From Kabul to Dakar: Peace Corps Stories from the Rossmoor News

In 1974, Douglas Hergert landed in Kabul, Afghanistan, to begin what would become a five-year, two-country tour in the Peace Corps. He lived and worked for two years in Afghanistan – when the country was still a peaceful and beautiful place to visit. Then he transferred to Sénégal, in West Africa. During his Peace Corps years, Hergert had great adventures, which, now many years later, he shares with humor and warm attention to detail: • Living in a mud house in rural Afghanistan • Attending a village Afghan wedding • Learning to barter in Pashto in the bazaars of Afghanistan • Eating in a kabaab shop in Kandahar, the only foreigner present • Experiencing an earthquake in southern Afghanistan • Teaching at the University of Dakar • Getting married at the Cathedral of Dakar • Shopping for a Thanksgiving turkey in Kaolack, Sénégal • Mastering the art of Sénégalese cuisine • Living with the mysteries of cross-linguistic meaning • Nurturing an African son