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

[User] Well, you see, the training wasn't completed and it wasn't to be completed at the University of Washington. Oh, we're going to go on to Puerto Rico for training. Oh. After Seattle. So unsure of how long we were in Seattle, I don't know. Let's say sixty days. Sixty five days, something like that. Yeah. And then on to Puerto Rico.

[Assistant] And so did everybody go along to Puerto Rico. Didn't come down for deselected in Seattle.

[User] Yeah, but my father had an episode of mental illness. So in Seattle I dropped out and returned home. Oh, my brother and I had to come up with some kind of solution for him. Yeah. So I left Bolivia five with an invitation to return if I can work everything out to return to Bolivia six, which began in January. Also, I spent probably forty five days at home. Thirty five or forty five days at home. Yeah brother and I just trying to work out some kind of solution for him.

[Assistant] And meanwhile the rest of your group had gone down to Puerto Rico.

[User] The rest of our group had gone on to Puerto Rico. So my brother and I were able to work out some sort of accommodation for him. Yeah. And I returned to Bolivia VI in January.

[Assistant] Oh, my goodness. So then you had to repeat. Yeah. What was a different was the


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

[User] Yeah, but my father had an episode of mental illness. So in Seattle I dropped out and returned home. Oh, my brother and I had to come up with some kind of solution for him. Yeah. So I left Bolivia five with an invitation to return if I can work everything out to return to Bolivia six, which began in January. Also, I spent probably forty five days at home. Thirty five or forty five days at home. Yeah brother and I just trying to work out some kind of solution for him.

[Assistant] And meanwhile the rest of your group had gone down to Puerto Rico.

[User] The rest of our group had gone on to Puerto Rico. So my brother and I were able to work out some sort of accommodation for him. Yeah. And I returned to Bolivia VI in January.

[Assistant] Oh, my goodness. So then you had to repeat. Yeah. What was a different was the

[User] As the same five and six were always envisioned as identical programs simply done in tandem rather than simultaneously. Yes. So that they could maintain the small group. That was one of the things that they wanted to do.

[Assistant] It's expensive, but


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

[User] The rest of our group had gone on to Puerto Rico. So my brother and I were able to work out some sort of accommodation for him. Yeah. And I returned to Bolivia VI in January.

[Assistant] Oh, my goodness. So then you had to repeat. Yeah. What was a different was the

[User] As the same five and six were always envisioned as identical programs simply done in tandem rather than simultaneously. Yes. So that they could maintain the small group. That was one of the things that they wanted to do.

[Assistant] It's expensive, but

[User] Yeah, we wanted to keep the small group kind of experience one.

[Assistant] So. And you didn't see any differences the second time around?


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

[User] As the same five and six were always envisioned as identical programs simply done in tandem rather than simultaneously. Yes. So that they could maintain the small group. That was one of the things that they wanted to do.

[Assistant] It's expensive, but

[User] Yeah, we wanted to keep the small group kind of experience one.

[Assistant] So. And you didn't see any differences the second time around?

[User] No. VI was the same as V as far as I was concerned.

[Assistant] They had done a good job.


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

[User] Yeah, we wanted to keep the small group kind of experience one.

[Assistant] So. And you didn't see any differences the second time around?

[User] No. VI was the same as V as far as I was concerned.

[Assistant] They had done a good job.

[User] Same kind of people, same administration, same faculty. But then I had had all of that introduction. From Bolivia V, so I knew what to expect and I had a little bit of a leg up as far as the Spanish. That's what I was concerned. So that helped me with VI.

[Assistant] And it was a refresher to reinforce some of these. Right.


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

[User] No. VI was the same as V as far as I was concerned.

[Assistant] They had done a good job.

[User] Same kind of people, same administration, same faculty. But then I had had all of that introduction. From Bolivia V, so I knew what to expect and I had a little bit of a leg up as far as the Spanish. That's what I was concerned. So that helped me with VI.

[Assistant] And it was a refresher to reinforce some of these. Right.

[User] And the and the pregnant and the pregnant teacher had had her baby, all right. And she was replaced by an equally vigorous man who likewise around us into the ground.

[Assistant] Now, meanwhile, you must be making friendships, so you must have formed some friendships.


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

[User] Same kind of people, same administration, same faculty. But then I had had all of that introduction. From Bolivia V, so I knew what to expect and I had a little bit of a leg up as far as the Spanish. That's what I was concerned. So that helped me with VI.

[Assistant] And it was a refresher to reinforce some of these. Right.

[User] And the and the pregnant and the pregnant teacher had had her baby, all right. And she was replaced by an equally vigorous man who likewise around us into the ground.

[Assistant] Now, meanwhile, you must be making friendships, so you must have formed some friendships.

[User] Sometimes when you see people in Bolivia V would already be in the country working and VI arrive right when you read the same kinds of projects. So when I arrived in Bolivia, I reconnected with my friends and family of V. And you see there was no difference because Bolivia VI people were added to projects where Bolivia V people were working. So again, they were considered part of the team.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah. This is very carefully planned.


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

[User] And the and the pregnant and the pregnant teacher had had her baby, all right. And she was replaced by an equally vigorous man who likewise around us into the ground.

[Assistant] Now, meanwhile, you must be making friendships, so you must have formed some friendships.

[User] Sometimes when you see people in Bolivia V would already be in the country working and VI arrive right when you read the same kinds of projects. So when I arrived in Bolivia, I reconnected with my friends and family of V. And you see there was no difference because Bolivia VI people were added to projects where Bolivia V people were working. So again, they were considered part of the team.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah. This is very carefully planned.

[User] Well, you know, you just had the feeling of competence from day one.

[Assistant] And since these people knew what they were doing, how wonderful. Is there anything else you'd like to say about training?


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

[User] Sometimes when you see people in Bolivia V would already be in the country working and VI arrive right when you read the same kinds of projects. So when I arrived in Bolivia, I reconnected with my friends and family of V. And you see there was no difference because Bolivia VI people were added to projects where Bolivia V people were working. So again, they were considered part of the team.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah. This is very carefully planned.

[User] Well, you know, you just had the feeling of competence from day one.

[Assistant] And since these people knew what they were doing, how wonderful. Is there anything else you'd like to say about training?

[User] I just thought it was excellent.

[Assistant] Oh, wait, we haven't talked much about what went on in Puerto Rico.


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

[User] Well, you know, you just had the feeling of competence from day one.

[Assistant] And since these people knew what they were doing, how wonderful. Is there anything else you'd like to say about training?

[User] I just thought it was excellent.

[Assistant] Oh, wait, we haven't talked much about what went on in Puerto Rico.

[User] No, she didn't ask me.

[Assistant] Well, let me ask you. So you went back to Bolivia VI. You did the Seattle peace, and then you went on to Puerto Rico and what


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

[User] I just thought it was excellent.

[Assistant] Oh, wait, we haven't talked much about what went on in Puerto Rico.

[User] No, she didn't ask me.

[Assistant] Well, let me ask you. So you went back to Bolivia VI. You did the Seattle peace, and then you went on to Puerto Rico and what

[User] Puerto Rico was even more intense language training and in some cases six, eight hours a day of language training by a different staff from the staff that we had had in Seattle. So these people were typically they spoke more lowland, Spanish and Spanish. They say I lost my laborers, which means they drop off the end of the word in the end of the

[Assistant] Sentence so that you're not going to hear much up in the Andes.


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

[User] No, she didn't ask me.

[Assistant] Well, let me ask you. So you went back to Bolivia VI. You did the Seattle peace, and then you went on to Puerto Rico and what

[User] Puerto Rico was even more intense language training and in some cases six, eight hours a day of language training by a different staff from the staff that we had had in Seattle. So these people were typically they spoke more lowland, Spanish and Spanish. They say I lost my laborers, which means they drop off the end of the word in the end of the

[Assistant] Sentence so that you're not going to hear much up in the Andes.

[User] No, no, no, no. But they were equally committed and equally demanding.

[Assistant] But this is good because you're going to hear Spanish was different.


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

[User] Puerto Rico was even more intense language training and in some cases six, eight hours a day of language training by a different staff from the staff that we had had in Seattle. So these people were typically they spoke more lowland, Spanish and Spanish. They say I lost my laborers, which means they drop off the end of the word in the end of the

[Assistant] Sentence so that you're not going to hear much up in the Andes.

[User] No, no, no, no. But they were equally committed and equally demanding.

[Assistant] But this is good because you're going to hear Spanish was different.

[User] Exactly. So it's still training for the ear. That's right. And even more emphasis on physical conditioning in the at the camp, we were at a camp high up in the mountains in Puerto Rico, which had and we did rappelling down the side some of the local mountains and in very large swimming pool where we were. I can remember one of the things that you had to be able to do was swim to two lengths of the pool holding your breath. I did it.

[Assistant] When you were in Puerto Rico, what kind of housing situation were you in?


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

[User] No, no, no, no. But they were equally committed and equally demanding.

[Assistant] But this is good because you're going to hear Spanish was different.

[User] Exactly. So it's still training for the ear. That's right. And even more emphasis on physical conditioning in the at the camp, we were at a camp high up in the mountains in Puerto Rico, which had and we did rappelling down the side some of the local mountains and in very large swimming pool where we were. I can remember one of the things that you had to be able to do was swim to two lengths of the pool holding your breath. I did it.

[Assistant] When you were in Puerto Rico, what kind of housing situation were you in?

[User] Like being a, a primitive Girl Scout camp with a wooden platform raised with a tent over it,

[Assistant] And you weren't staying with a family. Did you have contact with the Puerto Rican?


