Peace Corps Malaysia

Letter from Victoria Institution to parents, Dec 1, 1967

Dear gang, 

The world's hastiest letter is now being written. This morning we had our final assembly (sniff), and I leave by night train for Singapore tonight. I still haven’t packed, my Australian visa hasn’t been approved yet, I am usher at a wedding this afternoon, my plane ticket hasn’t been confirmed, and, best of all, the devaluation scare has brought on some nasty riots in the country, so that today all shops are closed, and the police and armed forces are out patrolling the streets. Wheee.

My plans are pretty established, however. After my month with Len, I’m flying nonstop to Sydney for a week and a half of sleeping late, eating steaks, drinking milk, surfing, and so on. Then (get this) I’m off to Fiji for a visit with some friends, and finally, Samoa, where an old Peace Corps buddy is now an Assistant Director. It’s a tough life in the jungle.

Next year my university job is all set, but I still haven’t found housing, so please write me c/o Department of Mathematics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, from now on – and tell everybody else about the change, too.

That’s all the time I have. Thanks very much for sending me the cash and card so early – that was smart, thinking. I’ve sent some things on to you, but don’t know if he’ll arrive on time. Tell Bruce to join up, or the mad bombers in Washington are going to catch him.

Love and kisses, Sam

Some photos of our epic hike into Borneo.  Maybe my most favorite hike of all time.  And with brother Len to boot.  My only regret: losing my camera with its photos of the leeches on our legs.

Letter from the Raffles Hotel Singapore, January 2, 1968

Dear folks, 

I just flew in here from Sarawak this morning, and BOAC footed the $40 hotel bill I have managed to roll up before hopping off to Sydney this evening. It’s a nice little place, if you like the best.

I’m writing this short note to reassure you of Len's and my safety. We hiked our pants off for the past three weeks, covering about 200 jungle miles on foot and 350 by boats. It must be some sort of record. And no serious mishaps! A fuller report later. Sorry we missed Christmas and New Year’s, but the call of the ulu is strong. 

Love, Sam.

P.S. Mrs. Barbara Nottingham, one of my most favorite volunteers, is going to look you up soon (if not already). We traveled together to Japan last August, and I am mad about her. Her home is San Francisco, she’s got a daughter just finishing at Cal, and she’ll give you the lowdown on Malaysia. Don’t call her – she’ll call you. Her husband died during the war, I believe… Anyway, I would sure appreciate your being nice to her. Thanks.

Letter to Mike Drooker from the University of Malaya, February 16, 1968

Dear Mike and Penny,

All right, all right, who is Penny? Bernie I remember. Jane I remember. Penny I don’t remember. Please clarify situation immediately! And if you have gone and done what I suspect you have gone and done, i.e. gone and got yourself hitched, well then, Mike, you are a dirty dog of the first order for not informing me of this move, and while I’m at it, my heartiest congratulations, and all the best wishes, a lonely Peace Corps volunteer in the Far East can bestow.

This is what I get for not returning home when I should have. My best friend gets married, my old girlfriend (I don’t think you ever met her) gets married, my congressmen father endorses Senator McCarthy, and Johnson ups the draft call and downs the duty-free exemption for returning American tourists. If I don’t get home in a hurry, the US is going to slip into a quagmire of conformity and confusion, and I’ll be left wondering how to fit myself into it.

What am I up to? You ask. Well, if the fancy stationery isn’t enough, let me tell you that I have extended my Peace Corps stay for a third year, which will be spent overseeing the running of the University of Malaya‘s IBM 1130 digital computer. I have my own big office, secretarial help, free run of the university (in fact, I can even attend classes if I find the time and the inclination), and a big, beautiful brand-new university flat just around the corner. So much for the image of the self-sacrificing Peace Corps volunteer in the mud hut, saving the natives from scabies and scurvy. My new job will extend through 1968, and possibly through the first two months of 1969, so the travel home will be undertaken in a more equitable climate. You see, I have big plans, which include Nepal, India, Afghanistan, East, Africa, and West Africa, before rejoining my parents in Spain late in 1969. Then I guess it is back to school to wrap up my math PhD (if they will have me), and who knows after that? I’ve been traveling so intensively for so long now, it is hard for me to envisage myself in any job which doesn’t give me a whole lot of legroom all over the globe.

