Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Peace Corps Potluck Dinner - RPCVs, WPCVs and Hopefuls and Interested

Sunday, April 25th, we attended an "end of the year" potluck dinner at the home of John and Jill Paul, and their son and daughter-in-law Chris and Anna, in Chapel Hill.  Except for Jill, they are all Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs).  Nice sized crowd there, many of them students from the University.  Most of the guests were nominees (as are we) or invitees (have a definite departure date and destination).  That makes them Waiting Peace Corps Volunteers (you guessed it - WPCVs).  The remainder were people who had applied but not been nominated (Hopefuls) or those who wanted to learn more and spouses (Interested).

We learned SO much - from how much underwear we should take, how to deal with snakes, mosquitoes, and scorpions, what the PC will give us and what we're expected to provide. 

Let's see, what else?  How to ride a bike while wearing a skirt.  In most countries, the women are expected to wear a skirt - a long skirt - AND the a common way to get around is on a bicycle.  We will not be allowed to drive, so bikes, taxis, other people driving a car or bus, will be our way to get around.  Well, walking is OK, too.

The majority of the people had been somewhere in Africa.  Sounds like we need to be careful about the water if we're in a rural area.  Those who chose NOT to boil the water eventually got used to the critters in it, but went through some serious sickness. 

There were several couples who had gone over as married couples.  They admitted that it was really helpful to have someone with whom to share/vent/rely.  One couple admitted they didn't cook all the time, that it was fun to go out to roadside stands or little markets to get ready-made meals.  Just like Steve and I do now!  They did mention that there's no 1-800 DOMINOS.  :--(

Enough for now . . .

1 comment:

Rebecca Clay Haynes said...

On another note, John Paul is a friend of ours and just the other day mentioned that he'd been to a Peace Corps meeting with lots of "older" potential volunteers. He was amazed at the interest! (I mentioned you two but not by name, not knowing there was a connection...)