Life in Alien Territory: Memories of Peace Corps Service in Mali

by Renate A. Schulz

Retired university professor Renate Schulz is looking for something to do with her life, some way to give back. She decides to rejoin the Peace Corps forty-six years after she first served. Life in Alien Memories of Peace Corps Service in Mali chronicles her eleven months in Mali, West Africa, a predominantly Muslim country. At age seventy-one, she is the oldest Peace Corps volunteer among 180 other Americans. Schulz weaves the highs and lows of her life as a volunteer in Africa into her daily journal entries. Her personal struggles with the challenges of living in third-world conditions, particularly at her age, are woven into her real-life concerns about human rights in West Africa, particularly for women and children. Her time in Mali, with all its challenges and frustrations, are offset with her growing appreciation for this "alien" culture. In this wonderfully readable travel narrative, Schulz captures the spirit of the culture, education, and people of Mali. At the same time, she shows how you are never too old to have a life-changing adventure.

304 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2014

Reviews

[Mark Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I connected with the author through one of the Arizona Returned Peace Corps Volunteer groups and learned that she'd volunteered in Mali, a predominately Muslim country in West Africa. She'd volunteered initially in Nigeria and then Mexico teaching English and French but this time she'd embark on this journey when she was 71 years old. As an aspiring author myself and someone who worked in West Africa for three years (Sierra Leone) I was eager to learn more about the author and as soon as I learned she had written a book about her experiences I got a copy and had it read in a few days. My Peace Corps experience was in Central America but when I was in Sierra Leone I always was amazed at what the volunteers had to deal with out in the isolated villages in the "bush."

Her descriptions of all the things that could go wrong--will, resonated based on my time in West Africa. The author weaves her story with good humor and I had to put the book down several times because I laughed so hard. Even the younger volunteers would be hard pressed to deal with some of the inconveniences in the field--especially around the "pit" bathrooms with no running water in a hot, muggy climate but as a senior citizen the author describes how much more challenging these situations were. She also describes how the Peace Corps staff is not always on top of the nuances and situations which bordered on dangerous sometimes.

The book is still timely with all the misinformation and "alternative facts" in regards to Muslim based societies and Africa. The author describes how the educational system works (or doesn't) in Mali and her challenges to effectively teach when the infrastructure was so weak and the support minimal.

Unfortunately the author's experience is cut short by the political turmoil in the area and during a visit to Ghana she was told not to return. In the very readable and witty travel narrative the author captures the spirit of the Peace Corps, the culture and the wonders of Mali.