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

[User] Even that was iffy.

[Assistant] Yeah. So in saying goodbye to your parents, there was that awareness that you're, you're going to be out of contact.

[User] And I realize now, you know, with my brother's death a few years before. My father was ill, he was actually in the hospital right before we left. He had had several heart attacks.

[Assistant] Oh my.

[User] And when I said goodbye to him when he was in the hospital, he said, if I don't see you again. And I said, Dad, don't say that. No, I'm going to see you again.

[Assistant] But that was on his mind, that he might not.


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

[User] And I realize now, you know, with my brother's death a few years before. My father was ill, he was actually in the hospital right before we left. He had had several heart attacks.

[Assistant] Oh my.

[User] And when I said goodbye to him when he was in the hospital, he said, if I don't see you again. And I said, Dad, don't say that. No, I'm going to see you again.

[Assistant] But that was on his mind, that he might not.

[User] You know, it's just the difference between, you know, the mature brain and the immature brain. I mean, he probably knew that his days were numbered and I couldn't accept that.

[Assistant] You couldn't see that.


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

[User] You know, it's just the difference between, you know, the mature brain and the immature brain. I mean, he probably knew that his days were numbered and I couldn't accept that.

[Assistant] You couldn't see that.

[User] Yeah. And I really wanted this adventure.

[Assistant] Sure, sure.

[User] This is my getaway opportunity to do some things that were I thought exciting and to be with my husband.

[Assistant] Yes, you were. You were in your twenties and you were healthy and you wanted life. Yeah. So how do you get from Peoria to Honduras?


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

[User] Yeah. And I really wanted this adventure.

[Assistant] Sure, sure.

[User] This is my getaway opportunity to do some things that were I thought exciting and to be with my husband.

[Assistant] Yes, you were. You were in your twenties and you were healthy and you wanted life. Yeah. So how do you get from Peoria to Honduras?

[User] We flew from, I think Peoria, maybe went to Chicago, and went to Miami. We all met in Miami. I think we were there for one night and then the next day we flew to Honduras, which is a hop, skip and a jump. It's like going to Cuba almost.

[Assistant] Yeah, it's a short flight.


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

[User] This is my getaway opportunity to do some things that were I thought exciting and to be with my husband.

[Assistant] Yes, you were. You were in your twenties and you were healthy and you wanted life. Yeah. So how do you get from Peoria to Honduras?

[User] We flew from, I think Peoria, maybe went to Chicago, and went to Miami. We all met in Miami. I think we were there for one night and then the next day we flew to Honduras, which is a hop, skip and a jump. It's like going to Cuba almost.

[Assistant] Yeah, it's a short flight.

[User] Yeah. In fact, we looked at Cuba as we were flying in the airplane. We could see it. Yeah. So we got into Tegucigalpa, which is the capital, and I think we had several days there for orientation and then we were.

[Assistant] What did it feel like to you when you got off the plane in Tegucigalpa? Was it, uh?


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

[User] We flew from, I think Peoria, maybe went to Chicago, and went to Miami. We all met in Miami. I think we were there for one night and then the next day we flew to Honduras, which is a hop, skip and a jump. It's like going to Cuba almost.

[Assistant] Yeah, it's a short flight.

[User] Yeah. In fact, we looked at Cuba as we were flying in the airplane. We could see it. Yeah. So we got into Tegucigalpa, which is the capital, and I think we had several days there for orientation and then we were.

[Assistant] What did it feel like to you when you got off the plane in Tegucigalpa? Was it, uh?

[User] Hot. Although in Tegucigalpa, it was cooler because it's mountainous. But, um, and it was the time of year where it was a little bit cooler.

[Assistant] Ah, okay. So you weren't overpowered when you stepped off the plane.


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

[User] You know, it was primitive. There was no air conditioning. I remember the smells, the smells in the street, like the sewage. The raw sewage was in the streets.

[Assistant] In Tegucigalpa?

[User] In Tegucigalpa.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] So that was kind of an eye opener, nose opener. And, you know, we had more training there. And I think we were just anxious to get to our place.

[Assistant] Yeah. Yeah. Let's get started.


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

[User] In Tegucigalpa.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] So that was kind of an eye opener, nose opener. And, you know, we had more training there. And I think we were just anxious to get to our place.

[Assistant] Yeah. Yeah. Let's get started.

[User] Wanted to get going. So. And saying goodbye. You know, we had to say goodbye to some of the people that we had gotten close to in Saint Louis.

[Assistant] Because they were going to be sent to other parts of Honduras?


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

[User] So that was kind of an eye opener, nose opener. And, you know, we had more training there. And I think we were just anxious to get to our place.

[Assistant] Yeah. Yeah. Let's get started.

[User] Wanted to get going. So. And saying goodbye. You know, we had to say goodbye to some of the people that we had gotten close to in Saint Louis.

[Assistant] Because they were going to be sent to other parts of Honduras?

[User] Right, we were all spread out. We were far away from anybody.

[Assistant] Were you and Joe the only ones going to Goascoran?


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

[User] Right, we were all spread out. We were far away from anybody.

[Assistant] Were you and Joe the only ones going to Goascoran?

[User] Yes. And there had been one Peace Corps volunteer, I think maybe one, a female, Betty. And when we got there, I mean, they told the stories about Betty that her, maybe her morals were not quite on the up and up. You know, it was kind of, oh gosh. And they also they assumed that Joe and I were brother and sister.

[Assistant] Oh, dear.

[User] Yeah. So hermanas and things like that. But, yeah. We got to this, to our town, and we didn't really have a place to stay. And the local priests, they were French-Canadian priests, and they were pretty well established in Goascoran.

[Assistant] How did you get to Goascoran?


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

[User] Yes. And there had been one Peace Corps volunteer, I think maybe one, a female, Betty. And when we got there, I mean, they told the stories about Betty that her, maybe her morals were not quite on the up and up. You know, it was kind of, oh gosh. And they also they assumed that Joe and I were brother and sister.

[Assistant] Oh, dear.

[User] Yeah. So hermanas and things like that. But, yeah. We got to this, to our town, and we didn't really have a place to stay. And the local priests, they were French-Canadian priests, and they were pretty well established in Goascoran.

[Assistant] How did you get to Goascoran?

[User] I think we took a busito.

[Assistant] Just yourselves, on your own steam? You didn't, Peace Corps didn't take you there to introduce you to people?


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

[User] I think we took a busito.

[Assistant] Just yourselves, on your own steam? You didn't, Peace Corps didn't take you there to introduce you to people?

[User] It sounds harsh, doesn't it? But, um, I don't remember that. I do remember occasionally getting visits from our directors who were in country. But that first.

[Assistant] That arrival.

[User] Yeah, the first arrival. I don't know what Joe said. Maybe he said something else, but I just remember the standard way of getting from our little town, which was on the south coast of Honduras, to Tegucigalpa, was to go on a busito. A little Volkswagen bus.

[Assistant] Like a little van converted into a bus.


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

[User] It sounds harsh, doesn't it? But, um, I don't remember that. I do remember occasionally getting visits from our directors who were in country. But that first.

[Assistant] That arrival.

[User] Yeah, the first arrival. I don't know what Joe said. Maybe he said something else, but I just remember the standard way of getting from our little town, which was on the south coast of Honduras, to Tegucigalpa, was to go on a busito. A little Volkswagen bus.

[Assistant] Like a little van converted into a bus.

[User] Yeah. A van with lots of people and animals sometimes. Chickens and goats. So I think that was the standard way. And that might have been the way we got there.

