August 2, 1995
"Peace Corps is not an organization to make big differences of to solve any country's problems. Yet, the advertisements make you think so. It's all a bunch of hype. The United States government would like it, I think, if we were more entrepreneurs and really solving big problems in other countries."

September 30, 1995
"Two of the twenty-seven new volunteers are coming to stay with me in a couple of weeks - it's part of their training program - which should be fun. There are only 3 men in the whole group, bummer, huh? It was just chance that it happened that way. I was hoping to have many more American men in this country to hang out with! It's amazing the communication gap when you're not from the same culture. Been starting to get lonely from time to time now, but not too often. It comes with the terriory."

October 7, 1995
"Now that I've earned the villagers respect and love, they're very accepting of me for now, I''m not the "vazaha" anymore. I'm Nancy. It took a while, but it happened."

October 7, 1995
"I entered his house and everyone cheered. - that's always how I am greeted at parties. It's pretty wild. They definitely like my spirit, and I think I've dissolved a lot of their previous ideas, that vazahas are "stuffy desk people".

November 10, 1995
"Since I'm learning a whole new way of life here, I feel I'm getting back a lot more than I'm giving."

November 10, 1995
I took the lemur and put him in my backpack and biked him back into the mountains and the forest of Isalo National Park. The idea of havingan animal similar to a monkey in your backpack in pretty comical. I laughed when I looked back as I biked along to see his face sticking out of the pack looking over my shoulder with he wind blowing his fur and his eyes wide open...I felt like the little boy in E.T (moviw) riding E.T. (an extra-terrestrial) through the air! But I got it safely back in the park.

November 26, 1995
"Well I finished the school today - YEAH! A major high for me!! I got three guys to mud the last wall with me this morning. Then I painted the windows and doors and trim around each. It's downright beautiful. I was thinking as I was working, that everywhere I've been I leave a pretty scene behind. Every apartment I've been I leave a pretty scene behind. Every apartment I've been in is freshly painted or stenciled, and every relative/friend of mine has stained glass or macrame...it's a neat feeling. The villagers will call the school "Souvenirs de Nancy" when I'm gone, which is so true. It's nice to know that a mark of my beauty will be left here, too.

February 25, 1996
"I must admit, if I could do nothing for my last 8+ months here exept plant vegetables, pick peanuts and socialize with the villagers, I would. But I know I couldn't do it guiltlessly. I'll get a little something done of the side to make it seem like I'm woking. Maybe that should be the definition of Peace Corps, "the toughest job you'll ever have at making it seem like you're doing something."

March 17, 1996
"I went through a major low last month where I felt out of sync and not at home here. But I'm feeling good again. I've learned that emotional swings are unavoidlable here, especially when I go to the captial and get a taste of life similar to the U.S., and especially after spending time with all the other volunteers here. It's tough to get back into the swing of village life. There is a lack of understanding due to differences in language ability and understanding of each other's ways. Our backgrounds are 180 degrees different."