Uncommon Journeys
Peace Corps Adventures Across Cultures
Introduction
Uncommon Journeys offers 11 essays by returned Peace Corps Volunteers, providing readers an insider's grasp of what it's like to serve as a Volunteer, including the challenges, the rewards, the humor, and, most important, lessons about life in other cultures. Ten of the selections are accompanied by lessons that can be employed in 6th- through 12th-grade classrooms.
Prologue
- "A Straw Fence the Height of a Man," (pdf-129KB) by Michael Varga (Africa : Chad)
A Matter of Time and Fate
- "The Meaning of Time," by Kimberly Ross (West Africa: Guinea)
- "Three Lessons," by Craig Storti (North Africa: Morocco)
Standing Out in the Crowd
- "The Train Ride Home," by Robin Solomon (Central Asia: Kazakhstan)
- "Running," by Peter Hessler (Southeast Asia: China)
Generations Apart
- "Soccer Until Dusk," by Mark Brazaitis (Central America: Guatemala)
- "Help! My Father is Coming!/The Visit to Vijay's," by Jim Toner (Southeast Asia: Sri Lanka)
Giving and Receiving
- "Sharing in Africa," by Mike Tidwell (Central Africa: Zaire/Congo)
- "The Senegalese Miracle," by Leita Kaldi (West Africa: Senegal)
Resilience Above All
- "Music in the Fields," by Carrie Young (West Africa: Mali)
- "Mr. John and the Day of Knowledge," by John Deever (Eastern Europe: Ukraine)
Appendix
The Appendix contains background information on the educational framework, a list of references cited in Uncommon Journeys, and acknowledgements.
Download Uncommon Journeys
Download Uncommon Journeys as a pdf file here. (pdf-2.5 MB)