Peace Corps Worldwide – Page 9 – promoting Peace Corps writers since 1989

The Lion in the Gardens of the Guenet Hotel (Ethiopia)

Aug 11 2024

John writes — In the final days of our in-country Peace Corps training in Ethiopia, we had a celebration dinner at the Guenet Hotel in the Populari section of the capital, Addis Ababa. The Guenet Hotel, even in 1962, was one of the older hotels in Addis Ababa. It wasn’t in the center of town, but south of Smuts Street and down the hill from Mexico Square, several miles from where we were housed in the dormitories of Haile Selassie I University. While out of the way, this small, two-story rambling hotel, nevertheless, had a two-lane, American-style bowling alley, tennis courts, and a most surprising of all, an African lion in its lush, tropical gardens. At that time in the Empire, no Ethiopian was allowed to keep a lion, the symbol of the Emperor, Haile Selassie, whose full title was “By the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, His Imperial Majesty Haile . . .

THE BIG RED ONE TO THE B-29 by Robert N. Colombo (Colombia)

Aug 10 2024

A new book — The Big Red One To The B – 29 Men And Women From The Fillmore Central School District, Allegany County, New York, In World War Ii: Pearl Harbor North America North Africa Pacific Islands Europe – Asia by Robert N. Colombo (Colombia 1963-65) Bowker Publisher August 2024 462 pages $25.00 (Hardback) Fillmore Centeral School Distrrict residents participated in virtually every major invasion of World War II. They were with Big Red One (1st Infantry Division) in North Africa and Sicily. Marlie Hodnett of Fillmore was one of the first (if not the first) men ashore in the Sicily invasion at Gela. They were in the invasions of mainland Italy and Southern France. The FCSD was well represented at Normandy, on land, sea and in the air, including the first waves at deadly Omaha Beach and Utah Beach. David Hambling identified 20 battles which he . . .

Emily Brandt (Armenia) | Program Manager for CEPA

Aug 09 2024

RPCVs in the news — Emily Brandt (Armenia 2013-15) is the Program Manager for Business Development at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). The Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy institution based in Washington DC. Prior to joining CEPA, Emily held similar business development and fundraising roles of progressive responsibility at various local organizations, IREX, and Freedom House, mostly focusing on civil society, democracy, rights, and governance programs in Europe and Eurasia. She also worked for Peace Corps for six years (2013-20), including two years as a volunteer in Armenia. She is the founder of the Peace Corps Virtual Recruitment team. Emily holds a PhD in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a Master’s Degree in International Studies with a focus on Eastern Europe from the University of North Texas. .

Phoebe Cohen (Mongolia) | Guest Writer for Huffington Post

Aug 09 2024

RPCV in the news — By Phoebe Cohen Aug 7, 2024, 07:56 AM EDT Phoebe Cohen (Mongolia 2005-07) has walked many paths in life including living in the Gobi Desert as a Peace Corps Volunteer and working as a paramedic in several states. Cohen’s work has been featured in Graphic Medicine, Mutha Magazine, and BorderX. She regularly posts on her website Merry Misandrist. Cohen is a part-time cartoonist, writer and nursing student. She has been known to go up to five hours without coffee. . . . As a paramedic, I treated women who had illegal abortions. Here’s a dangerous truth JD Vance isn’t going to like.”The nurse and Exchange a glance. We know the probable reason why our patient stuck part of a vacuum cleaner up into her vagina.” It’s 2015. I’m working as an inter-facility paramedic. Currently, I’m standing in a small rural clinic in a large conservative state. . . .

Suzy McKee Charnas (Nigeria), writer of feminist science fiction, dies at 83

Aug 08 2024

RPCVs in the news — She was best known for the Holdfast Chronicles, a series about a dystopic world in which once-enslaved women conquer their former male masters. By Richard Sandomir New York Times Published March 10, 2023 Suzy McKee Charnas, an award-winning feminist science fiction writer who in a four-novel series created a post-holocaust, male-dominated society called the Holdfast that is liberated by an army of women, died on Jan. 2 at her home in Albuquerque. She was 83. Her cousin David Szanton said the cause was a heart attack. Her death was not widely reported at the time. Ms. Charnas, whose books were well regarded but who by her account did not make a living from her writing, was best known for her science fiction. But she also wrote vampire fiction, young-adult fantasy novels with women as central characters, and a memoir about taking care of her father . . .

