Dominican Roulette
I was sitting in the back of a Daihatsu pickup truck with Damian, another Peace Corps volunteer, when I broke into hysterical laughter. We were coming back from spending the night in Rio Limpio, a...
View ArticleSin Agua
I woke up in the middle of the night. Something was different. It wasn't different in the same way last week was different - when I felt a 3-inch long cockroach crawling across my neck (lesson learned:...
View ArticleLittle Haiti
I was talking with my brother the other day about the pathetic state of the local campo dog that wants me to be its owner. It has a badly injured foot that is beyond treatment. It needs to be put to...
View ArticleWhat's the Point of International Development?
[Background: I'm a somewhat new Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal. My job is in Environmental Education. I was never going to be a shiny volunteer who believed I could change the world--I came here to...
View ArticleHappy Birthday, Peace Corps!
Fifty years ago today, the Peace Corps was established.Since that time, thousands of Americans of all ages have volunteered to live and work in developing countries around the world.I was a volunteer...
View ArticleSenate Committee Votes to Lift Ban on Abortions for Peace Corps Volunteers in...
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Affairs, and Related Programs has passed a bill that would amend the current total ban on abortion care for Peace Corps volunteers by allowing...
View ArticleThe glory of a health care system free from government
I was visiting one of my project partners today. She has two daughters, the youngest of them 6 years old. While we were talking the girl from next door, about the same age, came over to play with the...
View ArticleWhat One Day of Afghan War Funding Means for Peace Corps' 50th Anniversary
As the Peace Corps celebrates its 50th anniversary this month, it is time to take stock and commit to making it bigger, better and bolder.As one of four members of the House who volunteered, I answered...
View ArticleGreatest Generation viewed from seats of power
After you build latrines where most of the people live on less than $2.00 per day, you think differently -- no matter where you sit.
View ArticleChristmas in the Dominican Republic
You might think that Christmas in a country as religious as the Dominican Republic would be a huge thing, and you would be right. However, you would be right for the wrong reasons. Now that I've spent...
View ArticleMuch needed perspective
One of the reasons I joined the Peace Corps was that I felt the need for more perspective on life. Two years in the Peace Corps, living in a different country with a different culture, learning a...
View ArticleIf this is Saturday . . .
it must be time for my normal Saturday morning reflection on teaching, life and everything else.I don't know which bothers me more, that the recent Republican debates have not discussed education, or...
View ArticleBetween the earth and the sky: Invisible Millions
Every society has its invisible class. In America that invisible class are the homeless. Hundreds of thousands of living reminders of "there but for the grace of God I go." A sub-class living among...
View ArticleBetween the earth and the sky: Invisible Millions
Every society has its invisible class. In America that invisible class are the homeless. Hundreds of thousands of living reminders of "there but for the grace of God I go." A sub-class living among...
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Trouble in Timbuktu - my memories of Mali
When I received my invitation to join the Peace Corps in Mali in 2003, little did I know that my time in this corner of West Africa would change my life profoundly. My work with my Malian government...
View ArticleAnd you thought your political system was broken
It's election season in the Dominican Republic, and that means that politicians get even dumber than normal. Yesterday the Dominican Senate apologized to the United States for what the candidate of...
View ArticleHow to conquer time
I was standing in chest-deep water near a small waterfall. I had to keep shifting my weight from one foot to another because the small fish in the pool kept nibbling on my toes and it tickled. I was...
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NH-Sen: Jeanne Shaheen (D) Co-Sponsors The Peace Corps Equality Act of 2013
Looks like this might be getting cleared up: http://www.npr.org/... Last year, something surprising happened: A piece of legislation about abortion made it through both chambers of Congress and was...
View ArticleRead This! Rec This! FB & Tweet This! Etc.
Good morning! Let's give the Peace Corps some love. Especially the women of the Peace Corps and everyone who loves them. Let's let the women have regular health care! And have a bit of action for...
View ArticleWill Colbert Nation save the galaxy?
Christ marshaled his apostles to venture into the world to do good, sans guns. Why don’t we emulate? Who can build that peaceful army of do-gooders? Only someone who can preach to the world. Is...
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