The Spring 2021 issue of WorldView, the magazine of the National Peace Corps Association, arrived a few weeks back, and I was delighted to see that David and Champa Jarmul had contributed essays about their service in Moldova. David and Champa fell in love when David was a PCV in Nepal in the 70s, and when David retired from Duke University, they joined the Peace Corps again. David has written much more about their experience at his blog, Not Exactly Retired
In that issue of WorldView, I came across two other personal connections.
Richard Celeste contributed to a collection by former Peace Corps directors on what they’d recommend to President Biden. “Double it!” Celeste begins his piece. (I agree.) Celeste had already finished his stint as Peace Corps director, and then as governor of Ohio, when Erin and I had dinner with him on the eve of his ambassadorship to India and our service in Vanuatu. I blogged about that here.
And on page 45 of the magazine there’s a photo from Paama showing a line of women in their island dresses, sitting on the grass as they weave palm fronds into the baskets they use to carry yams and taro from the garden to market. One of the women is Celia, Noel’s sister, and since Noel considered me his brother, she’s family.
Three years ago, Erin and I and the children were in Vanuatu visiting with Leah and Celia. That return to Paama was a fantastic trip, and it reflects the beauty of not just the Ni-Vanuatu but also the brilliance of the U.S. Peace Corps.
© Anton Zuiker