[Assistant] I interrupted you. You were talking about arriving and there were the French Canadian priests.


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

[User] Yeah, the first arrival. I don't know what Joe said. Maybe he said something else, but I just remember the standard way of getting from our little town, which was on the south coast of Honduras, to Tegucigalpa, was to go on a busito. A little Volkswagen bus.

[Assistant] Like a little van converted into a bus.

[User] Yeah. A van with lots of people and animals sometimes. Chickens and goats. So I think that was the standard way. And that might have been the way we got there.

[Assistant] I interrupted you. You were talking about arriving and there were the French Canadian priests.

[User] Yes, there was Father Padre Mario. He was the elder. And then there was a younger, I can't remember his name. Very, very nice priests who had been there for, I would say ten years. And, um, so they set us up in a house that was close to them, and it was an empty house, but it was close to the river which separated El Salvador and Honduras. And after we were there for about a week, just kind of camping out. I mean, I don't remember there was any conveniences. I don't even remember there was a latrine, I guess, somewhere that we used. They came and it was in the middle of a big rainstorm. And they brought who were the couple who was going to be our landlords for the next two years.

[Assistant] When they came, the priests came?


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

[User] Yes, there was Father Padre Mario. He was the elder. And then there was a younger, I can't remember his name. Very, very nice priests who had been there for, I would say ten years. And, um, so they set us up in a house that was close to them, and it was an empty house, but it was close to the river which separated El Salvador and Honduras. And after we were there for about a week, just kind of camping out. I mean, I don't remember there was any conveniences. I don't even remember there was a latrine, I guess, somewhere that we used. They came and it was in the middle of a big rainstorm. And they brought who were the couple who was going to be our landlords for the next two years.

[Assistant] When they came, the priests came?

[User] The priests came. They knocked on our door and they said, you know, we think for your safety, it would be better for you to move away from the river.

[Assistant] Oh.

[User] That there had been some, some troubles and people crossing the river to get into Honduras. The Salvadorians wanted to come to Honduras for land. They needed land. Salvador was so small.

[Assistant] Okay, and so they'd crossed the river.


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

[User] That there had been some, some troubles and people crossing the river to get into Honduras. The Salvadorians wanted to come to Honduras for land. They needed land. Salvador was so small.

[Assistant] Okay, and so they'd crossed the river.

[User] Yeah. And we had no weapons. We were not armed in any way or, you know, we had no defense.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] So I just remember that night, it was so, so strange, a knock on the door, and it seemed like it was dark and rainy. We picked up our suitcases. We didn't have our trunk yet, it was early on, and kind of sloshed through the streets, the muddy streets where there were no sidewalks. And got to this one room where we were very happy to live for the next two years. And standing around, there were all these little kids looking at us.

[Assistant] In your room with you?


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

[User] Yeah. And we had no weapons. We were not armed in any way or, you know, we had no defense.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] So I just remember that night, it was so, so strange, a knock on the door, and it seemed like it was dark and rainy. We picked up our suitcases. We didn't have our trunk yet, it was early on, and kind of sloshed through the streets, the muddy streets where there were no sidewalks. And got to this one room where we were very happy to live for the next two years. And standing around, there were all these little kids looking at us.

[Assistant] In your room with you?

[User] Yeah. They were the sons and daughters of the landlord.

[Assistant] And the landlord.


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

[User] Yeah. They were the sons and daughters of the landlord.

[Assistant] And the landlord.

[User] Don Jesus and Dona Maria. And so we're standing there like, okay. We don't think we had a bed. I don't know what we slept on those first few nights. We eventually had a bed made. There must have been something. There must have been a cot or something.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] I think there was like a bare wood table. There were some shelves on the wall, empty, because there had been a little pulperia there at one time owned by the.

[Assistant] What's a pulperia?


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

[User] Don Jesus and Dona Maria. And so we're standing there like, okay. We don't think we had a bed. I don't know what we slept on those first few nights. We eventually had a bed made. There must have been something. There must have been a cot or something.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] I think there was like a bare wood table. There were some shelves on the wall, empty, because there had been a little pulperia there at one time owned by the.

[Assistant] What's a pulperia?

[User] A little store. You know, like a little variety store. Fabric, things like that. Maybe some food.

[Assistant] So this room had been a store before, now it's your dwelling place.


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

[User] A little store. You know, like a little variety store. Fabric, things like that. Maybe some food.

[Assistant] So this room had been a store before, now it's your dwelling place.

[User] Yeah, this one room. And there was a latrine kind of way out in the back of the property.

[Assistant] Outside.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] And your room is connected to other rooms in the same building?


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

[User] Yeah, this one room. And there was a latrine kind of way out in the back of the property.

[Assistant] Outside.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] And your room is connected to other rooms in the same building?

[User] It was a three room house. We had one whole room to ourselves.

[Assistant] And the three rooms were all on one level?


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] And your room is connected to other rooms in the same building?

[User] It was a three room house. We had one whole room to ourselves.

[Assistant] And the three rooms were all on one level?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Sort of strung out.


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Uh huh.

[User] And the ceiling was tejas, the clay tiles.

[Assistant] Mm hmm.

[User] And there was an opening between the room, like a triangular opening.

[Assistant] Okay, at the top of the wall?


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

[User] And the ceiling was tejas, the clay tiles.

[Assistant] Mm hmm.

[User] And there was an opening between the room, like a triangular opening.

[Assistant] Okay, at the top of the wall?

[User] Yeah. And so there wasn't a lot of privacy. There was a window with bars, and then it had shutters inside that you could close.

[Assistant] But between you and the people on the other side of the wall in your same building. You could hear them and they could hear you?


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

[User] Yeah. And so there wasn't a lot of privacy. There was a window with bars, and then it had shutters inside that you could close.

[Assistant] But between you and the people on the other side of the wall in your same building. You could hear them and they could hear you?

[User] Yeah, but they're speaking Spanish. We're speaking English.

[Assistant] Okay.

[User] There was a little bit of a separation there, and, um. I don't know. It just, it was like a whirlwind of culture shock in a way. And I always felt like it was going back in time 200 years.

[Assistant] Yeah. You probably were.


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

[User] There was a little bit of a separation there, and, um. I don't know. It just, it was like a whirlwind of culture shock in a way. And I always felt like it was going back in time 200 years.

[Assistant] Yeah. You probably were.

[User] It was, in many ways. I mean, as we get to know people, it seemed like, you know, that they were quite dignified and had a lot of intelligence.

[Assistant] Yeah. Yeah.

[User] But anyway, it was an adjustment and. You know, the Peace Corps I think was loosely organized. Let's just say that. They really didn't have strict plans for us, you know, sort of like, okay. You're young, you've got a little Spanish under your belt. You know, we're going to, we're going to look after you. But we had rules, like things that we had to do. We had to write up these reports.

[Assistant] Oh, you did?


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

[User] It was, in many ways. I mean, as we get to know people, it seemed like, you know, that they were quite dignified and had a lot of intelligence.

[Assistant] Yeah. Yeah.

[User] But anyway, it was an adjustment and. You know, the Peace Corps I think was loosely organized. Let's just say that. They really didn't have strict plans for us, you know, sort of like, okay. You're young, you've got a little Spanish under your belt. You know, we're going to, we're going to look after you. But we had rules, like things that we had to do. We had to write up these reports.

[Assistant] Oh, you did?

[User] Oh yeah, I can remember typing.

[Assistant] What did you have to say in the report?


