This article originally appeared in the August 12, 2022 issue of the Carmel Pine Cone, which can be accessed here. Only the first two images appeared in that issue, though — this article contains three additional images.
According to John Bost of Monterey, the type of person who joins the Peace Corps is not likely to be a “shrinking violet,” but rather someone with “moxie.”
That was especially true of the early Peace Corps volunteers. Formed in early 1961 by an executive order of then-U.S. President John F. Kennedy, the first recruits often did not know where they were going or what they would be doing once they got there — they only knew that they were going somewhere to help others.
John, who serves on the Northern California Peace Corps Association as the Regional Director for Monterey and Santa Cruz, was in the Peace Corps from 1967-1969. Having received a degree in zoology from San Diego State College, John had hoped to go to Africa to see the exotic wildlife there, but when told his assignment was in Sierra Leone, he was disappointed at first, not realizing that Sierra Leone was in Africa — unaware of where in the world it was until he located it on a map.
Jenny Bost served in the British equivalent of the Peace Corps, the Voluntary Service Overseas organization, during the same period. Her motivation was a desire to be useful to others coupled with a yearning for travel. She and John arrived in Sierra Leone in West Africa within three days of each other.
Both John and Jenny served their respective organizations by instructing the residents of Sierra Leone. While Jenny taught at a residential high school for girls, John was the entire science department of a small teachers training college, teaching biology, physics, and chemistry. The problem with this was that chemistry was his worst subject in college. However, he learned so much instructing others (while berating himself for not paying more attention to the Periodic Table of the Elements while he was in college) that he now says, “If you really want to know a subject, teach it.”
John’s biology class
As the community of volunteers from various nations (besides the United States and Great Britain, there were citizens of Canada, Germany, and Taiwan serving in Sierra Leone) often socialized together, it was not long before the two met. After a short courtship (their first dates were spent grading their students’ schoolwork), they married. John had a two-year commitment to the Peace Corps, and so Jenny re-upped her one-year agreement with the VSO to stay with him in Sierra Leone for an additional year.
Here are two pictures from their wedding day:
NOTE: Although the typical Peace Corps commitment remains at two years (including three months of training), there is now also a “Peace Corps Response” program, which only requires a 3-12 month commitment. If interested, see https://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/peace-corps-response/ for more information.
Despite the fact that they did not see much in the way of lions or elephants or suchlike iconic African creatures where they were located, the Bosts did acquire, for the equivalent of 40 cents, a baby green monkey (called such for its golden-green fur) which they named “Michael.” The monkey’s mother had been killed and sold as “bush meat.” Michael, who fit in the palm of John’s hand, was terrified at first. It eventually grew up and returned to the bush. The Bosts also had a python and what they called a “bush cat” (as well as a domestic cat and a dog). The bush cat nursed alongside the domestic kittens until it got too big for that, and was weaned onto solid food thereafter. John describe their “bush cat” as having been similar to a coati, or coatimundi, in appearance.
On leaving Africa, the Bosts spent nine months in Jenny’s home area of Yorkshire, in northern England, in order to get to know Jenny’s family and travel around Europe. They spent three months exploring the continent in a small minivan, sleeping on a mattress in the back seat. Greece was their favorite destination. People there gave them many things (mostly food — cucumbers and such). They were also taken out for dinner by young construction workers. This generosity and goodwill showed to them was apparently due to their being American and British — as a sign of appreciation and thankfulness for the role the Allies, including Britain and America, had played in coming to the defense of Greece in World War II.
The time spent in England and other parts of Europe was not enough to prevent the Bosts from experiencing culture shock when they subsequently relocated to the United States. For Jenny, the busy freeways, especially, were at first overwhelming; even John, who had only been away from his native country for three years, was a bit taken aback by the size of the cars after getting accustomed to vehicles which were typically much smaller than the American makes.
Although neither John nor Jenny had much of a background in teaching prior to joining the Peace Corps and the VSO, their experiences in Africa led them to follow that profession after they fulfilled their tours of duty and returned home — John teaching tax & law-related courses, eventually becoming a full professor in the Finance Department at San Diego State University, while Jenny worked as an itinerant teacher, teaching special needs and visually impaired students one-on-one.
As for the qualities needed to serve in the Peace Corps, Volunteer Services Overseas, or similar organizations, they cite, in addition to the possession of useful skills, abilities, and pertinent education the following: self-confidence, an adventurous spirit, and a desire to help others. Jenny adds that humility and adaptability are required — you cannot arrive in a foreign assignment with the attitude that you know best and are going to show the locals a better way of doing something they have perhaps been doing for generations.
Obviously, volunteers with specific assignments, such as teachers, have an easier time of finding their place than those with a less defined role, such as some “community development” volunteers. Nevertheless, John and Jenny both agreed that all volunteers need to listen to the host country community leaders when embarking on new projects.
The Bosts treasure their memories and experiences in the Peace Corps and Volunteer Services Overseas in Africa. They were young, idealistic, and adventurous, wanting to make a difference and help others in some way, however they could. They did do that, but they feel that they received even more from the experience than they gave. It provided them a new outlook on other cultures and people, and even a new perspective of their own countries. John says that his attitude toward everything changed as a result of the experience. He calls it “the best years of our life.”
Return Peace Corps Volunteers from the Monterey-Santa Cruz area can reach John at jbrpcv@gmail.com to be notified of activities in the Monterey Bay area. They might want to visit the Northern California Peace Corps Association’s website at https://www.norcalpca.org/ to see what is happening around the greater SF Bay area.
Read or download other writings of mine here.