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“The geology of the National Park where I worked is an important part of its history and background. I created an educational program about the park’s geology that culminated in a project that was enjoyed by kids at summer camp and in the ecoclub....

“The geology of the National Park where I worked is an important part of its history and background. I created an educational program about the park’s geology that culminated in a project that was enjoyed by kids at summer camp and in the ecoclub. This picture is from the first summer camp, in July of 2011. The kids worked in small groups to make a paper mache volcano. They painted it and then each kid had the chance to create an eruption with baking soda and vinegar, which happened with great screams of delight. Because there was no Spanish language information available about how to do this, I videotaped the kids explaining the project. That video now has 78,000 views on You Tube.”

Mexico Peace Corps volcano kids smiles laughter cute learning fun science Spanish summer art ecosystem geology national park

Aug 24, 2015
“I took this photo while visiting one of my student’s village during my first year of service in West Africa. This was my first time at her village, as well as the first for most of the villagers to see a foreigner. The children were especially very...

“I took this photo while visiting one of my student’s village during my first year of service in West Africa. This was my first time at her village, as well as the first for most of the villagers to see a foreigner. The children were especially very shy but curious to see me. I brought a bottle of bubbles to break the ice and as soon as I started blowing bubbles the entire village started clapping and dancing. The children blossomed and danced with joy as they tried to touch them. "What are they?” the little girl in the picture asked, I replied “ They’re called bubbles, and they’re here to make you dance”. This is a sequence of pictures I took of them. This picture in particular shows the little girl trying to catch bubbles while she dances. As I look at this picture, it brings back memories of those special happy and yet simple moments that have defined my life as not only a volunteer but as a human being.” -@peacecorps Volunteer Charlene Espinoza
via Instagram http://bit.ly/1D6P9uF

Instagram bubbles Africa Liberia culture explore travel dance happy joy kids

Aug 23, 2015
“This is one of the best days I had during my service. I, and a few PCV friends in my region, taught my students baseball. We made a day of it, with learning, practicing, and then games. I even hunted the nearest big city for juice boxes. For some...

“This is one of the best days I had during my service. I, and a few PCV friends in my region, taught my students baseball. We made a day of it, with learning, practicing, and then games. I even hunted the nearest big city for juice boxes. For some reason, juice boxes seemed as American as baseball to me. This photo was taken in Kazakhstan in 2011. My sweetest 5th grader is guarding first, and another 5th grader is running for first. The school is in the background.”

Peace Corps baseball kids fun friends students learning culture cross-cultural exchange Kazakhstan

Aug 14, 2015
“This picture was taken in 1971 in Pichincha province, Ecuador. I was on a picnic with a couple other Peace Corps friends, heard flute music, laughter and rustling in the grass just behind us and took this shot without even standing up or moving. To...

“This picture was taken in 1971 in Pichincha province, Ecuador. I was on a picnic with a couple other Peace Corps friends, heard flute music, laughter and rustling in the grass just behind us and took this shot without even standing up or moving. To me the picture typifies the simple joys that can be found in leisure activities which in addition demonstrates the transmission of culture from older persons to the very young, thereby giving meaning to our existence on this earth. As I am now a grandfather, this is a value I hope to increasingly share with my grandchildren as they grow older. And Andean flute music is some of the most beautiful and haunting on the planet as my CD collection attests (and to which I have added over and over since those days in Ecuador).”

Ecuador Peace Corps music kids simple joys Andean music beautiful fun cross-cultural exchange culture

Aug 11, 2015

“This picture was taken in early March 2014 in Guatemala. For the Peace Corps Week Classroom Challenge, my Spanish teacher from High School in Washington and I organized a Skype chat for her 9th graders to talk to some of the kids I work with. It was a beautiful opportunity to share across cultures. It is hard to see what is going on here, but it is a bunch of youth all crowded around my laptop. When you don’t have a large screen or a projector, you have to make due!”

Guatemala Peace Corps cross-cultural exchange kids Spanish language culture travel youth cute fun smiles sharing

Aug 07, 2015

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