Review | THE LIFE OF LEE LYE HOE by James A. Wolter (Malaysia)

Aug 08 2024

A new book — The Life Of Lee Lye Hoe: An Unsung Woman Hero Amazon Direct Publishing by James A. Wolter (Malaysia 1962-66) June 2024 353 pages $16.79 (Paperback) Reviewed by: Douglas C. MacLeod, Jr. The Life of Lee Lye Hoe: An Unsung Woman Hero, written by James A. Wolter, is a fictionalized autobiography from the standpoint of a Cantonese woman whose life takes a drastic turn from being an esteemed, successful landowner to a lowly Amah (servant and nanny) in the short timespan when Communism was becoming the predominant ideology in China. She is onery, stubborn, savvy, hard-working; in many ways, Lee is forced to be obdurate, because during her formative years, her father stole the family’s savings and ran off to another country; and her mother, soon after taking in a family member’s two children (Yang and Meow), withered away and died, leaving the farm and . . .

Bonita Schwan (Samoa) | Marco Island City Council candidate

Aug 07 2024

RPCV in the news Bonita Schwan (Samoa 1990-91) is a candidate for Marco Island (Florida) City Council on November 5th general election. Schwan has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas, Austin, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Drake Law School, Des Moines, Iowa.Schwan served on Iowa Governor Terry Branstad’s personal staff when he was in office, where, she said, her responsibilities included providing recommendations to the governor regarding budget and policy matters for The Department of Revenue and Finance, The Department of Health, The Department of Human Services, The Department of Civil Rights and The Department of Human Rights. As an attorney, Schwan specialized in legislation and administrative rules and volunteered with the United States Peace Corps in Western Samoa. She currently serves on the board for the Cape Marco, Cozumel Building HOA. She serves as membership chair for the Marco Island . . .

Ric Burnley (Russia) | THE COMPLETE KAYAK FISHERMAN

Aug 06 2024

And now for something completely different — The Complete Kayak Fisherman by Ric Burnley (Russia 1997-99) Burford Books 192 pages October 2007 $16.95 (Paperback); $15.99 (Kindle) “Thank God my dad wasn’t a podiatrist,” Ric jokes about following in the footsteps of a famous outdoor writer. After graduating from Radford University and serving two years in Russia (1997-99) with the Peace Corps, Ric returned to Virginia Beach and started writing for The Fisherman magazine, where his dad was editor. When the kayak fishing scene exploded, Ric was among the first to get onboard. His 2007 book, The Complete Kayak Fisherman is one of the first how-to books to introduce anglers to paddle fishing. In 2010, Ric took on the role of editor at Kayak Angler magazine where he covered the latest trends in kayak fishing tactics, tackle, gear and destinations. A ravenous angler, Ric fishes from the mountain to . . .

The Volunteer Who Became a Three Term Governor of Wisconsin |Jim Doyle (Tunisia)

Aug 05 2024

Profile in Citizenship — by Jeremiah Norris (Colombia 1963-65) After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Jim Doyle was inspired by JFK’s call to public service, and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tunisia from 1967 to 1969, working as a teacher alongside of his wife, Jessica, also a Volunteer. Thereafter, in 1972. he earned a law degree from Harvard Law School. He then moved to a Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona where he worked as an attorney in a federal legal services office. In 1975, he returned to Madison and served for three terms as a Dane County District Attorney from 1977 to 1982. After leaving that office, he spent eight years in private practice. In 1990, Jim was elected as Wisconsin’s Attorney General and reelected in 1994 and 1995. Between 1997 and 1998, he served as the president of the National Association of Attorneys . . .

Review | Theroux’s Close Shave by Christopher West Davis

Aug 05 2024

A review by Christopher West Davis (Kenya 1975-78) Originally published in The Hawaii Review of Books Three years ago, Paul Theroux (Malawi 1963-65) ended his birthday card to himself—“Facing Ka‘ena Point: On Turning Eighty,” published in The New Yorker and probably the closest thing to an autobiography he will ever offer—with the perfect vignette. He was sitting, scribbling in his favorite place to write—a folding chair on a Hawaiian beach he has watched erode away for years. A young man comes towards him, limping from a war wound. He said he remembered seeing Theroux in the same place before he went off to Afghanistan. “And you’re still here,” he said, “in that chair!” “I’m not finished,” Theroux replied. And he wasn’t, (likely isn’t still). In the same essay Theroux describes his life as writing one book after another since 1963—amassing thirty-two of fiction, twenty nonfictions, and one . . .

