March 31, 2005: Headlines: COS - Malawi: Writing - Malawi: National Geographic: The Peace Corps is an especially good choice for those who would benefit from structure. "When I graduated from college," says Theroux, "I wanted to write, but had no money. The Peace Corps was a natural choice for me; I was looked after while getting the opportunity to experience a developing country. I went to Malawi, learned a foreign language, and fell in love with Africa."
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Malawi:
Special Report: RPCV Paul Theroux:
Paul Theroux: Archived Stories:
March 31, 2005: Headlines: COS - Malawi: Writing - Malawi: National Geographic: The Peace Corps is an especially good choice for those who would benefit from structure. "When I graduated from college," says Theroux, "I wanted to write, but had no money. The Peace Corps was a natural choice for me; I was looked after while getting the opportunity to experience a developing country. I went to Malawi, learned a foreign language, and fell in love with Africa."
The Peace Corps is an especially good choice for those who would benefit from structure. "When I graduated from college," says Theroux, "I wanted to write, but had no money. The Peace Corps was a natural choice for me; I was looked after while getting the opportunity to experience a developing country. I went to Malawi, learned a foreign language, and fell in love with Africa."
The Peace Corps is an especially good choice for those who would benefit from structure. "When I graduated from college," says Theroux, "I wanted to write, but had no money. The Peace Corps was a natural choice for me; I was looked after while getting the opportunity to experience a developing country. I went to Malawi, learned a foreign language, and fell in love with Africa."
The Adventures of Your Life
How to fill all your days with pure excitement. By Claire Antoszewski and The Editors
Your entire life should be an adventure, full of all the surprises, new experiences, and unpredictability that the idea implies. But you can't just wait for the excitement to come to you. You need to go after it, do some planning, even schedule your spontaneity. As paradoxical as it may seem, the best things happen when you put yourself in the right places at the right times with the right people. The possibilities are endless, but with the pages ahead, you'll be off to a running start.
[Excerpt]
THE EXPATRIOT GAMES (24-30 Years Old)
The average American believes that adulthood doesn't officially begin until age 26 (according to the National Opinion Research Center). You could take this as proof of an American epidemic of arrested development, or a sign of hope. It means that, post-college, you've still got time for unfettered exploration of the kind that mortgages, marriages, and credit card bills are not made. Your 20s are your best shot to live free, poor, and, ultimately, happy. "Just get out of here," commands writer and professor Bob Shacochis. "Turn your life upside down. Leave your comfort zone. Be bold. Go. Go. Go." Even if you appear directionless to worried parents and concerned friends, have faith that you're not. Author Daniel Mason, who spent a year between college and medical school studying malaria in Thailand, says, "Traveling teaches you that everything you studied in books isn't as distant from the real world as it may have seemed." His experience became the basis of his acclaimed first novel, The Piano Tuner. He suggests that you "look for something that will surprise you. It doesn't have to be far away geographically, but it should be something different." And something that gets you involved with the communities you visit.
Peace, Brother
"Nothing can happen to you if you don't leave home," says author Paul Theroux, who spent 1963 to 1965 in Malawi as a Peace Corps (www.peacecorps.gov) volunteer, an experience that he describes as the single most important of his career. "Those who never get up and go away learn very little about themselves." J.F.K.'s world-volunteer program is celebrating its 44th year and remains as vital a path to self-discovery as ever; currently more than 7,733 Americans are participating in programs in 72 different countries—from Bolivia and Peru to Mongolia and China. It's an especially good choice for those who would benefit from structure. "When I graduated from college," says Theroux, "I wanted to write, but had no money. The Peace Corps was a natural choice for me; I was looked after while getting the opportunity to experience a developing country. I went to Malawi, learned a foreign language, and fell in love with Africa."
When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
 | The Peace Corps Library
Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related stories in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can find hundreds of stories about what RPCVs with your same interests or from your Country of Service are doing today. If you have a web site, support the "Peace Corps Library" and link to it today. |
 | Crisis Corps arrives in Thailand
After the Tsunami in Southeast Asia last December, Peace Corps issued an appeal for Crisis Corps Volunteers and over 200 RPCVs responded. The first team of 8 Crisis Corps volunteers departed for Thailand on March 18 to join RPCVs who are already supporting relief efforts in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and India with other agencies and NGO's. |
 | RPCVs in Congress ask colleagues to support PC
RPCVs Sam Farr, Chris Shays, Thomas Petri, James Walsh, and Mike Honda have asked their colleagues in Congress to add their names to a letter they have written to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, asking for full funding of $345 M for the Peace Corps in 2006. As a follow-on to Peace Corps week, please read the letter and call your Representative in Congress and ask him or her to add their name to the letter. |
 | Add your info now to the RPCV Directory
Call Harris Publishing at 800-414-4608 right away to add your name or make changes to your listing in the newest edition of the NPCA's Directory of Peace Corps Volunteers and Former Staff. Then read our story on how you can get access to the book after it is published. The deadline for inclusion is May 16 so call now. |
 | March 1: National Day of Action
Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went. |
 | Make a call for the Peace Corps
PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week. |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: National Geographic
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Malawi; Writing - Malawi
PCOL18093
01
.
