Peace Corps Stories: The Unofficial Podcast

There are many ways to learn about the local culture as a Peace Corps volunteer, but often the best lessons happen by accident rather than by design. In this episode we hear two stories out of the Ukraine, from Victoria Walker and Allison Miller, who made strong impressions on the locals, but maybe not for the reasons they would have chosen.

Shawna Miller finds much more than love when the circus comes to her little Honduran town.

Pets and animals tend to play outsize roles for Peace Corps Volunteers. As companions who, like us, don’t speak the local language, they can make the experience a lot easier. For Helen Alesbury, her dog was at the center of one of her most memorable moments in her time in El Salvador.

At some point, every volunteer finds themselves too far from a bathroom at the time they need it most. For Denver Governor, that moment turned out to be one of the most important.

Bob Nolan considers what “justice” means when confronting one of his students and friends in Zimbabwe.

All it took was a fish and a flip flop for Gabriella Miyares to find common ground with her host mother in Guyana.

Kevin Kwok remembers his gardening efforts in Mali, cut short by a military coup in 2012 that sent him home early.

Peter Clark (Kyryzstan, 2009-2010) recalls a challenging day on the playground early in his service, and we take a look back at the scatological memories that defined his service as emcee of the Peace Corps Story Slam in the final episode of Season 1.

Ryan Smith (The Gambia, 2007-2009) sees how a community deals with death during his first months in the Peace Corps.

Julie Behrens (Honduras, 2004-2006) takes her first work trip and almost makes it home in one piece.

Josh Norman (Togo, 2000-2002) remembers a tough decision when he had to choose between a project and a person.

Jane Garcia Buhks (Nicaragua, 2010-2012) and Robyn Fiedler (Nicaragua, 2011-2013) remember a night where they broke all the rules of partying, but they got through it together.

Sarah Porter (Macedonia, 2005-2007) discovers how sweet a little taste of home can be.

Shawna Miller (Honduras, 2001-2003) saw the events of September 11 from a distance, but experienced a closeness she didn’t expect.

To Teresa Liu (East Timor, 2003-2005), why did the chicken cross the road? takes on life or death consequences.

Jackie Gannon (Namibia, 2011-2013) remembers an eccentric character in town who scared Peace Corps staff but became one of her best friends.

Greg Emerson (Peru, 2003-2005) tells the story of how a small village in the Peruvian Andes, without electricity, came to find the Internet.

Marian Rivman (Philippines, 1966-1968) talks about why she joined the Peace Corps in 1966, and how the experience continued to shape her life 50 years later.

Travis Tinney (Kyrgyzstan, 2009-2011) remembers Pinto, an unlucky dog who overcame significant obstacles on the path to redemption.

Rick Barley (Uganda, 2007-2010) remembers a close call in the heart of Africa.

Josh Norman (Togo, 2000-2002) remembers The General, and his untimely end at the hands of an unfriendly neighbor.

Sarah Porter (Macedonia, 2005-2007) reflects on what happens when an American work ethic meets an unpaid local schoolteacher.