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

[User] We had to talk about the leadership that we found that was already in place and how we would fit into that and how we would work ourselves out of a job eventually. Like, we never could establish ourselves as being the primary, um, movers, shakers.

[Assistant] Right, right.

[User] We're supposed to be the support system.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] That would provide some kind of expertise.

[Assistant] Right, and there'd be some way for other people to take over whatever you initiated.


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

[User] We're supposed to be the support system.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] That would provide some kind of expertise.

[Assistant] Right, and there'd be some way for other people to take over whatever you initiated.

[User] Yeah. It was people to people, though, when you really look, step, step back. I mean, we were very curious about them and how they live. They were very curious about us and how we were going to fit into that.

[Assistant] Before we talk about your jobs and the work that you did, let's talk a little bit more about your living situation there. You have landlords who live in the same building, but they, your landlord had two rooms in this house and you had the third.


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

[User] That would provide some kind of expertise.

[Assistant] Right, and there'd be some way for other people to take over whatever you initiated.

[User] Yeah. It was people to people, though, when you really look, step, step back. I mean, we were very curious about them and how they live. They were very curious about us and how we were going to fit into that.

[Assistant] Before we talk about your jobs and the work that you did, let's talk a little bit more about your living situation there. You have landlords who live in the same building, but they, your landlord had two rooms in this house and you had the third.

[User] I think there were 18 people in those two rooms.

[Assistant] 18 people in two rooms. So they had a lot of children.


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

[User] Yeah. It was people to people, though, when you really look, step, step back. I mean, we were very curious about them and how they live. They were very curious about us and how we were going to fit into that.

[Assistant] Before we talk about your jobs and the work that you did, let's talk a little bit more about your living situation there. You have landlords who live in the same building, but they, your landlord had two rooms in this house and you had the third.

[User] I think there were 18 people in those two rooms.

[Assistant] 18 people in two rooms. So they had a lot of children.

[User] They had children. They had a grandmother, an elderly grandmother, and they had grown daughters who had children who lived with them. At least one, I can remember one granddaughter. And, um, so very social people. They really did, they were always together and the kids were always doing something. There were antics, lots of antics. Dona Maria was 39, I think, when I first met her, and she'd had at least 16 children, which just seemed unbelievable to me.

[Assistant] At age 39 to have 16 children? Wow.


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

[User] I think there were 18 people in those two rooms.

[Assistant] 18 people in two rooms. So they had a lot of children.

[User] They had children. They had a grandmother, an elderly grandmother, and they had grown daughters who had children who lived with them. At least one, I can remember one granddaughter. And, um, so very social people. They really did, they were always together and the kids were always doing something. There were antics, lots of antics. Dona Maria was 39, I think, when I first met her, and she'd had at least 16 children, which just seemed unbelievable to me.

[Assistant] At age 39 to have 16 children? Wow.

[User]
And Jesus was a musician, which I really liked. He had a band and he would play for gatherings like dances and also for funerals. And he was a trombone player. So they were very much involved in the community. I think they were liberal Democrats. I think that's what they called themselves. And I think Jesus had run for office, you know, over time.

Dona Blaca was just a force of nature. You can imagine. I can't tell you all the things that she showed me that, you know, were kind of progressive for her. She had, they had a truck called La Rapida, which means the fast one. And it was anything but that. It was old. You know, I have pictures of it, but it was a real old truck and it had storage space on it where they could take things into market. I don't even know what all they took, if they took other people's goods to sell in Tegucigalpa or other little towns. But anyway, she was always on that truck. And I'll tell you this. Remind me, there's a really good story I need to tell later on. But she knew how to fix that truck. She had her head underneath the hood of the truck.

[Assistant] Wow. That breaks the image, doesn't it?


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

[User]
And I couldn't believe that. Like, what? You're saying that in front of him, that he's going to die?

So what happened was miraculous. The visiting nurse, there was no regular nurse that lived in Honduras, but a visiting nurse came through. She came in and saw him. She got really mad at them for not doing something for his ill health, sent the people out in the family to get a female iguana and slice it open, take the eggs, mash them up and cook them and start feeding him small portions of this high protein food.

[Assistant] Wow.

[User] And sure enough, he recovered.

[Assistant] Iguana eggs.

[User] Iguana. Female iguana eggs.

[Assistant] Eggs. I'm speechless at the story because kwashiorkor. You don't get kwashiorkor unless you're not eating sufficient nutrients.


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

[User] And sure enough, he recovered.

[Assistant] Iguana eggs.

[User] Iguana. Female iguana eggs.

[Assistant] Eggs. I'm speechless at the story because kwashiorkor. You don't get kwashiorkor unless you're not eating sufficient nutrients.

[User] Well, he had diarrhea because they all had parasites.

[Assistant] Oh, I see. Okay, so that was.


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

[User] Iguana. Female iguana eggs.

[Assistant] Eggs. I'm speechless at the story because kwashiorkor. You don't get kwashiorkor unless you're not eating sufficient nutrients.

[User] Well, he had diarrhea because they all had parasites.

[Assistant] Oh, I see. Okay, so that was.

[User] From the water.

[Assistant] That was washing him out. So there.


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

[User] Well, he had diarrhea because they all had parasites.

[Assistant] Oh, I see. Okay, so that was.

[User] From the water.

[Assistant] That was washing him out. So there.

[User] I have pictures of him.

[Assistant] The distended belly.


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

[User] From the water.

[Assistant] That was washing him out. So there.

[User] I have pictures of him.

[Assistant] The distended belly.

[User] The distended belly, yeah. But he survived. He revived and survived, and he became like a part of the community. And of course, the story was always, oh, he's like a miracle because he was supposed to die. And there had been many deaths of other children.

[Assistant] But there must have been, yeah. So the drinking water, the water that people were drinking was contaminated?


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

[User] I have pictures of him.

[Assistant] The distended belly.

[User] The distended belly, yeah. But he survived. He revived and survived, and he became like a part of the community. And of course, the story was always, oh, he's like a miracle because he was supposed to die. And there had been many deaths of other children.

[Assistant] But there must have been, yeah. So the drinking water, the water that people were drinking was contaminated?

[User] Not potable.

[Assistant] Not potable, but they were drinking it anyway.


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

[User] The distended belly, yeah. But he survived. He revived and survived, and he became like a part of the community. And of course, the story was always, oh, he's like a miracle because he was supposed to die. And there had been many deaths of other children.

[Assistant] But there must have been, yeah. So the drinking water, the water that people were drinking was contaminated?

[User] Not potable.

[Assistant] Not potable, but they were drinking it anyway.

[User] Absolutely. From the river. Directly from the river. And that's where the animals went to drink.

[Assistant] And so they didn't have, they didn't see the connection between the bacteria in the water and their illnesses?


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

[User] Not potable.

[Assistant] Not potable, but they were drinking it anyway.

[User] Absolutely. From the river. Directly from the river. And that's where the animals went to drink.

[Assistant] And so they didn't have, they didn't see the connection between the bacteria in the water and their illnesses?

[User] Well, I think they were just sort of like hopeless, like this is the way it has always been.

[Assistant] And so the idea of boiling and filtering water was not something that anybody had suggested they might do? Wow.


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

[User] Absolutely. From the river. Directly from the river. And that's where the animals went to drink.

[Assistant] And so they didn't have, they didn't see the connection between the bacteria in the water and their illnesses?

[User] Well, I think they were just sort of like hopeless, like this is the way it has always been.

