
Another book I recently read is called Mango Elephants in the Sun: My Life in an African Village by Susana Herrera, an RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) who served in Cameroon from 1992-1994. While I don’t think this book is particularly well written, she’s blatantly honest about a lot of the feelings she had, particularly at the beginning of her service, and I was really able to relate to her. I also enjoyed reading about the similarities and differences in PCVs’ lives nearly 2 decades apart. I’m including a passage from a letter she wrote to her mom a few months into her service:
“The only possible time you can reach me at the number of the PC house in Maroua [a big city in Cameroon] is on the date I gave you. The telephone is a six-hour journey from my village. Since I have to wait for a bush taxi to appear out of nowhere in the desert in order to get out of Guidiguis [her village], there’s no way of telling whether I’ll even be able to travel to the phone. If the lines are busy again, I’ll wait at least four hours at the phone. If we don’t get to talk, I’ll send a message the following month with another volunteer’s parents with the date and time I’ll be in Maroua.”
Isn’t that awful?!? I feel so lucky that my village received cell phone service a few weeks before I moved to site. I’m able to talk to both of my parents once a week for an hour each from the comfort of my courtyard, and we arrange the day and time in advance via text message. It’s kind of funny though, Herrera didn’t have great means of communication (but then who did in the early 90s?) but she did have electricity, a refrigerator and an oven. What I wouldn’t give for a cold glass of water or, Heaven forbid, a pizza! somedays! However, given the two scenarios, I’d rather have my situation. As much as I’ve been dreaming about pizza these days, talking with people from home is way more important for my mental health than the occasional crusty, cheesy, saucy, gooeyness of a fresh-from-the-oven pizza. (*Whimper*).
No comments:
Post a Comment