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:



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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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