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

[User] Exactly. So it's still training for the ear. That's right. And even more emphasis on physical conditioning in the at the camp, we were at a camp high up in the mountains in Puerto Rico, which had and we did rappelling down the side some of the local mountains and in very large swimming pool where we were. I can remember one of the things that you had to be able to do was swim to two lengths of the pool holding your breath. I did it.

[Assistant] When you were in Puerto Rico, what kind of housing situation were you in?

[User] Like being a, a primitive Girl Scout camp with a wooden platform raised with a tent over it,

[Assistant] And you weren't staying with a family. Did you have contact with the Puerto Rican?

[User] Only when we had a few hours off and could go to the beach, would hitch rides going north to the to to the beach on a day off, like a Sunday

[Assistant] Or so it would be on


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

[User] Like being a, a primitive Girl Scout camp with a wooden platform raised with a tent over it,

[Assistant] And you weren't staying with a family. Did you have contact with the Puerto Rican?

[User] Only when we had a few hours off and could go to the beach, would hitch rides going north to the to to the beach on a day off, like a Sunday

[Assistant] Or so it would be on

[User] Your own. Oh, yeah. Right. Right, right.

[Assistant] So then there was some kind of swearing in ceremony.


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

[User] Only when we had a few hours off and could go to the beach, would hitch rides going north to the to to the beach on a day off, like a Sunday

[Assistant] Or so it would be on

[User] Your own. Oh, yeah. Right. Right, right.

[Assistant] So then there was some kind of swearing in ceremony.

[User] No, not for me, no. One day all the meals were in a very large tent when this was mosquito netting all the way around. And we were sitting at dinner one evening and a two men came in and asked the person in charge to see two of us, myself and a man in in training with me and was over at the side. They explained that there was a special situation that had developed in Bolivia that they would like to know if we were interested in and would this be an assignment we would accept. And they told us about a national hospital, which was part of the Ministry of Health in Bolivia, which was a leprosarium. Oh, and they needed some additional staff. And here's the reason why a political flap had developed with volunteers in Bolivia V, including nurses and a hospital administrator, and the inability of those people to adapt to the supervision of the Bolivian doctor and to adapt to the treatment methods, the leprosarium. And this was this particular hospital was a political favorite of the United States ambassador to Bolivia. His name was Douglas Henderson. And the doctor in charge, Dr. Siles Lopez, was a personal friend of the ambassadors. And as far as the United States government, Bolivia was concerned there was absolutely nothing that the volunteers were going to screw up any further at that project.

[Assistant] They saw volunteers screwing this up because they had a conflict in conflict with the doctor.


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

[User] No, not for me, no. One day all the meals were in a very large tent when this was mosquito netting all the way around. And we were sitting at dinner one evening and a two men came in and asked the person in charge to see two of us, myself and a man in in training with me and was over at the side. They explained that there was a special situation that had developed in Bolivia that they would like to know if we were interested in and would this be an assignment we would accept. And they told us about a national hospital, which was part of the Ministry of Health in Bolivia, which was a leprosarium. Oh, and they needed some additional staff. And here's the reason why a political flap had developed with volunteers in Bolivia V, including nurses and a hospital administrator, and the inability of those people to adapt to the supervision of the Bolivian doctor and to adapt to the treatment methods, the leprosarium. And this was this particular hospital was a political favorite of the United States ambassador to Bolivia. His name was Douglas Henderson. And the doctor in charge, Dr. Siles Lopez, was a personal friend of the ambassadors. And as far as the United States government, Bolivia was concerned there was absolutely nothing that the volunteers were going to screw up any further at that project.

[Assistant] They saw volunteers screwing this up because they had a conflict in conflict with the doctor.

[User] And here's the rub, because these all these people had been trained in U.S. hospital settings. And that's what they expected. And that's what they could work with. And the treatment of leprosy worldwide is no treatment. You put all these people into the remote, far away reaches of whatever country.

[Assistant] They’re segregated.

[User] And you hope you never see them again and you don't. Yeah, and malaria is no different. So they simply were at loggerheads with the medical director, Dr. Siles, and she wasn't going to stand for it and there was no reason she should have stood for it.

[Assistant] Oh, so you're saying that's.


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

[User] And here's the rub, because these all these people had been trained in U.S. hospital settings. And that's what they expected. And that's what they could work with. And the treatment of leprosy worldwide is no treatment. You put all these people into the remote, far away reaches of whatever country.

[Assistant] They’re segregated.

[User] And you hope you never see them again and you don't. Yeah, and malaria is no different. So they simply were at loggerheads with the medical director, Dr. Siles, and she wasn't going to stand for it and there was no reason she should have stood for it.

[Assistant] Oh, so you're saying that's.

[User] Oh, absolutely. The only way to see it. And Ambassador Anderson backed her up 100 percent.

[Assistant] This is the kind of thing that the people in training could never have foreseen. Of course not.


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

[User] Oh, absolutely. The only way to see it. And Ambassador Anderson backed her up 100 percent.

[Assistant] This is the kind of thing that the people in training could never have foreseen. Of course not.

[User] And so these people were from the Department of State who visited the Peace Corps, working in Puerto Rico. And they're trying to solve a political problem caused by these intransigent Peace Corps volunteers.

[Assistant] Well intentioned.

[User] Well intentioned. But, you know, good intentions aren't enough. Yeah. And the other person in training with me was Ed Lipski. He was from Minneapolis and he was not a health care professional and neither was I. And we were perceived as open minded and flexible, being able to see both sides. Not threatened by conflict, able to handle conflict, we had consistently been rated very high on language skills. Oh yeah, and in cultural understanding and we were perceived as maybe a middle ground between the two sides. We're at war with each other at the project. Yeah. So I don't know how you say no to this fellow. So I said yes and to and when we left that night for the United States, the main one I'm talking about

[Assistant] Yeah, to say goodbye.


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

[User] And so these people were from the Department of State who visited the Peace Corps, working in Puerto Rico. And they're trying to solve a political problem caused by these intransigent Peace Corps volunteers.

[Assistant] Well intentioned.

[User] Well intentioned. But, you know, good intentions aren't enough. Yeah. And the other person in training with me was Ed Lipski. He was from Minneapolis and he was not a health care professional and neither was I. And we were perceived as open minded and flexible, being able to see both sides. Not threatened by conflict, able to handle conflict, we had consistently been rated very high on language skills. Oh yeah, and in cultural understanding and we were perceived as maybe a middle ground between the two sides. We're at war with each other at the project. Yeah. So I don't know how you say no to this fellow. So I said yes and to and when we left that night for the United States, the main one I'm talking about

[Assistant] Yeah, to say goodbye.

[User] No, for further training. At the US Public Health Service Hospital in Carville, Louisiana, the only leprosarium in the United States. We had three more weeks of training.

[Assistant] And with just the two of you?


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

[User] Well intentioned. But, you know, good intentions aren't enough. Yeah. And the other person in training with me was Ed Lipski. He was from Minneapolis and he was not a health care professional and neither was I. And we were perceived as open minded and flexible, being able to see both sides. Not threatened by conflict, able to handle conflict, we had consistently been rated very high on language skills. Oh yeah, and in cultural understanding and we were perceived as maybe a middle ground between the two sides. We're at war with each other at the project. Yeah. So I don't know how you say no to this fellow. So I said yes and to and when we left that night for the United States, the main one I'm talking about

[Assistant] Yeah, to say goodbye.

[User] No, for further training. At the US Public Health Service Hospital in Carville, Louisiana, the only leprosarium in the United States. We had three more weeks of training.

[Assistant] And with just the two of you?

[User] Yeah. Yeah.

[Assistant] And what does that mean.


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

[User] No, for further training. At the US Public Health Service Hospital in Carville, Louisiana, the only leprosarium in the United States. We had three more weeks of training.

[Assistant] And with just the two of you?

[User] Yeah. Yeah.

[Assistant] And what does that mean.

[User] The the leprosarium is right outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. And it was wonderful. And I mean we were both so scared. I mean, what is leprosy? We had no idea what leprosy. Right. And these two, a department state types except yourself, couldn't tell us anymore about how to proceed and they could fly. So we just had to keep our fingers crossed. The staff there. Fantastic. Fantastic. They just took us under their wing. Understood how scared we were.

[Assistant] And just when you say you were scared, scared of contacting leprosy. Scared of coming down.


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

[User] Yeah. Yeah.

[Assistant] And what does that mean.

[User] The the leprosarium is right outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. And it was wonderful. And I mean we were both so scared. I mean, what is leprosy? We had no idea what leprosy. Right. And these two, a department state types except yourself, couldn't tell us anymore about how to proceed and they could fly. So we just had to keep our fingers crossed. The staff there. Fantastic. Fantastic. They just took us under their wing. Understood how scared we were.

[Assistant] And just when you say you were scared, scared of contacting leprosy. Scared of coming down.

[User] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And as it turns out, you know, you know Michael microbes mycobacterium Lepra is so weak, so puny it hardly is capable of communicating anything. But we didn't know that.

[Assistant] And you had healthy bodies.


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

[User] The the leprosarium is right outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. And it was wonderful. And I mean we were both so scared. I mean, what is leprosy? We had no idea what leprosy. Right. And these two, a department state types except yourself, couldn't tell us anymore about how to proceed and they could fly. So we just had to keep our fingers crossed. The staff there. Fantastic. Fantastic. They just took us under their wing. Understood how scared we were.

[Assistant] And just when you say you were scared, scared of contacting leprosy. Scared of coming down.

