Fall 2006 Issue
Regular features
Lessons that can't be learned in a classroom
Elizabeth Munz and husband Joshua
with children from the village they lived in during
their years in the Peace Corps
Three department graduate students share,
Three department graduate students share,
gain knowledge in Peace Corps stints
By Jasmine Stein Mass Communication, Sophomore
It was an experience Elizabeth Munz never imagined having but will never forget. She was standing in a dugout canoe on a river in Suriname, South America, spear in hand, attempting to catch fish as part of an ancient ritual called "ponso."
She and husband Joshua Munz had been invited by the villagers of Godo-olo to participate. The night before the ritual, villagers head upriver and string hammocks along the side of the river. In the morning, men beat vines called "neko" with wooden clubs. Beating the vines allows a narcotic juice to seep into the river. The neko intoxicates the fish and makes them come to the surface, making them easier to spear.
"There were tons of canoes darting around with people standing on the edges of them spearing the fish. We caught a ton of fish that day and it was the best fish I have ever tasted," she said. "The ritual was unlike anything I had ever seen, and it is an unforgettable memory."
Munz is one of three current graduate students in the Department of Communication who joined the Peace Corps preceding their graduate studies to experience another culture and to help find their purpose in life.
Jessica Trimble, right, with a Nicaraguan family
Munz, Ph.D. student, and Jessica Trimble, M.A. student, both regretted not taking advantage of study abroad opportunities during their undergraduate studies, so they decided to experience a new culture by joining the Peace Corps. Joshua Frye, Ph.D. student, was a second generation Peace Corps volunteer.
"My parents served in the Peace Corps in the late sixties a few years after President Kennedy inaugurated the program," he said. "Over the years, meeting my parents' old Peace Corps friends, seeing slides, photos and hearing stories stuck with me, and I wanted to carry on the legacy."
Munz, who served from 2002-2004, taught English to adults, helped with small business endeavors, drinking water initiatives, and facilitated a seminar on caring for the elderly. Trimble, who served her time in Dipilto Nuevo, Nicaragua, in 2002-2003, taught basic health classes at the elementary school, gave health education talks, created health activities for pre-schoolers, and taught a health class to expectant and breast-feeding mothers. Frye served his time from 1997 to 1999 in San Rafael, Lempira, in the mountains of western Honduras. He was a sustainable agriculture extensionist, teaching residents soil conservation; organic soil improvement, such as composting and mulching; and integrated pest management.
All three encountered people who not only humbled them and changed their lives forever, but who enlightened them with their rich history.
The 1,500 villagers in Godo-olo are called Maroons and are descendants of African slaves, said Munz.
"During the plantation era in Suriname when it was a Dutch colony, several slaves escaped into the jungle. The people we stayed with were the descendants of those escaped slaves," said Munz.
All three received monthslong training prior to their assignments. Still, the Peace Corps tested their communication skills as they were faced with learning new languages and tackling other difficulties that come with being so immersed in a foreign language and culture. It also was hard being out of contact with family and friends for up to six weeks at a time, or adjusting to life without conveniences taken for granted in the United States.
"I remember writing home and telling my parents we laughed in the face of labels boasting 'refrigerate after opening.' We ate well but had to do without milk or cheese or yogurt," said Munz. The couple caught rain water off their zinc roof into a durotank and used a filter given to them by the Peace Corps.
Joshua Munz built a shower out of bamboo and "although it was cold, that was a nice luxury and was something other volunteers tried to adopt if possible. The other option was a bucket bath," said Munz. And the latrine "was not a hardship but is something I don't miss," she said.
The thatched "porch" was an addition by Josh Munz
Trimble said she was constantly amazed at how the villagers improvised.
"It changes your perspective on the world and forces you to think differently. It humbles you when you realize what you do not know and how much others can teach you," said Trimble.
Frye was so touched by his experience that he wanted to leave a gift for the farmers he said "had taken a risk to trust and work with me." He applied for a grant and secured funds for the construction of eight, 2,000-pound capacity metal silos to preserve grain in.
"Then, as my going away party, I invited eight of the most ambitious and accomplished farmer-leaders to my house. We had a training session and then I gave them the silos," Frye said. "They were so ecstatic. We then had a big feast which involved chasing and killing some village chickens, building a corncob fire, deplucking, deboning and cooking."
