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FEATURES Thursday, May 10.2001 - Page 13 Former student shares his tales of life in the Peace Corps CLAIRE ADAMS would take him away from journal- on and traveled to Mbigou, a tiny impoverished, hungry village and plaining that it set him apart from Editor III Chief ism," Dalton said. "But, I was also vi tlage surrounded by dense one thatcould continue after Shacat everyone else. happy for him because he seemed rainforest and mountains, where he left. Looking back now, Dalton ex- After receiving a WMC degree, perfectly suited for the Peace set up his permanent home and be- One of the most unusual hard- plained that Shacat's experience Jonathon Shacat left the quiet roil- Corps." gan working. ships Shacat had to deal with as a could help him in the future. ing hills of Westminster in 1998 to . Nearly six months after gradu- Mbigou had no running water volunteer were ants. "He will be able to see the world live in a mud house, sleep on a bed ating, Shacat said goodbye to his or even a water pump, Shacat said, He explained to the audience from a larger vantage point," of bamboo, eat rats and learn about home in Washington Crossing, Pa. explaining that he collected rain. that during the dry season, droves Dalton said. brutal reality in a completely for- and was on his way to Gabon to His small mud house was covered of thousands of ants come through The thin, pony-tailed Shacat, eign land-by his own choice. become a fish culture agent. with a tin roof and furnished with the villages and into the homes. who now works as a staff writer for No, Shacat was not a "Survi- "Naturally, my parents did not a bamboo bed and a piece of foam One night, as Shacat lay sleep- the Page News & Courier in Luray, vor" contestant, but rather a Peace want me to go because they're pro- for a mattress. ing, he felt a pinching feeling in his VA, explained to the group of stu- Corps volunteer. tective," he said. "My mother can "I was living in a place where ear and awoke 10 find his bed and dents and faculty that he did learn He traveled to the third-world really realize now that I'm driven TVs don't even exist and cars are body covered by the insects. he some big lessons about life in his country of Gabon, on the west coast and that I know where I'm going." hard to come by," Shacat said. said. experience as a volunteer. of Africa, where he made his home For nearly two months, Shacat Shacat explained that after set- Looking back on his experi- "One of the main things I real- for two years as a Peace Corps trained in the city of Oyem, learn- tling into his new home, his first ence, Shacat explained that while ized is that there's a limit to every- worker. On Friday, April 27, ing French and the techniques goal was to gain acceptance from some aspects were trying, it was thing," he said, pointing out that he Shacat returned to the Hill and needed in his position. Also, Shacat the people of Mbigou. not all negative. "I think fondly of now gets annoyed by Americans shared his story with students and also had to adjust to his new home "It is essential to be accepted in it all now," he said. who always have to have fully- faculty. and culture. order to do.th6olNork," he said. _ There was only one regret that loaded cars and huge screen TVs. "Initially, I was innocent and Shacat explained that the most After being accepted, Shacat Shacat explained he had while in He also learned about sacrifice, didn't know what I was getting difficult adjustment was eating the was able to reach his more impor- Gabon. he said, bur not until he had been myself into," Shacat said. food. "They have such bizarre tant, second goal of teaching the He took the maximum of80 Ibs. in Mbigou for a while. But, Shacat'splans to join the food. It's only different when you people skills that were sustainable. ofluggage, equivalent to three suit- "You have to be willing to adapt corps were nor a last minute deci- haven't been around it." He taught them how to build cases. "I realized that I wished I to the situation and you have to be sion before graduation. Someofthe dishes Shacat regu- ponds and raise fish, a technique didn't have all that stuff. It. made willing to give up everything you At the age of eight. Shacat was lady indulged in were gazelle, an- that would bring more food to the me uncomfortable," he said, ex- have," he explained. drawn to a commercial for the ;:,:!o:;~:;~e~~:d:;:~::~~;;Bon Appetite: a tale about dinner Peace Corps, he explained. The corps then stayed in the back of his that Shacat found to be "really mind until, as a freshman Spanish tasty." JONATHON SHACAT vision. In the middle of the floor is some groundhogs had destroyed major and journalism minor, he at- But, while some things took a Contributing writer a small wood fire. Lying across the parts of her plantation. If they keep tended a career fair, in which he while for him to adjust to, many did The smell of burning hair is in flames is the rear leg of an animal. up at this pace they'll finish off her met with a corps recruiter. not. "I was always really good at the air. I go to my mama's cuisine. The heat is singeing off any un- manoic plants and she won't have Shacat got an application and living simply," he said. It's a one-room mud brick build- wanted fur. The smell is obnoxious, to feed her family. It con- held onto it until the summer after Just as Shacat was completing ing with a dirt floor and a tin roof but Iget used to it. Beside the fire anything me but I know I don't have cerns his junior year, when he could fi- his training, tragedy struck when a that leaks when it rains. She uses it is Antoinette, my mama. She sits any solutions for her. These pests nally send it in, he said. woman in his training group was as her kitchen. patiently on a bench similar to are always a problem and there is Shacat's advisor, Terry Dalton, murdered. I enter. At eye level the air is mine. On the ground in front of her associate professor of English; ex- So, for a week, plans were de- full of smoke. I lake a seat on a is a bowl of water, a clean pot, and nothing to do about it. me that her nephew She tells plained that at first he had a mixed layed and the trainees went to coun- short wooden bench. It's low a machete. has tried' repeatedly to-trap them reaction to Shacat's plan. seling, he said. enough to the ground that at that We start talking about our day. with a wire snare but he has never "My main concern was that it But, Shacat was able to move level the smoke won't impair my She complains to me that overnight had any success. Today, however, Hank's album features their unique style he caught something in another trap, she says. A gazelle. But the area of the forest where gazelles roam is far from the vil- him sing and we knew he was our lage and nearby plantation. It's man. We tried other band but al- such a distance that he doesn't ways needed a good singer. Dave check his traps regularly, And, un- was that guy." fortunately for us, sometimes he's With vocalist Sparrow at the mike. The Hank took shape too late and the animal, still dan- gling is long dead, by its hoof, the quartet quickly began writing bloated and already covered with songs for their first CD. flies or ants. As excited as the band is about Antoinette takes the gazelle leg their debut CD, they still put an from the fire and, with her machete obvious priority on live shows. in hand, scrapes 'off the singed "[Playingllivc is the most im- portant thing to a starting band," hairs. It's important that she clean well. all, it's After the skin very Palmer insists. "More shows edible. mean more CD sales, Then she takes the hairless limb. places it against a log and hacks it into several small pieces. more everything." She carefully picks up one piece of Much of the band's meat and caresses it in her hand. This is the nourishment she has craved all day. She is thankful for what the for- est provides and for what her nephew has caught. But she would need many pieces to make it all go around as there are a lot of people "We think it's great and it was of the members have known each in the family who would eat din- loads of fun to work on," Palmer other for years. ner that evening. She cuts that piece said. "We recorded it over a week Palmer had known guitarist into smaller pieces. and a half. We used almost all Mike Blumberg and bassist Josh As she does so something first-takes. We all turned out to Haza since a freshman Jazz moves on the skin. She pulls apart be naturals in a studio." Combo group. the flesh and inside are dozens of success in the studio it wasn't until they tiny maggots crawling around. She that taps the meat against the wood log. knocking out the little yellowish- . white insects. The she puts it in the bowl, rinses it off, and places it in the pot.