[User] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And as it turns out, you know, you know Michael microbes mycobacterium Lepra is so weak, so puny it hardly is capable of communicating anything. But we didn't know that.

[Assistant] And you had healthy bodies.

[User] And healthy babies. Well, we were taken under the wing of the staff at Carvell and just taught everything that they could teach us. And in about two and a half, three weeks.

[Assistant] So they were teaching you also what they do in the leprosarium.


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

[User] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And as it turns out, you know, you know Michael microbes mycobacterium Lepra is so weak, so puny it hardly is capable of communicating anything. But we didn't know that.

[Assistant] And you had healthy bodies.

[User] And healthy babies. Well, we were taken under the wing of the staff at Carvell and just taught everything that they could teach us. And in about two and a half, three weeks.

[Assistant] So they were teaching you also what they do in the leprosarium.

[User] What is a leprosarium. Yes. How it works. This is leprosy. This is how it's transmitted. This is what we know of the disease. This is what we know of not you don't cure leprosy, but you can arrest it.

[Assistant] Ok, so there would be treatment to arrest the progress of the disease and perhaps something to make people feel more comfortable.


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

[User] And healthy babies. Well, we were taken under the wing of the staff at Carvell and just taught everything that they could teach us. And in about two and a half, three weeks.

[Assistant] So they were teaching you also what they do in the leprosarium.

[User] What is a leprosarium. Yes. How it works. This is leprosy. This is how it's transmitted. This is what we know of the disease. This is what we know of not you don't cure leprosy, but you can arrest it.

[Assistant] Ok, so there would be treatment to arrest the progress of the disease and perhaps something to make people feel more comfortable.

[User] Help them rejoin their families and rejoin their lives. We were introduced on from day one to leprosy patients who were in some cases outpatients who came for their sulfa therapy from cities and towns around that room and maybe in other parts of the south.

[Assistant] This is assuming that the families would receive these people.


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

[User] What is a leprosarium. Yes. How it works. This is leprosy. This is how it's transmitted. This is what we know of the disease. This is what we know of not you don't cure leprosy, but you can arrest it.

[Assistant] Ok, so there would be treatment to arrest the progress of the disease and perhaps something to make people feel more comfortable.

[User] Help them rejoin their families and rejoin their lives. We were introduced on from day one to leprosy patients who were in some cases outpatients who came for their sulfa therapy from cities and towns around that room and maybe in other parts of the south.

[Assistant] This is assuming that the families would receive these people.

[User] But see, there’s a huge, huge, huge education component.

[Assistant] Yeah. And there you are.


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

[User] Help them rejoin their families and rejoin their lives. We were introduced on from day one to leprosy patients who were in some cases outpatients who came for their sulfa therapy from cities and towns around that room and maybe in other parts of the south.

[Assistant] This is assuming that the families would receive these people.

[User] But see, there’s a huge, huge, huge education component.

[Assistant] Yeah. And there you are.

[User] To the leprosy treatment. Yeah.

[Assistant] Yeah. Before we get to Bolivia now, I want to get out of here. I want to bring in precisely this discussion. But but let's let's close up Louisiana here. You were there for


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

[User] But see, there’s a huge, huge, huge education component.

[Assistant] Yeah. And there you are.

[User] To the leprosy treatment. Yeah.

[Assistant] Yeah. Before we get to Bolivia now, I want to get out of here. I want to bring in precisely this discussion. But but let's let's close up Louisiana here. You were there for

[User] Two and a half, three weeks.

[Assistant] Two weeks. And then did you have a chance to go back to your family and say goodbye?


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

[User] To the leprosy treatment. Yeah.

[Assistant] Yeah. Before we get to Bolivia now, I want to get out of here. I want to bring in precisely this discussion. But but let's let's close up Louisiana here. You were there for

[User] Two and a half, three weeks.

[Assistant] Two weeks. And then did you have a chance to go back to your family and say goodbye?

[User] No, no. We were sent, we went we flew from the Baton Rouge Airport to New Orleans and from New Orleans to New York. And we joined our group in New York just as it was flying to Bolivia.

[Assistant] So no time to go shopping, pack up, say goodbye.


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

[User] Two and a half, three weeks.

[Assistant] Two weeks. And then did you have a chance to go back to your family and say goodbye?

[User] No, no. We were sent, we went we flew from the Baton Rouge Airport to New Orleans and from New Orleans to New York. And we joined our group in New York just as it was flying to Bolivia.

[Assistant] So no time to go shopping, pack up, say goodbye.

[User] No time to have any second thoughts either! Our fellow volunteers in training, when we greeted them, they weren't even sure they want to shake our hands.

[Assistant] Because you had spent three weeks in a leprosarium.


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

[User] No, no. We were sent, we went we flew from the Baton Rouge Airport to New Orleans and from New Orleans to New York. And we joined our group in New York just as it was flying to Bolivia.

[Assistant] So no time to go shopping, pack up, say goodbye.

[User] No time to have any second thoughts either! Our fellow volunteers in training, when we greeted them, they weren't even sure they want to shake our hands.

[Assistant] Because you had spent three weeks in a leprosarium.

[User] Correct. So that that was our introduction. US. Yeah. And like people to this day when I, I don't talk about my Peace Corps experience very much because it's so alien, so very alien to people's lives today, that it takes a long time to make the connections. But then when I get to the part where I spent two and a half years in the leprosarium, people today don't want to shake my hand.

[Assistant] There’s a need for education up here too. So you rejoin Bolivia VI in New York, right. And you fly to


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

[User] No time to have any second thoughts either! Our fellow volunteers in training, when we greeted them, they weren't even sure they want to shake our hands.

[Assistant] Because you had spent three weeks in a leprosarium.

[User] Correct. So that that was our introduction. US. Yeah. And like people to this day when I, I don't talk about my Peace Corps experience very much because it's so alien, so very alien to people's lives today, that it takes a long time to make the connections. But then when I get to the part where I spent two and a half years in the leprosarium, people today don't want to shake my hand.

[Assistant] There’s a need for education up here too. So you rejoin Bolivia VI in New York, right. And you fly to

[User] We had a great party.

[Assistant] Oh, good. Oh, very good. So they put you up for the night.


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

[User] Correct. So that that was our introduction. US. Yeah. And like people to this day when I, I don't talk about my Peace Corps experience very much because it's so alien, so very alien to people's lives today, that it takes a long time to make the connections. But then when I get to the part where I spent two and a half years in the leprosarium, people today don't want to shake my hand.

[Assistant] There’s a need for education up here too. So you rejoin Bolivia VI in New York, right. And you fly to

[User] We had a great party.

[Assistant] Oh, good. Oh, very good. So they put you up for the night.

[User] Up for the night, but not much sleep that night. We go on a plane to La Paz.

[Assistant] So you flew into La Paz and then from so did you spend some time in La Paz in country orientation,


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

[User] We had a great party.

[Assistant] Oh, good. Oh, very good. So they put you up for the night.

[User] Up for the night, but not much sleep that night. We go on a plane to La Paz.

[Assistant] So you flew into La Paz and then from so did you spend some time in La Paz in country orientation,

[User] Probably being sick. Oh, altitudes.

[Assistant] Altitude sickeness. Yeah, well, New Orleans is sea level and you're going


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

[User] Up for the night, but not much sleep that night. We go on a plane to La Paz.

[Assistant] So you flew into La Paz and then from so did you spend some time in La Paz in country orientation,

[User] Probably being sick. Oh, altitudes.

[Assistant] Altitude sickeness. Yeah, well, New Orleans is sea level and you're going

[User] Up to leprosarium was right on the Mississippi River. So very close to if not even slightly below.

[Assistant] Yeah. And and then you're going two miles up


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

[User] Probably being sick. Oh, altitudes.

[Assistant] Altitude sickeness. Yeah, well, New Orleans is sea level and you're going

[User] Up to leprosarium was right on the Mississippi River. So very close to if not even slightly below.

[Assistant] Yeah. And and then you're going two miles up

[User] To La Paz. But just for a few days because this leprosarium was down at about sixty five hundred feet, further east of Cochabamba. And Cochabamba is the principal Bolivian city at about seventy five, at a manageable altitude.

[Assistant] Yeah. Yeah. And then you were east of that.


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

[User] Up to leprosarium was right on the Mississippi River. So very close to if not even slightly below.

[Assistant] Yeah. And and then you're going two miles up

[User] To La Paz. But just for a few days because this leprosarium was down at about sixty five hundred feet, further east of Cochabamba. And Cochabamba is the principal Bolivian city at about seventy five, at a manageable altitude.

[Assistant] Yeah. Yeah. And then you were east of that.

[User] And so as you go further you're going Bolivia, you're going down in altitude.

[Assistant] Yeah, right. How far down were you when you finally got to your place?


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

[User] To La Paz. But just for a few days because this leprosarium was down at about sixty five hundred feet, further east of Cochabamba. And Cochabamba is the principal Bolivian city at about seventy five, at a manageable altitude.

[Assistant] Yeah. Yeah. And then you were east of that.

[User] And so as you go further you're going Bolivia, you're going down in altitude.

[Assistant] Yeah, right. How far down were you when you finally got to your place?

[User] About sixty five hundred.

[Assistant] Sixty five hundred. Yeah. That's not so bad. No. And what's the name of the place?


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

[User] And so as you go further you're going Bolivia, you're going down in altitude.

[Assistant] Yeah, right. How far down were you when you finally got to your place?

[User] About sixty five hundred.

[Assistant] Sixty five hundred. Yeah. That's not so bad. No. And what's the name of the place?

