Peace Corps DC office became a bit nasty

The Peace Corps DC office became a bit nasty on Friday regarding the content of my website. If you haven’t read the email from Rita Jimenez yet, you might consider scrolling down to my second May 30 entry.

Briefly stated, they wanted me to remove the Welcome Packet section of my site. I received two phone calls about this on Thursday and told Rita that will remove all links to this page once I a) recover from my jetlag and b) found a computer with the software that will help me do so.

Rita was hoping I’d take care of it that afternoon. I told her I’d try to remove it before I leave on Monday, but that I would be happy to take care of it in Guyana if I ran out of time before my departure.

On Friday, however, I received a call from Amber Myers of the South America desk. She, too, was interested in having me remove the Welcome Packet from my site; only she was more pressing. According to Amber, my Peace Corps invitation was in jeopardy if I didn’t remove the content right away.

I really did not appreciate her threat to revoke my invitation to serve. I’m quite frustrated that the DC office offered no compassion regarding the scarcity of my time. I still needed to unpack from my recent move from Indianapolis and my trip to Hawaii. And with only three days to go, I haven’t even begun packing for the next two years of my life.

Needless to say, I searched through all my boxes, found the required software, installed it on a machine, and spent a few hours updating pages and removing links. It’s done. But my spirit and impression of the Peace Corps sure has been tainted. I hope this is no indication of the kind of treatment volunteers and I will receive in the next few years.