For prospective Peace Corps volunteers, I highly recommend the following book: Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village, by Sarah Erdman.
I read a few PCV memoirs (this plus Mango Elephants in the Sun and Living Poor) while I was in Tanzania, and Nine Hills was not only my favorite of the three, but I also thought Erdman perfectly encapsulated a lot of the emotions and frustrations that I (and probably other PCVs) felt during service, in a much more eloquent way than I could ever have written. She was in Coite d'Ivoire and there are definitely a lot of differences between TZ and Coite d'Ivoire, but her experience as a volunteer was shockingly similar to mine.
I read a few PCV memoirs (this plus Mango Elephants in the Sun and Living Poor) while I was in Tanzania, and Nine Hills was not only my favorite of the three, but I also thought Erdman perfectly encapsulated a lot of the emotions and frustrations that I (and probably other PCVs) felt during service, in a much more eloquent way than I could ever have written. She was in Coite d'Ivoire and there are definitely a lot of differences between TZ and Coite d'Ivoire, but her experience as a volunteer was shockingly similar to mine.
I also totally got some ideas for health projects and teaching methods from her.
