10 Years Since the Peace Corps
June 12, 2018
Last week marked 10 years since I left the comforts of American suburbia for a different life. It was 2008. I packed up two massive bags and flew to Philadelphia to meet a bunch of strangers, some would later become lifelong friends. From there, we got vaccinated and were inundated by information. Within a few days, we were shipped off…
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That Time When NYT Published My Words
December 27, 2014
Earlier this year, NYT printed my words on its website. For an amateur writer like myself, this was a big deal. Sure, my journalists friends are publishing on big name publications all day long like it’s no big deal, but for me, it was rather out of the ordinary. It began during my trip to Ethiopia back in February. I…
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Mourning the Loss of a Village Friend
July 7, 2013
Today was a sad day full of tragic news. I woke up to my NYT alert on the San Francisco plane crash, and made a mental note how spooky it feels that I am due to take a flight on a similar route in a few weeks’ time. You just never know. Then, I ended the day with a devastating…
Read MoreChina in Africa: Taiwanese American in Cameroon
March 20, 2013
When I decided to buy a one-way ticket to Shanghai, I began researching publications that report on Sino-Africa relations. Social media is an amazing place. A Twitter follower contacted me, and turns out he follows this issues closely and works with the China Africa Project. Recently, the Project came out with an iPhone app, and now I can follow the…
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Letter from Village
August 19, 2012
It’s rare these days to receive a hand written letter. Once in a blue moon, I will receive a postcard from a friend traveling. But a legitimate hand-written letter? I haven’t received one of those in a long long while. But today, I received one. It was written in French, from my Cameroonian friend, Victor, who lives in my village.…
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2012 Peace Corps Annual Gathering
July 2, 2012
Over the weekend, I met the Peace Corps volunteer on this 1964 issue cover of National Geographic. She was with the first group of volunteers to Ecuador, and one of many remarkable Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) that I met at the 2012 Peace Corps Annual Gathering. The event was hosted by the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA), an independent non-profit organization that works closely with the Peace Corps...
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The little things in life
November 23, 2011
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. In the past 6 years, I have only spent one Thanksgiving in the USA. I am beyond excited to be back. Celebrating this holiday in the foreign land, while at times memorable (those Peace Corps Thanksgivings were pretty epic), usually is pretty anti-climatic. Even though I am staying in the City and not going home for Thanksgiving,…
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On est ensemble!
September 28, 2011
The long-awaited Peace Corps reunion weekend happened a few days ago. This is the 50th year of the Peace Corps and this was the weekend that loads of events took place in DC. My stage (training group) took this opportunity and organized our own reunion on top of it. Somehow, we managed to get people to fly in from all…
Read MoreReverse Culture Shock: One Year Later.
August 10, 2011
I left Cameroon just a little over a year ago. This year went by in a blur. Swoosh! and it was gone. As I reflect upon this past year, I begin to realize the impact that reverse culture shock had on me. People always say that it’s easier going into a new experience than coming back. I never really had…
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Water For Thought?
March 24, 2011
Yesterday (March 22nd) was World Water Day. I wasn’t aware that there was such a day until I saw Peace Corps’ Twitter feed featuring a number of water projects that volunteers are doing around the world. I then remembered my two years of service without running water. Someone else on Twitter said that “More people on our planet have cell…
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