[Assistant] And so the idea of boiling and filtering water was not something that anybody had suggested they might do? Wow.

[User] That's, that's primitive.

[Assistant] Yes, it is. And then the iguana eggs part was just chicken eggs? Did people have chickens or?


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

[User] Well, I think they were just sort of like hopeless, like this is the way it has always been.

[Assistant] And so the idea of boiling and filtering water was not something that anybody had suggested they might do? Wow.

[User] That's, that's primitive.

[Assistant] Yes, it is. And then the iguana eggs part was just chicken eggs? Did people have chickens or?

[User] Oh yes.

[Assistant] So chicken eggs were available to eat?


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

[User] That's, that's primitive.

[Assistant] Yes, it is. And then the iguana eggs part was just chicken eggs? Did people have chickens or?

[User] Oh yes.

[Assistant] So chicken eggs were available to eat?

[User] Yes. Yes.

[Assistant] As well as the meat of chickens too?


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

[User] Oh yes.

[Assistant] So chicken eggs were available to eat?

[User] Yes. Yes.

[Assistant] As well as the meat of chickens too?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] Did they even invite you over to eat? Did you ever eat with these people?


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

[User] Yes. Yes.

[Assistant] As well as the meat of chickens too?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] Did they even invite you over to eat? Did you ever eat with these people?

[User] Well, they made tortillas and we bought tortillas from them. But mostly people there, because there were so many people in this small quarters, they didn't sit down to eat. They just carried a plate and they'd have tortillas, beans and rice. That was the main staple and that was, they just sort of ate as they were wandering.

[Assistant] All right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] Did they even invite you over to eat? Did you ever eat with these people?

[User] Well, they made tortillas and we bought tortillas from them. But mostly people there, because there were so many people in this small quarters, they didn't sit down to eat. They just carried a plate and they'd have tortillas, beans and rice. That was the main staple and that was, they just sort of ate as they were wandering.

[Assistant] All right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[User] I think they thought we were strange because we did sit down to eat. But the food in Honduras, I think about it a lot. It was very plain. It was not like the spicy Mexican food or other cultures, but it was very nutritious. And they didn't have enough of it.

[Assistant] Right. There was rice?


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

[User] There was rice, red beans.

[Assistant] Red beans.

[User] Not black beans. Rice and beans, that was the main staple. And these corn tortillas which were to die for, they were.

[Assistant] Handmade?

[User] Handmade, masa.

[Assistant] Did your host, did your, uh, I want to call her your host mother but she sort of wasn't, the landlady. Did she make her own tortillas with the slapping?


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

[User] Not black beans. Rice and beans, that was the main staple. And these corn tortillas which were to die for, they were.

[Assistant] Handmade?

[User] Handmade, masa.

[Assistant] Did your host, did your, uh, I want to call her your host mother but she sort of wasn't, the landlady. Did she make her own tortillas with the slapping?

[User] Her daughters.

[Assistant] Her daughters made their own.


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

[User] Handmade, masa.

[Assistant] Did your host, did your, uh, I want to call her your host mother but she sort of wasn't, the landlady. Did she make her own tortillas with the slapping?

[User] Her daughters.

[Assistant] Her daughters made their own.

[User] That's how we woke up in the morning, to the sound of [clapping]. Yes. That and ox carts. That was our wake-up call.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it was rice and beans and tortillas and maybe the occasional chicken.


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

[User] Her daughters.

[Assistant] Her daughters made their own.

[User] That's how we woke up in the morning, to the sound of [clapping]. Yes. That and ox carts. That was our wake-up call.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it was rice and beans and tortillas and maybe the occasional chicken.

[User] Yeah. There were tomatoes and cabbage. They made a cabbage slaw and they had their, it was pineapple vinegar, which is kind of sweet and delicious. So this coleslaw with pineapple vinegar, I don't remember if they put other vegetables in there. It was quite tasty. It was kind of unique.

[Assistant] So did you and Joe eat a similar diet? Rice and beans and tortillas and cabbage coleslaw?


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

[User] That's how we woke up in the morning, to the sound of [clapping]. Yes. That and ox carts. That was our wake-up call.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it was rice and beans and tortillas and maybe the occasional chicken.

[User] Yeah. There were tomatoes and cabbage. They made a cabbage slaw and they had their, it was pineapple vinegar, which is kind of sweet and delicious. So this coleslaw with pineapple vinegar, I don't remember if they put other vegetables in there. It was quite tasty. It was kind of unique.

[Assistant] So did you and Joe eat a similar diet? Rice and beans and tortillas and cabbage coleslaw?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] But you would have, I'm thinking about cabbage coleslaw being a raw cabbage. So you.


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

[User] Yeah. There were tomatoes and cabbage. They made a cabbage slaw and they had their, it was pineapple vinegar, which is kind of sweet and delicious. So this coleslaw with pineapple vinegar, I don't remember if they put other vegetables in there. It was quite tasty. It was kind of unique.

[Assistant] So did you and Joe eat a similar diet? Rice and beans and tortillas and cabbage coleslaw?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] But you would have, I'm thinking about cabbage coleslaw being a raw cabbage. So you.

[User] We used to bleach it. We used to put bleach in the water.

[Assistant] How did you do that?


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] But you would have, I'm thinking about cabbage coleslaw being a raw cabbage. So you.

[User] We used to bleach it. We used to put bleach in the water.

[Assistant] How did you do that?

[User] Well, we just had a quantity of bleach and we just, we had filtered water too. We had a water filter.

[Assistant] You had your own filter?


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

[User] We used to bleach it. We used to put bleach in the water.

[Assistant] How did you do that?

[User] Well, we just had a quantity of bleach and we just, we had filtered water too. We had a water filter.

[Assistant] You had your own filter?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] Did you boil it?


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

[User] Well, we just had a quantity of bleach and we just, we had filtered water too. We had a water filter.

[Assistant] You had your own filter?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] Did you boil it?

[User] I think we boiled it, yeah.

[Assistant] Boil it first and then filter it.


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

[User] And then filter it. Yeah. Just to be sure.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And I didn't have problems with the water. Joe occasionally would get something that would make his burp smell like sulfur.

[Assistant] Ugh.

[User] He wasn't as careful. Like, if he went out into the campo to do some kind of project, he would eat and drink maybe.

[Assistant] Okay, whatever everybody else, whatever the other guys would.


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

[User] And I didn't have problems with the water. Joe occasionally would get something that would make his burp smell like sulfur.

[Assistant] Ugh.

[User] He wasn't as careful. Like, if he went out into the campo to do some kind of project, he would eat and drink maybe.

[Assistant] Okay, whatever everybody else, whatever the other guys would.

[User] I don't think the water, I don't know how he got it. Maybe he was just a little sensitive.

[Assistant] And you? Did you stay healthy?


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

[User] I did. I did. I had, this is an interesting thing. Before we left Peoria, while we were there for that short time, like maybe several weeks in the summer, I went to Planned Parenthood in Peoria and told them that I was going to be gone for two years and that I wouldn't be accessing medical.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] Of course. I had just gotten married, so I needed birth control.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] So at first they said we can't give that amount, you know, that.

[Assistant] A two year supply.


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

[User] Of course. I had just gotten married, so I needed birth control.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] So at first they said we can't give that amount, you know, that.

[Assistant] A two year supply.

[User] Yeah. And I begged them. I said, listen, I can't, if I get pregnant, it will end my service.

[Assistant] Wait, didn't Peace Corps take care of that? Didn't they give married couples contraceptives?