New US Ambassador Mark Christopher Toner (Liberia)

Aug 05 2024

RPCV Ambassador Mark Christopher Toner Arrives in Liberia Months After US Senate Confirmation Hearing By Jaheim T. Tumu August 5, 2024 Monrovia:| New U.S Ambassador to Liberia Mark Christopher Toner arrived in Liberia on Friday, August 2. Amb. Torner is expected to present his official credentials to President Joseph Boakai, and to commence his duties. Ambassador Toner, who will succeed Amb. Michael McCarthy, who was noted for his strong stance against corruption during his tenure, arrival signifies an important moment and era in US-Liberian relations. Toner, a career Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, served as the Minister Counselor for Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France before his appointment as Ambassador to Liberia. Previously, he was a Senior Advisor at the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and a Senior Faculty Advisor at the National Defense University. Earlier, Toner held positions as the State . . .

THE EMERGING COOPERATIVE ECONOMY by E.G. Nadeau (Senegal)

Aug 04 2024

New — The Emerging Cooperative Economy by E.G. Nadeau (Senegal 1970-72) 246 pages July 2024 $8.00 (Kindle); $20.00 (Paperback) The primary theme of The Emerging Cooperative Economy is that the world today is characterized by concentrated economic and political power, extreme inequality in access to basic goods and services, and environmental devastation. However, we are not stuck with such a dysfunctional economy forever. During the coming decades, we can transition to an international economy based on increasing political and economic democracy, meeting human needs, and sustaining the environment. This book presents a possible path for moving toward a more cooperative society and economy by 2050. Released in July, The Emerging Cooperative Economy describes the co-operative economy as “an economy that puts the wellbeing of the many ahead of the wealth and power of a few”, meeting human needs and protecting the planet. The first section looks at the world’s economic history, from the . . .

Lisa Einstein (Guinea) | at Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Aug 03 2024

RPCVs in the news CISA names Lisa Einstein as Chief AI Officer CISA said Thursday the appointment reflects the agency’s commitment to advancing the responsible use of AI to meet its cyber defense mission and assist critical infrastructure operators and owners in pursuing the secure and safe development and adoption of AI tools. CISA Director Jen Easterly said Einstein has played a central role in helping the agency understand and respond to rapid AI advancements, which have significant implications for CISA’s critical infrastructure security and cyber defense missions. “Beyond her technical expertise, she’s an inspirational leader who has brought together colleagues across the agency around a clear and impactful vision. I could not be more thrilled to have her take on this important new role, which will help us continue to build AI expertise into the fabric of our agency and ensure we are equipped to effectively leverage the . . .

Lisa Einstein (Guinea) | A Poem About Teaching

Aug 03 2024

August 14, 2017 A volunteer explains — with poetry — why teaching physics to girls in Guinea, west Africa is so important to her By Lisa Einstein (Guinea 2016-18) This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American . . . I sat on the porch in my village of farms, When a young girl approached me, a babe in her arms. We started to talk, though a lot went unspoken. Her words were Pular and her French, it was broken. I asked her what grade she was in and she scoffed. “Failed the Brevet so dad married me off. The class all must pass this exam to continue To high school. I didn’t, in take 1 or take 2. Mon mari, il est vieux, an old man I don’t see. And now with this child? . . .

Steve Kaffen (Russia) writes from The Olympics

Aug 03 2024

It’s my tenth day in Paris and eighth day since the Olympics began. Residents have left town on vacation, many after renting out their homes and apartments. They have been replaced by a world of visitors. Some 45,000 volunteers, for the Olympics and the Paralympics, are everywhere, in metro stations, on street corners, and near sports venues carrying big cardboard hands with fingers pointing in the venue’s direction. If they don’t know the answer, they look it up on their cell phones or they ask a colleague, and rarely do they improvise a response. They have set a standard of excellence for the volunteers of the USA’s upcoming World Cup to meet and best. Police are omnipresent, on most corners and clustered in the streets and in and outside the sports venues, carrying machine guns. It’s daunting at first, but after a while they become invisible. I have 15 . . .