Peace Corps discussion

Hi folks,

I just stumbled upon this group. I see that it's not very active, so I thought I'd take a shot at a kick start. :) Do we have a moderator?

I was an education volunteer (I taught English and was building a library at a rural secondary school) in Zimbabwe, 1999-2000. We were all evacuated from our sites in April, 2000, and so I didn't get to serve my full term of service as a PCV. Still, it affected me in ways great and small.

What about the rest of you?

Katy G.

Currently serving in Ethiopia as an edu PCV!

I'm part of the new program starting in Indonesia!

Oh, cool! I didn't know PC was starting in Indonesia!

So, have you read any interesting books to educate or prepare yourself about Indonesia? :)

Gwen wrote: "Currently serving in Ethiopia as an edu PCV!"

Gwen, my country director in Zimbabwe was one of the early PCVs in Ethiopia.

What are you teaching there? And can you recommend some books by Ethiopian authors?

Yep. I did quite a bit of reading before I came. Honestly it started to get pretty dark so I decided to continue after my service. Of course there are feel good reads that include Bali like Eat Pray Love and Tales of a female nomad. Loved Female Nomad!

I've been invited to serve in Malawi as a Secondary Education English Teacher. Currently working on the clearance forms. My departure date is June 5, 2018. I'm so excited for the opportunity, and the challenges. I've been reading Michael L. Buckler's book, From Microsoft to Malawi, and I absolutely love it! Makes me even more excited to serve! I'd appreciate any book recommendations (about Peace Corps, Malawi, books by Malawian authors, books by RPCVs, etc).

Edward wrote: "I've been invited to serve in Malawi as a Secondary Education English Teacher. Currently working on the clearance forms. My departure date is June 5, 2018. I'm so excited for the opportunity, and t..."

Congratulations, Edward! I hope you have a wonderful experience.

I can recommend The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba. Very readable, very inspiring. Also, the novelist and travel writer Paul Theroux was a PCV in Malawi, and some of his earlier novels are set there. But in the 1960s. And he re-visits Malawi for the journey that was the basis of his Dark Star Safari: Overland From Cairo to Cape Town. I really liked that one, but you should be aware that he has a fairly pessimistic view of aid workers, and aid in Africa in general.

Katy wrote: "I can recommend The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba. Very readable, very inspiring."

Thanks, Katy! My sister actually recommended that very book! I'll also check out Paul Theroux's work.

Hi! I've been invited to serve in Kosovo as a Community Organizational Development volunteer with a departure date of May 25. Waiting to hear on clearances! excited to have found this group.

Hi all! I'm a soon-to-be PCV in Malawi (health). I have all my clearances and found out about this group from a post on the Reddit page, when someone recommended "Mountains Beyond Mountains."
I've also read "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" as a pre-PST task, and would absolutely recommend it to PCV and non-PCV alike. Looking forward to hearing recommendations and discussions about books related to PC and international development in general. Thanks!