[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] You know, I think I actually had graduated. I got married just as I was leaving school and sort of had negotiated with my fiancé at the time. I said, I need to do this Peace Corps thing. It's just, my God, I have to do this. And you can either go with me or you can wait till I come back and see if I come back and see if I'm still the person you want to be with when I come back. And he said, no, no, he would apply. We would apply together. And so we actually applied as a married couple.

[Assistant] As a married couple. So your name before you were married was Margaret Green.

[User] Correct.

[Assistant] Although nobody ever called you Margaret.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] And then after you were married, you were Margaret Schroeder.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Correct.

[Assistant] Although nobody ever called you Margaret.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] And then after you were married, you were Margaret Schroeder.

[User] Schroeder.

[Assistant] And what was your husband's first name?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Schroeder.

[Assistant] And what was your husband's first name?

[User] Gary.

[Assistant] Gary. Yeah.

[User] So um yeah. So we went, we were accepted together, and actually his engineering skills were really what they wanted more than my social work skills.

[Assistant] So he was an engineer.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Gary.

[Assistant] Gary. Yeah.

[User] So um yeah. So we went, we were accepted together, and actually his engineering skills were really what they wanted more than my social work skills.

[Assistant] So he was an engineer.

[User] He was. And they had this electrification project in Ecuador that they wanted to help with. So I think that's why we ended up going to Ecuador.

[Assistant] OK, so you and your husband, you're married, you fill out an application together. Did you have to take exams? Do you remember any of that process of getting accepted?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] So um yeah. So we went, we were accepted together, and actually his engineering skills were really what they wanted more than my social work skills.

[Assistant] So he was an engineer.

[User] He was. And they had this electrification project in Ecuador that they wanted to help with. So I think that's why we ended up going to Ecuador.

[Assistant] OK, so you and your husband, you're married, you fill out an application together. Did you have to take exams? Do you remember any of that process of getting accepted?

[User] I don't think we did very much, you know. I mean, there were physical things we had to pass. But I, you know, in thinking about what that very first group, first groups we had to go through, I don't think it was nearly as rigorous as five years later or six years later, whatever it was that we were going in.

[Assistant] Now 1967, um, was the draft for, I'm sorry, what was his name? Was it Gary?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] He was. And they had this electrification project in Ecuador that they wanted to help with. So I think that's why we ended up going to Ecuador.

[Assistant] OK, so you and your husband, you're married, you fill out an application together. Did you have to take exams? Do you remember any of that process of getting accepted?

[User] I don't think we did very much, you know. I mean, there were physical things we had to pass. But I, you know, in thinking about what that very first group, first groups we had to go through, I don't think it was nearly as rigorous as five years later or six years later, whatever it was that we were going in.

[Assistant] Now 1967, um, was the draft for, I'm sorry, what was his name? Was it Gary?

[User] Gary.

[Assistant] Was this a factor for Gary?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I don't think we did very much, you know. I mean, there were physical things we had to pass. But I, you know, in thinking about what that very first group, first groups we had to go through, I don't think it was nearly as rigorous as five years later or six years later, whatever it was that we were going in.

[Assistant] Now 1967, um, was the draft for, I'm sorry, what was his name? Was it Gary?

[User] Gary.

[Assistant] Was this a factor for Gary?

[User] It was not. He was 4-F. He'd had some surgery as a child and, um, had some issues relating to that, so he was exempt.

[Assistant] Uh huh. OK.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Gary.

[Assistant] Was this a factor for Gary?

[User] It was not. He was 4-F. He'd had some surgery as a child and, um, had some issues relating to that, so he was exempt.

[Assistant] Uh huh. OK.

[User] It was definitely an issue for a lot of people, but no, not for us.

[Assistant] Not for him. And he was as excited as you were then, eventually?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It was not. He was 4-F. He'd had some surgery as a child and, um, had some issues relating to that, so he was exempt.

[Assistant] Uh huh. OK.

[User] It was definitely an issue for a lot of people, but no, not for us.

[Assistant] Not for him. And he was as excited as you were then, eventually?

[User] I don't know that he was ever as excited as I was. I think, you know, he was along for the ride. And he was a rural Wisconsin farm boy. Hadn't traveled much. Didn't have much of a world view.

[Assistant] Well, neither one of you had traveled.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It was definitely an issue for a lot of people, but no, not for us.

[Assistant] Not for him. And he was as excited as you were then, eventually?

[User] I don't know that he was ever as excited as I was. I think, you know, he was along for the ride. And he was a rural Wisconsin farm boy. Hadn't traveled much. Didn't have much of a world view.

[Assistant] Well, neither one of you had traveled.

[User] Neither one, absolutely not. Going to Montana for Peace Corps training was our first trip west of the Mississippi. I mean, it was a big deal.

[Assistant] A big deal. So let's hear about training. So you got a letter inviting you to train for Ecuador.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I don't know that he was ever as excited as I was. I think, you know, he was along for the ride. And he was a rural Wisconsin farm boy. Hadn't traveled much. Didn't have much of a world view.

[Assistant] Well, neither one of you had traveled.

[User] Neither one, absolutely not. Going to Montana for Peace Corps training was our first trip west of the Mississippi. I mean, it was a big deal.

[Assistant] A big deal. So let's hear about training. So you got a letter inviting you to train for Ecuador.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] Had you expressed any interest in any particular part of the world?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Neither one, absolutely not. Going to Montana for Peace Corps training was our first trip west of the Mississippi. I mean, it was a big deal.

[Assistant] A big deal. So let's hear about training. So you got a letter inviting you to train for Ecuador.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] Had you expressed any interest in any particular part of the world?

[User] I don't remember that we had a particular part of the world in mind. It's possible I might have said South America just because I felt like it was, you know, more closer to home in terms of what was happening politically. But I don't think it mattered very much. I wasn't, you know, wasn't specific about that. And they trained us in Bozeman, Montana, because of the elevation. Because they assumed that Ecuador is very, most of it is very high mountainous, you know, nine thousand feet, eleven thousand feet.

[Assistant] Not all of it.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] Had you expressed any interest in any particular part of the world?

[User] I don't remember that we had a particular part of the world in mind. It's possible I might have said South America just because I felt like it was, you know, more closer to home in terms of what was happening politically. But I don't think it mattered very much. I wasn't, you know, wasn't specific about that. And they trained us in Bozeman, Montana, because of the elevation. Because they assumed that Ecuador is very, most of it is very high mountainous, you know, nine thousand feet, eleven thousand feet.

[Assistant] Not all of it.

[User] So they want us to get acclimated to the altitude. And we ended up on the coast. So for our entire Peace Corps stay, so the acclimation didn't make a healthy bit of difference.

[Assistant] But where, so you were in Bozeman, Montana, for the summer?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I don't remember that we had a particular part of the world in mind. It's possible I might have said South America just because I felt like it was, you know, more closer to home in terms of what was happening politically. But I don't think it mattered very much. I wasn't, you know, wasn't specific about that. And they trained us in Bozeman, Montana, because of the elevation. Because they assumed that Ecuador is very, most of it is very high mountainous, you know, nine thousand feet, eleven thousand feet.

[Assistant] Not all of it.

[User] So they want us to get acclimated to the altitude. And we ended up on the coast. So for our entire Peace Corps stay, so the acclimation didn't make a healthy bit of difference.

[Assistant] But where, so you were in Bozeman, Montana, for the summer?

[User] Yeah. It was magical. It was incredibly hard work. I mean, it was immersion language, you know, we had language classes every day for hours. And then on the weekends, we would have these hikes up into the mountains. I remember them just being exhausting. Like, I don't know if I can do this. And then they also had, I remember this so vividly, they sent us out one weekend. Everybody had to disperse into the countryside. They gave us cities to go to, but that was about it. You're going to go to this city and find a place to stay and find out something to do and then meet back here on Monday or something.

[Assistant] And they gave you some money to sustain yourself?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] So they want us to get acclimated to the altitude. And we ended up on the coast. So for our entire Peace Corps stay, so the acclimation didn't make a healthy bit of difference.

[Assistant] But where, so you were in Bozeman, Montana, for the summer?

[User] Yeah. It was magical. It was incredibly hard work. I mean, it was immersion language, you know, we had language classes every day for hours. And then on the weekends, we would have these hikes up into the mountains. I remember them just being exhausting. Like, I don't know if I can do this. And then they also had, I remember this so vividly, they sent us out one weekend. Everybody had to disperse into the countryside. They gave us cities to go to, but that was about it. You're going to go to this city and find a place to stay and find out something to do and then meet back here on Monday or something.

[Assistant] And they gave you some money to sustain yourself?

[User] I don't remember that there was very much money involved.

[Assistant] So find a place to stay didn't mean the Conrad Hilton?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah. It was magical. It was incredibly hard work. I mean, it was immersion language, you know, we had language classes every day for hours. And then on the weekends, we would have these hikes up into the mountains. I remember them just being exhausting. Like, I don't know if I can do this. And then they also had, I remember this so vividly, they sent us out one weekend. Everybody had to disperse into the countryside. They gave us cities to go to, but that was about it. You're going to go to this city and find a place to stay and find out something to do and then meet back here on Monday or something.

