The Gringo: A Memoir

His writing style is hysterical and his honesty is wonderful however this book should not be generalized to all of Peace Corps. There are people who are rah-rah Peace Corps and I am one. I had superb training, a fabulous village, great counterpart, and a phenomenal support staff in the city. Not all PC programs around the globe have that - several friends have had great to not very good experiences in PC. I spent three years in El Salvador and I too was sick very, very often. The testicle dipping he described had me in tears from laughter!

He states that many of the people who went with him had wonderful experiences. He states he felt he left people waiting with their hands out for the next person. We are told to have a "plan for leaving" meaning think about how to make the projects sustainable. I was the first gringa to ever live in my village and I applied for a person to follow me to continue the project. After the second gringo, no one was needed.

Negativity towards the overall organization or to declare it irrelevant is irresponsible. There are over 100 countries with different directors, staff, country counterparts, etc. It would be similar to blaming an entire corporation for the failings of one location which is managed by one person with their staff, etc. Best wishes!

The Peace Corps was started by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, intended to send American volunteers with expertise in things like farming and construction to third world countries to build schools, dig wells and teach modern farming methods. For 49 of the first 50 years of the Peace Corps existence, the United States has stationed Peace Corps Volunteers in the nation of Ecuador - and of course many other places around the world.

Over the years there have been dozens of stories written about the Peace Corps, nearly all of them of the rah-rah-sis-boom-bah cheerleading sort, publicizing how marvelous this wonderful program is and the fantastic work they do around the world. Sometimes that might even be true - or at least maybe it used to be.

In 1961 you had to have expertise in particular fields or special skill sets to be accepted as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Once accepted you were required to pass a grueling "boot camp" much like military basic training. These days, not so much. There is no boot camp, no particular skill set required. J. Grigsby Crawford's [[ASIN:0988482274 The Gringo: A Memoir]], is a record of his two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador. I was delighted to find a copy on my doorstep a week or two ago.

You'll find very little rah-rah-sis-boom-bah in these pages. Grigsby, as he likes to be called, graduated from college and wanted to spend some time in Latin America. The Peace Corps seemed like the perfect opportunity to do just that, courtesy of the US Government. Even though Grigsby had, as he freely admits, absolutely no skills or experience relative to service in the Peace Corps he was chosen as a volunteer "agricultural specialist" and a year or so later, after training more reminiscent of that provided to college dorm "Resident Assistants" than preparation for life in the Third World, headed out to fulfill his commitment in Ecuador.

What follows is a fascinating tale, one that does not in any way resemble an "everything is peace and light" fairy tale. I suspect you'll find it eye-opening in some pretty unexpected ways. Grigsby surely did!

Highly Recommended

I have read The Griego and I did not find it informative and certainly not humorous. I have three objections to the author's account of his recent Peace Corps service in Ecuador.

The first is an ethical concern about how Crawford describes the Ecuadorian people. Peace Corps Volunteers are, first of all, guests in someone else's country. If he didn't like his hosts, then he should have gone home. Instead, he stayed and wrote a book that has scathing descriptions of Ecuadorans, in terms of their physical appearances, life styles and values. He speaks of one woman as "spawning" children. That is unconscionable. If he wanted to write about his negative perceptions of the country, he should have done it on his own dime and not under the false pretenses of "here to help."

Secondly, Crawford was sick during most of his tour. He was on a strong antibiotic that had potential side effects that could have impacted his mood and his ability to function.
This certainly was not his fault. But his story is replete with graphic description of physical symptoms and medical procedures that belong in a clinical diary for his doctor and/or therapist.

Last and perhaps most importantly, is my frustration that Crawford makes important observations in passing about systematic Peace Corps problems, but never follows up.
Peace Corps is managed in host countries by a permanent administrative staff of host country citizens. The top management are US citizens who serve for a brief times and the posts are subject to frequent staff turnover. Crawford observes that the host country staff are from the elite and do not know much about Ecuador and that they reflect the values of their social status. There have been almost no studies done about this kind of in-country administration and how it impacts programing. Crawford missed a chance to call attention to problems with this unique Peace Corps system.

Crawford's description of his first site assignment raises real questions about Peace Corps programming. Was he sent to help the community or one family's business? In his second assignment, he successfully helps the town build a greenhouse with grant money he obtained. He dismisses this accomplishment in a page and half. Yet, this was important work. How did he get it all done? He does not provide any detail. He notes, again in passing, that there had been a greenhouse in the vicinity built with outside resources that had been allowed to fall into disrepair. Why? He never really asks.

Crawford was the editor of a periodical for Peace Corps Volunteers in Ecuador. Great. What did he write about? Did he have to get prior approval from the bureaucracy?
What response did he receive from fellow Volunteers? Did he discuss the bizarre parlor games that passed for training? Crawford has the talent and education to be a journalist.
In his memoir, he chooses not to use those skills.

