Written February 4
These are actual questions that I have been asked in Turkmenistan:
Will 50 Cent sing at my wedding?
Have I met Kevin McAllister from Home Alone?
Are all people from Chicago gangsters?
Do all Americans hate black people?
Are all black people rich?
Why does America like wars so much?
I’ve decided that Peace Corps is entering a new phase in its mission. In this globalized world, people already see ‘America’. It is there on Music Videos sold bootlegged at the bazaars, in the news beamed via satellite from Russia, in the Johnson’s & Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, and from countless other sources of varying levels of reliability. I may be the first American that some Turkmen have met, but I am defiantly not the first interaction they have had with America. That happens daily.
But, it is a flat interaction. The TV doesn’t talk back, and so much is left out of the sound bytes. More and more I am coming to understand my role here as contextualizing America—to take the images and understandings that are already here and give them history and meaning.
It’s hard though, to compete with the wonders of the media, and at times I think I am a disappointment. When you are expecting a combination of Home Alone and the Pussy Cat Dolls, a Peace Corps Volunteer is a bit of a let down. But, I deal with it. I am not trying to convince people here that Americans are like Turkmen because we are both distinctive breeds, but that most things go deeper. America as seen on TV may be exciting, glittery, and fascinating, but my version of America is in Nyyazow, making friends, talking back, and I hope that’s enough.
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4 comments:
Great comments Katheryne, and in the great competitioin between "my"volunteer and the media, Katheryne you win hands down! Back from Addis, letter getting in the mail on Monday morning, much love to you mummy
Brings to mind the purported "One-World Order"....and it's supposedly mode of implementation - the media.
Always great and fun! - to read from you, Katheryne. Good stuff and all the best! Joyce Gatambia
Great work Katheryne,you are blessed with your grandfather Loughran's appropach to demonstrating through action what true Americans are like.
God Bless,
David Loughran
Hey! I am not sure where to write this, but in your last letter you mixed up the pages and sent me a page that was meant for your Uncle Dave! Where Should I mail this to?
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