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Peace Corps Memories

I'll never forget the day I received the large white envelope in the mail. It'd been a year since I'd mailed off the manuscript-size Peace Corps application, and though during the ensuing six months I'd been asked in for two extensive interviews, I still feared I wouldn't be accepted into the program. I imagined rejection letters came in business-sized envelopes, so holding this 8½x11-inch monster's heft in my hands and staring at the Peace Corps logo printed in the return address corner had my heart slamming against my ribcage.

I tore the envelope open and read the first sentence of the cover letter over and over. "Congratulations, you have received an invitation to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Central African Rebublic." My hands shook so badly I had trouble dialing the phone, but I finally got through to my then-boyfriend. He was less excited than I was to hear the news, and then he asked a question to which I didn't know the answer: "Where the hell is the Central African Republic?"

I later learned, intimately, that the Central African Republic (CAR) is a land-locked country located dead center on the African continent. It shares borders to the north with Chad and to the south with The People's Republic of the Congo, which was known when I was there as Zaire.

My time in CAR was fascinating, heartwrenching, challenging, life-altering, and dangerous. I kept extensive journals while I was there, and I referred to them this month while writing a new short story about an experience I had which would be the climactic scene, if my two years in CAR were a novel.

I would love to hear what you think about this story, especially since it is entered in "Show Off Your Best at the Sandbox"  which closes on Monday. There's an auto-reward of 2,250 gps for reviews!

In The Face Of Danger  (13+) When I was a Peace Corps volunteer, I learned the meaning of true danger -Winner SOYB 8/09 #1594763 by NickiD89

I also scanned some of my photos from Africa, and uploaded them to this photo album:

Peace Corps  (E) A photo journey to accompany readers of item #1594763 #1589882 by NickiD89

My group was evacuated when the Peace Corps pulled out of CAR in 1996, when war broke out between the national Army and then-president Patasse's private, presidential guard. There has now been thirteen years of fighting and political unrest in the CAR, and the fabric of its society is in tatters. The CAR in the seventh poorest nation on the planet. War has devastated the country, AIDS has left millions of orphaned children, and banditry and rape are everyday realities. Writing my story has brought back memories, and I wonder how the Central Africans who touched my heart are faring today.

Celebrate WDC's Birthday: Sign up and get your Merit Badge!

Merit Badge Bonanza!  (E) ~ MB Bonanza~ CLOSED FOR NEW SIGN-UPS #1594698 by NickiD89