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

[User] Yeah. And I begged them. I said, listen, I can't, if I get pregnant, it will end my service.

[Assistant] Wait, didn't Peace Corps take care of that? Didn't they give married couples contraceptives?

[User] I don't think so.

[Assistant] Oh my.

[User] But maybe they did. But I was worried. I didn't want to get pregnant before I went into training.

[Assistant] What had Peace Corps told you might happen if you did get pregnant while, uh, during your two years as a Peace Corps volunteer?


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

[User] I don't think so.

[Assistant] Oh my.

[User] But maybe they did. But I was worried. I didn't want to get pregnant before I went into training.

[Assistant] What had Peace Corps told you might happen if you did get pregnant while, uh, during your two years as a Peace Corps volunteer?

[User] Well, that they didn't allow Peace Corps volunteers to stay in the country.

[Assistant] Then you'd have to go home?


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

[User] But maybe they did. But I was worried. I didn't want to get pregnant before I went into training.

[Assistant] What had Peace Corps told you might happen if you did get pregnant while, uh, during your two years as a Peace Corps volunteer?

[User] Well, that they didn't allow Peace Corps volunteers to stay in the country.

[Assistant] Then you'd have to go home?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] But they didn't help you prevent a pregnancy.


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

[User] Well, that they didn't allow Peace Corps volunteers to stay in the country.

[Assistant] Then you'd have to go home?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] But they didn't help you prevent a pregnancy.

[User] You know, I would have to double check on that.

[Assistant] Yeah, but the very fact that you went to Planned Parenthood in Peoria indicates that you were on your own for that.


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] But they didn't help you prevent a pregnancy.

[User] You know, I would have to double check on that.

[Assistant] Yeah, but the very fact that you went to Planned Parenthood in Peoria indicates that you were on your own for that.

[User] I also went to the Tupperware distributor and got lots of Tupperware. You know, we just, we were so young. We tried to plan ahead. And you're probably right. I think Peace Corps must have had some contraceptives available.

[Assistant] Whatever it was, it couldn't have been sufficient if you found yourself at Planned Parenthood in Peoria.


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

[User] You know, I would have to double check on that.

[Assistant] Yeah, but the very fact that you went to Planned Parenthood in Peoria indicates that you were on your own for that.

[User] I also went to the Tupperware distributor and got lots of Tupperware. You know, we just, we were so young. We tried to plan ahead. And you're probably right. I think Peace Corps must have had some contraceptives available.

[Assistant] Whatever it was, it couldn't have been sufficient if you found yourself at Planned Parenthood in Peoria.

[User] Well, that's the situation. I was taking birth control pills. I did not have a good reaction to them. They were very strong. I can't remember what the dosage was, but stronger than what they used later on. You know, that was still pretty early.

[Assistant] Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.


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

[User] I also went to the Tupperware distributor and got lots of Tupperware. You know, we just, we were so young. We tried to plan ahead. And you're probably right. I think Peace Corps must have had some contraceptives available.

[Assistant] Whatever it was, it couldn't have been sufficient if you found yourself at Planned Parenthood in Peoria.

[User] Well, that's the situation. I was taking birth control pills. I did not have a good reaction to them. They were very strong. I can't remember what the dosage was, but stronger than what they used later on. You know, that was still pretty early.

[Assistant] Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[User] So I got an IUD and that was how I.

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


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

[User] Well, that's the situation. I was taking birth control pills. I did not have a good reaction to them. They were very strong. I can't remember what the dosage was, but stronger than what they used later on. You know, that was still pretty early.

[Assistant] Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[User] So I got an IUD and that was how I.

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

[User] So that was the birth control. In case you were wondering.

[Assistant] I actually hadn't thought of the question, but it's a good one. And then you cooked for yourself?


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

[User] So I got an IUD and that was how I.

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

[User] So that was the birth control. In case you were wondering.

[Assistant] I actually hadn't thought of the question, but it's a good one. And then you cooked for yourself?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] So you had to do your own shopping.


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

[User] So that was the birth control. In case you were wondering.

[Assistant] I actually hadn't thought of the question, but it's a good one. And then you cooked for yourself?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] So you had to do your own shopping.

[User] Which was easy. I mean, people came to the door because we were Americanos, and they had things for us to buy. From these little delicious hard cinnamon cookies, I can't even remember what they were called, to eggs. To chickens.

[Assistant] Like a whole chicken?


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] So you had to do your own shopping.

[User] Which was easy. I mean, people came to the door because we were Americanos, and they had things for us to buy. From these little delicious hard cinnamon cookies, I can't even remember what they were called, to eggs. To chickens.

[Assistant] Like a whole chicken?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] A live chicken?


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

[User] Which was easy. I mean, people came to the door because we were Americanos, and they had things for us to buy. From these little delicious hard cinnamon cookies, I can't even remember what they were called, to eggs. To chickens.

[Assistant] Like a whole chicken?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] A live chicken?

[User] Yeah. I gave that up after, I tried doing that, you know, I had to try it, and it was just kind of gross. And it took a long time.

[Assistant] Oh yeah. Pluck it.


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] A live chicken?

[User] Yeah. I gave that up after, I tried doing that, you know, I had to try it, and it was just kind of gross. And it took a long time.

[Assistant] Oh yeah. Pluck it.

[User] Boil and. But, um. When I think about it, it's almost like you could do a show, like a Survivor show and say, okay, here's a raw chicken, here's some veggies, you know, here's a pan. Good luck. So that's how I learned to cook.

[Assistant] How did you cook?


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

[User] We had a double burner propane gas stove.

[Assistant] Propane.

[User] I think it was propane, yeah. I mean, there was nothing electric or anything.

[Assistant] Yeah. Yeah.

[User] Eventually we got a little refrigerator, but it was a gas-powered refrigerator. That's how it cooled. Except our room was drafty. The rafters were kind of open. And if there was a windy, and there were some very windy months, the, if we were out of town and we left any meat in the refrigerator, the refrigerator went out.

[Assistant] It would blow out.


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

[User] And I had never, you know, I had never spent time on a farm. So all of this was very new to me. And so things like that were pretty harsh. We had an oven that was made out of a safety oil can. Somebody, I don't remember it was a Peace Corps volunteer, devised this thing. But you could put it on top of the stove and actually bake in it.

[Assistant] Oh.

[User] And there was a group of women, I assume it was women, maybe men. They put out a Peace Corps cookbook, and one of the recipes was for lemon meringue pie because lemons were also plentiful. And if I had been smart, I would have done green mango pie. I didn't know anything about mangoes either, but we did do lemon meringue pies in this little oven and they were delicious. It was quite a treat. So I felt, I felt good about, um. I even made donuts one time. We had some kind of a fundraiser and I made donut batter and fried these donuts, which I would never do now, but things like that.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] You know, just experimenting.

[Assistant] So you didn't have electricity?


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

[User] And there was a group of women, I assume it was women, maybe men. They put out a Peace Corps cookbook, and one of the recipes was for lemon meringue pie because lemons were also plentiful. And if I had been smart, I would have done green mango pie. I didn't know anything about mangoes either, but we did do lemon meringue pies in this little oven and they were delicious. It was quite a treat. So I felt, I felt good about, um. I even made donuts one time. We had some kind of a fundraiser and I made donut batter and fried these donuts, which I would never do now, but things like that.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] You know, just experimenting.

[Assistant] So you didn't have electricity?

[User] No. No.

[Assistant] And at night, how would you light your room? You had just one room.


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

[User] You know, just experimenting.

