chrisf@isieng.UUCP (Chris Fagan) (11/16/85)
[Yum!]
A friend of mine, 22-year-old female, is entering the Peace
Corps for a two-year hitch in Liberia. The offer letter says
she will be teaching English in a rural area (unspecified).
She will have several months' training in Monrovia.
She and I are interested in any comments anyone has about
Liberia and its occupants. We have read much reference material
on the country, and have followed the recent political developments
(i.e., the stirrings against Doe's election).
Please do not limit comments to politics; in fact, that is
the best documented aspect of Liberia, and we're interested in
less readily available information. For instance, especially since
this is net.nlang.africa, can anyone comment on the language
barriers she will face? She speaks fluent French and German, but
fears that in an ostensibly English-speaking country she will have
little opportunity for practice.
Hints for things to take along, things to expect, things to
avoid, are all welcome. Please respond either by e-mail or by
posting; I will respond unless requested not to (I know phone
bills are big enough already for a lot of people).
Thank you for your attention.
Chris {decwrl,sun,allegra}!pyramid!isieng!chrisfaaa@link.UUCP (Wale Akinpelu) (11/19/85)
> A friend of mine, 22-year-old female, is entering the Peace > Corps for a two-year hitch in Liberia. The offer letter says > she will be teaching English in a rural area (unspecified). > She will have several months' training in Monrovia. > > She and I are interested in any comments anyone has about > Liberia and its occupants. We have read much reference material > on the country, and have followed the recent political developments > (i.e., the stirrings against Doe's election). > > Please do not limit comments to politics; in fact, that is > the best documented aspect of Liberia, and we're interested in > less readily available information. For instance, especially since > this is net.nlang.africa, can anyone comment on the language > barriers she will face? She speaks fluent French and German, but > fears that in an ostensibly English-speaking country she will have > little opportunity for practice. > > Hints for things to take along, things to expect, things to > avoid, are all welcome. Please respond either by e-mail or by > posting; I will respond unless requested not to (I know phone > bills are big enough already for a lot of people). > > Thank you for your attention. > > Chris {decwrl,sun,allegra}!pyramid!isieng!chrisf I have only spent few days in Liberia but spent several years in a couple of other West African countries. Most people understand the natural english language and a lot speak in "pigeon" english. Very few people speak in french, these are the people from the neighboring countries. Your friend should not worry about language barriers. As a matter of fact, she will discover that most people will be willing to help her because she is a foreigner and because she does'nt understand the common language as well. That's the general attitude in most african countries. There should be some few people in th elocal university that do understand the german language. Also, she could take attend some cultural shows on the campus. There are also disco clubs within major cities that she could attend. I will urge her to be free and trust the people around her. She should always ask for help when necessary, and above all, nothing is expected from her in return for any favor. -- Wale Akinpelu AT&T Bell Laboratories {allegra,attunix,bentley,ihnp4!research,ulysses}hou2a!link!aaa
putnam@steinmetz.UUCP (jefu) (11/24/85)
I cant speak for Liberia, except from what i heard on the rumor mill, but i
spent four years in Zaire in the peace corps. Since my experiences will
not translate easily (Liberia was often cited as a real picnic compared to
Zaire, with volunteers close together -- i spent a year with one other
volunteer, and the next closest americans were 250 miles away -- yes, its nice
to get to know the locals, and we did, but its also nice to talk to someone
from your culture from time to time), i will instead make a couple quick
recommendations on what to take that might be helpful.
1) whatever your speciality is, take reference material on it. Its also nice
to arrange for someone (family or friends are ok, but someone who knows the
subject is better) to be able to mail you things on it over the course
of your stint. If mail is reliable, splurge and arrange for journals,
magazines... to be sent to you. Air mail. Sea mail takes years. (I got
my christmas present from one year, two years later. There had been food
in it). It might be best to have this done through someone (they get the
stuff, pack it and forward it).
2) Take a good pair of walking shoes. Liberia may have good transportation,
but then again... Good shoes were very hard to find, and very hard to
do without. Good socks are nice too.
3) If i were going again, i would find a good portable short wave radio that
runs on D size batteries. (Other sizes were often hard to find) I bought
a radio there. Overpriced! But a lifesaver.
4) Take a can opener. I was at my first post when i discovered that i had
no can opener and couldnt find one at the market or store for a long time.
I did have a pocket knife with what the manufacturers called a can opener,
and bore the scars on my hands for months. Liberia may have can openers,
i'd buy a good one and take it -- they are small.
