Peace Corps Volunteer's Letters Home from Botswana Basis Of Book
Peace Corps Volunteer's Letters Home Basis Of Book
NEWCOMERS GROUP HEARS OF ADVENTURES
By LAURA PAUL
June 16, 2004
In The Loop
WESLEY CHAPEL -- Dawn Khalil of Wesley Chapel wrote a letter home to her father in New York every week when she was a Peace Corps volunteer.
He would in turn distribute the letters to a list of more than 20 friends and family members curious to hear about Khalil's adventures in the Kalahari Desert in Africa.
When she came home, Khalil discovered her father had saved copies of all of the correspondence, letters that have 10 years later become the basis for her book, "Letters From Botswana, A Peace Corps Odyssey."
Khalil, a graphic designer for the University of South Florida's Department of Children and Family Studies, said her letters tell of everyday life, the good, the bad, the pretty and the ugly.
"It was a very positive experience," said Khalil, who spoke to the Tampa Bay Newcomers during a recent luncheon at Benedetto's Restaurant in Land O' Lakes. "It was difficult in the beginning. The adjustment period was more difficult than I expected."
She had a post working for the ministry of commerce and industry encouraging people who lived in remote areas to start income- generating projects.
It was a challenge because transportation was unreliable, people did not have telephones and Khalil often needed the help of a translator. She often felt frustrated without the power and resources to do more than listen to people vent.
Janice Davis, the president of the Tampa Bay Newcomers and resident of New Tampa, said the group was eager to hear from Khalil, who is the daughter of club member Judy Pace of Meadow Pointe in Wesley Chapel.
"We try to have speakers as often as we can," Davis said. "We try to go to different places all over town and introduce the ladies to different topics."
Pace introduced her daughter, who she said often stunned her as a young adult because of her eagerness to travel the world. Pace joked about her hunch that her daughter wanted to travel because she was born the fourth child and was often put in a playpen as Pace chased after her older siblings.
She was not eager for her daughter to join the Peace Corps but looked forward to her letters home.
"Her letters were fascinating and amusing," Pace said. Khalil said she joined the Peace Corps because she did not want to be a tourist, but part of a community.
"At the time I was 29, unattached and working in a small consulting company and thought there must be more to life than running around for a paycheck," she said.
She learned to live without luxuries, including fresh fruits and vegetables.
One Thanksgiving, she was determined to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. She put the word out that she wanted a turkey.
"I came back to my office and there was my turkey walking around," she said.
Because she did not know what to do with a live turkey, she locked it in her office until the next day when a local cook was able to clean and cook it.
"I'd never met my Thanksgiving dinner before," she said.
Copyright (c) 2004, The Tampa Tribune and may not be republished without permission. E-mail library@tampatrib.com