[Assistant] And they gave you some money to sustain yourself?

[User] I don't remember that there was very much money involved.

[Assistant] So find a place to stay didn't mean the Conrad Hilton?

[User] No, no. Find a home to stay in. And I remember being assigned to Anaconda, Montana, which is an old mining town. I don't remember exactly how I got there, but I got there on the bus. But I remember.

[Assistant] Wait, were you traveling with Gary or did they split you up?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I don't remember that there was very much money involved.

[Assistant] So find a place to stay didn't mean the Conrad Hilton?

[User] No, no. Find a home to stay in. And I remember being assigned to Anaconda, Montana, which is an old mining town. I don't remember exactly how I got there, but I got there on the bus. But I remember.

[Assistant] Wait, were you traveling with Gary or did they split you up?

[User] No, no. Yes. Everybody went separately.

[Assistant] So you're totally on your own.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] No, no. Find a home to stay in. And I remember being assigned to Anaconda, Montana, which is an old mining town. I don't remember exactly how I got there, but I got there on the bus. But I remember.

[Assistant] Wait, were you traveling with Gary or did they split you up?

[User] No, no. Yes. Everybody went separately.

[Assistant] So you're totally on your own.

[User] Totally on my own.

[Assistant] And a totally new place.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] No, no. Yes. Everybody went separately.

[Assistant] So you're totally on your own.

[User] Totally on my own.

[Assistant] And a totally new place.

[User] Totally new place. They did speak English, however, they didn't speak Spanish.

[Assistant] OK, and you were not expected to speak Spanish in Anaconda, Montana.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Totally on my own.

[Assistant] And a totally new place.

[User] Totally new place. They did speak English, however, they didn't speak Spanish.

[Assistant] OK, and you were not expected to speak Spanish in Anaconda, Montana.

[User] I was not.

[Assistant] OK, so let's hear more about that.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Totally new place. They did speak English, however, they didn't speak Spanish.

[Assistant] OK, and you were not expected to speak Spanish in Anaconda, Montana.

[User] I was not.

[Assistant] OK, so let's hear more about that.

[User] So I had, so I found a Presbyterian minister, called him up and said, you know, I'm a Peace Corps volunteer. I'm in town. I need a place to stay. Can you help me out? And eventually they said, yeah, you can come over and spend the weekend with us. So I did, and I stayed up and helped them can produce or whatever it was. And then I was hitchhiking back to Bozeman, I remember that, and getting picked up by a trucker to take me back to Bozeman. So it was like fearless, absolutely fearless, that I could do this and it was quite an adventure. So that was one of the little extra training things. And then there was this overhanging always, the deselection, you know, twice at least in our three month stay, they would deselect people. So the fear of deselection was always sort of looming large, and then some people would be asked to leave. And you'd say, that's not right. You know, why are they asked to leave? And sometimes you were relieved because you felt like that was a good choice. But not always.

[Assistant] Not always. Did you have interviews with psychologists?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I was not.

[Assistant] OK, so let's hear more about that.

[User] So I had, so I found a Presbyterian minister, called him up and said, you know, I'm a Peace Corps volunteer. I'm in town. I need a place to stay. Can you help me out? And eventually they said, yeah, you can come over and spend the weekend with us. So I did, and I stayed up and helped them can produce or whatever it was. And then I was hitchhiking back to Bozeman, I remember that, and getting picked up by a trucker to take me back to Bozeman. So it was like fearless, absolutely fearless, that I could do this and it was quite an adventure. So that was one of the little extra training things. And then there was this overhanging always, the deselection, you know, twice at least in our three month stay, they would deselect people. So the fear of deselection was always sort of looming large, and then some people would be asked to leave. And you'd say, that's not right. You know, why are they asked to leave? And sometimes you were relieved because you felt like that was a good choice. But not always.

[Assistant] Not always. Did you have interviews with psychologists?

[User] I'm sure we did. I'm sure we did, yeah.

[Assistant] And all kinds of tests.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] So I had, so I found a Presbyterian minister, called him up and said, you know, I'm a Peace Corps volunteer. I'm in town. I need a place to stay. Can you help me out? And eventually they said, yeah, you can come over and spend the weekend with us. So I did, and I stayed up and helped them can produce or whatever it was. And then I was hitchhiking back to Bozeman, I remember that, and getting picked up by a trucker to take me back to Bozeman. So it was like fearless, absolutely fearless, that I could do this and it was quite an adventure. So that was one of the little extra training things. And then there was this overhanging always, the deselection, you know, twice at least in our three month stay, they would deselect people. So the fear of deselection was always sort of looming large, and then some people would be asked to leave. And you'd say, that's not right. You know, why are they asked to leave? And sometimes you were relieved because you felt like that was a good choice. But not always.

[Assistant] Not always. Did you have interviews with psychologists?

[User] I'm sure we did. I'm sure we did, yeah.

[Assistant] And all kinds of tests.

[User] Yeah, yeah. To be sure we stand for the.

[Assistant] How big a group was it?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I'm sure we did. I'm sure we did, yeah.

[Assistant] And all kinds of tests.

[User] Yeah, yeah. To be sure we stand for the.

[Assistant] How big a group was it?

[User] It was about 40 people and there were some other married people in the group and some single people, a bunch of guys that were going to be working on this rural electrification project.

[Assistant] So were you at a university doing that?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, yeah. To be sure we stand for the.

[Assistant] How big a group was it?

[User] It was about 40 people and there were some other married people in the group and some single people, a bunch of guys that were going to be working on this rural electrification project.

[Assistant] So were you at a university doing that?

[User] Yeah, we were. It was, Bozeman was, I mean, at the University of Bozeman, we were housed on campus.

[Assistant] During the summer?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It was about 40 people and there were some other married people in the group and some single people, a bunch of guys that were going to be working on this rural electrification project.

[Assistant] So were you at a university doing that?

[User] Yeah, we were. It was, Bozeman was, I mean, at the University of Bozeman, we were housed on campus.

[Assistant] During the summer?

[User] During the summer.

[Assistant] And so you would stay, the single people would stay in the dorms. Married couples?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, we were. It was, Bozeman was, I mean, at the University of Bozeman, we were housed on campus.

[Assistant] During the summer?

[User] During the summer.

[Assistant] And so you would stay, the single people would stay in the dorms. Married couples?

[User] Yeah, we were all in dorms.

[Assistant] Did you have your own room as married couples?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] During the summer.

[Assistant] And so you would stay, the single people would stay in the dorms. Married couples?

[User] Yeah, we were all in dorms.

[Assistant] Did you have your own room as married couples?

[User] Yeah, I think we had our own room. Yeah, yeah.

[Assistant] And so you talked about intensive language training.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, we were all in dorms.

[Assistant] Did you have your own room as married couples?

[User] Yeah, I think we had our own room. Yeah, yeah.

[Assistant] And so you talked about intensive language training.

[User] Yeah, we did. We had an immersion, Spanish immersion, as much as they could give us. They had Ecuadorian counterparts that were in Bozeman for the summer to help us with language. And I was much more able to mimic and pick up the sounds of Spanish than Gary was. So at the end of training, they said, well, you know, we sort of, it's conditional. You're going as conditional upon three extra weeks of language training in Flagstaff, Arizona, because his language skills weren't as strong as mine. So then we packed up and quite a contingent of us, probably 15 or 20 of us, went from Montana to Flagstaff, where we lived with Spanish speaking families and attended the university.

[Assistant] So other people went on to Ecuador and began their work, people from your group?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, I think we had our own room. Yeah, yeah.

[Assistant] And so you talked about intensive language training.

[User] Yeah, we did. We had an immersion, Spanish immersion, as much as they could give us. They had Ecuadorian counterparts that were in Bozeman for the summer to help us with language. And I was much more able to mimic and pick up the sounds of Spanish than Gary was. So at the end of training, they said, well, you know, we sort of, it's conditional. You're going as conditional upon three extra weeks of language training in Flagstaff, Arizona, because his language skills weren't as strong as mine. So then we packed up and quite a contingent of us, probably 15 or 20 of us, went from Montana to Flagstaff, where we lived with Spanish speaking families and attended the university.

[Assistant] So other people went on to Ecuador and began their work, people from your group?

[User] Yes, they did.

[Assistant] And those who needed a little more time with language went to Flagstaff.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes, they did.

[Assistant] And those who needed a little more time with language went to Flagstaff.

[User] Yeah. Yeah. And there was lots of, you know, well, we couldn't. We had to pack our trunks for Ecuador before we left Montana. And yet we had these three extra weeks in Flagstaff and it was.

[Assistant] It's problematic.

[User] Yeah, it was problematic. And I was rather outspoken about it. And I think there was, you know, I could have still been deselected at that time. I was walking a very fine line of my rebellion. My righteous indignation of this is not right, this is not fair. And, you know, I was like, just shut up and keep your head down, girl, if you want to go. So we made it. We did go and we did fly into Quito, and it was, you know, had the elevation to deal with initially. But then we were put on a bus very quickly for the coast.