[User] Los Negros.

[Assistant] Los Negros, was the name of the is it a village or.


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

[User] About sixty five hundred.

[Assistant] Sixty five hundred. Yeah. That's not so bad. No. And what's the name of the place?

[User] Los Negros.

[Assistant] Los Negros, was the name of the is it a village or.

[User] There was a village on the other side of this was a seasonal creek. So leprosarium the colony, La Colonia is on one side of the seasonal creek and the little tiny village of Los Negros is on the other side of the creek. So it would be commonly referred to as La Colonia de Los Negros.

[Assistant] Ok, OK. Because La Colonia was the leprosarium. All right. That's what they called it. Yeah. Colony, the colony, a colony of leopards.


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

[User] Los Negros.

[Assistant] Los Negros, was the name of the is it a village or.

[User] There was a village on the other side of this was a seasonal creek. So leprosarium the colony, La Colonia is on one side of the seasonal creek and the little tiny village of Los Negros is on the other side of the creek. So it would be commonly referred to as La Colonia de Los Negros.

[Assistant] Ok, OK. Because La Colonia was the leprosarium. All right. That's what they called it. Yeah. Colony, the colony, a colony of leopards.

[User] You know, if you've ever read any of the story of the Catholic priest, Father Damien. Yes. In Hawaii now, you know, they're all the same. They're all the same. You just everybody holds well. We won't see these people again if we're lucky.

[Assistant] So you arrive in Los Negros somehow. How did you get there from La Paz?


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

[User] There was a village on the other side of this was a seasonal creek. So leprosarium the colony, La Colonia is on one side of the seasonal creek and the little tiny village of Los Negros is on the other side of the creek. So it would be commonly referred to as La Colonia de Los Negros.

[Assistant] Ok, OK. Because La Colonia was the leprosarium. All right. That's what they called it. Yeah. Colony, the colony, a colony of leopards.

[User] You know, if you've ever read any of the story of the Catholic priest, Father Damien. Yes. In Hawaii now, you know, they're all the same. They're all the same. You just everybody holds well. We won't see these people again if we're lucky.

[Assistant] So you arrive in Los Negros somehow. How did you get there from La Paz?

[User] By bus.

[Assistant] By bus. So you go down to Cochabamba first.


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

[User] You know, if you've ever read any of the story of the Catholic priest, Father Damien. Yes. In Hawaii now, you know, they're all the same. They're all the same. You just everybody holds well. We won't see these people again if we're lucky.

[Assistant] So you arrive in Los Negros somehow. How did you get there from La Paz?

[User] By bus.

[Assistant] By bus. So you go down to Cochabamba first.

[User] First from La Paz to Cochabamba, which is a docent in about 12 hours of four thousand feet. I mean, you just, you know. All right, there's just no perspective I can give you on riding the bus on Bolivianos, the loss of life and the danger

[Assistant] With crosses on the side of the road.


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

[User] By bus.

[Assistant] By bus. So you go down to Cochabamba first.

[User] First from La Paz to Cochabamba, which is a docent in about 12 hours of four thousand feet. I mean, you just, you know. All right, there's just no perspective I can give you on riding the bus on Bolivianos, the loss of life and the danger

[Assistant] With crosses on the side of the road.

[User] Oh man, crosses everywhere on the side of the road. Oh, and people throwing up the Indians or throwing up all over the bus and some refuse to get inside. Some right on top. And I quickly discovered that riding on top was far better.

[Assistant] Was the better thing. Well, if people are throwing up inside


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

[User] Oh man, crosses everywhere on the side of the road. Oh, and people throwing up the Indians or throwing up all over the bus and some refuse to get inside. Some right on top. And I quickly discovered that riding on top was far better.

[Assistant] Was the better thing. Well, if people are throwing up inside

[User] We arrived by bus. Yeah.

[Assistant] And Cochabamba

[User] To Cochabamba. And then you get another bus to Santa Cruz.

[Assistant] And you get to spend the night in Cochabamba and rest.


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

[User] We arrived by bus. Yeah.

[Assistant] And Cochabamba

[User] To Cochabamba. And then you get another bus to Santa Cruz.

[Assistant] And you get to spend the night in Cochabamba and rest.

[User] I cannot recall. It's a good question. Our only answer to it because another bus from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz and the colony there was an old colony is quite close to the main road from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz. So there was somebody there at the little I mean, there's no pot or anything, but everybody knows where the bus stops. So so the hospital administrator was right there

[Assistant] In Santa Cruz. No, no. You're talking about neighbors. Yeah. OK, so there's a bus from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz and then from Santa Cruz to you


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

[User] To Cochabamba. And then you get another bus to Santa Cruz.

[Assistant] And you get to spend the night in Cochabamba and rest.

[User] I cannot recall. It's a good question. Our only answer to it because another bus from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz and the colony there was an old colony is quite close to the main road from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz. So there was somebody there at the little I mean, there's no pot or anything, but everybody knows where the bus stops. So so the hospital administrator was right there

[Assistant] In Santa Cruz. No, no. You're talking about neighbors. Yeah. OK, so there's a bus from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz and then from Santa Cruz to you

[User] Can ride it should you wish to suffer that much all the way from La Paz to Santa Cruz, because these are long distance. These are what we would consider Greyhound's. In fact, it wasn't it was the Greyhound painted on the side of the bus. They were Gallego busses, which is Greyhound. And so you can go the long distance all the way from the past to Santa Cruz, should you wish. So we went from La Paz to Los Negros.

[Assistant] Yeah. And so now you're right, you're right, you are still with Ed, the two of you?


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

[User] I cannot recall. It's a good question. Our only answer to it because another bus from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz and the colony there was an old colony is quite close to the main road from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz. So there was somebody there at the little I mean, there's no pot or anything, but everybody knows where the bus stops. So so the hospital administrator was right there

[Assistant] In Santa Cruz. No, no. You're talking about neighbors. Yeah. OK, so there's a bus from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz and then from Santa Cruz to you

[User] Can ride it should you wish to suffer that much all the way from La Paz to Santa Cruz, because these are long distance. These are what we would consider Greyhound's. In fact, it wasn't it was the Greyhound painted on the side of the bus. They were Gallego busses, which is Greyhound. And so you can go the long distance all the way from the past to Santa Cruz, should you wish. So we went from La Paz to Los Negros.

[Assistant] Yeah. And so now you're right, you're right, you are still with Ed, the two of you?

[User] All you said and I are you know, we're bosom buddies by now, huh?

[Assistant] And you get to Los Negros and somebody.


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

[User] Can ride it should you wish to suffer that much all the way from La Paz to Santa Cruz, because these are long distance. These are what we would consider Greyhound's. In fact, it wasn't it was the Greyhound painted on the side of the bus. They were Gallego busses, which is Greyhound. And so you can go the long distance all the way from the past to Santa Cruz, should you wish. So we went from La Paz to Los Negros.

[Assistant] Yeah. And so now you're right, you're right, you are still with Ed, the two of you?

[User] All you said and I are you know, we're bosom buddies by now, huh?

[Assistant] And you get to Los Negros and somebody.

[User] The hospital administrator. Not Dr. Siles, she's the hospital director. The person who met us was the Peace Corps volunteer who was a hospital administrator.

[Assistant] A Peace Corps volunteer was the


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

[User] All you said and I are you know, we're bosom buddies by now, huh?

[Assistant] And you get to Los Negros and somebody.

[User] The hospital administrator. Not Dr. Siles, she's the hospital director. The person who met us was the Peace Corps volunteer who was a hospital administrator.

[Assistant] A Peace Corps volunteer was the

[User] Michael J. O’Sullivan.

[Assistant] He was in Bolivia V?


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

[User] The hospital administrator. Not Dr. Siles, she's the hospital director. The person who met us was the Peace Corps volunteer who was a hospital administrator.

[Assistant] A Peace Corps volunteer was the

[User] Michael J. O’Sullivan.

[Assistant] He was in Bolivia V?

[User] Correct.

[Assistant] So you already knew him?


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

[User] Michael J. O’Sullivan.

[Assistant] He was in Bolivia V?

[User] Correct.

[Assistant] So you already knew him?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] And he was the hospital administrator, not the leprosarium administrator.


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

[User] Correct.

[Assistant] So you already knew him?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] And he was the hospital administrator, not the leprosarium administrator.

[User] Well, the hospital is one long building cinder block with, you know, some kind of metal roof and like a hospital ward with rooms off of that and which everything takes place. So when you think of when I when I talk about the hospital, I'm really talking about the colony. But the fact of the matter is that there was a leprosy patient who was the overseer for the lands that the colony owned because this little enterprise was entirely self- sufficient. They raised their own animals. They had they cultivated their own land. They irrigated their own crops. They provided for themselves because nobody else is going to do it. The Ministry of Public Health said bye bye. So.

[Assistant] Ha ha. So out of necessity. Absolutely. And because of that necessity, they have a function.


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] And he was the hospital administrator, not the leprosarium administrator.

[User] Well, the hospital is one long building cinder block with, you know, some kind of metal roof and like a hospital ward with rooms off of that and which everything takes place. So when you think of when I when I talk about the hospital, I'm really talking about the colony. But the fact of the matter is that there was a leprosy patient who was the overseer for the lands that the colony owned because this little enterprise was entirely self- sufficient. They raised their own animals. They had they cultivated their own land. They irrigated their own crops. They provided for themselves because nobody else is going to do it. The Ministry of Public Health said bye bye. So.

