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Mango Elephants in the Sun: How Life in an African Village Let Me be in My Skin
 
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Mango Elephants in the Sun: How Life in an African Village Let Me be in My Skin (Hardcover)

by Susana Herrera (Author), David O'Neal (Editor)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 267 pages
  • Publisher: White Cliffs Media Co ,U.S. (April 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1570623767
  • ISBN-13: 978-1570623769
  • Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 16.8 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 962,009 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

Californian Susan Herrera spent two years in northern Cameroon in what might be described as the classic Peace Corps assignment: teaching school in a remote African village. " Jam bah doo nah?" (" Are you in your skin?) her neighbors ask her by way of greeting, and the response means, " Yes, I am alive, fully present and experiencing the moment.

Herrera's account is filled with cross-cultural anecdotes that are alternately amusing and poignant. She is appalled as she watches the other teachers administer corporal punishment, only to discover that her own students don't respect her authority because she refuses to beat them. Her solution is to devise more creative forms of classroom discipline. A pompous village chief offers her a bloody goat head as a gift of courtship. Herrera feels the thrill of triumph when her most ambitious student masters a bicycle for the first time, until the girl's older brother coldly rebukes the foreign teacher, " Don't put desires in her head that she can never have. Herrera's growing friendship with several local women and her tender romance with a handsome Cameroonoian doctor give the narrative its continuity and novel-like structure. -- Scott Zesch, "Austin American-Statesman," July 4, 1999, p K7


Synopsis

The Peace Corps volunteer shares her life and experiences in northern Cameroon.

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A sensitive look at finding oneself in another culture, 28 May 1999
By A Customer
It's hard to tell who was changed more when Susana Herrera went to a small village in northern Cameroon to teach as a Peace Corps volunteer: the villagers or Susana. She brought a hidden capacity of strength and independence as a woman and the ability to ride a bike. They brought an understanding of how a person could feel at home in her own skin. It's hard to tell who got the better bargain.

But the reader wins the most from this touching story of a frightened and self-conscious young person who becomes a fierce and vibrant woman treasured by the people she comes to help and ends up learning so much from. Through storms, droughts, anarchy in the classroom, life-threatening illness, political upheaval, love, hate, competition and pain, the author learns how to live--in her own skin. A phenomenal book, particularly for a first book. There is something important about embracing life in this memoir that will speak to every reader.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A nice read, 5 May 2005
By Ben Ketcha (Colorado) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mango Elephants in the Sun: How Life in an African Village Let Me Be in My Skin (Paperback)
A beautiful story by a peace corps set in the southern fringes of the Sahara desert in Northern Cameroon. I enjoyed her vivid accounts and the details of the story. This book serves as a good read for anybody interested in the amazing way of life of the people of Northern Cameroon. It is my third novel on Cameroon this month and I enjoyed them all. The Usurper and Other Stories, Man no be God, and Disciples of Fortune are other good Cameroonian stories.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Fresh way of writing, wise ways of looking at humanity, 19 Aug 1999
By A Customer
Ditto most of what the other 3 reviewers have said. I found Herrera's way of looking at life quite wise for a 30-year-old. She expresses her thoughts in original ways that set the reader thinking and wanting to be more creative in outlook. This book will appeal to memoir fans, but even more to those wanting to "visit" the Cameroons in all its wonder and pain. I find several of my friends, as I did, read MANGO ELEPHANTS back-to-back with POISONWOOD BIBLE because we learned about Africa while enjoying good stories.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars To Kaele and Beyond...Run Baby Run!
Running fifty-two miles in twenty-eight hours in the intense desert heat is only one example of how Susana Herrera met the challenges she encountered as a Peace Corp. Read more
Published on 11 Aug 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Ben & Jerry's new flavor might be "Mango Elephants"
It's hard to lick a hot book on a good Summer day, but "Mango Elephants in the Sun" comes close. Read more
Published on 20 Jun 1999

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