Herein reside seventeen stories (and one poem) written by Peace Corps Volunteers from across the generations and across the planet. Such writing often brings expectations for a certain type of book (heartwarming, uplifting, nice). Many books give you that experience. And we like those books. They are good books. The world needs those books. This is not that book. Americans Do Their Business Abroad is a collection of stories a little too goofy, a little too personal (and maybe a little too gross) to belong anywhere else. Latrines. Goat eyeballs. Pickpockets. Whimsy. Wisdom. And arson in the name of hygiene. Enjoy.

 

 

The humorous memories of being a Peace Corps Volunteer
It has been 30 years since I left the Peace Corps but reading this book brought back some of my more humorous memories such as Marshall's 2 hole latrine and the story of the world traveler raking his money out of Martin's latrine. Any former volunteer can relate to the stories here and laugh now even if the authors might not have laughed at the time of the various situations they wrote about.

- Anne Kaiser, RPCV (Togo '76-'79)

Fun Read!
As a former Peace Corps volunteer, I truly enjoyed reading the short stories included in this book. The book shows that to truly be a successful volunteer, you need to have a sense of humor and be able to roll with the punches. Its a great compilitation and a fun, quick read.

- Angela, Amazon.com

This is the other side of Peace Corps
This book is full of hilarious volunteer stories that are too outrageous to be made up. Be prepared to laugh out loud as you get a taste of the side of volunteer life that's entertaining but not for the weak of stomach. Every volunteer has experiences that are terrifying, gross or disturbing at the time but hilarious after the fact. This book is full of those stories. Enjoy!

- Katie Devine, RPCV (Dominican Republic, '06-'08)

A Window Into the Wacky World of Peace Corps Volunteers
Warning: Reading this book may cause sudden outbursts of laughter, tears, intense cerebral activity, a heightened sense of cultural awareness, the heebie-jeebies, deep tingling sensations, and/or temporary insanity since readers may experience a longing desire to join the Peace Corps and get in on all the fun.

Why should you read "Americans Do Their Business Abroad?" Because there is no better source on earth of non-fiction that reads like a wild trip to fantasyland, is that good enough for you?

These insightfully sensitive and hilarious stories, written by RPCVs (returned peace corps volunteers), offer us an intellectually stimulating yet highly entertaining window into the wacky world of Peace Corps.

Or if you simply wish to know FIRSThand what's happening in the THIRD world, or SECOND even, don't log on to some pathetically fancy encyclopedia, and please don't bother with the sterile pages of the CIA World Fact Book, just honor America's bravest college-educated volunteers by reading our stories.

We RPCVs volunteered to spend at least two prime years of our lives in the most remote, exotic, and crazy places on earth. We went with the highest-minded and principled intentions (usually) to represent The United States of America (more or less), only to return entirely humbled, but with amazing stories about the godforsaken land(s) where were we fought (and usually lost) the good fight. The very least any American intellectual who was too chicken to join the Peace Corps right out of college can do is buy a collection of our best stories.

- Andrew Herman, RPCV (Gabon, '93-96)