This review is written by Joanne Roll, RPCV. Complaints should be directed to Joanne, not Gary. (Gary Roll holds the email address for Amazon, but did not contribute to the review.)

I am a fan of the travel literature genre, but would not remain so if it was populated with more books like this one. It is rare that I read a memoir and end up losing respect for the author, but this was one of those times. The subject matter of the book interested me. It addressed both my curiosity about what the peace corps experience is like while also promising an intimate glimpse of life in a country I previously knew little about. I finished this book (miraculously) with a strong dislike for the author and his narrow, self-pitying perspective on nearly every experience and with only a vague notion that I had been even tangentially exposed to any cultural or historical insight about Ecuador. I get the sense that J. Grigsby would write a similar book irrespective of his surroundings; one laden with excuses and blame for his personal failings. This is not a book about the peace corps, Ecuador, or a personal journey - instead, it is a book about frustrations that are realized, but rarely acted upon. I cannot recommend this book.

With so many books out there about the Peace Corps, most of them contrived with the societal expectations of always-doing-good and pitty for the third world in the type of dictation that is comfortable to most first world readers, this one feels like the most down-to-Earth, vivid description of what one man's experience was like.

The Peace Corps has been going for over fifty years since President Kennedy first initiated it. In this book, the narrator receives threats from his host family and finds himself in predicaments that no sane person would want to be in. This is not your "picture perfect Peace Corps" tale. Far from it.

This book will keep you at the edge of your seat, but at it's core, I feel that the author wrote this because it was his duty to society to do so. He opens questions such as should we continue on intruding ourselves into countries and cultures we know next to nothing about? How long will this go on? The very book title and picture is appropriate in that it shows how vulnerable he is throughout the book, in a tiny impoversed village in Ecuador, as a complete alien.

There are many interesting facts in this book, such as when the Peace Corps first began there was actually a very vigurous, military-esque style boot camp that particpants had to endure to get in. People were literally screened and many did not make it. Nowadays, Crawford explains that the entire process mainly involves a long list of beaurocratic paperwork with endless rhetorical questions.

Great read.

It was an interesting story. I read it straight through, but that is probably because I am also a returned Peace Corps Volunteer myself and could identify with some of the experiences the author went through. But by the end of the book, his negativity and unrelenting cynicism had me wondering why he stayed in Ecuador beyond the first few weeks. .

In a way he reminds me a little of Paul Theroux, who traveled to many foreign countries and--based on what he wrote--seems to have disliked all of them. Theroux is a good enough writer that his books are readable anyway. Unfortunately, Crawford is no Theroux.

There is another book written by a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador that offers a much richer, more balanced, and more nuanced view of Ecuador and what it was like to be a Volunteer there: "Living Poor" by Moritz Thomsen. It is also much better written. I can highly recommend Thomsen's book to anyone who has even a flicker of interest in Ecuador or the Peace Corps. I couldn't honestly recommend this book to anyone.

A memoir will automatically be a subjective telling of things. However, the number of inaccuracies astounded me. His limited perspective of Peace Corps allowed for so many foot in mouth tale tellings that I wonder if he realizes how comically foolish he makes himself out to be. Another reviewer aptly pointed out the dehumanizing arrogance of his writing. I was reminded of the book The Ugly American (a book handed out by JFK to members of Congress), and unable to picture the cover, I found this self-published work's cover filled the image admirably. The initial reviews were transparent, but only slightly less so than the book itself which is replete with grammatical errors, inconsistencies, and contradictions. There was simply no critical analysis by the author which could have placed his experiences in a much richer context. To compare this to Gonzo journalism was a coup of self marketing (bravo to the author's friends). Perhaps if the author had actually gotten out of his house and worked in his community (instead of spending most of his two years attempting to write), he would have had a more complete perspective on the intersection of his life and a microcosm of Ecuadorian culture he little experienced. Unfortunately, the reading left a sour taste in the mouth as it exhibited some of the worst qualities of young, inexperienced, arrogant, and ultimately ignorant Americans abroad. If uninformed perspectives, cheap laughs at the expense of the poor, and chauvinism are your thing, this is the book for you.

J. Grigsby Crawford's book titled The Gringo: A Memoir is a taut, well-written Peace Corps book that not only describes his very recent experiences in Ecuador (2008-2010) but poses serious questions about the future of the agency. He includes all relevant information: application, reporting, staging, training, and the Peace Corps experience without needless sentimentality or romance. He successfully uses transitions to avoid tedious repetition and more importantly, has also written an often painfully honest account of his service.

Pioneer volunteers beware: this book does not speak kindly about "generalists." However, for those like me with less hair, teeth and a wider middle, reading this book will be enlightening. If the Peace Corps is to have a second half, we must take off our rose colored glasses during the half-time discussion.

