http://peacecorpsat50.org/Default.aspx A syndication of the online stories available at peacecorpsat50.org. en-us Copyright Nile.com Bookstore http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=1 Today the PeaceCorpsAt50.org website has come to life. We can't wait to hear your stories. Fri, 25 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=2 The word is spreading! Peace Corps Online, an excellent site for up-to-the-minute PC news, has posted a news release for Peace Corps At 50. Check it out. Please visit the site: http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/2199069.html Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=3 Stories are beginning to come in. So far, Africa is leading the pack! We feel sure that RPCVs who served in After the Cold War countries are close to hitting the submit button. Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=4 Take a look at this site! The project is getting good coverage. www.peacecorpsconnect.org/peacecorps50. Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=5 Kwabena O. Akurang-Parry, Associate Professor of African History & World History at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, writes that he was a young boy in Ghana when his parents hosted two PCVs. Peace Corps volunteers were his teachers and gave him a lens through which to view the United States. With Kwabena's observation in mind, we would like to clarify that the invitation to this project extends to those from our host countries who might have a thing or two to say about their half of the Peace Corps experience. If we need to translate, we can figure that out. Please pass the word. Sat, 21 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=6 Our soft deadline has now passed with a Happy New Year! We now have a hard one: March 1, 2008. That’s the anniversary of Kennedy’s Executive Order 10924: the day it all began. We are getting such excellent stories. We would like more just like them. Africa RPCVs have so far been the most prolific, not just from one county, but from all over the place. This is the perfect time to write up your memories as a tonic in a time of political headaches. Thu, 03 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=7 The political parties have their Super Tuesday. Peace Corps at 50 has Super February! The stories are coming in now. Add yours to the collection. And if it isn't quite ready for prime time, tell us your idea and let us help. It's the Peace Corps Way! Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=8 We are on a roll with stories, and it just seems misguided to cut it all off in March. So we're extending the deadline to another famous day: April 15. Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=9 We have received news that Friends of Nigeria is just launching a wiki for their members to record the kind of history, information, and stories that we describe on this site. We believe that the more, the merrier. Check out http://www.wikifon.org that has just recently been released to their membership. Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=10 Attention all PCV map makers! Chris Delcher has launched a project that aims to collect maps created by PCVs. Check out his site to see all the wonderful and various maps he has collected to far. Add yours to the collection. www.chrisdelcher.carbonmade.com To contact Chris Delcher: cddelcher@comcast.net Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=11 It's a little known fact, but Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, played a key role in creating the shape of the Peace Corps and in training the first groups to go to Pakistan in 1961. So come to Northern Colorado on August 22-23, 2008, for a cool reunion at the foot of the Rockies. The event coincides with the Democratic Convention in Denver: book those reservations now! Meet other writers! For more information, go to www.BeetSteet.org. It will be fun. Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=12 Pass this site along to anyone who doubts the long term, positive effects of Peace Corps service. RPCV Natalie Bryant Rizzieri (Armenia 11) has turned her work at an orphanage and special school in Kapan, Armenia, into a part of her day-to-day life. Check it out. http://www.friendsofwarmhearth.org/ Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=13 You may have noticed that the deadline notice has vanished from the site. That date, April 15, let us see what we have to work with: and what we have is excellent. But, being editors of abundance, we would like to have even more to work with. The more voices we have telling the story of Peace Corps, the more nuanced a story we can offer a larger public. So if you have a story to tell or know someone else who does, we are still accepting submissions. Contact Jane Albritton (jane.albritton@peacecorpsat50.org) with any questions. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=14 There was a fine gathering in Fort Collins, Colorado, of RPCVs and friends. It was, in part, to honor three Peace Corps pioneers—Maury Albertson, Pauline Birky-Kreutzer, Andy Rice—and to look to the future. Carl Pope, head of the Sierra Club, was the keynote speaker. His message is worth looking for. Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=15 Pauline Birky-Kreutzer died August 21, 2008. Most PCVs and RPCVs have never heard her name, but she was coauthor of a congressional feasibility study that led to the founding of the Peace Corps and the first Peace Corps director in Pakistan. She wrote her memoir, Peace Corps Pioneer, when she was 87 and was mentally sharp until she died at 92. Shabash, Pauline! Well done. Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=16 A new documentary, Once in Afghanistan, came as a sneak preview to the Peace Corps Reunion in Fort Collins. The film captures the female volunteers’ stories of working door-to-door in Afghan villages vaccinating women and children. They walked in on weddings, on funerals, wherever people gathered and vaccinated everyone. It's premier will be in Vermont in October. Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=17 One of the early forces in the founding of the Peace Corps has died. For comments on Maury Albertson, please go to http://peacecorpsonline.org Once you've accessed this site, scroll down to Jane Albritton writes: Memories of Maury Albertson. Maury has written one of the introductions to our volumes. Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=18 Big things are happening at the Peace Corps at 50 site. It will have a new look and let you have a sneak preview of the stories to be published for the 50th Anniversary in 2011. Stay tuned! Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=19 We would like to welcome Aaron Barlow as the new editor for Africa and the Middle East and thank Dennis Cordell for so ably shepherding that volume through its first stages. He is a friend and a friend to this project. And what good fortune that Aaron had just sent his most recent manuscript off to the publisher and was able to step into the editing position at this pivotal moment in the life of Peace Corps at 50. Click on Editors and read all about him. Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=20 These little known facts just in from Rajeev Goyal, RPCV (Nepal) and motive force behind Push for Peace Corps (www.pushforpeacecorps.org). * Today the Peace Corps is half the size it was in 1966. Then there were over 15,000 volunteers in the field. Now there are 7800. *In 2009, the number of volunteers sent to the field was down by 500. Bad budget year. *There are 19 countries still waiting for the volunteers they requested years ago. Maybe the stories from Peace Corps at 50 can serve as a reminder that Peace Corps is not an artifact of a more idealistic time in US history, but a durable, sustainable model for how to get along in a world energized by cultures wildly different from our own. Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=21 Wishing you a prosperous Year of the Tiger! Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=22 It's time to start reading stories from Peace Corps at 50! Visit often for a look at what's new. Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=23 We would like you to follow us as we tweet our way to 2011 and beyond. The tweeter for this week is the Indian Mynah. If you would like to suggest another bird, let us know. Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=24 Check out the Peace Corps at 50 video on YouTube. Let us know what you think. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ9lkJ0xvMc Sat, 01 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=25 The work that Chris Richardson and PushIQ did on our video is getting rave reviews in the design world. Take a look and add a comment! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ9lkJ0xvMc Thu, 06 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=26 Susan Brady, our publishing guru, reminded us that from the beginning we wanted to include local voices from countries where we served. Could you help us locate a "grace note" story for each of our books? We would like to hear from people who experienced Peace Corps as hosts. Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=27 Reilly Ridgell has written a great story about a little language misunderstanding that almost got him into trouble. Did you ever have a similar problem? (I did. Who knew the the words for "food" and "one-eyed man" were so close in Hindi?) We would love to hear from you. Send your language gaff to headsup@peacecorpsat50.org. We'll post it. (But, remember, this is a family friendly site.) Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=28 If you never saw Haiti before the devastating earthquake, take a look at RPCV Melissa Basta's images on the Gallery page. Click on the Flickr link for the full descriptions. Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=29 It is official: the four books of Peace Corps at 50 will be published by Travelers' Tales/Solas House, Inc. The publication date will be March 2011, to commemorate JFKs signing of the executive order, which brought the Peace Corps into being. Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=30 Finally our project made it on to the Pepsi Refresh funding site. We have been trying since April! Go to www.refresheverything.com, locate Peace Corps at 50 and vote: every day! And while you're there, check out the other worthy projects. The St. Bernard Project in New Orleans just got funded for help with mental health. Bravo! Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=31 We need all the support you can give, either by texting or online. Follow plan A to text your vote, or plan B to cast your vote online: PLAN A: to text your vote (standard text msg fee): 1. text message to Pepsi (73774) 2. Text this number (into the subject line): 102060 PLAN B: to cast your vote online (and see the cool 30-second video Chris created) 1. click http://www.refresheverything.com/peacecorpsat50 2. you will need to logon and create a password, and then type the two words you see That's it! You can vote daily! Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=32 We are moving up in the standings, but we are still way, way behind. Let's surprise everyone and surge to the finish line in the top 10! Fri, 24 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=33 Chris Richardson and his PushIQ team—creators of this website and our excellent video—have done it again. Check out the video they created for Push for Peace Corps. Then pass the word, dig it, tweet it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUruDQAmAYA Fri, 24 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=34 Check out this video from Nightly News, and if you have a mind to, add a comment. There seems to be a lot of misinformation about the Peace Corps out there. We can help correct it. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39151931/ns/nightly_news-making_a_difference/ Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=35 If you do not already know about the Black Mountain Institute, you need to look it up. blackmountaininstitute.org/ On October 14, the anniversary of candidate Kennedy's rousing speech in Michigan, the Institute hosted a splendid panel discussion featuring four writers who had been in the Peace Corps: Marnie Mueller, Mary-Ann Tirone Smith, Peter Hessler, and Paul Theroux. The organizer of the event, Richard Wiley, is also a distinguished writer and an RPCV. There will soon be a podcast of the symposium available on iTunes. It is well worth listening to. Sat, 16 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=36 The first two books in the series—Africa and The Americas—will soon be rolling off the presses. We will keep you posted and will soon reveal our beautiful new cover designs. Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=37 Sargent Shriver has died. He was energetic force that made the idea of a Peace Corps a living thing. It was one thing to sign the executive order establishing the Peace Corps. It was quite another to quicken an idea into the most creative diplomatic initiative the United States has ever known. Let's keep that flame alive. Tue, 18 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=38 After searching for months for just the right one, we have found the proverb to inspire our title: Gather the Fruit, One by One "De a uno se junta el mistol." Can you guess what it's all about? Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=39 This blog is just a click away. (OK, actually it's a copy and paste into a new browser away. Not so hard!) http://audsandens.blogspot.com/2011/01/one-hand-does-not-catch-buffalo.html Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=40 Welcome to our intern, Laura Stacy, a senior journalism major at Colorado State University, which ranks third in the nation in the number of undergraduate alumni per capita serving in the Peace Corps and 10th overall. If you have any questions about the books or the publication dates, just contact Laura through the Heads Up link. Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=41 The first book in our series, One Hand Does Not Catch a Buffalo: Africa, has won the 2011 Independent Publisher Book Award silver medal for Travel Essays. Editor Aaron Barlow was in New York on May 23 to receive the award for all of us. Conducted each year to honor the year's best independently published books, the IPPY awards are known for recognizing excellence in a broad range of subjects and rewarding titles with a different take on social and political issues. Peace Corps rocks! Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=42 If you have not already seen the review by Tony D'Souza (Ivory Coast 2000-2002, Madagascar (2002-2003) posted on Peace Corps Worldwide (www.peacecorpsworldwide.org), be sure to go there and read it. How fortunate to be reviewed by such a fine writer who took the time and care to understand and then clearly express what this book and the others in the series are all about. Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=43 The first two books in our series, for Africa and The Americas, are ready for your reading pleasure. The second two in the set—The Heart of Eurasia: A Small Key Opens Big Doors, and Asia/Pacific: Even the Smallest Crab Has Teeth—are in galleys and will be available from your favorite bookseller and Amazon later this summer. We will keep you posted. Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=44 If you do not have plans for June 30 to July 11, think about making your way to DC and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which this year features the Peace Corps, Colombia, and Rhythm and Blues. What's not to love about that? Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=45 If you are going to go to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, be sure to take a look at the story here entitled "Kennedy's Orphans" by Ron Schwarz. It double dips the festival: Colombia and the Peace Corps. Every legislator needs to read it. Sat, 25 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=46 And now for the latest news, that has been quite late in coming. One week before the Washington, DC, shindig celebrating the 50th, Jane had a bicycle wreck and wrecked her elbow. One surgery later, she was on her way to DC in her "bling sling" to introduce the four volumes of Peace Corps at 50 at the Library of Congress luncheon in honor of Peace Corps writers. The events of the weekend served as a reminder of the good work we have done and continue to do. Stay tuned for a burst of new stories on this site as the healing elbow gets back to work. Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=47 All four of our books in the four-volume set of Peace Corps stories are now in print and available for order. Vol. 1, One Hand Does Not Catch a Buffalo, Africa Vol. 2, Gather the Fruit One by One, The Americas Vol. 3, A Small Key Opens Big Doors, Eurasia Vol. 4, Even the Smallest Crab Has Teeth, Asia and the Pacific Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=48 On the occasion of the Library of Congress Luncheon that honored Peace Corps writers, John Coyne—keeper of the flame—gave a brief address on where writing about the Peace Corps experience fits into a larger literary context. It is eloquent. And those who have followed the progress of the Peace Corps at 50 will be pleased to see our story project mentioned. Thank you, John. http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/the-50th/2011/10/04/writers/ Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=49 The Tattered Cover in Denver, one of the last great independent bookstores, is hosting an event featuring the quartet of books from Peace Corps at 50: One Hand Does Not Catch a Buffalo, Gather the Fruit One by One, A Small Key Opens Big Doors, and Even the Smallest Crab Has Teeth. Jane Albritton will be there to represent the series and to talk about the stories. Mon, 28 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=50 The evening discussion and reading at the Tattered Cover in Denver on December 2 had the extra benefit of having two contributors in the audience: from Bulgaria, Bruce McDonald ("The Fourth of July" in A Small Key Opens Big Doors), and from the Philippines, Arlene Lipman ("Of Girls and Dogs and Cats" in Even the Smallest Crab Has Teeth"). Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=51 What does it take to get copies of the Peace Corps at 50 books in libraries? RPCV librarians say all you need to do is ask. So next time you are in your neighborhood library, please inquire. A book in a library has a special kind of life. Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=52 Just in case you missed the news about the awards the PC@50 books have won, here they are. One Hand Does Not Catch a Buffalo (Arron Barlow, ed.) won a Silver IPPY in the 2010 Travel Essay Category. A Small Key Opens Big Doors (Jay Chen, ed.) won a Silver IPPY in 2011. In 2012, Peace Corps Worldwide announced that the series had been given the 2011 Award for Peace Corps Collection (http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/pc-writers/2012/09/06/winner-of/). Thanks to all the contributors who made this series such a wonderful success. Fri, 15 Nov 2013 00:00:00 -0800 http://peacecorpsat50.org/News.aspx?n=53 Now you can download all the Peace Corps at 50 stories on your own reader and enjoy them in the type of your choice! Who would have thought in 1961 that this brave new world would have such wonders in it! Fri, 15 Nov 2013 00:00:00 -0800