1. Mali In the Bush

    Koniaba and I after our day in the bush. Collecting shea fruit in the bush is like a long Easter egg hunt, walking back 2 miles with a bunch of it balanced on your head is kind of difficult. Maybe next year I'll be able to say "Hey look, no hands!'

  2. Kyrgyz Republic Coming of Age

    Sometime toward the end of my Peace Corps service I had a revelation: being a grown-up is hard. When you're a kid, you have this idea that all your problems can be easily solved by some person you perceive to be a "grown-up." When you've got a serious problem you need help with it’s great to be on the kid side, but, as I joined the Peace Corps straight out of college, I've only recently started to experience things from the other side, and that's not so great. A friend of mine, a f...

  3. Mali How do you say massage?

    During a training break in our homestay village, Peace Corps Volunteer Matt receives a massage from a local boy. One of the many benefits of speaking a local language.

  4. Namibia Reconciliation

    Today I was thinking about post-Peace Corps service and what it was going to be like going back to the states. I tried to imagine the reverse culture shock that I hear so much about and how it was going to affect me. I started to think about all the things I really love and miss about the States and it really got me thinking about my experience in Namibia thus far. Don’t get me wrong, I love America. I never realized how truly wonderful it is until coming here. I miss so much about it that I...

  5. Moldova Our teacher

    My seven year old host nephew teaching my host mom and I how to say our R's.

  6. Jamaica Mother's Day in the Bush

    Making cards for Mother’s Day was new for the Sims Lane Children. The project drew a crowd of ten. They shared ideas, materials and a very small work space. Although different in every other way, all of the cards shared this greeting:  “Thank you, Mom, for the nine months you carried me.” This expression of gratitude with a pre-birth rather than a childhood emphasis was new for me.  

  7. Georgia Dragging With Time

    Regardless of how many projects or activies you are involved with, time always seems to be abundant.  This is a short film about time dragging on and fighting the inevitable boredom. 

  8. Jamaica Everyone is Welcome

    Buru's dog PuPup is nursing her brood. Look closely and you'll see that the puppy on the right is a kitten. Buru raised PuPup himself and carefully watched her nutrition while she was pregnant. He did such a good job of caring for her that she found it completely natural to care for the orphaned kitten.

  9. El Salvador La Ceiba El Mico

    LA CEIBA EL MICO by Matthew J. Newman    The Peace Corps’ mission has three simple goals:   1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women. 2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served. 3. Helping promote a better understanding of the other peoples on the part of Americans.   For twenty-seven months, I served as a Community and Economic Development Specialist in Peace Corps El Salvador.  I was a foreig...

  10. Honduras Weekend Morning

    Visiting my great volunteer friends, a couple, in coffee town Honduras.

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“Sunset at the Railroad” by PCV Nicholas Baylor Hall. Namibia, 2011.