[Assistant] Now, before we go down to the coast. Between training and flying from Flagstaff to Quito, did you have any time back home to say goodbye to your mom or siblings?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah. Yeah. And there was lots of, you know, well, we couldn't. We had to pack our trunks for Ecuador before we left Montana. And yet we had these three extra weeks in Flagstaff and it was.

[Assistant] It's problematic.

[User] Yeah, it was problematic. And I was rather outspoken about it. And I think there was, you know, I could have still been deselected at that time. I was walking a very fine line of my rebellion. My righteous indignation of this is not right, this is not fair. And, you know, I was like, just shut up and keep your head down, girl, if you want to go. So we made it. We did go and we did fly into Quito, and it was, you know, had the elevation to deal with initially. But then we were put on a bus very quickly for the coast.

[Assistant] Now, before we go down to the coast. Between training and flying from Flagstaff to Quito, did you have any time back home to say goodbye to your mom or siblings?

[User] I don't remember that. I don't remember that we did. We may have, but frankly, I don't remember coming home first. We may have been home for a few days before we left.

[Assistant] Uh huh. Well, what was the attitude now of your family? You've got three brothers. You've got a mom. Was your dad alive?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, it was problematic. And I was rather outspoken about it. And I think there was, you know, I could have still been deselected at that time. I was walking a very fine line of my rebellion. My righteous indignation of this is not right, this is not fair. And, you know, I was like, just shut up and keep your head down, girl, if you want to go. So we made it. We did go and we did fly into Quito, and it was, you know, had the elevation to deal with initially. But then we were put on a bus very quickly for the coast.

[Assistant] Now, before we go down to the coast. Between training and flying from Flagstaff to Quito, did you have any time back home to say goodbye to your mom or siblings?

[User] I don't remember that. I don't remember that we did. We may have, but frankly, I don't remember coming home first. We may have been home for a few days before we left.

[Assistant] Uh huh. Well, what was the attitude now of your family? You've got three brothers. You've got a mom. Was your dad alive?

[User] Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I think they just thought it was some of my sowing my wild oats kind of thing, you know, off she goes. Nobody else was that adventuresome.

[Assistant] None of your brothers had joined the Peace Corps.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] No. But like I said, two of them were in the military.

[Assistant] That's right.

[User] And had done overseas in Europe. It was before the Vietnam War had really heated up that they had done their work. So neither of those two brothers were at risk of going to Vietnam. But by the time I was finished with school, that was pretty real.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And uh yeah. So we may have been home very briefly and then flown to.

[Assistant] Flown to Quito, right. So you arrive in Quito. The altitude is everything they told you would be.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] And had done overseas in Europe. It was before the Vietnam War had really heated up that they had done their work. So neither of those two brothers were at risk of going to Vietnam. But by the time I was finished with school, that was pretty real.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And uh yeah. So we may have been home very briefly and then flown to.

[Assistant] Flown to Quito, right. So you arrive in Quito. The altitude is everything they told you would be.

[User] Absolutely.

[Assistant] And did you, was there any further training or orientation in Quito, a few nights of?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] And uh yeah. So we may have been home very briefly and then flown to.

[Assistant] Flown to Quito, right. So you arrive in Quito. The altitude is everything they told you would be.

[User] Absolutely.

[Assistant] And did you, was there any further training or orientation in Quito, a few nights of?

[User] I don't remember that there was much orientation. I think it was kind of like, we got to get you guys on the bus and get you to your sites. And there was a regional rep in the site. But we didn't see him right away, it wasn't like he was there to welcome us or meet us or anything.

[Assistant] When was it that you found out that your site would be down on the coast and not up in the highlands?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Absolutely.

[Assistant] And did you, was there any further training or orientation in Quito, a few nights of?

[User] I don't remember that there was much orientation. I think it was kind of like, we got to get you guys on the bus and get you to your sites. And there was a regional rep in the site. But we didn't see him right away, it wasn't like he was there to welcome us or meet us or anything.

[Assistant] When was it that you found out that your site would be down on the coast and not up in the highlands?

[User] Probably when we were still in Montana. Because there was one, there were a couple of returned Peace Corps volunteers that were training with our group. And one of the guys had been on the coast running a chicken project. And so he had talked to us a lot about the village that he'd been in.

[Assistant] Oh, that's good. Yeah.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I don't remember that there was much orientation. I think it was kind of like, we got to get you guys on the bus and get you to your sites. And there was a regional rep in the site. But we didn't see him right away, it wasn't like he was there to welcome us or meet us or anything.

[Assistant] When was it that you found out that your site would be down on the coast and not up in the highlands?

[User] Probably when we were still in Montana. Because there was one, there were a couple of returned Peace Corps volunteers that were training with our group. And one of the guys had been on the coast running a chicken project. And so he had talked to us a lot about the village that he'd been in.

[Assistant] Oh, that's good. Yeah.

[User] And um, and so we thought, well, that sounds like a cool place to go, you know, and following on the heels of another volunteer.

[Assistant] And is that where you went, in fact, to the very village that that trainer had been in?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] And um, and so we thought, well, that sounds like a cool place to go, you know, and following on the heels of another volunteer.

[Assistant] And is that where you went, in fact, to the very village that that trainer had been in?

[User] We did, the first six months we were there, we were in Santa Elena, which is a tiny little village.

[Assistant] Santa Elena.

[User] Off the Guayas peninsula, you know, about three hours bus ride from Guayaquil at that time.

[Assistant] Three hours away from Guayaquil. So Santa Elena, describe, tell us more about Santa Elena.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] We did, the first six months we were there, we were in Santa Elena, which is a tiny little village.

[Assistant] Santa Elena.

[User] Off the Guayas peninsula, you know, about three hours bus ride from Guayaquil at that time.

[Assistant] Three hours away from Guayaquil. So Santa Elena, describe, tell us more about Santa Elena.

[User] Santa Elena was a sleepy little town. Boy, I don't think they even had a hotel. When we got there, we got off the bus and asked for a place to stay, and they said, there aren't any. You have to go to Salinas. So we had to get on the next bus and go to Salinas. And then we did find a hotel there where we could stay for a few nights. And I think we went back and forth. And Gary kind of made connections with other Peace Corps volunteers that were working on this project. And we looked for housing in Santa Elena and were commuting back there looking for a place to stay.

[Assistant] There were other Peace Corps volunteers already in Santa Elena?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Off the Guayas peninsula, you know, about three hours bus ride from Guayaquil at that time.

[Assistant] Three hours away from Guayaquil. So Santa Elena, describe, tell us more about Santa Elena.

[User] Santa Elena was a sleepy little town. Boy, I don't think they even had a hotel. When we got there, we got off the bus and asked for a place to stay, and they said, there aren't any. You have to go to Salinas. So we had to get on the next bus and go to Salinas. And then we did find a hotel there where we could stay for a few nights. And I think we went back and forth. And Gary kind of made connections with other Peace Corps volunteers that were working on this project. And we looked for housing in Santa Elena and were commuting back there looking for a place to stay.

[Assistant] There were other Peace Corps volunteers already in Santa Elena?

[User] There were. There were, well, there was at least one other person from our group that was assigned there, another engineer, and there had been volunteers there before. In fact, once we moved into our place there, within a week some Ecuadorian kids came by with this little dog and said the last volunteer left this for you. And so we had a dog from then on and ended up bringing her back home with us.

[Assistant] Oh my goodness.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Santa Elena was a sleepy little town. Boy, I don't think they even had a hotel. When we got there, we got off the bus and asked for a place to stay, and they said, there aren't any. You have to go to Salinas. So we had to get on the next bus and go to Salinas. And then we did find a hotel there where we could stay for a few nights. And I think we went back and forth. And Gary kind of made connections with other Peace Corps volunteers that were working on this project. And we looked for housing in Santa Elena and were commuting back there looking for a place to stay.

[Assistant] There were other Peace Corps volunteers already in Santa Elena?

[User] There were. There were, well, there was at least one other person from our group that was assigned there, another engineer, and there had been volunteers there before. In fact, once we moved into our place there, within a week some Ecuadorian kids came by with this little dog and said the last volunteer left this for you. And so we had a dog from then on and ended up bringing her back home with us.

[Assistant] Oh my goodness.

[User] At the end of our two-year stint. But yeah, it came complete with pets.

[Assistant] Let's hear about this home. What was your housing like?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] There were. There were, well, there was at least one other person from our group that was assigned there, another engineer, and there had been volunteers there before. In fact, once we moved into our place there, within a week some Ecuadorian kids came by with this little dog and said the last volunteer left this for you. And so we had a dog from then on and ended up bringing her back home with us.

[Assistant] Oh my goodness.

[User] At the end of our two-year stint. But yeah, it came complete with pets.

[Assistant] Let's hear about this home. What was your housing like?

[User] Well, the place we rented was a cement block housing. It actually was unfinished, which is not uncommon in Ecuador at that time at least.

[Assistant] With those wires sticking out of the top?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] At the end of our two-year stint. But yeah, it came complete with pets.

[Assistant] Let's hear about this home. What was your housing like?

[User] Well, the place we rented was a cement block housing. It actually was unfinished, which is not uncommon in Ecuador at that time at least.

[Assistant] With those wires sticking out of the top?