Crawford approached a campus recruiter while still working on his bachelor's degree. Apparently the recruitment process has been streamlined compared to just a few years ago. Whereas it took 15.1 months from application to reporting to staging, Crawford only took 12. He reported for "staging" in Washington D.C. during which further pruning was made before 44 Peace Corps Trainees flew to Quito, Ecuador, then shuttled several hours by bus to Olmedo, a tiny Andean village where they would learn Spanish in 10 weeks, about one third less time than past generations of volunteers enjoyed.

Trainees also participated in technical training. Crawford's agricultural group raked leaves in the morning and assisted tree grafting class in the afternoon. The class was given by a volunteer finishing his service who admitted that he had learned this skill that very morning by using the internet.

Throughout training, the potential volunteers were threatened with "Administrative Separation" which is bureaucratic gobbly-gook for firing as in "We will fire you!" This was invented in 1963 (Just Termination) because of military conscription (the draft) and was used against male trainees with deferments who dared to question Peace Corps Training. Offending members had a note slipped into their permanent record that read "Unfit for Overseas Duty," were fired, sent home to be processed by their Draft Board, and sent to war. This was revised in 1969 by Joseph Blanchford as part of his New Directions but it has evolved considerably. The revised version permitted a Country Director to fire trainees and volunteers who thought service as an extended college spring break. It was instituted in reaction to complaints by host nations. As the agency surpassed 10,000 volunteers, the number without real jobs had increased exponentially and with too much time on their hands, some volunteers became more tourists than workers. Most of the reasons cited by Crawford have been standard since 1969 but a few are most definitely new. In 2008, Peace Corps volunteers in Ecuador who swam at certain beaches, visited certain tourist spots, stayed past two in the morning in the capital city's tourist zone or even those rumored to use drugs were all fired.

During training, potential volunteers were instructed in the bureaucratic art of the quarterly report to be prepared on a computer and sent electronically to the main office. This sure sounds like insulting busy work and reminded me of J. Larry Brown's recent staff memoir (Peasants Come Last) within which he reported how the "Washington bureaucracy was voracious: non-stop reports, updates, analyses, surveys, budgets and quarterly planning." Apparently the appetite now has increased to include volunteers in this paper morass.

Once assigned to a town or village, they were instructed to immediately begin interviewing as many residents as possible about their wants and needs (the Community Assessment Tool). This was also to be included in a report and later presented in a group setting with an electronic slide show (much like the military loves). A local Ecuadorian was supposed to accompany the volunteer to this presentation. Although used in the early Peace Corps years, given the agency's historic susceptibility to charges of espionage (which would endanger all volunteers), this particular assignment is almost inconceivably stupid.

Following his successful completion of training and swearing-in, Crawford was sent to the Chone region located about seven to ten hours by bus west of the national capital, Quito. He was assigned to the tiny village of La Segua which included about 150 inhabitants in a low-lying marsh region prone to flooding and also known for incredible violence. This is an agricultural zone with the cultivation of cocoa, coffee, bananas, cassava, maize and recently coca for the production of cocaine.

His Ecuadorian counterpart (the one he was supposed to teach) was twenty years old "but looked no more than 15...five foot six and 120 pounds." For the next eight weeks, Crawford lived with Juan, his counterpart, and 19 other people in a ramshackle farm house. His room was "a ten-by-fifteen foot space enclosed by dungeon-like bricks. The only window looked out to one of the puddles of chicken shit. The door was made of scrap plywood...(which) I could have punched through." There was no indoor plumbing.

Juan's idea was to create a new local industry- ecotourism, much like in Costa Rica. Rich Americans were expected to fly to La Segua, Ecuador to bird watch. Crawford quickly assessed a basic problem. Unlike the well educated Costa Ricans who enjoy a fine standard of living and a national highway system as well as airports, the Chone region of Ecuador is populated by starving, illiterate, and violent farmers. Rape and murder are commonplace. Worse yet, his counterpart began their relationship with lies and extortion.

Crawford's experience in western Ecuador ended abruptly following strange visits by a mysterious white truck. "A couple of guys in black ski masks, carrying weapons whispered as they tip-toed around the farmhouse." His Peace Corps Program Manager did not like the idea of resettling Crawford in a new town but he was over-ruled by the Peace Corps Security Agent and the Country Director. The Security Agent is a position I had never heard of. In this case, she was assisted by a man she only identified as the "colonel," a man who like her, had been trained in the United States and had formally been part of the national police force. They arrived in La Segua, interrogated people, then took Crawford away. Aside from the cost, the use of paramilitary forces with the Peace Corps gives the impression that the two are synonymous. This could be very dangerous.

