After Amy's training concluded, she was ready to head out into the village and serve the local Congolese community. Her task was to bring basic life skills education and services primarily to younger women who were reportedly stuck in a trap of getting pregnant and then never finishing school, let alone progressing onward to college.
Amy was excited to finally get out there and make a difference. Furthermore, she would be serving a previously unserved community. Only recently had an agreement been brokered with the local chieftain in concert with the provincial and national governments. The details were fuzzy, but the work was the same. She'd be provided a small facility and nominal resources with which she could advise and assist local women.
She packed the night before and barely got any sleep in anticipation of what was to come. She woke up early the next morning and was given a ride by Mike to the bus stop that would take her the eight-hour journey northeast from the capital to a small rural village near the Congo River. Unfortunately, the bus didn't take her the whole journey. She understood it would be a moderately long walk to the village; however, the sign along the road indicated it would be another 25 km. It was approximately 3pm, and if she didn't figure it out, she'd be stuck on the road after nightfall... not her idea of a good time. But she didn't want to waste any time, so she trudged on ahead hoping she could beat the sun. God knew what kind of threats she might encounter after sundown.
About two hours later, hungry, hot, and tired, a truck carrying vegetables ambled down the road. Amy couldn't believe her luck. She hailed the truck jumping up and down, ecstatic somebody was going her way. To her good fortune the driver pulled over and allowed her to ride with her. She pointed to the village on her map, and the man smiled and nodded. It seemed they were headed in the same direction.
'What a relief!' Amy sighed to herself. This Peace Corps business was no joke. You had to want to do it. You had to be prepared for anything it seemed. She had no idea how true this was...
About 20 minutes later, the truck arrived at the small village due east of Owando. It turned out the driver wasn't stopping. Amy offered him the equivalent of three US dollars, a hefty sum for a short ride, but he decided not to accept, only too happy to have helped out such an exotic hitchhiker.
Amy walked toward the village, and just as she entered from the outskirts, she was struck by how nobody was wearing any clothing save for some tribal accoutrements. From the smallest child to the oldest lady, everybody was letting it all hang out. Except for the younger ladies, all the breasts were sagging from lack of support and excessive sun damage. Furthermore, all the men were essentially showing off their God-given endowments, and it was no surprise to Amy, this was one well-endowed village. The average cock must have been ten inches limp, the heads of their cocks extending well beyond mid-thigh.
"Jesus Christ," Amy muttered under her breath. "This is something straight out of National Geographic."
Suddenly, one of the older ladies started scolding Amy for some unknown reason. She tugged on Amy's blouse a little, shouted something else, and then walked away. Some of the other villagers, mostly ladies and kids all called out to her, looking somewhat cross, saying something unintelligible to Amy, leaving her clueless and confused.
Finally, a relatively well-spoken younger man, approximately college aged, approached Amy and in a calm voice said, "Welcome to our village! You'll have to excuse the villagers, but you are breaking the local custom. You must take off your clothes at once."
"I beg your pardon," Amy replied.
"I know it is a lot to ask, however that is the tradition here. No one is permitted clothing," the man said.
Not knowing what to do, whether to return back to Kinshasa or accept these terms, Amy just stood there confused. She couldn't easily return to the capital. It had been a journey to get here.
"No one said anything about this. Surely you can understand what kind of position you are putting me in. This simply isn't done in my culture," Amy argued.
"I realize this, believe me," the man continued. "I've been beyond the village and I am aware that most of the world wears clothing like you. Still, it should have been made clear through the agreement your organization agreed to. Peace Corps was it?"
"Yes, but no one said anything. I'm a volunteer, but I didn't volunteer for this," Amy replied.
"Well, you can't go back tonight. It's too late, there are no vehicles to take you, and it's not safe otherwise," he continued. "I suggest you at least stay the night and think about it. You don't really have any options."
With that, the man waved a hand and three ladies approached Amy, all totally naked and on the younger side, and started to motion her toward a nearby hut. Confused but obviously unable to come up with a coherent argument, Amy went with the ladies toward the hut.