[User] Yes, yes. And there was a little tienda, a little store out front, and the people that ran the store lived upstairs. And so they had this sort of back section that they hadn't quite finished, but it had some running water. Oh I know, it had a water tank on the roof I think. So the truck from Guayaquil would come. It was very desert. It was extremely dry there. And so this big water truck would come out from Guayaquil and fill up roof tanks all over the little village.

[Assistant] So the roof tank was on the top of the house that you lived in.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Well, the place we rented was a cement block housing. It actually was unfinished, which is not uncommon in Ecuador at that time at least.

[Assistant] With those wires sticking out of the top?

[User] Yes, yes. And there was a little tienda, a little store out front, and the people that ran the store lived upstairs. And so they had this sort of back section that they hadn't quite finished, but it had some running water. Oh I know, it had a water tank on the roof I think. So the truck from Guayaquil would come. It was very desert. It was extremely dry there. And so this big water truck would come out from Guayaquil and fill up roof tanks all over the little village.

[Assistant] So the roof tank was on the top of the house that you lived in.

[User] No, the top of the house the people, we were underneath. So like a two story building and then that there was a water tank.

[Assistant] OK. I'm sorry, I didn't quite get it. So you've got, there's a tienda, a little store.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes, yes. And there was a little tienda, a little store out front, and the people that ran the store lived upstairs. And so they had this sort of back section that they hadn't quite finished, but it had some running water. Oh I know, it had a water tank on the roof I think. So the truck from Guayaquil would come. It was very desert. It was extremely dry there. And so this big water truck would come out from Guayaquil and fill up roof tanks all over the little village.

[Assistant] So the roof tank was on the top of the house that you lived in.

[User] No, the top of the house the people, we were underneath. So like a two story building and then that there was a water tank.

[Assistant] OK. I'm sorry, I didn't quite get it. So you've got, there's a tienda, a little store.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] And that's right on the street.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] No, the top of the house the people, we were underneath. So like a two story building and then that there was a water tank.

[Assistant] OK. I'm sorry, I didn't quite get it. So you've got, there's a tienda, a little store.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] And that's right on the street.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] And then you're behind this?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] And that's right on the street.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] And then you're behind this?

[User] Yes, we were behind that. And it was like one bedroom, kind of a bedroom. Living room with a wall divider didn't go all the way up, but it was mostly a divider. There was a small bathroom and it wasn't quite finished, but they said, we'll finish it up for you. So they got the plumbing all working, so we did have a flush toilet.

[Assistant] And you had a sink.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] And then you're behind this?

[User] Yes, we were behind that. And it was like one bedroom, kind of a bedroom. Living room with a wall divider didn't go all the way up, but it was mostly a divider. There was a small bathroom and it wasn't quite finished, but they said, we'll finish it up for you. So they got the plumbing all working, so we did have a flush toilet.

[Assistant] And you had a sink.

[User] We did have electricity. We had a little sink. I remember having two big wooden wash tubs out back, so I had to draw water and wash my clothes all by hand out in back of the house was a little fenced in yard. Um, and I know that we bought a refrigerator from some other volunteers that were leaving, I think, a very old refrigerator. So the first few months we were there, we didn't have a refrigerator, which was really a challenge, and I think it was a light bulb hanging from the ceiling kind of thing. But we did have electricity.

[Assistant] Uh-huh. And did you have a table where you could sit and chairs where you could sit down?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yes, we were behind that. And it was like one bedroom, kind of a bedroom. Living room with a wall divider didn't go all the way up, but it was mostly a divider. There was a small bathroom and it wasn't quite finished, but they said, we'll finish it up for you. So they got the plumbing all working, so we did have a flush toilet.

[Assistant] And you had a sink.

[User] We did have electricity. We had a little sink. I remember having two big wooden wash tubs out back, so I had to draw water and wash my clothes all by hand out in back of the house was a little fenced in yard. Um, and I know that we bought a refrigerator from some other volunteers that were leaving, I think, a very old refrigerator. So the first few months we were there, we didn't have a refrigerator, which was really a challenge, and I think it was a light bulb hanging from the ceiling kind of thing. But we did have electricity.

[Assistant] Uh-huh. And did you have a table where you could sit and chairs where you could sit down?

[User] We bought a table. We went to the market, bought a table, bought chairs. Yeah, there was nothing, no furnishings in it at all. I'm sure we bought a bed, a lot pots and pans. And the Peace Corps had given us an allowance for a settling in. I think they had a settling in allowance. So we went out and bought what we needed for. And then, um, I would walk to the local market every day and get what we needed for food.

[Assistant] Mm hmm. Just enough for that one day.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] We bought a table. We went to the market, bought a table, bought chairs. Yeah, there was nothing, no furnishings in it at all. I'm sure we bought a bed, a lot pots and pans. And the Peace Corps had given us an allowance for a settling in. I think they had a settling in allowance. So we went out and bought what we needed for. And then, um, I would walk to the local market every day and get what we needed for food.

[Assistant] Mm hmm. Just enough for that one day.

[User] As best I could communicate my needs, which was very scary and very frustrating because my Spanish, after three months, was not very good. And I remember trying to buy bananas or something and or chicken and they were giving me bananas, or bananas and they gave me chicken. It's like, guineos and they give me gallinas or something like this. So the words were similar enough that I didn't know which it was, and I think I had a couple of pickpocket experiences in the market. I felt like I was a real target, you know, because I really looked different.

[Assistant] Blond hair.

[User] Didn't speak the language. Well, I wasn't that blond, but I couldn't speak the language and I was very fair skinned and, you know, I just stood out in my clothing and all of this. And Gary would go off to work and he had a counterpart, he had an Ecuadorian counterpart, so he had a very prescriptive kind of job. I mean, he was translating plans. They were working off of an old PT boat that I think that was out in the harbor.

[Assistant] He was translating?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] As best I could communicate my needs, which was very scary and very frustrating because my Spanish, after three months, was not very good. And I remember trying to buy bananas or something and or chicken and they were giving me bananas, or bananas and they gave me chicken. It's like, guineos and they give me gallinas or something like this. So the words were similar enough that I didn't know which it was, and I think I had a couple of pickpocket experiences in the market. I felt like I was a real target, you know, because I really looked different.

[Assistant] Blond hair.

[User] Didn't speak the language. Well, I wasn't that blond, but I couldn't speak the language and I was very fair skinned and, you know, I just stood out in my clothing and all of this. And Gary would go off to work and he had a counterpart, he had an Ecuadorian counterpart, so he had a very prescriptive kind of job. I mean, he was translating plans. They were working off of an old PT boat that I think that was out in the harbor.

[Assistant] He was translating?

[User] Yeah, translating plans and getting this electricity.

[Assistant] From English into Spanish? But his Spanish was a little weak.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Didn't speak the language. Well, I wasn't that blond, but I couldn't speak the language and I was very fair skinned and, you know, I just stood out in my clothing and all of this. And Gary would go off to work and he had a counterpart, he had an Ecuadorian counterpart, so he had a very prescriptive kind of job. I mean, he was translating plans. They were working off of an old PT boat that I think that was out in the harbor.

[Assistant] He was translating?

[User] Yeah, translating plans and getting this electricity.

[Assistant] From English into Spanish? But his Spanish was a little weak.

[User] Yeah, but it's technical. He understood. Yeah, yeah. So he had somebody that he could work with there. And I was sort of like, what do I do now? You know, who do I talk to? And so it was a very scary time for me, and it took me a long time to connect with the local people. I could figure out what was it I was going to do here that was going to be helpful.

[Assistant] How was your health?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, translating plans and getting this electricity.

[Assistant] From English into Spanish? But his Spanish was a little weak.

[User] Yeah, but it's technical. He understood. Yeah, yeah. So he had somebody that he could work with there. And I was sort of like, what do I do now? You know, who do I talk to? And so it was a very scary time for me, and it took me a long time to connect with the local people. I could figure out what was it I was going to do here that was going to be helpful.

[Assistant] How was your health?

[User] My health was good at that point, early in our adventure. My health was fairly good most of the time we were there. Gary was quite sick for a while at one point, but I didn't get really bad.

[Assistant] What did you do about water, making sure that the water was okay to drink?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, but it's technical. He understood. Yeah, yeah. So he had somebody that he could work with there. And I was sort of like, what do I do now? You know, who do I talk to? And so it was a very scary time for me, and it took me a long time to connect with the local people. I could figure out what was it I was going to do here that was going to be helpful.

[Assistant] How was your health?

[User] My health was good at that point, early in our adventure. My health was fairly good most of the time we were there. Gary was quite sick for a while at one point, but I didn't get really bad.

[Assistant] What did you do about water, making sure that the water was okay to drink?

[User] I think we boiled it, and I think we used iodine tablets for a long time. Yeah, that was kind of it.

[Assistant] And did all of your neighbors have flush toilets or were people just?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I think we boiled it, and I think we used iodine tablets for a long time. Yeah, that was kind of it.

[Assistant] And did all of your neighbors have flush toilets or were people just?

[User] No, there were outhouses and they were using the outside.

[Assistant] Just outside?

[User] Some people did.

[Assistant] How close were you to the ocean?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] No, there were outhouses and they were using the outside.

[Assistant] Just outside?