Incidentally, I just returned from a pretty good December - January holiday, but that will be more amply described in a mimeo sheet I haven’t quite begun yet. Suffice it to say that Len and I spent three weeks tramping through the jungles of Borneo (200 miles on foot, no less, and 350 boat.) then I took off for rest and recuperation in Australia, Fiji, and Samoa. I lost 15 pounds to the jungle and gained it all back in Sydney, so I guess I look about the same as ever: brown, slightly underfed, and covered with leech bite sores.

Now Mike, write me in a hurry and tell me what in the hell you have been doing since I last heard from you. Secondly, give my best to your family and our mutual friends. Finally, tell Penny, I am madly in love with her. Sam.

Letter from University of Malaya to parents, March 8, 1968

Dear parents,

You are right in criticizing me on my writing habits, but what to do? Life in the university is hectic, full, exciting, etc., and I have only just arrived in this fascinating community. I haven’t even gotten around to mailing off my holiday adventures in Borneo, Australia, Fiji, and Samoa. Now that Len has actually described our Borneo trek, I may never get around to amending it. Never mind – we'll have some fascinating discussions when we finally get together in 1960.

About our eventual reunion (Sob. Sniff.) Let me give you a rough idea what I am planning after leaving the Peace Corps in early 1969. First of all, I will be 26 by then, and so I presumably will not be required to hurry on home for draft reasons. I therefore want to do some pretty intense of traveling in the following spots: Indonesia, Cambodia, Nepal, India, can you, and Egypt. In each of these countries (except Egypt) I have some pretty good contacts, and some pretty exciting projects in mind. Travel will be by rail, thumb, and boat, and the fares should be covered by what Peace Corps gives me for home transportation. I have been saving $30 a month for the past two years, so I should have an extra $1000 or so for personal expenses (which should be much less than that – but just in case, just in case…)  Finally, Peace Corps has been depositing $90 a month in the states, so a total of almost $3000 will be awaiting me upon my arrival in America. Financially, I am fat. I am therefore seriously thinking of picking up another VW in Germany, and bringing it back to the States with me. My first question is: do you need a car in Hamburg? If so, can I arrange for you to get me a VW (I’ll send you the money, or if you prefer, I will pay you from my readjustment allowance when I return to California)? You could use it in Germany, and drive down to our rendezvous place that summer. We could ship it off before all heading home. Please let me know soon if you are game, so I can get the wheels turning.

Well, back to my plans: my trip to Malaysia to Europe should take about five months, putting me in Europe in the beginning of summer. Is that when you are free? I would like to stay about a month or more, and then fly back to the East Coast, for a chance to visit relatives and friends as I bus across the US in time for classes that September. As far as where we spend our time in Europe, I am game for almost anywhere. I have never been to Spain or Portugal, and would be very eager to stay there for a while (it’s cheaper there, two). I haven’t spent much time in northern Germany, either, so Hamburg sounds good as well. I haven’t been to the Scandinavian countries or the Benelux countries – they all sound good. I think I would say no to Greece, Italy, or France, for any extended visit. As soon as I write Len again, I’ll sound him out, and gradually we should be home in on a spot or two. Wow, it’s nice to have this kind of freedom, isn’t it? 1969 should be a very good year.

I will be applying for readmission to the Stanford math department soon, and I will probably try to get my job back at SRI. After my year at this university's computation center, I may even have the credentials to get a nice fancy job at Lockheed or Hewlett-Packard. I am hoping to live at least a short while at home, if I need to fatten up, relax, and get to see you and talk with you a lot. So don’t rent my room out beyond the summer of 1969, please. Hey, the pool is great! Now I need pictures of your new paintings – all 350 of them.

Heard Ravi Shankar and his sitar last night. Very good stuff. And you should see the Indian and Malay girlfriends I have! Good old University life. Sam.