Memoir
My Walk on the Moon – Peace Corps Côte d’Ivoire 1969-71
My Peace Corps service coincided with NASA’s Apollo missions preparing to eventually make a moon landing. On July 20, 1969, another goal of John F. Kennedy was accomplished on the Apollo 11 mission, when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their Apollo Lunar Module and walked on the surface of the moon.
We may think of the moonwalk as the height of accomplishment in the 20th Century. But Kennedy’s other vision of sending young emissaries of peace and progress out to developing countries to help them transition to independence was in many ways even more revolutionary.
The Peace Corps created enduring relationships, and continues to have a more lasting and broader impact. Today some 250,000 returned Peace Corps volunteers occupy virtually all professions in the U.S., bringing with them the languages, insights, and cultural appreciation they learned during their service. Each one has the memories of numerous countries, communities, and individuals that they changed, and who changed them.
The pages linked below in the Table of Contents contain stories of my Peace Corps service, stories that reveal the wisdom, humor, lessons, and challenges of adapting and thriving in a new world.
Memoir Stories – Table of Contents
Preface and Prelude – Peace Corps Côte d’Ivoire 1969-71
Feeling Naked – Adapting to a new home.
An ni bara – In praise of work.
Initiation – Finding where I fit in the village.
Drawing Water – The value of each drop.
Becoming a Doctor – The preventative power of first aid.
The Meaning of Time – Experiencing rhythms and cycles.
He is Not a Person – The basis for safety and security.
The Global Village – The world-wide web of the 60’s.
Walk on the Moon – One giant leap for humankind.
More stories to come!