[User] Some people did.

[Assistant] How close were you to the ocean?

[User] I don't know, five miles?

[Assistant] Five miles. So it's not like people would squat outside and wait for the tide.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Some people did.

[Assistant] How close were you to the ocean?

[User] I don't know, five miles?

[Assistant] Five miles. So it's not like people would squat outside and wait for the tide.

[User] No, they weren't doing that. No, not that so much. And of course, there were lots of animals running, wandering through, pigs and cows. Not too many cows. Burros. I remember burros and dogs and things like that. Chickens that were kind of just around. I don't know who owned them or who would collect the eggs or put them in the pot. But they just sort of were around.

[Assistant] And the temperature in Quito would have been cool because of the elevation. But down in Santa Elena, in the desert.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] No, they weren't doing that. No, not that so much. And of course, there were lots of animals running, wandering through, pigs and cows. Not too many cows. Burros. I remember burros and dogs and things like that. Chickens that were kind of just around. I don't know who owned them or who would collect the eggs or put them in the pot. But they just sort of were around.

[Assistant] And the temperature in Quito would have been cool because of the elevation. But down in Santa Elena, in the desert.

[User] We got there. When we got there, it was the cool season. So it was in the 60s, 70s, kind of overcast, gray days. And then it got extremely hot in a couple of three months. So I remember making connections with, I think, a local priest, and he would take me in his truck out to some very remote villages out along the coast. You'd just drive. People had houses up on stilts. There weren't so many in Santa Elena, but among these villages along the coast, they would be up on stilts. And bamboo houses, not cement houses. And, you know, chickens and things running underneath the house. And I was teaching people how to make these ovens out of oil cans.

[Assistant] Oh, oh.

[User] The oil can ovens. Because all they had really was like kerosene stoves or charcoal. Not so much charcoal, I don't think there was very much wood. I think it was mostly kerosene. And, um, so I had learned in Montana I think how to make these oil can ovens.

[Assistant] I was going to ask how you learned that.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] We got there. When we got there, it was the cool season. So it was in the 60s, 70s, kind of overcast, gray days. And then it got extremely hot in a couple of three months. So I remember making connections with, I think, a local priest, and he would take me in his truck out to some very remote villages out along the coast. You'd just drive. People had houses up on stilts. There weren't so many in Santa Elena, but among these villages along the coast, they would be up on stilts. And bamboo houses, not cement houses. And, you know, chickens and things running underneath the house. And I was teaching people how to make these ovens out of oil cans.

[Assistant] Oh, oh.

[User] The oil can ovens. Because all they had really was like kerosene stoves or charcoal. Not so much charcoal, I don't think there was very much wood. I think it was mostly kerosene. And, um, so I had learned in Montana I think how to make these oil can ovens.

[Assistant] I was going to ask how you learned that.

[User] Yeah, I think that's where I learned it. And so that, well, and I was teaching nutrition, child, you know, child development nutrition kinds of things as best I could given the language barriers. I think a lot of people came out of curiosity as much as for what I had to say, but just the fact that the gringa was here and, you know, let's go see her. Let's go spend some time with her. And there were some established credit unions, so that would bring people together. You know, so it might be people that would come in for credit union services, but then I could offer childhood classes or nutrition classes or things like that. So again, very naive on my part in terms of what nutrition was available and what. I mean, I knew what worked here, but I didn't necessarily know what worked there and I was learning what was available.

[Assistant] And what were the needs of the people then?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] The oil can ovens. Because all they had really was like kerosene stoves or charcoal. Not so much charcoal, I don't think there was very much wood. I think it was mostly kerosene. And, um, so I had learned in Montana I think how to make these oil can ovens.

[Assistant] I was going to ask how you learned that.

[User] Yeah, I think that's where I learned it. And so that, well, and I was teaching nutrition, child, you know, child development nutrition kinds of things as best I could given the language barriers. I think a lot of people came out of curiosity as much as for what I had to say, but just the fact that the gringa was here and, you know, let's go see her. Let's go spend some time with her. And there were some established credit unions, so that would bring people together. You know, so it might be people that would come in for credit union services, but then I could offer childhood classes or nutrition classes or things like that. So again, very naive on my part in terms of what nutrition was available and what. I mean, I knew what worked here, but I didn't necessarily know what worked there and I was learning what was available.

[Assistant] And what were the needs of the people then?

[User] What were the needs?

[Assistant] In terms of their nutritional, what was available for their?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, I think that's where I learned it. And so that, well, and I was teaching nutrition, child, you know, child development nutrition kinds of things as best I could given the language barriers. I think a lot of people came out of curiosity as much as for what I had to say, but just the fact that the gringa was here and, you know, let's go see her. Let's go spend some time with her. And there were some established credit unions, so that would bring people together. You know, so it might be people that would come in for credit union services, but then I could offer childhood classes or nutrition classes or things like that. So again, very naive on my part in terms of what nutrition was available and what. I mean, I knew what worked here, but I didn't necessarily know what worked there and I was learning what was available.

[Assistant] And what were the needs of the people then?

[User] What were the needs?

[Assistant] In terms of their nutritional, what was available for their?

[User] I think it was getting them to do things like boil water so that kids don't have amoebas, because a lot of kids had amoebas and dysentery in Ecuador, both places that we worked. And, you know, I mean, I think they were eating. There was some fruits available. A lot of stuff was trucked in because, again, this was very desert. So it wasn't like people had gardens. They ate a lot of fish because we were near the coast.

[Assistant] So they've got the protein there, but the vegetables and the clean water.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] What were the needs?

[Assistant] In terms of their nutritional, what was available for their?

[User] I think it was getting them to do things like boil water so that kids don't have amoebas, because a lot of kids had amoebas and dysentery in Ecuador, both places that we worked. And, you know, I mean, I think they were eating. There was some fruits available. A lot of stuff was trucked in because, again, this was very desert. So it wasn't like people had gardens. They ate a lot of fish because we were near the coast.

[Assistant] So they've got the protein there, but the vegetables and the clean water.

[User] And even fruit, and that was like you had to go the market to get that. So you had to have money to buy it.

[Assistant] Money to buy it, that's right.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I think it was getting them to do things like boil water so that kids don't have amoebas, because a lot of kids had amoebas and dysentery in Ecuador, both places that we worked. And, you know, I mean, I think they were eating. There was some fruits available. A lot of stuff was trucked in because, again, this was very desert. So it wasn't like people had gardens. They ate a lot of fish because we were near the coast.

[Assistant] So they've got the protein there, but the vegetables and the clean water.

[User] And even fruit, and that was like you had to go the market to get that. So you had to have money to buy it.

[Assistant] Money to buy it, that's right.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] And so the problem of getting the water bacteria free involves boiling the water and then there's the fuel to boil that water.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] And even fruit, and that was like you had to go the market to get that. So you had to have money to buy it.

[Assistant] Money to buy it, that's right.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] And so the problem of getting the water bacteria free involves boiling the water and then there's the fuel to boil that water.

[User] Right, kerosene fuel.

[Assistant] Kerosene is something people had to buy.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] And so the problem of getting the water bacteria free involves boiling the water and then there's the fuel to boil that water.

[User] Right, kerosene fuel.

[Assistant] Kerosene is something people had to buy.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] And if you have this oil can oven, how does that work?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Right, kerosene fuel.

[Assistant] Kerosene is something people had to buy.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] And if you have this oil can oven, how does that work?

[User] It sat on top of the kerosene stove. So they had these little two burner kerosene stoves and there was a hole in the bottom. I don't, I have pictures of it, but. And you would set this oven on there and the heat would go up into the oven. So I would teach them how to bake things in it, because first they couldn't bake because they didn't have anything to bake, but maybe they didn't need to know how to bake. I don't know, but I know how to bake, so I could teach them all kinds of things that they could bake in the oven. Um, so that was part of what I did initially when I first worked there.

[Assistant] How did people get their income to buy things like kerosene and flush toilets?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] And if you have this oil can oven, how does that work?

[User] It sat on top of the kerosene stove. So they had these little two burner kerosene stoves and there was a hole in the bottom. I don't, I have pictures of it, but. And you would set this oven on there and the heat would go up into the oven. So I would teach them how to bake things in it, because first they couldn't bake because they didn't have anything to bake, but maybe they didn't need to know how to bake. I don't know, but I know how to bake, so I could teach them all kinds of things that they could bake in the oven. Um, so that was part of what I did initially when I first worked there.

[Assistant] How did people get their income to buy things like kerosene and flush toilets?

[User] I don't know. I think they, you know, lots of people have like little tiendas, so they would sell a few things. Sell their panaderías, or they would sell a little bread. Or walk the streets, I mean, there's a lot of street vendor stuff. Fruits, vegetables, brooms, you know, household things. And then there was the market. So I think there were a lot of small business kinds of things where people would get a little money. They'd go down to the tienda and get a can of tuna fish or a can of canned milk or something like that. They didn't have a lot. I remember going into Guayaquil to a grocery store and it was like, oh, I think I've died and gone to heaven. You know, it was like, oh, all these things were available, but not in the village.

