The second is a blog similar to Stuff White People Like but it's focused on expat aid workers. I found myself laughing and cringing, sometimes at the same time, while reading through. I've been guilty of a lot of it. Take, for example, the start of number four on Drivers which is eerily close to my description of arriving in Nairobi:
Upon arriving at the airport in a new country after a long flight, followed by the entanglement that is immigration, luggage retrieval, and customs, you stumble sweaty and bleary-eyed into the arrival pen. You scan the sea of unfamiliar faces, desperately hoping to see a sheet of A4 with your name on it. There it is! You make eye contact, nod and smile. And as you hand your whole being over to that other human, you can relax: You’re with the driver now.I also liked number 14 on hot showers (the shower head in my bathroom is a "suicide shower") and this tidbit from Establishing Field Cred:
You can also drop hints that you’ve got field cred by always pronouncing the names of cities and countries the way a local would (eg., Nee-ka-ra-wa instead of Nik-uh-rah-gwa).In the Peace Corps, I had a pretty good idea of whether or not I'd like you based on how you pronounced Nicaragua. Trying to establish field cred, in this case, wasn't going to get you very far.
Note: I've learned in my few short weeks in Nairobi that serving in the Peace Corps immediately gives you a deep reservoir of field cred in the eyes of non PC expat aid workers.
I love that video! Made me laugh so hard the first time I saw it... Did you know it was made by a Peace Corps employee here in Nicaragua filling in for the PTO? - he´s younger and pretty funny (as you can tell by the dialogue...)
ReplyDeleteP.S. Don Silvio said he was pissed at you for never calling.
P.P.S. I broke out a frisbee the other day with Silvio and the other kids thinking they wouldn´t know what it was, little did I know you had already taught them the ways of the frisbee!
Loved both the Peace Corps video and "Stuff Expat Aid Workers Like," which may force some good-humored self-reflection over at www.thekathmanduo.com too.
ReplyDeletePenny, email me Don Silvio's number. I'll give him a call. And yes, we used the frisbee a few times. It didn't come out much after I nailed Jimmy in the face and gave him a bloody nose. Be careful!
ReplyDeleteIf you liked Stuff Expat Aid workers like, you might enjoy this new blog I've just discovered:
ReplyDeletehttp://kitchenaid.posterous.com/