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Journal Entry 1 by Ri from Cincinnati, Ohio USA on Saturday, July 28, 2007
 From Publishers Weekly
One woman has the privilege of a happy, secure marriage while confronting the poverty of a Third World country. The other enjoys the luxuries of a big American city while struggling to find romantic happiness. In this humorous, touching, real-as-daylight collection of letters former college roommates Liftin and Montgomery exchanged during their year apart, we see the support and humor two 20-something women can offer each other as they move down disparate paths. In the small Kenyan town where she and her husband are spending 12 months as Peace Corps volunteers, Montgomery realizes that, although she can gamely adjust to eating rancid goat stew, living with fist-sized spiders and having her house exorcised of genies, the tasks of caning students until they bleed and teaching them to "sit down and shut up" while their headmaster uses their textbook money to buy himself a new pickup truck are beyond her limits of cultural assimilation. Meanwhile, back in New York City, Liftin tackles her own obstacles, including finding an apartment in Manhattan, surviving the embarrassing loss of her "cybervirginity," enduring the threats of a paranoid neighbor and recovering from the pain of unreciprocated love. Though Liftin's problems can pale in comparison to Montgomery's, the duo's correspondence makes it clear that their relationship has thrived precisely because of their unconditional recognition of the immediacy and importance of each other's travails. Many women readers will be reminded of their own intense college and postcollege friendships, and may be inspired to try to reconnect with lost friends. This is a smoothly sewn book that appeals on several levels: as engaging travel literature, as a witty exploration of modern women's lives and as a testament to the power and blessing of friendship.
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Journal Entry 2 by Ri from Cincinnati, Ohio USA on Wednesday, September 26, 2007
I loved this one! How extremely lucky are these two women to have such a strong and beautiful friendship! It made me want to write more letters - a truly lost art! Emails and IMs just aren't the same. Kenya sounds like it was a real adventure for Kate. I'm so glad to have experienced a little of it with her.
This is going to tranq1 as part of the Armchair Travel Swap on BookObsessed. Enjoy!
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Journal Entry 3 by tranq1 from Tampa, Florida USA on Monday, October 22, 2007
Received this in the mail a couple of weeks ago, but I forgot to journal it. Thank you.
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Journal Entry 4 by tranq1 from Tampa, Florida USA on Saturday, January 05, 2008
40 years ago when I first graduated college, I wanted to join to Peace Corps with my husband. I knew some former Peace Corps volunteers, so I knew the experience would be difficult. We got the information and the applications. Then my husband decided he didn't want to do it, mainly because of the attitudes and philosophies of the Peace Corps, he found in the Peace Corp literature. It has always been a regret in my life. After reading this book, I think he may have been right.
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Journal Entry 5 by tranq1 at to a bookcrosser in sent by mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Saturday, January 05, 2008
Released 4 yrs ago (1/5/2008 UTC) at to a bookcrosser in sent by mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
Sending to nvangel2073 for the February RMTBRBB exchange on bookobsessed.com.
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Journal Entry 7 by nvangel2073 at Moab, Utah USA on Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Released 5 mos ago (11/24/2011 UTC) at Moab, Utah USA CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
giving to a friend!
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Dear Exile : The True Story of Two Friends Separated (for a Year) by an Ocean
This book is in a Controlled Release!