Crawford was reassigned to a Zumbi, small village on the eastern Andean slopes near the disputed Ecuadorian/Peruvian border. When I read this, I wondered aloud what moron is in charge of assignments? They sent him from an area known for drug trafficking to an area which has had armed border disputes since 1945! Crawford proves his mettle by completing his assignment despite our ever-lurking shadows of loneliness and disease. In his case, he contracted some sort of bacteria which affected his prostate and testicles resulting in "debilitating and gut-clenching lightning bolts of pain." He helped his community build a greenhouse with the use of a grant. The locals appreciated his efforts and before leaving, gave him a farewell party attended by "every student, teacher, faculty member, the mayor, and city council members." He was given a huge commemorative plaque and the opportunity of giving his farewell speech in Spanish.

J. Grigsby Crawford was a success. One of 28 out of 44 in his group to complete service, he actually supplied something the community wanted. Yet, he does not see it quite like that. A generalist, he (and others in his group) thought the Peace Corps should "attract more highly skilled volunteers." Maybe, he ruminates, we should even consider agency termination. "Like most humans turning fifty, the Peace Corps should begin thinking of retirement. Eventually, people just have to figure it out on their own."

Lawrence F. Lihosit is the author of several books about or inspired by Peace Corps service including Peace Corps Chronology: 1961-2010.

Since I plan on joining the Peace Corps one day, I figured I needed to read a book that talked about negative aspects of the program just as much as I needed to read the positive ones. And this book fit that bill. Grigsby had several less than optimal experiences as a volunteer, and outlines them in this memoir.

Fresh out of college, Grigsby joins the Peace Corps and is placed in Ecuador. There he spends a few months in a coastal town that quickly proves dangerous and ineffective at the program they're trying to implement. After a kidnapping rumor, he is moved further inland to another town, where the program is dead on its feet and he does much of nothing all day. During this time he develops an illness that will persist through his entire service. And finally in the last part of his service, he works on a project that is actually effective.

Grigsby is not kind in his descriptions of the Ecuadorian people. There are only a few he seemed to like and I'm not sure if he just didn't encounter that many good people or if his personality was just not compatible with the culture of the Ecuadorians. I certainly don't want to believe that a whole people and culture are as terrible as he describes them. But at least he tries to tell things as they are without sugarcoating it. And the few people he does like are warmly described. And he doesn't really get anywhere with his projects in the Peace Corps which seems to be largely because of an ineffective coordinator and management system in Ecuador. This could have a great bearing on his views of the Ecuadorian people. If you see bad all day, it becomes the whole experience for you.

Despite everything he goes through, Grigsby does insert some humor into the book. Anyone who can complain with such cheer about pain in his testicles for extending periods of time has some moxie. And he writes in an engaging way, you have to keep reading to see if things turn out any better. I should warn that there are descriptions of genitals, cussing, and other things in this book that some readers may not enjoy. If you are a person who enjoys less graphic encounters with books, this is not one you should read. The overall message of his experience isn't positive, which is disheartening. And while I disagree with his view that perhaps the Peace Corps should retire, I respect him for telling his story and arguing some good points. It would seem that some areas of the system do need an overhaul, especially in Ecuador. But from everything else I've read on the subject there are positives to the Peace Corps program and I take the optimist view that if it makes the difference in one person's life, it was worth it.

I do have to note that there is one section in this book that I didn't really like. Grigsby tries out one of the local hallucinogens and has a very bad trip. Now I'm not against the mention of drugs, but rather the way it was presented in this book. While everything else is largely clinical in the book, this particular chapter delves into the incoherent ramblings of a drug induced mind. And reads as such. It just didn't fit with the rest of the book and was tedious to read.

Not the most comfortable of reads, but a good one if you're interested in the Peace Corps and want to know the not-so-good side of things. Because if you're doing something that big with your life, you need to look at it from all perspectives.

The Gringo
Copyright 2013
225 pages

Review by M. Reynard 2013

Like many privileged college kids, I too day dreamed about the Peace Corps. How I would change people's live -- how it could change me -- how it would be the ultimate adventure. Crawford's book pulls the curtain back on all these fantasies.

The narrative can be cynical but its true mark is its unsugared honesty about being a stranger in an unwelcoming land. Crawford's life in Ecuador teeters between danger, delusion, and stagnation as he tries to answer the question none of his fellow Peace Corps volunteers seem to ask: What the hell are they all doing there?

Crawford will leave any reader impressed. Romantic, contemplative, and witty -- each chapter leaves you wanting more. You'll also think to yourself, wait, how old is this kid? He's an old soul stuck in the mechanics of an outdated government agency, both wrestling with the complexities of modern poverty. Unlike the Peace Corps, Crawford retains his clarity. His humor is pervasive.

"The Gringo" is the book all wide-eyed college do-gooders should read. Gift this book to any Peace Corps prospect. He or she may thank you later. The tragic irrelevance of the 21st century Peace Corps can be revealed without having to waste your 20s in the jungle.