2010.02.01: Mongolia RPCV Matthew Davis writes: When Things Get Dark
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2010.02.01: Mongolia RPCV Matthew Davis writes: When Things Get Dark
Mongolia RPCV Matthew Davis writes: When Things Get Dark
Matthew Davis's stint as an English teacher with the Peace Corps in Mongolia was anything but peaceful. The 23-year-old had a dalliance with a married local, got quarantined during a bubonic-plague outbreak, bruised both kidneys in a city-square rumble, and tossed back bathtubs of vodka.
Mongolia RPCV Matthew Davis writes: When Things Get Dark
When Things Get Dark By Matthew Davis
Matthew Davis's stint as an English teacher with the Peace Corps in Mongolia was anything but peaceful. The 23-year-old had a dalliance with a married local, got quarantined during a bubonic-plague outbreak, bruised both kidneys in a city-square rumble, and tossed back bathtubs of vodka.
Even calm days in the classroom were spent combating cheating, domestic abuse, laziness, and the unnerving cold weather. "I learned that the Wall Street Journal burns better than the New York Times," Davis admits.
Although unlikely to become a marketing tool for the Peace Corps-whose doctors routinely discounted Davis's drinking problem-the memoir is a sincere account of good intentions gone awry and an entertaining splash of cultural anthropology.
On his way back from a road trip to visit Chinggis Khan's birthplace, Davis learns of the "serious rumor" that the warlord and national hero was reborn in 2000: "Though none of the passengers can give me specifics about where, who, or how they know . . . they don't doubt its veracity. The people say they've seen signs in the sky."
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Headlines: February, 2010; Peace Corps Mongolia; Directory of Mongolia RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Mongolia RPCVs; Writing - Mongolia
When this story was posted in February 2010, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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| Memo to Incoming Director Williams PCOL has asked five prominent RPCVs and Staff to write a memo on the most important issues facing the Peace Corps today. Issues raised include the independence of the Peace Corps, political appointments at the agency, revitalizing the five-year rule, lowering the ET rate, empowering volunteers, removing financial barriers to service, increasing the agency's budget, reducing costs, and making the Peace Corps bureaucracy more efficient and responsive. Latest: Greetings from Director Williams |
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Story Source: Washingtonian
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Mongolia; Writing - Mongolia
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