[Assistant] So you didn't have electricity?

[User] No. No.

[Assistant] And at night, how would you light your room? You had just one room.

[User] Well, later on down the road, we got, you know, we bought into this co-op that one of the townspeople had a generator. The generator would come on and we had a light bulb and the light bulb would come on for three or four hours.

[Assistant] Just in your room?


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

[User] No. No.

[Assistant] And at night, how would you light your room? You had just one room.

[User] Well, later on down the road, we got, you know, we bought into this co-op that one of the townspeople had a generator. The generator would come on and we had a light bulb and the light bulb would come on for three or four hours.

[Assistant] Just in your room?

[User] Yeah, just in the middle of the room.

[Assistant] But your landlord's family and the other two rooms of the house didn't have the electricity.


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

[User] Well, later on down the road, we got, you know, we bought into this co-op that one of the townspeople had a generator. The generator would come on and we had a light bulb and the light bulb would come on for three or four hours.

[Assistant] Just in your room?

[User] Yeah, just in the middle of the room.

[Assistant] But your landlord's family and the other two rooms of the house didn't have the electricity.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] So just for a few hours, the generator would be on for a few hours. And during that time you had a little light and then it would go off.


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] So just for a few hours, the generator would be on for a few hours. And during that time you had a little light and then it would go off.

[User] So let me tell you about our light.

[Assistant] Candles? Yes.

[User] Yeah, we had these little candelas. They were a little metal cans with wicks and there was liquid fuel in the bottom. I don't remember what it was, but that was pretty effective light. I mean, it wasn't great light, but.

[Assistant] You could read.


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

[User] So let me tell you about our light.

[Assistant] Candles? Yes.

[User] Yeah, we had these little candelas. They were a little metal cans with wicks and there was liquid fuel in the bottom. I don't remember what it was, but that was pretty effective light. I mean, it wasn't great light, but.

[Assistant] You could read.

[User] I like, I like things low lit. I don't like bright lights anyway so. All right. Joe being the Joe that he is, he found a carpenter who could build us a bed. And it was, I think, mahogany wood. It was very nice wood, but it was this damn, ah, rope bed.

[Assistant] A rope bed?


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

[User] I like, I like things low lit. I don't like bright lights anyway so. All right. Joe being the Joe that he is, he found a carpenter who could build us a bed. And it was, I think, mahogany wood. It was very nice wood, but it was this damn, ah, rope bed.

[Assistant] A rope bed?

[User] Rope bed.

[Assistant] Okay.

[User] It was probably a standard size, regular sized bed and frame. It had four posters so we could put a metate on the top because they told us that there were scorpions in those tiles above us and on the roof. And at night they might fall down on us and sting us. So get this little mat, just like why they did four poster beds in the olden days, you know, to keep the case from coming out of.

[Assistant] Falling onto your face.


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

[User] Rope bed.

[Assistant] Okay.

[User] It was probably a standard size, regular sized bed and frame. It had four posters so we could put a metate on the top because they told us that there were scorpions in those tiles above us and on the roof. And at night they might fall down on us and sting us. So get this little mat, just like why they did four poster beds in the olden days, you know, to keep the case from coming out of.

[Assistant] Falling onto your face.

[User] The thatch roof and stuff. Okay, so this bed was beautiful. It really, it looked like it belonged to a museum, but damn, it was rope stretched across a frame with a metate.

[Assistant] And a metate is a woven mat?


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

[User] It was probably a standard size, regular sized bed and frame. It had four posters so we could put a metate on the top because they told us that there were scorpions in those tiles above us and on the roof. And at night they might fall down on us and sting us. So get this little mat, just like why they did four poster beds in the olden days, you know, to keep the case from coming out of.

[Assistant] Falling onto your face.

[User] The thatch roof and stuff. Okay, so this bed was beautiful. It really, it looked like it belonged to a museum, but damn, it was rope stretched across a frame with a metate.

[Assistant] And a metate is a woven mat?

[User] It's just a little thin, tiny thin woven mat. No mattress.

[Assistant] That was it for a mattress?


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

[User] The thatch roof and stuff. Okay, so this bed was beautiful. It really, it looked like it belonged to a museum, but damn, it was rope stretched across a frame with a metate.

[Assistant] And a metate is a woven mat?

[User] It's just a little thin, tiny thin woven mat. No mattress.

[Assistant] That was it for a mattress?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant]
Oh.

I longed to go to Tegucigalpa, where we slept on beds, you know, with mattresses.

Yeah. Oh.


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

[User] It's just a little thin, tiny thin woven mat. No mattress.

[Assistant] That was it for a mattress?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant]
Oh.

I longed to go to Tegucigalpa, where we slept on beds, you know, with mattresses.

Yeah. Oh.

[User] I don't know.

[Assistant] So in all your two years, you.


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant]
Oh.

I longed to go to Tegucigalpa, where we slept on beds, you know, with mattresses.

Yeah. Oh.

[User] I don't know.

[Assistant] So in all your two years, you.

[User] My husband can talk me into anything.

[Assistant] In all your two years, you never slept on a mattress. You just slept on that mat on top of the room. If you went somewhere else, but at home, it was sleeping on that hard metal.


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

[User] But that wasn't very comfortable either.

[Assistant] No, no.

[User] It was, I mean, it was more for reading.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] So, yeah. So we slept on that.

[Assistant] And you had a hammock inside your room?


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

[User] It was, I mean, it was more for reading.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] So, yeah. So we slept on that.

[Assistant] And you had a hammock inside your room?

[User] Yeah, but I think we took it up and down because it was so small that we couldn't have it there all the time.

[Assistant] Yeah. And you had a couple of chairs?


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

[User] So, yeah. So we slept on that.

[Assistant] And you had a hammock inside your room?

[User] Yeah, but I think we took it up and down because it was so small that we couldn't have it there all the time.

[Assistant] Yeah. And you had a couple of chairs?

[User] Yeah. We had a table and just a couple of wooden chairs. Nothing lounge-y or comfy.

[Assistant] So if you wanted to read a book, you'd sleep, you'd sit in a hard wooden chair at the table, or you'd lie in the hammock?


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

[User] Yeah, but I think we took it up and down because it was so small that we couldn't have it there all the time.

[Assistant] Yeah. And you had a couple of chairs?

[User] Yeah. We had a table and just a couple of wooden chairs. Nothing lounge-y or comfy.

[Assistant] So if you wanted to read a book, you'd sleep, you'd sit in a hard wooden chair at the table, or you'd lie in the hammock?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] Oh. This is hard.


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

[User] Yeah. We had a table and just a couple of wooden chairs. Nothing lounge-y or comfy.

[Assistant] So if you wanted to read a book, you'd sleep, you'd sit in a hard wooden chair at the table, or you'd lie in the hammock?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] Oh. This is hard.

[User] I know. We added on to our little space. We added a pila for water.

[Assistant] A pila is a sink?


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

[User] I know. We added on to our little space. We added a pila for water.

[Assistant] A pila is a sink?

[User] Uh huh. A deep sink made out of concrete.

[Assistant] Oh, yeah.

[User] Holds a lot of water.

[Assistant] Oh, so that wasn't there when you first moved in?


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

[User] Uh huh. A deep sink made out of concrete.

[Assistant] Oh, yeah.

[User] Holds a lot of water.

[Assistant] Oh, so that wasn't there when you first moved in?

[User] No, we added that, and then we had another little sink. I think we had some running water. What we did is we hired somebody to build a porch. It was an L-shaped porch on the back of our place with some columns and a roof over it. And that came in handy because later on down the road we got a bunch of Singer sewing machines. And I had a small class of young women, and we made baby clothes.

[Assistant] Oh, wonderful. On your back porch.


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

[User] Holds a lot of water.

[Assistant] Oh, so that wasn't there when you first moved in?

[User] No, we added that, and then we had another little sink. I think we had some running water. What we did is we hired somebody to build a porch. It was an L-shaped porch on the back of our place with some columns and a roof over it. And that came in handy because later on down the road we got a bunch of Singer sewing machines. And I had a small class of young women, and we made baby clothes.

[Assistant] Oh, wonderful. On your back porch.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] You mentioned something about running water, which reminds me, I was going to ask you, in terms of your own consumption, where did your water come from?


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

[User] No, we added that, and then we had another little sink. I think we had some running water. What we did is we hired somebody to build a porch. It was an L-shaped porch on the back of our place with some columns and a roof over it. And that came in handy because later on down the road we got a bunch of Singer sewing machines. And I had a small class of young women, and we made baby clothes.

[Assistant] Oh, wonderful. On your back porch.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] You mentioned something about running water, which reminds me, I was going to ask you, in terms of your own consumption, where did your water come from?

[User] The river.

[Assistant] From the river. Would you have to go to the river with a bucket?


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] You mentioned something about running water, which reminds me, I was going to ask you, in terms of your own consumption, where did your water come from?

[User] The river.

[Assistant] From the river. Would you have to go to the river with a bucket?

[User] No, I did not do that. I think the kids brought.

[Assistant] Kids brought you the water.


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

[User] The river.

[Assistant] From the river. Would you have to go to the river with a bucket?

[User] No, I did not do that. I think the kids brought.

[Assistant] Kids brought you the water.

[User] And then pretty soon, you know, we had access to a pipe and so we got our own running water.

[Assistant] Okay, so you had a little spigot.


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

[User] No, I did not do that. I think the kids brought.

[Assistant] Kids brought you the water.

[User] And then pretty soon, you know, we had access to a pipe and so we got our own running water.

[Assistant] Okay, so you had a little spigot.

[User] Yeah. We had like a freestanding shower in the yard, but there was nothing around it except those big leafy palm.

[Assistant] So you had a little privacy.


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

[User] And then pretty soon, you know, we had access to a pipe and so we got our own running water.

[Assistant] Okay, so you had a little spigot.

[User] Yeah. We had like a freestanding shower in the yard, but there was nothing around it except those big leafy palm.

[Assistant] So you had a little privacy.

[User] Elephant ears. Yeah. Very little privacy.

[Assistant] Okay. But people wouldn't look at you while you're taking your shower?


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

[User] Elephant ears. Yeah. Very little privacy.

[Assistant] Okay. But people wouldn't look at you while you're taking your shower?

[User] I don't think so, I hope not. I would just take a quick shower. And I'll tell you something, Phyllis. I recently admitted to myself I have no memory of using the latrine.

[Assistant] Really?

[User] It was like, ugh, it smelled bad. One time I looked down in.

[Assistant] Did you have to share it with the other people in the family or was it?


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

[User] I don't think so, I hope not. I would just take a quick shower. And I'll tell you something, Phyllis. I recently admitted to myself I have no memory of using the latrine.

[Assistant] Really?

[User] It was like, ugh, it smelled bad. One time I looked down in.

[Assistant] Did you have to share it with the other people in the family or was it?

[User] I think they used it from time to time. Because, you know, poor things.

[Assistant] Yeah. They didn't even have a hole in the ground.


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

[User] It was like, ugh, it smelled bad. One time I looked down in.

[Assistant] Did you have to share it with the other people in the family or was it?

[User] I think they used it from time to time. Because, you know, poor things.

[Assistant] Yeah. They didn't even have a hole in the ground.

[User] Yeah, exactly.

[Assistant] So your latrine was essentially a hole in the ground with what, a box on top of it?


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

[User] I think they used it from time to time. Because, you know, poor things.

[Assistant] Yeah. They didn't even have a hole in the ground.

[User] Yeah, exactly.

[Assistant] So your latrine was essentially a hole in the ground with what, a box on top of it?

[User] Yeah. It had some adobe around it, so there was privacy. But I looked down in it one time, and it was. I remember that.

[Assistant] I'm imagining you did use it. You just don't, you put that on delete.


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

[User] Yeah. It had some adobe around it, so there was privacy. But I looked down in it one time, and it was. I remember that.

[Assistant] I'm imagining you did use it. You just don't, you put that on delete.

[User] Did you see the movie Slumdog Millionaire?

[Assistant] Yes. Yes.

[User] That brought back memories of the latrine. And I never fell into it but. It was just, it was primitive. You know, I had never, I was in a. I lived at my parents house. I lived in the sorority house. And then I went to Honduras.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, yeah.


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

[User] Did you see the movie Slumdog Millionaire?

[Assistant] Yes. Yes.

[User] That brought back memories of the latrine. And I never fell into it but. It was just, it was primitive. You know, I had never, I was in a. I lived at my parents house. I lived in the sorority house. And then I went to Honduras.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[User] So sort of like being plucked out of middle classdom into.

[Assistant] And having to make.


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

[User] That brought back memories of the latrine. And I never fell into it but. It was just, it was primitive. You know, I had never, I was in a. I lived at my parents house. I lived in the sorority house. And then I went to Honduras.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[User] So sort of like being plucked out of middle classdom into.

[Assistant] And having to make.

[User] It was primitive.

[Assistant] Yes, but you stayed there for two years.


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

[User] So sort of like being plucked out of middle classdom into.

[Assistant] And having to make.

[User] It was primitive.

[Assistant] Yes, but you stayed there for two years.

[User] Oh, yeah, we loved it. We loved it.

[Assistant] Well, let's talk about what you did. I'm intrigued with the sewing. You had women coming to your back porch and you had acquired sewing machines somehow. And you, how did you get the sewing machines?


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

[User] Oh, yeah, we loved it. We loved it.

[Assistant] Well, let's talk about what you did. I'm intrigued with the sewing. You had women coming to your back porch and you had acquired sewing machines somehow. And you, how did you get the sewing machines?

[User] They were Singer treadle machines.

[Assistant] Treadle. Yeah.

[User] Because we had no electricity.

[Assistant] That's right. That's right.


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

[User] They were Singer treadle machines.

[Assistant] Treadle. Yeah.

[User] Because we had no electricity.

[Assistant] That's right. That's right.

[User] And I think I had, there were young women who were pretty good seamstresses. And I think that they were more the teachers than I, because I'd only had like a few sewing classes in high school. I wasn't really a seamstress.

[Assistant] But where did you get the machines?


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

[User] Because we had no electricity.

[Assistant] That's right. That's right.

[User] And I think I had, there were young women who were pretty good seamstresses. And I think that they were more the teachers than I, because I'd only had like a few sewing classes in high school. I wasn't really a seamstress.

[Assistant] But where did you get the machines?

[User] You know, that's such a good question. They must have been in Goascoran, like maybe the priests had them stored away. Maybe in one of the churches. But, you know, we begged and borrowed and got things like that.

[Assistant] So how did you get this idea to have women coming over to your house to make baby clothes? How did, how did you figure out that this would be the good thing to do?


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

[User] You know, that's such a good question. They must have been in Goascoran, like maybe the priests had them stored away. Maybe in one of the churches. But, you know, we begged and borrowed and got things like that.

