July 2, 2005: Headlines: COS - Cape Verde: Blogs - Cape Verde: Personal Web Site: David Nadelman's Cape Verde Peace Corps Experience

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Cape Verde: Peace Corps Cape Verde : The Peace Corps in Cape Verde: July 2, 2005: Headlines: COS - Cape Verde: Blogs - Cape Verde: Personal Web Site: David Nadelman's Cape Verde Peace Corps Experience

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-245-37.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.245.37) on Sunday, July 03, 2005 - 12:23 pm: Edit Post

David Nadelman's Cape Verde Peace Corps Experience

David Nadelman's Cape Verde Peace Corps Experience

"My leaving is getting closer every single minute. I am not ready at all, I have not packed, I do not have a duffle bag, I only have half of the recommended packing list. The Peace Corps limits the amount of baggage to 80 pounds, anything over that you have to pay for at the airport. I am guessing that I will have nearly 300 pounds if I bring everything that my mother has strongly recommended, those objects include a heavy ration of guilt, seventy five different types of medication, and a complete kitchen set."

David Nadelman's Cape Verde Peace Corps Experience

Saturday, July 02, 2005
A Rash

[Excerpt]

So now I am in the final rounds of the world longest goodbye session. I feel pretty popular right now; people have been professing their love for me of late which I will remind them of often when I get back.

This forth of July I plan to drink myself into a stupor and wake up on the day of my departure to Philadelphia in a haze. At which point I will start meeting the other do-gooders and making them wonder if I’m on methadone when I slowly begin nodding out in the middle of their long winded explanation of why they decided to join the Peace Corps which I can assume will have something to do with counteracting the evil deeds that are being committed by corporate America and the Bush administration, at which point I will tell them that not only did I vote for George (a lie) but I also wrote Jesus Christ in for the Vice President slot. It is not my point to alienate these folks but I have a habit of telling complete strangers every detail of my life within the first twenty minutes that I meet them which is not only exhausting but I can actually see them making a mental note not to trust me when we begin our “friendship falls” when the team building exercises ensue right after we get off the plane.

I realize that I sound less than enthusiastic about this trip. The reason being that I applied for this opportunity last August and have been told that I can’t go, and then I can go, I would be going here and then there and yada-yada. I think that I’ll be excited when I get on the plane.

My itinerary looks like this, on July 5th I leave Boston heading for Philadelphia where I will get my shots and meet the other folks that are going with me to the Island. I believe that their will be approximately 30 other volunteers. This is what they call the orientation; essentially it will be used to make sure that no one is absolutely outwardly ape-shit insane. On July 7th I leave Philadelphia on a bus to some airport that escapes me in the New York/ New Jersey area. Then with my excessive amount of utterly useless crap I will board a plane with a one way ticket to Dakar Senegal. We have a 3 hour lay-over and then head to Cabo Verde. I promise that my next entry will be less sarcastic and bitter unless that’s the mood that I’m in and the magic eight ball says that’s likely.





When this story was posted in June 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:


Contact PCOLBulletin BoardRegisterSearch PCOLWhat's New?

Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
The Peace Corps Library Date: March 27 2005 No: 536 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.

Top Stories and Breaking News PCOL Magazine Peace Corps Library RPCV Directory Sign Up

American Taboo: A Peace Corps Tragedy Date: June 20 2005 No: 661 American Taboo: A Peace Corps Tragedy
Returned Volunteers met with author Philip Weiss in Baltimore on June 18 to discuss the murder of Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner. Weiss was a member of a panel that included three psychiatrists and a criminal attorney. Meanwhile, the Seattle U.S. Attorney's office announced that Dennis Priven cannot be retried for the murder. "We do not believe this case can be prosecuted by anyone, not only us, but in any other jurisdiction in the United States." Read background on the case here.

June 16, 2005: Special Events Date: June 16 2005 No: 654 June 16, 2005: Special Events
Philip Weiss, PCV murder writer, speaks in Baltimore June 18
"Rainforests and Refugees" showing in Portland, Maine until June 25
"Iowa in Ghana" on exhibit in Waterloo through June 30
NPCA to hold Virtual Leaders Forum on July 29
RPCV's "Taking the Early Bus" at Cal State until Aug 15
"Artists and Patrons in Traditional African Cultures" in NY thru Sept 30
RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

June 14: Peace Corps suspends Haiti program Date: June 14 2005 No: 651 June 14: Peace Corps suspends Haiti program
After Uzbekistan, the Peace Corps has announced the suspension of a second program this month - this time in Haiti. Background: The suspension comes after a US Embassy warning, a request from Tom Lantos' office, and the program suspension last year. For the record: PCOL supports Peace Corps' decision to suspend the two programs and commends the agency for the efficient way PCVs were evacuated safely. Our only concern now is with the placement of evacuated PCVs and the support they receive after interrupted service.

June 6: PC suspends Uzbekistan program Date: June 7 2005 No: 640 June 6: PC suspends Uzbekistan program
Peace Corps has announced that it is suspending the Uzbekistan program after the visas of 52 Peace Corps volunteers who arrived in January were not renewed. The suspension comes after a State Department warning that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in Uzbekistan and after the killings in Andizhan earlier in May. Background: PCOL published a report on April 23 that Peace Corps volunteers who arrived in January were having visa difficulties and reported on safety and visa issues in Uzbekistan as they developed.

June 6, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Date: June 12 2005 No: 643 June 6, 2005: This Week's Top Stories
Kinky Friedman will "sign anything except bad legislation" 6 Jun
Niels Marquardt Makes Chimpanzee Protection a Priority 6 Jun
Laurence Leamer needs approval for "Today" appearance 6 Jun
Desperate Housewives' Ricardo Chavira is son of RPCVs 6 Jun
Anthony Sandberg runs Berkeley sailing school 5 Jun
Amy Smith field-tests sugarcane charcoal 5 Jun
Mary Johnson organizes workshop on genocide 3 Jun
Jonathan Lash in 100 most Influential Business Leaders 3 Jun
Hastert jump-starts Chris Shays' Campaign 3 Jun
John Coyne says 41 RPCVs applied for scholarships 3 Jun
James Rupert writes on bombing in Kandahar mosque 1 Jun
John McCain says to expand opportunities for service 1 Jun
Jay Rockefeller's relationships with Japanese go way back 1 Jun
Anat Shenker met her husband during service in Honduras 31 May
Ryan Clancy punished without hearing for visiting Iraq 30 May
Melissa Mosvick remembered as a fallen American hero 29 May
Kurt Carlson played basketball against Togo's national team 29 May
Helen Thomas's favorite president remains JFK 24 May

Friends of the Peace Corps 170,000  strong Date: April 2 2005 No: 543 Friends of the Peace Corps 170,000 strong
170,000 is a very special number for the RPCV community - it's the number of Volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961. It's also a number that is very special to us because March is the first month since our founding in January, 2001 that our readership has exceeded 170,000. And while we know that not everyone who comes to this site is an RPCV, they are all "Friends of the Peace Corps." Thanks everybody for making PCOL your source of news for the Returned Volunteer community.


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: Personal Web Site

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Cape Verde; Blogs - Cape Verde

PCOL21133
02


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: