surrounded” by students and felt threatened.  There . . .

Maya Lau [After college at Vassar, Maya Lau went to Kolda, Senegal (2009-11) as a PCV and worked in urban agriculture. Coming home, she began working in journalism in New York City. And that is what she’s doing today! Here’s a post she put up on Huff Post the other day titled: “What The Peace Corps Taught Me About Failure.” Ain’t that the truth! (It is published with her permission.] Posted: 11/17/11 09:10 Volunteer life bursts with cultural faux pas, fruitless projects and second guesses. For two years, I felt like the joke was on me. Even on my best days in Senegal, the sudden scream of “toubab,” a taunting word for foreigners, reminded me that my cheerfulness was jinxed, my presence perhaps unwelcome. In West Africa, I confronted the toubab version of myself, a self previously foreign to me that was lethargic, cynical and at home with failure. For a long time I . . .

Friends: Please join us as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Peace Corps Director, Aaron Williams, USAID Administrator, Rajiv Shah, and senior White House Administration officials will participate in this event on Wednesday, November 23rd at 9:30AM EST. If you are able to attend, please rsvp no later than Friday, November 18th at 5PM EST, and fill out the attached Excel sheet with information we will need to clear you into the building. Thank you, Karen Richardson The White House Office of Public Engagement EVENT DETAILS WHAT: White House 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Peace Corps and USAID WHEN: Wednesday, November 23rd at 9:30AM EST (Please arrive by 8:45 EST at the south west gate on 17th and State Place NW) WHERE: White House Complex, Eisenhower Executive Office Building, South Court Auditorium Karen Richardson Associate Director White House . . .

USAID, Peace Corps Join Arms in Support of Education The Peace Corps and USAID have signed an agreement entitled the Global Education Framework, a joint venture, they say, “that would implement global initiatives for basic and higher education, and youth and workforce development.” The agreement means more money for the Peace Corps, and more programs for education, gender equality and the youth. “The Global Education Framework agreement demonstrates how we are effectively and efficiently programming every development dollar to deliver meaningful results in education,” says USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah. “By working together, we strengthen our organizations to better assist the countries and people we serve.” Other activities being supported under the GEF are: Development of new training modules for volunteers and staff. Training teachers and school officials for the two-year Peace Corps Education Assistance Project in Mindanao, Philippines. Volunteers teaching English to judges and court staff under the Millennium Challenge Corp. Rwanda . . .

Yesterday the U.S. Congress signed a bill into law to protect PCVs, women Volunteers especially. The bill protects whistleblowers, train volunteers on how to avoid attacks, and improve the treatment of sexual assault victims. It passed the House by unanimous consent.  It is called The Kate Puzey Volunteer Protection Act of 2011–named after Kate Puzey who was murdered in Benin in 2009. It had already passed the Senate by unanimous consent in September. “We’re so gratified, and actually amazed, that it’s come to fruition, and that other volunteers will be able to hopefully serve safely,” Puzey’s mother told ABC News. “And if, God forbid, something happens, then they will have the support they need, which is what our family did not get.” The legislation was created after dozens of women who served in the Peace Corps accused the agency of not doing enough to help them after they were sexually assaulted. . . .

SuperVol Maureen Orth (Colombia 1965-67) today launched a new interactive website: www.PeaceCorpsPostcards.com. Maureen, who served in  Medellin, Colombia, is still involved in Colombia with three One Laptop per Child schools through her foundation www..MarinaOrthFoundation.org. To celebrate the Peace Corps 50th anniversary, and to share the stories of amazing volunteers across the globe, with her friend Susan Koch, an award winning filmmaker, Maureen has produced a series of video postcards that feature PCVs and RPCVs. With assistance from American Express and the Bank of America there is a website which allows anyone in the Peace Corps community to post his or her story, picture or blog. Maureen is asking that you share these postcards widely if you like them by sending them out on your lists or tweeting them to your network. New postcards will be added, so visit frequently. Check out these video postcards of Volunteers as we celebrate the Peace Corps 50th anniversary www.peacecorpspostcards.com