[Assistant] Ha ha. So out of necessity. Absolutely. And because of that necessity, they have a function.

[User] Exactly. So everybody worked. Yeah. Even the sickest patients had something.

[Assistant] So Michael J. O’Sullivan who you already knew, greets you at the bus stop, at the bus stop.


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

[User] Well, the hospital is one long building cinder block with, you know, some kind of metal roof and like a hospital ward with rooms off of that and which everything takes place. So when you think of when I when I talk about the hospital, I'm really talking about the colony. But the fact of the matter is that there was a leprosy patient who was the overseer for the lands that the colony owned because this little enterprise was entirely self- sufficient. They raised their own animals. They had they cultivated their own land. They irrigated their own crops. They provided for themselves because nobody else is going to do it. The Ministry of Public Health said bye bye. So.

[Assistant] Ha ha. So out of necessity. Absolutely. And because of that necessity, they have a function.

[User] Exactly. So everybody worked. Yeah. Even the sickest patients had something.

[Assistant] So Michael J. O’Sullivan who you already knew, greets you at the bus stop, at the bus stop.

[User] And then you drive us in the jeep to doctor introduce us to Dr. Siles. Doctor Siles receives us in her office.

[Assistant] How do you spell Siles?


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

[User] Exactly. So everybody worked. Yeah. Even the sickest patients had something.

[Assistant] So Michael J. O’Sullivan who you already knew, greets you at the bus stop, at the bus stop.

[User] And then you drive us in the jeep to doctor introduce us to Dr. Siles. Doctor Siles receives us in her office.

[Assistant] How do you spell Siles?

[User] S-I-L-E-S. She is Nora Siles Lopez. A very prominent Bolivian family, politically, very well connected, Dr. Ambassador Henderson is not going to fool around with Dr. Siles, he's going to treat her with the respect she deserves.

[Assistant] And her title is the hospital director?


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

[User] And then you drive us in the jeep to doctor introduce us to Dr. Siles. Doctor Siles receives us in her office.

[Assistant] How do you spell Siles?

[User] S-I-L-E-S. She is Nora Siles Lopez. A very prominent Bolivian family, politically, very well connected, Dr. Ambassador Henderson is not going to fool around with Dr. Siles, he's going to treat her with the respect she deserves.

[Assistant] And her title is the hospital director?

[User] Assume she is the medical director of the colony, the hospital director, everything. She's in charge, she reports to the minister of public health.

[Assistant] And it was with her that there had been other Peace Corps volunteers there.


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

[User] S-I-L-E-S. She is Nora Siles Lopez. A very prominent Bolivian family, politically, very well connected, Dr. Ambassador Henderson is not going to fool around with Dr. Siles, he's going to treat her with the respect she deserves.

[Assistant] And her title is the hospital director?

[User] Assume she is the medical director of the colony, the hospital director, everything. She's in charge, she reports to the minister of public health.

[Assistant] And it was with her that there had been other Peace Corps volunteers there.

[User] They were still there.

[Assistant] Oh, they were still there. I thought they had disappeared by the time. Oh, no, no, I'm still there.


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

[User] Assume she is the medical director of the colony, the hospital director, everything. She's in charge, she reports to the minister of public health.

[Assistant] And it was with her that there had been other Peace Corps volunteers there.

[User] They were still there.

[Assistant] Oh, they were still there. I thought they had disappeared by the time. Oh, no, no, I'm still there.

[User] Oh, my God. She received us with open arms. I'm very glad to see us. Very glad to hear us speak Spanish and to understand that she didn't have to fall back on her excellent English to explain things to the two Peace Corps nurses who were the intransigent types.

[Assistant] So there were two. So there were three people from Bolivia V already there?


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

[User] They were still there.

[Assistant] Oh, they were still there. I thought they had disappeared by the time. Oh, no, no, I'm still there.

[User] Oh, my God. She received us with open arms. I'm very glad to see us. Very glad to hear us speak Spanish and to understand that she didn't have to fall back on her excellent English to explain things to the two Peace Corps nurses who were the intransigent types.

[Assistant] So there were two. So there were three people from Bolivia V already there?

[User] A medtech, two nurses and Michael. And others would come after us.

[Assistant] And all four of them were locking heads?


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

[User] Oh, my God. She received us with open arms. I'm very glad to see us. Very glad to hear us speak Spanish and to understand that she didn't have to fall back on her excellent English to explain things to the two Peace Corps nurses who were the intransigent types.

[Assistant] So there were two. So there were three people from Bolivia V already there?

[User] A medtech, two nurses and Michael. And others would come after us.

[Assistant] And all four of them were locking heads?

[User] Oh no, Irene the medtech was very definitely Four-Square in Dr. Siles’s Corner. Michael J was trying to keep the peace, and the two nurses were on the opposite side to Dr. Siles. So you introduce to new people who are ostensibly like the med tech sort of sort of in Dr. Siles corner or in the middle. Change the chemistry.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, this seems like a new hat for brand new Peace Corps volunteers.


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

[User] A medtech, two nurses and Michael. And others would come after us.

[Assistant] And all four of them were locking heads?

[User] Oh no, Irene the medtech was very definitely Four-Square in Dr. Siles’s Corner. Michael J was trying to keep the peace, and the two nurses were on the opposite side to Dr. Siles. So you introduce to new people who are ostensibly like the med tech sort of sort of in Dr. Siles corner or in the middle. Change the chemistry.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, this seems like a new hat for brand new Peace Corps volunteers.

[User] Talking about making it up as we went along.

[Assistant] I guess. Where did you when you first got there, what sort of housing was provided?


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

[User] Oh no, Irene the medtech was very definitely Four-Square in Dr. Siles’s Corner. Michael J was trying to keep the peace, and the two nurses were on the opposite side to Dr. Siles. So you introduce to new people who are ostensibly like the med tech sort of sort of in Dr. Siles corner or in the middle. Change the chemistry.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, this seems like a new hat for brand new Peace Corps volunteers.

[User] Talking about making it up as we went along.

[Assistant] I guess. Where did you when you first got there, what sort of housing was provided?

[User] You know, the the Doctor Siles lived there at Los Negros and all of the volunteers lived there in the house as well. And that's where they put us up for a while. But I really didn't want to live 24/7 with Peace Corps volunteers. So I rented a room in the tiniest village imaginable about two kilometers away. I rode my bicycle back and forth.

[Assistant] Oh, good for you. And what was the name of that village?


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

[User] Talking about making it up as we went along.

[Assistant] I guess. Where did you when you first got there, what sort of housing was provided?

[User] You know, the the Doctor Siles lived there at Los Negros and all of the volunteers lived there in the house as well. And that's where they put us up for a while. But I really didn't want to live 24/7 with Peace Corps volunteers. So I rented a room in the tiniest village imaginable about two kilometers away. I rode my bicycle back and forth.

[Assistant] Oh, good for you. And what was the name of that village?

[User] Pampagrande.

[Assistant] Pampagrande. But not so grande, no?


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

[User] You know, the the Doctor Siles lived there at Los Negros and all of the volunteers lived there in the house as well. And that's where they put us up for a while. But I really didn't want to live 24/7 with Peace Corps volunteers. So I rented a room in the tiniest village imaginable about two kilometers away. I rode my bicycle back and forth.

[Assistant] Oh, good for you. And what was the name of that village?

[User] Pampagrande.

[Assistant] Pampagrande. But not so grande, no?

[User] You got it.

[Assistant] And so you lived in the house of your own or did you?


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

[User] Pampagrande.

[Assistant] Pampagrande. But not so grande, no?

[User] You got it.

[Assistant] And so you lived in the house of your own or did you?

[User] No, I just rented a room.

[Assistant] You rented a room.


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

[User] You got it.

[Assistant] And so you lived in the house of your own or did you?

[User] No, I just rented a room.

[Assistant] You rented a room.

[User] With a family.

[Assistant] With a family. So, you ate with them?


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

[User] No, I just rented a room.

[Assistant] You rented a room.

[User] With a family.

[Assistant] With a family. So, you ate with them?

[User] No, I took pencion a couple of blocks over in the tiny village of Pampagrande.

[Assistant] And pencion means


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

[User] With a family.

[Assistant] With a family. So, you ate with them?

[User] No, I took pencion a couple of blocks over in the tiny village of Pampagrande.

[Assistant] And pencion means

[User] Means to have my meals.

[Assistant] But you were eating Bolivian food cooked by Bolivians?


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

[User] No, I took pencion a couple of blocks over in the tiny village of Pampagrande.

[Assistant] And pencion means

[User] Means to have my meals.

[Assistant] But you were eating Bolivian food cooked by Bolivians?

[User] Yes, yes. Yes.

[Assistant] And how was your health?


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

[User] Means to have my meals.

[Assistant] But you were eating Bolivian food cooked by Bolivians?

[User] Yes, yes. Yes.

[Assistant] And how was your health?

[User] My health was fine. It's good for you. I lost weight, but no, my health was fine. I had no, um, none of the things that they were so concerned that we would get to were a problem for me. I had fellow volunteers at the hospital who had typhoid fever. But look, this is. Not me. You didn't, not it either.

[Assistant] Yeah, but because you weren't town, you had a chance to speak Spanish, too. Yes, I got to make friends to make people in the village.


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

[User] Yes, yes. Yes.

[Assistant] And how was your health?

[User] My health was fine. It's good for you. I lost weight, but no, my health was fine. I had no, um, none of the things that they were so concerned that we would get to were a problem for me. I had fellow volunteers at the hospital who had typhoid fever. But look, this is. Not me. You didn't, not it either.