His experience also spurred his interest in studying social movement persuasion and leadership from the communication perspective.
Munz said while her transition back into her studies has been challenging, she believes she is much more prepared for it after her Peace Corp experience.
"I feel like I have useful real life examples to apply to theories and research projects," she said.
She and husband Joshua Munz had been invited by the villagers of Godo-olo to participate. The night before the ritual, villagers head upriver and string hammocks along the side of the river. In the morning, men beat vines called "neko" with wooden clubs. Beating the vines allows a narcotic juice to seep into the river. The neko intoxicates the fish and makes them come to the surface, making them easier to spear.
"There were tons of canoes darting around with people standing on the edges of them spearing the fish. We caught a ton of fish that day and it was the best fish I have ever tasted," she said. "The ritual was unlike anything I had ever seen, and it is an unforgettable memory."
Munz is one of three current graduate students in the Department of Communication who joined the Peace Corps preceding their graduate studies to experience another culture and to help find their purpose in life.
Jessica Trimble, right, with a Nicaraguan family
Munz, Ph.D. student, and Jessica Trimble, M.A. student, both regretted not taking advantage of study abroad opportunities during their undergraduate studies, so they decided to experience a new culture by joining the Peace Corps. Joshua Frye, Ph.D. student, was a second generation Peace Corps volunteer.
"My parents served in the Peace Corps in the late sixties a few years after President Kennedy inaugurated the program," he said. "Over the years, meeting my parents' old Peace Corps friends, seeing slides, photos and hearing stories stuck with me, and I wanted to carry on the legacy."
Munz, who served from 2002-2004, taught English to adults, helped with small business endeavors, drinking water initiatives, and facilitated a seminar on caring for the elderly. Trimble, who served her time in Dipilto Nuevo, Nicaragua, in 2002-2003, taught basic health classes at the elementary school, gave health education talks, created health activities for pre-schoolers, and taught a health class to expectant and breast-feeding mothers. Frye served his time from 1997 to 1999 in San Rafael, Lempira, in the mountains of western Honduras. He was a sustainable agriculture extensionist, teaching residents soil conservation; organic soil improvement, such as composting and mulching; and integrated pest management.
All three encountered people who not only humbled them and changed their lives forever, but who enlightened them with their rich history.
The 1,500 villagers in Godo-olo are called Maroons and are descendants of African slaves, said Munz.
"During the plantation era in Suriname when it was a Dutch colony, several slaves escaped into the jungle. The people we stayed with were the descendants of those escaped slaves," said Munz.
All three received monthslong training prior to their assignments. Still, the Peace Corps tested their communication skills as they were faced with learning new languages and tackling other difficulties that come with being so immersed in a foreign language and culture. It also was hard being out of contact with family and friends for up to six weeks at a time, or adjusting to life without conveniences taken for granted in the United States.
"I remember writing home and telling my parents we laughed in the face of labels boasting 'refrigerate after opening.' We ate well but had to do without milk or cheese or yogurt," said Munz. The couple caught rain water off their zinc roof into a durotank and used a filter given to them by the Peace Corps.
Joshua Munz built a shower out of bamboo and "although it was cold, that was a nice luxury and was something other volunteers tried to adopt if possible. The other option was a bucket bath," said Munz. And the latrine "was not a hardship but is something I don't miss," she said.
The thatched "porch" was an addition by Josh Munz
Trimble said she was constantly amazed at how the villagers improvised.
"It changes your perspective on the world and forces you to think differently. It humbles you when you realize what you do not know and how much others can teach you," said Trimble.
Frye was so touched by his experience that he wanted to leave a gift for the farmers he said "had taken a risk to trust and work with me." He applied for a grant and secured funds for the construction of eight, 2,000-pound capacity metal silos to preserve grain in.
"Then, as my going away party, I invited eight of the most ambitious and accomplished farmer-leaders to my house. We had a training session and then I gave them the silos," Frye said. "They were so ecstatic. We then had a big feast which involved chasing and killing some village chickens, building a corncob fire, deplucking, deboning and cooking."
His experience also spurred his interest in studying social movement persuasion and leadership from the communication perspective.
Munz said while her transition back into her studies has been challenging, she believes she is much more prepared for it after her Peace Corp experience.
"I feel like I have useful real life examples to apply to theories and research projects," she said.
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