A very enjoyable read. Eve Brown-Waite’s first novel is a memoir of her experiences of living abroad for a good cause, first by herself (in the Peace Corps) and then with her husband (employed by CARE in Africa). Her husband John is actually the Peace Corps recruiter who interviews her and who she falls for, big time. Fresh out of college as a political science major, Eve did some grass-roots organizing in college and found she had a flair for it, and liked the idea of doing something “meaningful” for people. We follow her through her eventual posting to Ecuador, right after getting seriously involved with John. So, on the plane bound for her first experience in a third world country, instead of feeling determined and resolute and/or nervous, she’s crying her eyes out missing her boyfriend. Eve may be guilty of exaggerating her reactions to the culture in Ecuador and later to Uganda, but emphasizing her culture shock makes for lighthearted reading. She is naïve, but she can adjust – as in how she first refuses to get a “house girl” to clean for her in Uganda, but finally changes her mind after a servant finds a nest of mambo snakes in her neighbor’s house, behind their dresser. Her account of life in both countries is very down to earth, grounded in particulars (like her toddler eating termites like the locals), and the goals and ideals of the organizations that send people to these countries are not unduly emphasized. But what comes across is the attraction these other cultures hold for us in their family, village, and community ties and customs – and how adrift we are from these in our “developed” lands.
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