Bio rcollman

From Rpcvdraft

Who was Chris then? Autobiographical

I think there was one person younger than me in our group and I was part of a small set who had not completed college. I have no idea why I was selected.

I just turned 20 in April, when I started training at MSU. I went to a junior college, was interested in anthropology, worked in a place that made almond sheets (which were put under the trees to collect almonds) and irrigation dams, along with tents and awnings. I did know how to mow a lawn. I had 3 years of Latin and still consider my language aptitude pretty weak. That was my vague agricultural and cross cultural qualifications.

Actually being a summer boy scout counselor for 3 years while I was in High School should have gained high marks on my limited resume. At Camp Harvey West, I worked with 1 to 2 troops a week over a 7 week season as a "Ranger". I was used to dealing with different groups, leadership styles and adapting our camp's offerings to a troop's desires. I would led troops on daylong hikes, taught basic scouting camp skills and sometimes escort them to special activities run by others. And for two years I was also the camp Master of Ceremonies. This included 2 well rehearsed campfires a week for 300 campers. Prior to Peace Corps, I had read the book "The Ugly American" which probably influenced how I answered questions in the application.

A typical day

Get up in the morning. Stand under my bucket shower, eat a breakfast prepared by Fabian. Off to a village. Usually this would start with a community meeting about the community oil palm farm. It might have a brief visit to see the farm. Then my standard practice would be to allow the village leaders to entertain me at somebody's house. Here we would talk about the next meeting and things which needed to be accomplished.

Summary of my Peace Corps experience

Like most other PCVs, my Peace Corp experience was profound. For me I got to experience the best and the worst of a PVC's tour. I am so glad that I was in Nigeria first. And I believe I was lucky to be stationed in Ikot Ekpene, which of course (like most other PCVs, I still believe) was the best working situation in the entire country. I was busy all the time and helped people do good things. By contrast, only 50% of the Volunteers assigned to Somalia finished their 2 year tour. If it were not for another Nigerian transplant (Everett T), who got me a job as a roadie in a traveling PCV rock and roll band, I probably would not have finished my extension in Somalia.

After Somalia I went to Geneva and Red Cross, NYC and the United Nations to see if I could assist with aid to Biafra. No doors opened up, probably because I was burnt out mentally from Somalia and could not see them. I went to Washington to see about USAID, but met another Nigeria XVI volunteer and decided being USAID in Viet Nam was not my cup of tea. I ended up in the Army and never left the states. After the Army, I went back to Nigeria on a 4 week visa and spent 2 weeks with the Clan Head of Ekpenyong Atai, who was a friend. [edit] See also