By Admin1 (admin) on Sunday, August 17, 2003 - 1:42 pm: Edit Post |
Three days after graduating from Amherst, John Bent boarded a plane for the Republic of Palau
Three days after graduating from Amherst, John Bent boarded a plane for the Republic of Palau
Peace corps experience
"A pig-butcher, a spear-fisher, a betel tree climber, a taro gardener and a fluent speaker . . . "
Three days after graduating from Amherst, I boarded a plane for the Republic of Palau. Palau is a tiny Pacific island where I was assigned to a two-year stint as a public school librarian. I developed a computerized card catalogue and circulation system for the tiny village of Melekeok (population ~200). This system was so beneficial to our small library that the Minister of Education sent me to all of the Palaun public school libraries to set it up and train the librarians in its use. A pig-butcher, a spear-fisher, a betel tree climber, a taro gardener and a fluent speaker, I was so well integrated that I was selected by the Peace Corps as a trainer for incoming volunteers.