[Assistant] Yeah, but because you weren't town, you had a chance to speak Spanish, too. Yes, I got to make friends to make people in the village.

[User] Got to where people knew best for the schoolteacher and his wife.

[Assistant] Oh, so you would be at their house sometime.


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

[User] My health was fine. It's good for you. I lost weight, but no, my health was fine. I had no, um, none of the things that they were so concerned that we would get to were a problem for me. I had fellow volunteers at the hospital who had typhoid fever. But look, this is. Not me. You didn't, not it either.

[Assistant] Yeah, but because you weren't town, you had a chance to speak Spanish, too. Yes, I got to make friends to make people in the village.

[User] Got to where people knew best for the schoolteacher and his wife.

[Assistant] Oh, so you would be at their house sometime.

[User] Yes. And they would come in and pick me up at my little room and take me to various places to show me things and and in the little village. So I got to learn about a life in Bolivia outside of the hospital.

[Assistant] Yeah, terrific. And all this while you're using your Spanish?


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

[User] Got to where people knew best for the schoolteacher and his wife.

[Assistant] Oh, so you would be at their house sometime.

[User] Yes. And they would come in and pick me up at my little room and take me to various places to show me things and and in the little village. So I got to learn about a life in Bolivia outside of the hospital.

[Assistant] Yeah, terrific. And all this while you're using your Spanish?

[User] Oh, yeah. And learning to use Spanish at the hospital as well, which was good. One of the rubs with Dr. Siles says these nurses. Never really applied themselves to the line, into the language while they were in training, U.S. Peace Corps is on the horns of a dilemma. If they if the volunteer has the technical skills, but in subpar language, I mean, what are you going to do?

[Assistant] Yeah, in this case, you need those technical skills. Right. But in this case, you need them both.


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

[User] Yes. And they would come in and pick me up at my little room and take me to various places to show me things and and in the little village. So I got to learn about a life in Bolivia outside of the hospital.

[Assistant] Yeah, terrific. And all this while you're using your Spanish?

[User] Oh, yeah. And learning to use Spanish at the hospital as well, which was good. One of the rubs with Dr. Siles says these nurses. Never really applied themselves to the line, into the language while they were in training, U.S. Peace Corps is on the horns of a dilemma. If they if the volunteer has the technical skills, but in subpar language, I mean, what are you going to do?

[Assistant] Yeah, in this case, you need those technical skills. Right. But in this case, you need them both.

[User] That's right. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. And they couldn't always find some of the best volunteers in Bolivia V and VI or

[Assistant] People who had both. Yeah. And there were few and far between. And you didn't have both when you went into training you acquired has been acquired.


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

[User] Oh, yeah. And learning to use Spanish at the hospital as well, which was good. One of the rubs with Dr. Siles says these nurses. Never really applied themselves to the line, into the language while they were in training, U.S. Peace Corps is on the horns of a dilemma. If they if the volunteer has the technical skills, but in subpar language, I mean, what are you going to do?

[Assistant] Yeah, in this case, you need those technical skills. Right. But in this case, you need them both.

[User] That's right. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. And they couldn't always find some of the best volunteers in Bolivia V and VI or

[Assistant] People who had both. Yeah. And there were few and far between. And you didn't have both when you went into training you acquired has been acquired.

[User] And what I ended up you might you have asked me what I ended up doing at the hospital and what Ed ended up doing at the hospital. I and the medtech, Dr. Siles, was very interested in interviewing the patients. Many would arrive just out of the blue, no warning because they had been thrown out of their villages and thrown out of their families.

[Assistant] And somebody had made the diagnosis then?


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

[User] And what I ended up you might you have asked me what I ended up doing at the hospital and what Ed ended up doing at the hospital. I and the medtech, Dr. Siles, was very interested in interviewing the patients. Many would arrive just out of the blue, no warning because they had been thrown out of their villages and thrown out of their families.

[Assistant] And somebody had made the diagnosis then?

[User] And and they somebody had told them, well, there's a place that you could go to get treatment.

[Assistant] Treatment?

[User] Treatment, to get help. Yeah. And she was very interested that those patients be interviewed and that some sort of record be established because she's trained as a graduate of the Harvard Medical School. Oh. So she understands communicable disease very well and she's interested in the demographics and creating a record. It's going on of the demographics of leprosy in Bolivia. And that may have been her real interest in taking this post to to begin with is instead of dealing with all of the rumors and mysticism and fear of leprosy, let's find out what the facts are.

[Assistant] I have to interrupt you for a second. There's a little red light that Bob said should be on and it's not on. Let me just check to see if this is working. All right, good. We were talking about the interview that Dr. Siles wanted to do.


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

[User] Right. She's looking for where what part of the country the patients come from. Yeah. What kind of place is it? Now, what was their family situation? How the disease first manifest itself. What was the patient's experience between when the disease first showed up and when the patient arrived on her doorstep? But as important as this document and record was, she wanted to go the next step, which was to send a team from the leprosarium to the place where the patient came from to find the whatever medical personnel were there. You know, if they were a midwife, if they were a whatever a dentist or whatever. And to meet with those people, bring them literature about leprosy, do as possible a demonstration for the entire health care personnel of that place. So Irene, who was the medtech and me or her team to go out to these places and find where these people had come from and address the medical personnel if they would see us and in many cases they would not see us, they couldn't care less. Less because they too are not educated about the disease, but they know they don't want to be educated and they don't want to have anything to do with it. Yeah, and Irene prepared these beautiful slides and we had a wonderful presentation. And I still have one of our slides. Mycobacterium outbreak. Oh, looks just like the tubercle bacillus. So the minute if you can get somebody to listen to even one sentence of explanation which ties the leprosy bacillus to the tubercle bacillus, then people will begin to make the connection that you're never cured of tuberculosis. But tuberculosis can be rest. But few people would even let us get them before. So we would have our two slides, the tuberculosis and the mycobacterium leprosy side by side. You cannot make with the naked eye.

[Assistant] You cannot tell the difference. Isn't that interesting? Right. And so you and Irene, the other Peace Corps

[User] She was the medtech.

[Assistant] She was from Bolivia V.

[User] Yep, Philadelphia.

[Assistant] The two of you would go to outlying areas.


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

[User] She was the medtech.

[Assistant] She was from Bolivia V.

[User] Yep, Philadelphia.

[Assistant] The two of you would go to outlying areas.

[User] Wherever the patients came from.

[Assistant] So what kinds of things?


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

[User] Yep, Philadelphia.

[Assistant] The two of you would go to outlying areas.

[User] Wherever the patients came from.

[Assistant] So what kinds of things?

[User] We were back tracking the patients pathway to the hospital.

[Assistant] So tell me about some of the places you would have had to go. How would you get there and how far awa?.


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

[User] Wherever the patients came from.

[Assistant] So what kinds of things?

[User] We were back tracking the patients pathway to the hospital.

[Assistant] So tell me about some of the places you would have had to go. How would you get there and how far awa?.

[User] We had Peace Corps to the hospital. OK, we had a big international, enormous international truck with a winch on the front so we could travel anywhere. We didn't even need a road.

[Assistant] The winch on the front would be for,


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

[User] We were back tracking the patients pathway to the hospital.

[Assistant] So tell me about some of the places you would have had to go. How would you get there and how far awa?.

[User] We had Peace Corps to the hospital. OK, we had a big international, enormous international truck with a winch on the front so we could travel anywhere. We didn't even need a road.

[Assistant] The winch on the front would be for,

[User] Oh, you do. You weighed you weighed. The truck would be on the side of the creek. You would take the take on loosen the chain from on. Oh. And wait across the creek and hook the chain to a tree on the other side and you would put your side across the stream was too deep for your truck.

[Assistant] That's how you got the truck across. So that's what you get yourself a foot.


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

[User] We had Peace Corps to the hospital. OK, we had a big international, enormous international truck with a winch on the front so we could travel anywhere. We didn't even need a road.

[Assistant] The winch on the front would be for,

[User] Oh, you do. You weighed you weighed. The truck would be on the side of the creek. You would take the take on loosen the chain from on. Oh. And wait across the creek and hook the chain to a tree on the other side and you would put your side across the stream was too deep for your truck.

[Assistant] That's how you got the truck across. So that's what you get yourself a foot.

[User] Oh yeah. Yeah. Huh. So it's enormous. International Harvester truck, four wheel drive. But even the four wheel drive was not good enough for us all. But we all do. We all learned how Dr. Siles’s drove it. We all we all learned how to handle all of this equipment. Yeah. And and worked with the the farming aspect and with the patient over Londo, who was the supervisor of all of the grounds and the agricultural operation. And with Eddie and everybody's help to scrounge replacement parts for some of the farm equipment to be able to bring in used farm equipment. And Dr. Siles took the same approach with the hospital. Typically, pharmaceutical companies send out of date medicines to leprosarium around the world. This still happen today. That still happens today. Yeah. All right. These things are perfectly good to us. OK, do not be concerned. Dr. Siles, use them to save many lives. Yeah, yeah. But this is typically what we would get. Yes. Was she would dispense with everything from birth control pills to sulfur therapy for the leprosy patients. And she never turned down anything. So the people in the village across the creek conquered their fear of leprosy in order to get treatment from Dr. Siles, and it was the women, not the men,

[Assistant] Ok, did this. So she was treating not just leprosy, but whatever people needed was the only game in town.


