The Columbia River Peace Corps Association’s Book Club in Portland, Oregon, was nice enough to invite me to participate in their discussion of The Mountain School on September 16. They have an enviable group and routine going on up there.
I had a great time hearing the thoughts of those who read the book, many of whom had been Peace Corps volunteers in decades past and in countries far from Lesotho (Philippines, Ecuador, Liberia, Venezuela, Ghana, Belize, Niger). I learned that there are some experiences that many Peace Corps volunteers share despite differences in era or continent: dangerous rides in buses or taxis, getting robbed or mugged. Not that it’s all trial and tribulation! But those are things that stick with you, and it’s good to commiserate about them, and once it’s long after the fact you can even laugh about them.
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