[Assistant] Right, not where you were. So you had a Peace Corps allowance?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It sat on top of the kerosene stove. So they had these little two burner kerosene stoves and there was a hole in the bottom. I don't, I have pictures of it, but. And you would set this oven on there and the heat would go up into the oven. So I would teach them how to bake things in it, because first they couldn't bake because they didn't have anything to bake, but maybe they didn't need to know how to bake. I don't know, but I know how to bake, so I could teach them all kinds of things that they could bake in the oven. Um, so that was part of what I did initially when I first worked there.

[Assistant] How did people get their income to buy things like kerosene and flush toilets?

[User] I don't know. I think they, you know, lots of people have like little tiendas, so they would sell a few things. Sell their panaderías, or they would sell a little bread. Or walk the streets, I mean, there's a lot of street vendor stuff. Fruits, vegetables, brooms, you know, household things. And then there was the market. So I think there were a lot of small business kinds of things where people would get a little money. They'd go down to the tienda and get a can of tuna fish or a can of canned milk or something like that. They didn't have a lot. I remember going into Guayaquil to a grocery store and it was like, oh, I think I've died and gone to heaven. You know, it was like, oh, all these things were available, but not in the village.

[Assistant] Right, not where you were. So you had a Peace Corps allowance?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] That would come to you once a month or so.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I don't know. I think they, you know, lots of people have like little tiendas, so they would sell a few things. Sell their panaderías, or they would sell a little bread. Or walk the streets, I mean, there's a lot of street vendor stuff. Fruits, vegetables, brooms, you know, household things. And then there was the market. So I think there were a lot of small business kinds of things where people would get a little money. They'd go down to the tienda and get a can of tuna fish or a can of canned milk or something like that. They didn't have a lot. I remember going into Guayaquil to a grocery store and it was like, oh, I think I've died and gone to heaven. You know, it was like, oh, all these things were available, but not in the village.

[Assistant] Right, not where you were. So you had a Peace Corps allowance?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] That would come to you once a month or so.

[User] Yeah, we did. And we sort of lived on one allowance and saved the other because we could do it. I mean, just didn't cost as much of anything to live down there. And at that time, we were not allowed to come home at all. And of course, there wasn't any electronics communication except a ham radio. Once in a while, we could connect with a ham radio person to call home and talk to people here. So we put our money aside for our trip, a trip when we'd been in country longer, and that was a huge adventure that we took. So I'm saving that.

[Assistant] That was maybe at the halfway point?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] That would come to you once a month or so.

[User] Yeah, we did. And we sort of lived on one allowance and saved the other because we could do it. I mean, just didn't cost as much of anything to live down there. And at that time, we were not allowed to come home at all. And of course, there wasn't any electronics communication except a ham radio. Once in a while, we could connect with a ham radio person to call home and talk to people here. So we put our money aside for our trip, a trip when we'd been in country longer, and that was a huge adventure that we took. So I'm saving that.

[Assistant] That was maybe at the halfway point?

[User] It was a little past halfway point and we took a month off and went to Peru.

[Assistant] Was that kind of standard that Peace Corps volunteers would take a month off?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, we did. And we sort of lived on one allowance and saved the other because we could do it. I mean, just didn't cost as much of anything to live down there. And at that time, we were not allowed to come home at all. And of course, there wasn't any electronics communication except a ham radio. Once in a while, we could connect with a ham radio person to call home and talk to people here. So we put our money aside for our trip, a trip when we'd been in country longer, and that was a huge adventure that we took. So I'm saving that.

[Assistant] That was maybe at the halfway point?

[User] It was a little past halfway point and we took a month off and went to Peru.

[Assistant] Was that kind of standard that Peace Corps volunteers would take a month off?

[User] I think so. Yeah.

[Assistant] After a year.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It was a little past halfway point and we took a month off and went to Peru.

[Assistant] Was that kind of standard that Peace Corps volunteers would take a month off?

[User] I think so. Yeah.

[Assistant] After a year.

[User] I think a lot of people did. And traveled all the way down to southern Chile and Argentina.

[Assistant] And so is that what you did?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I think so. Yeah.

[Assistant] After a year.

[User] I think a lot of people did. And traveled all the way down to southern Chile and Argentina.

[Assistant] And so is that what you did?

[User] Yeah, yeah.

[Assistant] Down to southern Chile?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I think a lot of people did. And traveled all the way down to southern Chile and Argentina.

[Assistant] And so is that what you did?

[User] Yeah, yeah.

[Assistant] Down to southern Chile?

[User] We did. I remember sleeping in the Machu Picchu ruins and listening. Somebody had a radio. I think there was an election. Nixon was being elected or something, I think it was Nixon. But we were in the ruins with some other camper kind of people.

[Assistant] They just let you sleep there?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] We did. I remember sleeping in the Machu Picchu ruins and listening. Somebody had a radio. I think there was an election. Nixon was being elected or something, I think it was Nixon. But we were in the ruins with some other camper kind of people.

[Assistant] They just let you sleep there?

[User] We just slept there. You know, there was a small hotel, but of course we didn't have money for that. And so we just slept in the ruins that night and thought it was a great adventure.

[Assistant] No kidding.

[User] A lot of great adventures. Yeah. So that allowance that we had, even though it was like fifty dollars a piece a month or something, it wasn't very much, but we didn't need very much. And we knew how to travel 4th class by the time we'd been in country a year or more, a year and a half. And so we really did take very local transportation. I mean, it was pretty uncomfortable at times. And, you know, 12 hours on a train sitting bolt upright in the seat. There wasn't any beds or, um, but we were young and foolish, and that's what we did. We went to Lake Titicaca and saw the reed boats there and bought some art along the way. And we had we had quite an adventure. I remember my husband took his fishing pole because he was a big fisherman, and when we were in Chile, we got off this bus. He went over to the bank, dug up some worms, threw his line in the water and had fabulous trout. I mean, he caught two or three trout in quick succession, and we took them with us that night and took them to wherever we stayed and they cooked up the trout for us. So there were just so many little things like that. But, you know, we just were like living in the moment off the land, off whatever goodness we could find.

[Assistant] Did you meet Peace Corps volunteers along the way as you went up and down the coast from?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] We just slept there. You know, there was a small hotel, but of course we didn't have money for that. And so we just slept in the ruins that night and thought it was a great adventure.

[Assistant] No kidding.

[User] A lot of great adventures. Yeah. So that allowance that we had, even though it was like fifty dollars a piece a month or something, it wasn't very much, but we didn't need very much. And we knew how to travel 4th class by the time we'd been in country a year or more, a year and a half. And so we really did take very local transportation. I mean, it was pretty uncomfortable at times. And, you know, 12 hours on a train sitting bolt upright in the seat. There wasn't any beds or, um, but we were young and foolish, and that's what we did. We went to Lake Titicaca and saw the reed boats there and bought some art along the way. And we had we had quite an adventure. I remember my husband took his fishing pole because he was a big fisherman, and when we were in Chile, we got off this bus. He went over to the bank, dug up some worms, threw his line in the water and had fabulous trout. I mean, he caught two or three trout in quick succession, and we took them with us that night and took them to wherever we stayed and they cooked up the trout for us. So there were just so many little things like that. But, you know, we just were like living in the moment off the land, off whatever goodness we could find.

[Assistant] Did you meet Peace Corps volunteers along the way as you went up and down the coast from?

[User] We did some. We did. [tape break]

[Assistant] Starting the second half of tape one here. We were talking about your holiday travels at the one-year point, where you and your husband were going down along as far as Chile. And I asked if you had, if you were running into Peace Corps volunteers along the way.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] We did some. We did. [tape break]

[Assistant] Starting the second half of tape one here. We were talking about your holiday travels at the one-year point, where you and your husband were going down along as far as Chile. And I asked if you had, if you were running into Peace Corps volunteers along the way.

[User] Yeah, yeah. And I don't think we stayed with Peace Corps volunteers or ran into them very much. So it was, I think, the hardest thing about that trip. One of the hard things about it was that as soon as we left Ecuador, it felt like the standard of living just kept going up as we went farther and farther away. We'd sort of gotten used to this is the way things are. And even in Bolivia, which I think is poorer than Ecuador now at least, I mean, maybe it was then, but all the other countries, it was just like a step up and then another step up. And by the time we got to southern Chile, it was like the U.S. in 1935, you know?

[Assistant] Oh, OK, yeah.

[User] They had cars and they had gardens and it was beautiful. Yeah, so it was a little hard coming back, you know, to retrace your steps and going down, down, down into this lower standard of less convenience. I mean, we were on, we took some busses that were like riding on airplanes. They had stewards on the busses.

[Assistant] Oh my goodness.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, yeah. And I don't think we stayed with Peace Corps volunteers or ran into them very much. So it was, I think, the hardest thing about that trip. One of the hard things about it was that as soon as we left Ecuador, it felt like the standard of living just kept going up as we went farther and farther away. We'd sort of gotten used to this is the way things are. And even in Bolivia, which I think is poorer than Ecuador now at least, I mean, maybe it was then, but all the other countries, it was just like a step up and then another step up. And by the time we got to southern Chile, it was like the U.S. in 1935, you know?

[Assistant] Oh, OK, yeah.