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

[User] Oh yeah. Yeah. Huh. So it's enormous. International Harvester truck, four wheel drive. But even the four wheel drive was not good enough for us all. But we all do. We all learned how Dr. Siles’s drove it. We all we all learned how to handle all of this equipment. Yeah. And and worked with the the farming aspect and with the patient over Londo, who was the supervisor of all of the grounds and the agricultural operation. And with Eddie and everybody's help to scrounge replacement parts for some of the farm equipment to be able to bring in used farm equipment. And Dr. Siles took the same approach with the hospital. Typically, pharmaceutical companies send out of date medicines to leprosarium around the world. This still happen today. That still happens today. Yeah. All right. These things are perfectly good to us. OK, do not be concerned. Dr. Siles, use them to save many lives. Yeah, yeah. But this is typically what we would get. Yes. Was she would dispense with everything from birth control pills to sulfur therapy for the leprosy patients. And she never turned down anything. So the people in the village across the creek conquered their fear of leprosy in order to get treatment from Dr. Siles, and it was the women, not the men,

[Assistant] Ok, did this. So she was treating not just leprosy, but whatever people needed was the only game in town.

[User] Yeah, yeah. So you can quickly over to overcome your fear. Leprosy. Your child is dying of diphtheria. Yes. Yes. Or if you have had eight pregnancies in nine years. So doctors who is very quietly on a birth control clinic out of the leprosarium, which

[Assistant] I imagine the men in town didn't quite know about.

[User] No. And if they did, they turned their backs.

[Assistant] Ok, I'd like to get back to you. And I mean, OK, going out and doing your International Harvester Monster truck or in a jeep, how far would you have to go? What was the furthest distance to it?


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

[User] Yeah, yeah. So you can quickly over to overcome your fear. Leprosy. Your child is dying of diphtheria. Yes. Yes. Or if you have had eight pregnancies in nine years. So doctors who is very quietly on a birth control clinic out of the leprosarium, which

[Assistant] I imagine the men in town didn't quite know about.

[User] No. And if they did, they turned their backs.

[Assistant] Ok, I'd like to get back to you. And I mean, OK, going out and doing your International Harvester Monster truck or in a jeep, how far would you have to go? What was the furthest distance to it?

[User] Well, it depended on where it depends entirely on where the patient came from. Most of these patients came from this transition cultural and altitude area between the highest part of Bolivia and the lowest part of Columbia. And this is, after all, where the good the leprosarium is located anywhere we're in this transition zone where it is not one hundred percent Spanish speaking. Neither is it is it one hundred percent casual speak. So the people who live there speak both.

[Assistant] So it's transitional, both in geography


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

[User] No. And if they did, they turned their backs.

[Assistant] Ok, I'd like to get back to you. And I mean, OK, going out and doing your International Harvester Monster truck or in a jeep, how far would you have to go? What was the furthest distance to it?

[User] Well, it depended on where it depends entirely on where the patient came from. Most of these patients came from this transition cultural and altitude area between the highest part of Bolivia and the lowest part of Columbia. And this is, after all, where the good the leprosarium is located anywhere we're in this transition zone where it is not one hundred percent Spanish speaking. Neither is it is it one hundred percent casual speak. So the people who live there speak both.

[Assistant] So it's transitional, both in geography

[User] And in culture and language and as well as an altitude. OK, so most of the people came from and these are the eastern foothills of the Andes. So most of the people came from this area. So we would end up driving. Sometimes we would have to stay overnight, but typically it would be a place that we could go out and then

[Assistant] Come back on a day. If you had to stay overnight, would you be put up in the family's home or you just crash there somehow


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

[User] Well, it depended on where it depends entirely on where the patient came from. Most of these patients came from this transition cultural and altitude area between the highest part of Bolivia and the lowest part of Columbia. And this is, after all, where the good the leprosarium is located anywhere we're in this transition zone where it is not one hundred percent Spanish speaking. Neither is it is it one hundred percent casual speak. So the people who live there speak both.

[Assistant] So it's transitional, both in geography

[User] And in culture and language and as well as an altitude. OK, so most of the people came from and these are the eastern foothills of the Andes. So most of the people came from this area. So we would end up driving. Sometimes we would have to stay overnight, but typically it would be a place that we could go out and then

[Assistant] Come back on a day. If you had to stay overnight, would you be put up in the family's home or you just crash there somehow

[User] Or find a local currency on that because of pensión can also offer rooms as well as food.

[Assistant] So you and Irene would go out and you would try to get the attention of the medical personnel, correct? Did you also try to meet the families? I meet with the families of the people who had showed up and talk to them about,


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

[User] And in culture and language and as well as an altitude. OK, so most of the people came from and these are the eastern foothills of the Andes. So most of the people came from this area. So we would end up driving. Sometimes we would have to stay overnight, but typically it would be a place that we could go out and then

[Assistant] Come back on a day. If you had to stay overnight, would you be put up in the family's home or you just crash there somehow

[User] Or find a local currency on that because of pensión can also offer rooms as well as food.

[Assistant] So you and Irene would go out and you would try to get the attention of the medical personnel, correct? Did you also try to meet the families? I meet with the families of the people who had showed up and talk to them about,

[User] You know, they would

[Assistant] Let us know if they would let you because they were you were kind of scary.


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

[User] Or find a local currency on that because of pensión can also offer rooms as well as food.

[Assistant] So you and Irene would go out and you would try to get the attention of the medical personnel, correct? Did you also try to meet the families? I meet with the families of the people who had showed up and talk to them about,

[User] You know, they would

[Assistant] Let us know if they would let you because they were you were kind of scary.

[User] And they had already, in many instances, closed the door on young or. I just see the families of the patients and the answer is yes, so you the shooting is educational. Yeah, it's not treatment, but and we would try to see the families and try to educate them about how leprosy is a disease of the mucous membranes and the peripheral nerves, peripheral nerves and mucous membranes. If it can be undignified early enough in the process, the progress of leprosy can be stopped in its tracks. So I mean, stop.

[Assistant] So this is what the family of the sick person really urgently needs to know. They have been exposed and they need to know how to identify the early signs and do something correct.


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

[User] You know, they would

[Assistant] Let us know if they would let you because they were you were kind of scary.

[User] And they had already, in many instances, closed the door on young or. I just see the families of the patients and the answer is yes, so you the shooting is educational. Yeah, it's not treatment, but and we would try to see the families and try to educate them about how leprosy is a disease of the mucous membranes and the peripheral nerves, peripheral nerves and mucous membranes. If it can be undignified early enough in the process, the progress of leprosy can be stopped in its tracks. So I mean, stop.

[Assistant] So this is what the family of the sick person really urgently needs to know. They have been exposed and they need to know how to identify the early signs and do something correct.

[User] But if caught early enough, the disease can be arrested. If the person will stick to the soil for treatment for the rest of their lives and practice good hygiene and have good health. And all of this is a very problematical in a millennium. It's there's no reason that that person can't live a long life. And I can tell you that there were many long live people at the colony. And I'm talking 70s and 80s. And the typical life expectancy of a Bolivian is forty five years.

[Assistant] Oh, oh. Isn't that right? So what? So how did it seem to you in terms of your ability to get people to listen to you so that you could do the education that you wanted to do?


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

[User] And they had already, in many instances, closed the door on young or. I just see the families of the patients and the answer is yes, so you the shooting is educational. Yeah, it's not treatment, but and we would try to see the families and try to educate them about how leprosy is a disease of the mucous membranes and the peripheral nerves, peripheral nerves and mucous membranes. If it can be undignified early enough in the process, the progress of leprosy can be stopped in its tracks. So I mean, stop.

[Assistant] So this is what the family of the sick person really urgently needs to know. They have been exposed and they need to know how to identify the early signs and do something correct.

[User] But if caught early enough, the disease can be arrested. If the person will stick to the soil for treatment for the rest of their lives and practice good hygiene and have good health. And all of this is a very problematical in a millennium. It's there's no reason that that person can't live a long life. And I can tell you that there were many long live people at the colony. And I'm talking 70s and 80s. And the typical life expectancy of a Bolivian is forty five years.

[Assistant] Oh, oh. Isn't that right? So what? So how did it seem to you in terms of your ability to get people to listen to you so that you could do the education that you wanted to do?

[User] Was it challenging the fear? I mean, everybody goes through word of mouth and those people who could read and read the Bible and the Bible, stories of leprosy and just just terror just know terror and and the and with leprosy, the opposite is true because it is not very communicable. You have to have direct skin to skin, skin to skin contact with a leprosy patient for a prolonged period of time in order to yourself come down.

[Assistant] So it's not phlegm from coughing like TB. Oh, I know. I know I.


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

[User] But if caught early enough, the disease can be arrested. If the person will stick to the soil for treatment for the rest of their lives and practice good hygiene and have good health. And all of this is a very problematical in a millennium. It's there's no reason that that person can't live a long life. And I can tell you that there were many long live people at the colony. And I'm talking 70s and 80s. And the typical life expectancy of a Bolivian is forty five years.

[Assistant] Oh, oh. Isn't that right? So what? So how did it seem to you in terms of your ability to get people to listen to you so that you could do the education that you wanted to do?

[User] Was it challenging the fear? I mean, everybody goes through word of mouth and those people who could read and read the Bible and the Bible, stories of leprosy and just just terror just know terror and and the and with leprosy, the opposite is true because it is not very communicable. You have to have direct skin to skin, skin to skin contact with a leprosy patient for a prolonged period of time in order to yourself come down.

[Assistant] So it's not phlegm from coughing like TB. Oh, I know. I know I.

[User] So typically in a Bolivian household, the small children, the toddlers would sleep together. So that's a way to communicate to

[Assistant] The husband to wife, correct.


