Thirty years ago, Peace Corps volunteer Alvin Blake and I were colleagues at the Government High School in Limbe, Cameroon, where he taught economics and I taught history.

Blake, an African-American, was inspiring to students, and they flocked to his side. He absorbed the local culture, ate the food, shopped at the market, enjoyed the music and frequented the bars.

Always unselfish with his time, Blake volunteered at different places, including teaching evening school. I talked to him many times about my plans to leave Cameroon and pursue graduate work in the United States.

Privately, I wondered why he really came to Cameroon, why he left the comfort of his home to come and live so far away. Years later, those answers would come to me as I became immersed in Peace Corps research.