[User] They had cars and they had gardens and it was beautiful. Yeah, so it was a little hard coming back, you know, to retrace your steps and going down, down, down into this lower standard of less convenience. I mean, we were on, we took some busses that were like riding on airplanes. They had stewards on the busses.

[Assistant] Oh my goodness.

[User] They served meals on the busses. The seats reclined on the busses. Holy smokes. We were used to riding on these chicken busses that were open and people are just smashed in

[Assistant] And you can see the street through the boards of the floor.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] They had cars and they had gardens and it was beautiful. Yeah, so it was a little hard coming back, you know, to retrace your steps and going down, down, down into this lower standard of less convenience. I mean, we were on, we took some busses that were like riding on airplanes. They had stewards on the busses.

[Assistant] Oh my goodness.

[User] They served meals on the busses. The seats reclined on the busses. Holy smokes. We were used to riding on these chicken busses that were open and people are just smashed in

[Assistant] And you can see the street through the boards of the floor.

[User] Absolutely, absolutely. So I mean, it was like, wow, OK. It was pretty interesting.

[Assistant] Yeah. So you come back. Did it feel like coming home when you got back to, uh?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] They served meals on the busses. The seats reclined on the busses. Holy smokes. We were used to riding on these chicken busses that were open and people are just smashed in

[Assistant] And you can see the street through the boards of the floor.

[User] Absolutely, absolutely. So I mean, it was like, wow, OK. It was pretty interesting.

[Assistant] Yeah. So you come back. Did it feel like coming home when you got back to, uh?

[User] I think it was hard coming back, you know, we had some time away, had a different perspective, and were already on the last part of our stay. So I think it was, um, you know, hard. And we had changed sites by this time. We had left Santa Elena and been moved to Machala I think, again, which is also a coastal town.

[Assistant] Did that move happen?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Absolutely, absolutely. So I mean, it was like, wow, OK. It was pretty interesting.

[Assistant] Yeah. So you come back. Did it feel like coming home when you got back to, uh?

[User] I think it was hard coming back, you know, we had some time away, had a different perspective, and were already on the last part of our stay. So I think it was, um, you know, hard. And we had changed sites by this time. We had left Santa Elena and been moved to Machala I think, again, which is also a coastal town.

[Assistant] Did that move happen?

[User] About six months into our stay. I think that they had more need of Gary's engineering skills, and so they moved us to Machala.

[Assistant] Machala. How far away was that from Santa Elena?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I think it was hard coming back, you know, we had some time away, had a different perspective, and were already on the last part of our stay. So I think it was, um, you know, hard. And we had changed sites by this time. We had left Santa Elena and been moved to Machala I think, again, which is also a coastal town.

[Assistant] Did that move happen?

[User] About six months into our stay. I think that they had more need of Gary's engineering skills, and so they moved us to Machala.

[Assistant] Machala. How far away was that from Santa Elena?

[User] It was across the Guayas Bay, so instead of going out, this is a very dry peninsula, we would take this ferry boat across to Machala, which was not too far from the Peruvian border. But it was very humid and tropical and lush and bananas everywhere. I mean, we kept stocks of bananas in the house. So in Santa Elena, it was very dry. We didn't have anything like that. But I remember that there was a lot more. And we lived on the second floor in this place and it was more finished. But it also had a water tank on the roof and we had gravity fed showers.

[Assistant] OK, that's very nice.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] About six months into our stay. I think that they had more need of Gary's engineering skills, and so they moved us to Machala.

[Assistant] Machala. How far away was that from Santa Elena?

[User] It was across the Guayas Bay, so instead of going out, this is a very dry peninsula, we would take this ferry boat across to Machala, which was not too far from the Peruvian border. But it was very humid and tropical and lush and bananas everywhere. I mean, we kept stocks of bananas in the house. So in Santa Elena, it was very dry. We didn't have anything like that. But I remember that there was a lot more. And we lived on the second floor in this place and it was more finished. But it also had a water tank on the roof and we had gravity fed showers.

[Assistant] OK, that's very nice.

[User] It felt like a step up.

[Assistant] Did Peace Corps staff, what was your experience of Peace Corps staff coming out to visit you and lending a hand? Let's talk about Santa Elena first and then Machala.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It was across the Guayas Bay, so instead of going out, this is a very dry peninsula, we would take this ferry boat across to Machala, which was not too far from the Peruvian border. But it was very humid and tropical and lush and bananas everywhere. I mean, we kept stocks of bananas in the house. So in Santa Elena, it was very dry. We didn't have anything like that. But I remember that there was a lot more. And we lived on the second floor in this place and it was more finished. But it also had a water tank on the roof and we had gravity fed showers.

[Assistant] OK, that's very nice.

[User] It felt like a step up.

[Assistant] Did Peace Corps staff, what was your experience of Peace Corps staff coming out to visit you and lending a hand? Let's talk about Santa Elena first and then Machala.

[User] They were not. They were pretty absent. When we went into Guayaquil, we could go into the Peace Corps office and ask for things or get help, or we knew who our area rep was. But as far as coming out and helping us settle in or make connections, the person that was there at that time was absolutely no help at all. And I think it was the same person that we had even though we changed sites. It was still the same region, the southern region of Ecuador.

[Assistant] So the same, not much help person when you were settling into Machala.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It felt like a step up.

[Assistant] Did Peace Corps staff, what was your experience of Peace Corps staff coming out to visit you and lending a hand? Let's talk about Santa Elena first and then Machala.

[User] They were not. They were pretty absent. When we went into Guayaquil, we could go into the Peace Corps office and ask for things or get help, or we knew who our area rep was. But as far as coming out and helping us settle in or make connections, the person that was there at that time was absolutely no help at all. And I think it was the same person that we had even though we changed sites. It was still the same region, the southern region of Ecuador.

[Assistant] So the same, not much help person when you were settling into Machala.

[User] We were really kind of on our own. And it was probably the hardest thing I'd ever done and, you know, I learned a lot about what I could do and couldn't do. But I also heard from other volunteers like, oh no, our guy met us at the thing and he helped us to get to a house and he helped us. And I was like, really?

[Assistant] Oh, OK, so this is an individual. It wasn't like Peace Corps.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] They were not. They were pretty absent. When we went into Guayaquil, we could go into the Peace Corps office and ask for things or get help, or we knew who our area rep was. But as far as coming out and helping us settle in or make connections, the person that was there at that time was absolutely no help at all. And I think it was the same person that we had even though we changed sites. It was still the same region, the southern region of Ecuador.

[Assistant] So the same, not much help person when you were settling into Machala.

[User] We were really kind of on our own. And it was probably the hardest thing I'd ever done and, you know, I learned a lot about what I could do and couldn't do. But I also heard from other volunteers like, oh no, our guy met us at the thing and he helped us to get to a house and he helped us. And I was like, really?

[Assistant] Oh, OK, so this is an individual. It wasn't like Peace Corps.

[User] It was totally individual. And he maybe was at the end of his tether with, you know, his time of Peace Corps. I don't know. But, yeah, there were a lot of very different experiences. I mean, we had good friends that lived in Quito and brought their fine china and hung out with the embassy people. So there was quite a range of people had and had access to.

[Assistant] So it seems like your husband had a job that was cut out for him. He had a counterpart and therefore he didn't have to figure it out.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] We were really kind of on our own. And it was probably the hardest thing I'd ever done and, you know, I learned a lot about what I could do and couldn't do. But I also heard from other volunteers like, oh no, our guy met us at the thing and he helped us to get to a house and he helped us. And I was like, really?

[Assistant] Oh, OK, so this is an individual. It wasn't like Peace Corps.

[User] It was totally individual. And he maybe was at the end of his tether with, you know, his time of Peace Corps. I don't know. But, yeah, there were a lot of very different experiences. I mean, we had good friends that lived in Quito and brought their fine china and hung out with the embassy people. So there was quite a range of people had and had access to.

[Assistant] So it seems like your husband had a job that was cut out for him. He had a counterpart and therefore he didn't have to figure it out.

[User] Right. He didn't.

[Assistant] But um, you, on the other hand, had to find your work.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] It was totally individual. And he maybe was at the end of his tether with, you know, his time of Peace Corps. I don't know. But, yeah, there were a lot of very different experiences. I mean, we had good friends that lived in Quito and brought their fine china and hung out with the embassy people. So there was quite a range of people had and had access to.

[Assistant] So it seems like your husband had a job that was cut out for him. He had a counterpart and therefore he didn't have to figure it out.

[User] Right. He didn't.

[Assistant] But um, you, on the other hand, had to find your work.

[User] I did.

[Assistant] And I'd like to talk about your work a little bit more. I'm sorry, we're backtracking so much, but let's go back to Santa Elena again. How did you find? You talked about women coming to the credit union. And while they're there, you kind of corralled them, would kind of catch them when they were there.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Right. He didn't.

[Assistant] But um, you, on the other hand, had to find your work.

[User] I did.

[Assistant] And I'd like to talk about your work a little bit more. I'm sorry, we're backtracking so much, but let's go back to Santa Elena again. How did you find? You talked about women coming to the credit union. And while they're there, you kind of corralled them, would kind of catch them when they were there.