5) Good toothbrushes can be hard to find. Take extra.
6) Find out what the local language is and if the Peace Corps intends to
teach it to you. If not (and it may be a good thing in any case) find out
if the Foreign Service Institute has a book or books on it. If so, (and if
the peace corps isnt going to give it to you) get it.
7) get the Michelin maps of africa (i found mine in the paris airport). Very
good maps.
8) Get a good camera, preferably one that does not require loads of batteries.
Get extra batteries. Film. Splurge. (Hmmm, on second thought, check to
be sure that the political climate will allow photography. I was almost
arrested once for having a photograph of a monument of something).
9) Take pictures of your home, family. If you live in a chilly climate, take
pictures of snow. Take maps of your home state. (One of those horrible
road atlases will do quite well).
10) If you intend to travel, find out about visas to countries you may want
to travel to. It may seem possible to do this in Africa, but belive me,
its much easier here - even with long distance phone calls. It may not
be best to actually get the visa in your passport yet, as they sometimes
expire more quickly than you would like. But you should know about such
things. If you are well prepared, it may be the case that you will
know more about the visa than the embassy officials that you will have to
deal with (but dont show it).
11) Make sure your family and friends understand what mail and communications
may be like. Make sure YOU understand. (It may not be that bad in Liberia,
but we totally lost communications for three months for a while -- finally
i got a radio message through the catholic radio net that the peace corps
wanted to know if i was still alive and if i had had my gamma globulin
shot -- but the gamma gobulin was in the mail -- i think).
12) Finally (and perhaps most important) be ready for the culture shock. The
one going over can be pretty bad. If you are intending to reform the world
or do earth shaking things to make things better for the poor benighted
peoples of Africa, reconsider, it doesnt work that way, and your realization
of that can be pretty traumatic. There is also a culture shock coming back
which can be even worse.... (On the expressway out of Boston on my way
home, i was almost petrified by the cars -- so big, so fast, so many....)
Thats enough. The peace corps can be a great thing, tremendous fun, lots of
learning, all around good stuff...
But it can also be a real pain, boring, frustrating, even dangerous.
On the whole, i would go for the positive side. I would even like to
do it again.
--
O -- jefu
tell me all about -- UUCP: {rochester,edison}!steinmetz!putnam
Anna Livia! I want to hear all.... -- ARPA: putnam@GE-CRDvallath@cad.UUCP (Vallath Nandakumar) (12/04/85)
What is this organisation called Peace Corps? I have heard of it, but have no idea what its objectives are, who funds it etc. Is the objective is to broaden its volunteers' experiences (sort of like tourism)? If the objective is to "improve the life of the people" in these other countries, wouldn't it be better to use the money to employ the locals to do the same work? It would certainly be cheaper in most cases, and things like language wouldn't be an issue. I would appreciate answers to these questions. Thanks. Vallath Nandakumar ucbesvax.vallath@berkeley.edu
chrisf@isieng.UUCP (Chris Fagan) (12/05/85)
[I know the Bug still exists; I drive it to work every day] My name is Suzanne and I am using the terminal of my friend Chris to thank all of you who responded to our original posting concerning Peace Corps in Liberia. Unfortunately, because of the political upheaval in that country, I am no longer being sent there and am awaiting reassignment in another country. I would like to respond to the recent posting asking for an explanation of Peace Corps work. There are probably former Peace Corps Volunteers out there who can add to this description--I'm looking forward to seeing further dialogue, if appropriate (Note from chrisf: I suspect followup would be more appropriate in net.misc). The Peace Corps is a government organization established during the Kennedy Administration to promote peace and help developing nations and Third World countries gain technological, educational, and medical skills through a volunteer system. I suppose it could be described as a sort of tourism if your style of travel includes living in a mud hut, dealing with unusual and perhaps deadly wildlife, dysentery and culture shock, and overcoming your own value system in order to help the people you came to serve. It is not missionary work, nor is it American imperialism. Although there have been accusations that Peace Corps Volunteers have spied on their host countries, none of these accusations has ever been substantiated. In fact, I had to write letters to the Peace Corps to assure them that I had no intention of getting involved in the political activities of my host country. Perhaps another viable solution to sending PCV's to host countries would be to encourage natives to help teach in the outback, establish clinics, etc. Unfortunately, often the countries are lacking the necessary educated work force to do this. I've heard Peace Corps work described like this: "Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day; teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime." PC Volunteers want to teach their hosts to be self-reliant -- and then they get the hell out of there. (posted by) Chris