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

[User] Was it challenging the fear? I mean, everybody goes through word of mouth and those people who could read and read the Bible and the Bible, stories of leprosy and just just terror just know terror and and the and with leprosy, the opposite is true because it is not very communicable. You have to have direct skin to skin, skin to skin contact with a leprosy patient for a prolonged period of time in order to yourself come down.

[Assistant] So it's not phlegm from coughing like TB. Oh, I know. I know I.

[User] So typically in a Bolivian household, the small children, the toddlers would sleep together. So that's a way to communicate to

[Assistant] The husband to wife, correct.

[User] But it will not show up in some cases four years later. So people can have been they can they will have contracted leprosy years ago. Then all of a sudden they're teenagers or they're adults. And the first symptoms of.

[Assistant] Do looking back, do you feel that there were moments of did you have some moments of success that felt like successes for you? Would you like to talk about a couple of


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

[User] So typically in a Bolivian household, the small children, the toddlers would sleep together. So that's a way to communicate to

[Assistant] The husband to wife, correct.

[User] But it will not show up in some cases four years later. So people can have been they can they will have contracted leprosy years ago. Then all of a sudden they're teenagers or they're adults. And the first symptoms of.

[Assistant] Do looking back, do you feel that there were moments of did you have some moments of success that felt like successes for you? Would you like to talk about a couple of

[User] Like the whole thing was a success from from day one, from the worry Dr. Siles received us. And from the way that we were treated and certainly the patients. Holy cow. You couldn't ask for a more terrific cash if you could bear to look up, because in many cases, the poor, the progress of the disease had ravaged them to such an extent that they were I mean, she was very skilled in surgery in terms of repairing fingers and repairing toes and repairing ears, because this is the disease of the peripheral nerves. You can touch something that's hot and not rely so frequently. The patient before he arrived, he or she arrives at the hospital will have developed anesthesia in the in the fingers and in the toes and either cut themselves or get themselves burned. And then the problem is not leprosy. The problem is the infection that develops. So she was very skilled with a knife in terms of treating disfigurement. But there was only so much you can do.

[Assistant] And did you have a sense that there were some successes, too, in those families and outlying medical people who would come around and be willing to listen to


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

[User] But it will not show up in some cases four years later. So people can have been they can they will have contracted leprosy years ago. Then all of a sudden they're teenagers or they're adults. And the first symptoms of.

[Assistant] Do looking back, do you feel that there were moments of did you have some moments of success that felt like successes for you? Would you like to talk about a couple of

[User] Like the whole thing was a success from from day one, from the worry Dr. Siles received us. And from the way that we were treated and certainly the patients. Holy cow. You couldn't ask for a more terrific cash if you could bear to look up, because in many cases, the poor, the progress of the disease had ravaged them to such an extent that they were I mean, she was very skilled in surgery in terms of repairing fingers and repairing toes and repairing ears, because this is the disease of the peripheral nerves. You can touch something that's hot and not rely so frequently. The patient before he arrived, he or she arrives at the hospital will have developed anesthesia in the in the fingers and in the toes and either cut themselves or get themselves burned. And then the problem is not leprosy. The problem is the infection that develops. So she was very skilled with a knife in terms of treating disfigurement. But there was only so much you can do.

[Assistant] And did you have a sense that there were some successes, too, in those families and outlying medical people who would come around and be willing to listen to

[User] Such a long process and what Dr. Siles hoped was to attract Bolivian medical personnel to work at the hospital?

[Assistant] Yes, of course, that would be the ultimate


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

[User] Like the whole thing was a success from from day one, from the worry Dr. Siles received us. And from the way that we were treated and certainly the patients. Holy cow. You couldn't ask for a more terrific cash if you could bear to look up, because in many cases, the poor, the progress of the disease had ravaged them to such an extent that they were I mean, she was very skilled in surgery in terms of repairing fingers and repairing toes and repairing ears, because this is the disease of the peripheral nerves. You can touch something that's hot and not rely so frequently. The patient before he arrived, he or she arrives at the hospital will have developed anesthesia in the in the fingers and in the toes and either cut themselves or get themselves burned. And then the problem is not leprosy. The problem is the infection that develops. So she was very skilled with a knife in terms of treating disfigurement. But there was only so much you can do.

[Assistant] And did you have a sense that there were some successes, too, in those families and outlying medical people who would come around and be willing to listen to

[User] Such a long process and what Dr. Siles hoped was to attract Bolivian medical personnel to work at the hospital?

[Assistant] Yes, of course, that would be the ultimate

[User] Life long goal, because that's not something that happens overnight

[Assistant] And it needs to happen also in the medical schools. That would be correct. And people need to be educated on so many levels. Did you ever get a break from vacation?


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

[User] Such a long process and what Dr. Siles hoped was to attract Bolivian medical personnel to work at the hospital?

[Assistant] Yes, of course, that would be the ultimate

[User] Life long goal, because that's not something that happens overnight

[Assistant] And it needs to happen also in the medical schools. That would be correct. And people need to be educated on so many levels. Did you ever get a break from vacation?

[User] Yeah, yes. I went to Brazil on vacation, went to Rio, went to some zone and Paraguay, Buenos Aires in Argentina. Cusco and Machu Picchu in Peru.

[Assistant] Oh, wonderful. What a great way to do it.


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

[User] Life long goal, because that's not something that happens overnight

[Assistant] And it needs to happen also in the medical schools. That would be correct. And people need to be educated on so many levels. Did you ever get a break from vacation?

[User] Yeah, yes. I went to Brazil on vacation, went to Rio, went to some zone and Paraguay, Buenos Aires in Argentina. Cusco and Machu Picchu in Peru.

[Assistant] Oh, wonderful. What a great way to do it.

[User] And saved money on my fifty dollars a month Peace Corps.

[Assistant] So yes, of course. Yes, yes, yes. And did did Peace Corps ever come to observe you or to visit you? Did you have visits from Peace Corps staff?


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

[User] Yeah, yes. I went to Brazil on vacation, went to Rio, went to some zone and Paraguay, Buenos Aires in Argentina. Cusco and Machu Picchu in Peru.

[Assistant] Oh, wonderful. What a great way to do it.

[User] And saved money on my fifty dollars a month Peace Corps.

[Assistant] So yes, of course. Yes, yes, yes. And did did Peace Corps ever come to observe you or to visit you? Did you have visits from Peace Corps staff?

[User] Yes. You see, our public health director in Bolivia was with us in Washington. He was on the staff of the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, Mike McCluskey's. So he and his wife lived in Bolivia with us. We come to Los Negros and so would Ambassador Henderson come to. Oh, I still believe I have a group picture of all of us with patients, with Ambassador Anderson, Mrs. Henderson, Dr. Siles, all of our all the volunteers, everybody. That most negative, nothing on the ground, so that's terrific.

[Assistant] Would you ever consider donating that photo to the Kennedy Library for their archives? It's quite a unique situation. Yeah. You know, there can't be


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

[User] And saved money on my fifty dollars a month Peace Corps.

[Assistant] So yes, of course. Yes, yes, yes. And did did Peace Corps ever come to observe you or to visit you? Did you have visits from Peace Corps staff?

[User] Yes. You see, our public health director in Bolivia was with us in Washington. He was on the staff of the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, Mike McCluskey's. So he and his wife lived in Bolivia with us. We come to Los Negros and so would Ambassador Henderson come to. Oh, I still believe I have a group picture of all of us with patients, with Ambassador Anderson, Mrs. Henderson, Dr. Siles, all of our all the volunteers, everybody. That most negative, nothing on the ground, so that's terrific.

[Assistant] Would you ever consider donating that photo to the Kennedy Library for their archives? It's quite a unique situation. Yeah. You know, there can't be

[User] Many Peace Corps volunteer experiences like. No, that was very

[Assistant] Is truly unique. So all this you're there for two


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

[User] Yes. You see, our public health director in Bolivia was with us in Washington. He was on the staff of the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, Mike McCluskey's. So he and his wife lived in Bolivia with us. We come to Los Negros and so would Ambassador Henderson come to. Oh, I still believe I have a group picture of all of us with patients, with Ambassador Anderson, Mrs. Henderson, Dr. Siles, all of our all the volunteers, everybody. That most negative, nothing on the ground, so that's terrific.

[Assistant] Would you ever consider donating that photo to the Kennedy Library for their archives? It's quite a unique situation. Yeah. You know, there can't be

[User] Many Peace Corps volunteer experiences like. No, that was very

[Assistant] Is truly unique. So all this you're there for two

[User] Years, you know, you have to wait until you're replaced on a project like this, there's no such thing as a tour of duty. They're waiting for the right person to come along. And I say willing to see the same thing with Irene because normally a medtech is not trained in education. But everyone was a natural. She was just outgoing. She had the most enthusiasm about speaking Spanish and her accent was awful.

[Assistant] Oh, she's spoken enthusiastically.


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

[User] Many Peace Corps volunteer experiences like. No, that was very

[Assistant] Is truly unique. So all this you're there for two

[User] Years, you know, you have to wait until you're replaced on a project like this, there's no such thing as a tour of duty. They're waiting for the right person to come along. And I say willing to see the same thing with Irene because normally a medtech is not trained in education. But everyone was a natural. She was just outgoing. She had the most enthusiasm about speaking Spanish and her accent was awful.

[Assistant] Oh, she's spoken enthusiastically.

[User] And she and she developed quite a facility with vocabulary and could connect with the medical personnel. We went out on our visit. She always wore a lab coat.

[Assistant] And all things are important.