[User] Or they were sort of used to coming there as a place to gather and a place to come for classes. And they may have had contact with the previous Peace Corps volunteer or. So that was part of what I did. I mean, a lot of my time that first three months was just like making a living. I mean, getting the house in order, shopping, cooking, cleaning, you know, there wasn't a lot of opportunity. And in that time, I got to know people a little bit more. And then I started traveling out to these very rural, even more rural community places, um, and would go out and spend a day and hang out with people in their villages and do some of what they needed and what I could do, what I had to offer. And then come back. So it was pretty loose.

[Assistant] And Machala, was that a similar thing in terms of?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Or they were sort of used to coming there as a place to gather and a place to come for classes. And they may have had contact with the previous Peace Corps volunteer or. So that was part of what I did. I mean, a lot of my time that first three months was just like making a living. I mean, getting the house in order, shopping, cooking, cleaning, you know, there wasn't a lot of opportunity. And in that time, I got to know people a little bit more. And then I started traveling out to these very rural, even more rural community places, um, and would go out and spend a day and hang out with people in their villages and do some of what they needed and what I could do, what I had to offer. And then come back. So it was pretty loose.

[Assistant] And Machala, was that a similar thing in terms of?

[User] Machala is a much bigger city and there were other Peace Corps volunteers there, more volunteers. I remember teaching English as a second language there because they definitely wanted that. I taught in a high school. I taught an art class in the high school one semester at least, or maybe a year. The teacher wasn't available. And I'd never done that before in Spanish.

[Assistant] Ah yes.

[User] I'd never done it in English, so it was very intense.

[Assistant] Buying food in the market in Spanish is difficult.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Machala is a much bigger city and there were other Peace Corps volunteers there, more volunteers. I remember teaching English as a second language there because they definitely wanted that. I taught in a high school. I taught an art class in the high school one semester at least, or maybe a year. The teacher wasn't available. And I'd never done that before in Spanish.

[Assistant] Ah yes.

[User] I'd never done it in English, so it was very intense.

[Assistant] Buying food in the market in Spanish is difficult.

[User] It was difficult.

[Assistant] And teaching in Spanish.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I'd never done it in English, so it was very intense.

[Assistant] Buying food in the market in Spanish is difficult.

[User] It was difficult.

[Assistant] And teaching in Spanish.

[User]
It was difficult enough. And we ran a summer program, worked with another volunteer who was a single woman down there. And she was, we ran a summer camp for kids up in the mountains. So we took a whole busload of kids and then we got mattresses for them and they were on top of the bus and we took them up to Loja, I think, but out of the heat of the coast. And there was an old church up there that had been sort of not an old, um, I don't know what, was the residence for the nuns, but there wasn't hardly anybody in it anymore. It was pretty basic, pretty kind of crude. But we housed the kids there. And Gary went with me when we did that because I remember that he and another volunteer built soapbox derbies with the boys. And this was a very hilly town. And so at the end of their time, there are two weeks at camp or whatever it was, we had these soapbox derby races down the hill, and I don't even know how they stopped those things. They must have had brakes of some kind.

But again, so we were doing, playing baseball with the kids, doing games, doing nutrition. They all went through, you know, physical checks. So we had a doctor come in and check them. And I think all the kids had amoebas and a lot of them had lice. So we had to talk about hygiene and boiling water and things like this, probably none of which made any difference when they went back home. But at least while we were there, you know.

[Assistant] Well, you don't know.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, I don't know. I think that was our situations were so different. It would have been very hard for them to anticipate.

[Assistant] OK. For the people going to embassy dinners in Quito, and for you in Santa Elena.

[User] Yeah, out in the boonies where there is very little resource. You know, no refrigerator for a long time and barely running water, we were which you are grateful for. So yeah, I I don't think they could have predicted all of the what ifs.

[Assistant] Right, right.

[User] We did rely on our Peace Corps connections more in Machala because there are more volunteers around.

[Assistant] So for your social life, you?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] Yeah, out in the boonies where there is very little resource. You know, no refrigerator for a long time and barely running water, we were which you are grateful for. So yeah, I I don't think they could have predicted all of the what ifs.

[Assistant] Right, right.

[User] We did rely on our Peace Corps connections more in Machala because there are more volunteers around.

[Assistant] So for your social life, you?

[User] We did more social with them and with the community too. But it would be like if we were teaching English as a second language, you know, you'd be making connections with all kinds of people in the community who would come in for classes, and I think the classes were free. And so we would do some social things with them. I remember there were parties, there were gatherings or events where we mixed or were just with Ecuadorians.

[Assistant] Did you also have a chance to make personal friends with Ecuadorians?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] We did rely on our Peace Corps connections more in Machala because there are more volunteers around.

[Assistant] So for your social life, you?

[User] We did more social with them and with the community too. But it would be like if we were teaching English as a second language, you know, you'd be making connections with all kinds of people in the community who would come in for classes, and I think the classes were free. And so we would do some social things with them. I remember there were parties, there were gatherings or events where we mixed or were just with Ecuadorians.

[Assistant] Did you also have a chance to make personal friends with Ecuadorians?

[User] I don't know that I, I mean, I did have friends, but they weren't friends that spanned my return.

[Assistant] Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] We did more social with them and with the community too. But it would be like if we were teaching English as a second language, you know, you'd be making connections with all kinds of people in the community who would come in for classes, and I think the classes were free. And so we would do some social things with them. I remember there were parties, there were gatherings or events where we mixed or were just with Ecuadorians.

[Assistant] Did you also have a chance to make personal friends with Ecuadorians?

[User] I don't know that I, I mean, I did have friends, but they weren't friends that spanned my return.

[Assistant] Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

[User] They were friends in Ecuador while I was in Ecuador.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah. Did you have the sense that, um, being there as part of a married couple made things easier for you? Did that give you a road in with other women because they saw you as a married woman?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I don't know that I, I mean, I did have friends, but they weren't friends that spanned my return.

[Assistant] Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

[User] They were friends in Ecuador while I was in Ecuador.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah. Did you have the sense that, um, being there as part of a married couple made things easier for you? Did that give you a road in with other women because they saw you as a married woman?

[User] I think it made some things easier and some things harder. I mean, because I always had an English-speaking person to talk to, I think it took me longer to develop my Spanish skills. On the other hand, it was absolutely wonderful that I had someone I could vent my frustrations and my fears and my anxiety with. Someone when he came home at the end of the day and I'd barely made it to the market and back and cooked dinner, you know, and struggled with my Spanish all the way. You know, I had someone right there that could listen to that and be supportive. Um, but I think it also, when I saw some of the volunteers that were completely out on their own, their Spanish skills were like much better. And I have to say that the Spanish that we learned in Montana was a really wonderful, clear, beautiful. Um, the Spanish that's spoken in the mountains of Ecuador and the Spanish that's spoken on the coast.

[Assistant] Is that a different thing?


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] They were friends in Ecuador while I was in Ecuador.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah. Did you have the sense that, um, being there as part of a married couple made things easier for you? Did that give you a road in with other women because they saw you as a married woman?

[User] I think it made some things easier and some things harder. I mean, because I always had an English-speaking person to talk to, I think it took me longer to develop my Spanish skills. On the other hand, it was absolutely wonderful that I had someone I could vent my frustrations and my fears and my anxiety with. Someone when he came home at the end of the day and I'd barely made it to the market and back and cooked dinner, you know, and struggled with my Spanish all the way. You know, I had someone right there that could listen to that and be supportive. Um, but I think it also, when I saw some of the volunteers that were completely out on their own, their Spanish skills were like much better. And I have to say that the Spanish that we learned in Montana was a really wonderful, clear, beautiful. Um, the Spanish that's spoken in the mountains of Ecuador and the Spanish that's spoken on the coast.

[Assistant] Is that a different thing?

[User] It's fast. And they drop syllables and they drop endings, and it was like, I don't know what they're saying, what's wrong with me?

[Assistant] And that's true in any costal.


[System] Act as an information elicitation agent for oral history.

[User] I think it made some things easier and some things harder. I mean, because I always had an English-speaking person to talk to, I think it took me longer to develop my Spanish skills. On the other hand, it was absolutely wonderful that I had someone I could vent my frustrations and my fears and my anxiety with. Someone when he came home at the end of the day and I'd barely made it to the market and back and cooked dinner, you know, and struggled with my Spanish all the way. You know, I had someone right there that could listen to that and be supportive. Um, but I think it also, when I saw some of the volunteers that were completely out on their own, their Spanish skills were like much better. And I have to say that the Spanish that we learned in Montana was a really wonderful, clear, beautiful. Um, the Spanish that's spoken in the mountains of Ecuador and the Spanish that's spoken on the coast.

[Assistant] Is that a different thing?

[User] It's fast. And they drop syllables and they drop endings, and it was like, I don't know what they're saying, what's wrong with me?

[Assistant] And that's true in any costal.

[User] It is, it is. But I didn't know that. And I'd just think, what's wrong with me? Why can't I communicate better? And then after, like, maybe we'd been in country two or three months and we went up to visit friends in Quito or someplace, and it was like, oh my God, I can understand what these people are saying. You know, it was like, this is lovely.

[Assistant] Yes, something you learned.