Kathy Sepponen lived in San Antonio de las Nubes, San Juan del Rio Coco, Madriz, Nicaragua (translated is Saint Anthony of the Clouds, Saint John of the Coconut River, Madriz, Nicaragua).



Kathy Sepponen lived in San Antonio de las Nubes, San Juan del Rio Coco, Madriz, Nicaragua (translated is Saint Anthony of the Clouds, Saint John of the Coconut River, Madriz, Nicaragua).

Kathy Sepponen ’00
I studied international relations at Pomona, focusing on development and gender issues. The Peace Corps was a natural extension of my studies as far as gaining practical experience in doing development work. I also wanted to do something drastically different from writing papers and doing academic research so when I was nominated for the Food Security Program/Small Livestock in Nicaragua, that sealed the deal.

From 2000 to 2002, I lived in San Antonio de las Nubes, San Juan del Rio Coco, Madriz, Nicaragua (translated is Saint Anthony of the Clouds, Saint John of the Coconut River, Madriz, Nicaragua). It was a small village of 250 people, a one-and-a-half-hour walk from the nearest bus or building with electricity (and six freaking hours from the nearest functional phone) in the heart of the coffee mountains of the northern provinces. I worked on crop diversification, soil conservation, fruit tree grafting, animal husbandry (mostly chickens and pigs), livestock vaccinations, family gardens, vermiculture, composting, my beloved women's group and medicinal plants.

Anecdotes from Nicaragua get pretty intense and often times messy. My first week there during training I was palpating cows and learning how to butcher chickens. After my first month I was using hitchhiking as my main form of transport. Then there was all those bouts with amoebic dysentery. I loved my time there immensely and I think the most telling moments of my service were how such utterly different surroundings in which I was a painfully obvious outsider came to feel like home. Walking one-and-a-half hours to buy rice came to seem normal. Bathing with a 5-gallon bucket and a little pan became second nature. Electricity became an urban legend for me, and that was fine. The members of my community became not only my assignments but friends who I cherish and miss dearly. Eating rice and beans for every meal, well, I never got used to that.

In the fall I will be attending the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins to get my masters with the intention of getting paid for doing Peace Corps-type work in the future. My heart and soul are in doing the type of work that I did in Nicaragua. In my mind it requires a delicate balance between innocence and experience—the innocence to accept what is new and strange with excitement and willingness to learn and the experience to know how to make good decisions and listen to your instincts. If anything, once you come back home to the States you can appreciate what you have so much more. To this day a good burrito makes me ridiculously happy. Electricity is pretty cool too. I really do miss hitchhiking, however.

When this story was posted in December 2004, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Our debt to Bill Moyers Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia."

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December 10, 2004: This Week's Top Stories Dodd says Rumsfeld's answer was unacceptable 9 Dec RPCV Blake Willeford runs classic movie theatre 9 Dec RPCV says education is key to curbing AIDS 9 Dec RPCV Dannielle Tegeder opens exhibition 9 Dec Shalala 1st Woman In Touchdown Club 9 Dec "Today we have a new country" says Toledo 9 Dec DDN wins Investigative Reporting Award 8 Dec Celeste on Panel to study Colorado finances 8 Dec RPCV leads Rotary Club medical team to Togo 6 Dec Vasquez to speak at Hawaii, Wisconsin commencements 6 Dec Tom Murphy warns Pittsburgh on budget abyss 2 Dec Venezuela RPCV Martha Egan runs Pachamama imports 30 Nov more top stories...

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Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors.

The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn.

Vote "Yes" on NPCA's bylaw changes Take our new poll. NPCA members begin voting this week on bylaw changes to streamline NPCA's Board of Directors. NPCA Chair Ken Hill, the President's Forum and other RPCVs endorse the changes. Mail in your ballot or vote online (after Dec 1), then see on how RPCVs are voting.

Charges possible in 1976 PCV slaying Congressman Norm Dicks has asked the U.S. attorney in Seattle to consider pursuing charges against Dennis Priven, the man accused of killing Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner on the South Pacific island of Tonga 28 years ago. Background on this story here and here.

Your vote makes a difference Make a difference on November 2 - Vote. Then take our RPCV exit poll. See how RPCV's are voting and take a look at the RPCV voter demographic. Finally leave a message on why you voted for John Kerry or for George Bush. Previous poll results here.

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