[Assistant] So how did you get this idea to have women coming over to your house to make baby clothes? How did, how did you figure out that this would be the good thing to do?

[User] Well, eventually it wasn't such a good thing to do. I don't think it really prospered anybody. But it was, you know, we were just trying to think of ways of commerce, making some kind of commerce.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And my original job, to go back to the very beginning, was that I was supposed to teach songs and somewhat educational material to children while they were eating lunch. These were school children who came to a pulperia, I think. No, no, it was a comedor. They had a comedor. They had a.

[Assistant] So a comedor is like a lunchroom?


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

[User] Well, eventually it wasn't such a good thing to do. I don't think it really prospered anybody. But it was, you know, we were just trying to think of ways of commerce, making some kind of commerce.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And my original job, to go back to the very beginning, was that I was supposed to teach songs and somewhat educational material to children while they were eating lunch. These were school children who came to a pulperia, I think. No, no, it was a comedor. They had a comedor. They had a.

[Assistant] So a comedor is like a lunchroom?

[User] Yes. And the children would come they'd be in their uniforms. They'd be very sweet and polite. But they were trying to eat their lunch and I was supposed to be teaching them something.

[Assistant] While they were eating their lunch?


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

[User] Yes. And the children would come they'd be in their uniforms. They'd be very sweet and polite. But they were trying to eat their lunch and I was supposed to be teaching them something.

[Assistant] While they were eating their lunch?

[User] Yes. And I'm sure I did something. You know, I had a kind of a background in teaching before I went into Peace Corps.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah.

[User] It was pretty modest. But anyway, I soon thought, hmm, this doesn't, just doesn't seem to be going in the direction that I want it to. So that was probably about the end of the first year.

[Assistant] And it was Peace Corps that had suggested that you do that?


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

[User] Yes. And I'm sure I did something. You know, I had a kind of a background in teaching before I went into Peace Corps.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah.

[User] It was pretty modest. But anyway, I soon thought, hmm, this doesn't, just doesn't seem to be going in the direction that I want it to. So that was probably about the end of the first year.

[Assistant] And it was Peace Corps that had suggested that you do that?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] With the kids during their lunch hour?


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] With the kids during their lunch hour?

[User] That was one of the goals was to teach the children. Well, the thing in Honduras is that children don't start school until they're seven.

[Assistant] Uh huh.

[User] And I was very interested in early childhood education. So in the Peace Corps locker, our book locker, which we.

[Assistant] Oh, you got a book locker?


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

[User] Yes. And I loved that book.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah.

[User] That was a tremendous, I would still love that book.

[Assistant] Yes.

[User] So, um, I started thinking about the Montessori method and the materials. The materials were just so beautiful and there were carpenters in town that we got to know who built these beautiful wooden blocks and puzzles. I wish I had pictures of them. Maybe I do somewhere. But I don't.

[Assistant] But you were able to give the pictures to the local carpenter?


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

[User] That was a tremendous, I would still love that book.

[Assistant] Yes.

[User] So, um, I started thinking about the Montessori method and the materials. The materials were just so beautiful and there were carpenters in town that we got to know who built these beautiful wooden blocks and puzzles. I wish I had pictures of them. Maybe I do somewhere. But I don't.

[Assistant] But you were able to give the pictures to the local carpenter?

[User] The book. I had the book from the book locker.

[Assistant] Yeah. And then the carpenters were able to make?


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

[User] So, um, I started thinking about the Montessori method and the materials. The materials were just so beautiful and there were carpenters in town that we got to know who built these beautiful wooden blocks and puzzles. I wish I had pictures of them. Maybe I do somewhere. But I don't.

[Assistant] But you were able to give the pictures to the local carpenter?

[User] The book. I had the book from the book locker.

[Assistant] Yeah. And then the carpenters were able to make?

[User] Well, the one carpenter was actually English speaking. And the reason that he was is that he used to come to, I think, Louisiana as a young man, and he got into trouble and he went to prison, but he learned to speak English. But he was a great guy. So anyway, he made those blocks and other materials. And somehow I finagled a space in the same place where the comedor was. There was another room that wasn't being used. And I invited kids who were preschool aged, like 5 to 7, or 5, or maybe 4 to 6. And they came in and I sort of developed a morning program for those kids so that they would have something to do because otherwise they were.

[Assistant] Just wandering around.


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

[User] The book. I had the book from the book locker.

[Assistant] Yeah. And then the carpenters were able to make?

[User] Well, the one carpenter was actually English speaking. And the reason that he was is that he used to come to, I think, Louisiana as a young man, and he got into trouble and he went to prison, but he learned to speak English. But he was a great guy. So anyway, he made those blocks and other materials. And somehow I finagled a space in the same place where the comedor was. There was another room that wasn't being used. And I invited kids who were preschool aged, like 5 to 7, or 5, or maybe 4 to 6. And they came in and I sort of developed a morning program for those kids so that they would have something to do because otherwise they were.

[Assistant] Just wandering around.

[User] Yeah, which is fine actually, when I think about it now, that was probably fine too. But I loved that.

[Assistant] And so what did you have the kids doing?


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

[User] Yeah, which is fine actually, when I think about it now, that was probably fine too. But I loved that.

[Assistant] And so what did you have the kids doing?

[User] It was like a little preschool.

[Assistant] Preschool.

[User] Yeah, with centers and story time and songs and, I don't know, it was just.

[Assistant] What kind of stories? What kind of songs?


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

[User] It was like a little preschool.

[Assistant] Preschool.

[User] Yeah, with centers and story time and songs and, I don't know, it was just.

[Assistant] What kind of stories? What kind of songs?

[User] I wish I could remember. Um. I think they were nursery rhyme books, but in Spanish. Everything was.

[Assistant] You had a few books?


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

[User] Yeah, with centers and story time and songs and, I don't know, it was just.

[Assistant] What kind of stories? What kind of songs?

[User] I wish I could remember. Um. I think they were nursery rhyme books, but in Spanish. Everything was.

[Assistant] You had a few books?

[User] I must have gotten them from somewhere. I can't remember where. I just, I had to write this proposal. That was one of the things. I had to submit it to the woman in Tegucigalpa who was in charge of us, and I think.

[Assistant] In charge of Peace Corps volunteers?


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

[User] I wish I could remember. Um. I think they were nursery rhyme books, but in Spanish. Everything was.

[Assistant] You had a few books?

[User] I must have gotten them from somewhere. I can't remember where. I just, I had to write this proposal. That was one of the things. I had to submit it to the woman in Tegucigalpa who was in charge of us, and I think.

[Assistant] In charge of Peace Corps volunteers?

[User] Yes. And I think they gave me a small stipend. It was very small but allowed me to buy some materials. So. And there was a young, probably late teenage, early twenties. She was about my age, a young woman who I got along with really well. And she came in and sort of was my assistant and she kept the school going after we left. She kept it going. I don't know how long it went, but I think people were pretty pleased with it. You know, at first it was like, oh, no, no, no. These are my babies. They don't go to school yet. But then eventually it became a good thing. So I was proud of that. There was something written up about it. I can't remember who wrote it. Somebody came. We must have had historians that were doing reporting on the different Peace Corps volunteers.

[Assistant] So in some sort of Peace Corps publication?


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

[User] I must have gotten them from somewhere. I can't remember where. I just, I had to write this proposal. That was one of the things. I had to submit it to the woman in Tegucigalpa who was in charge of us, and I think.

[Assistant] In charge of Peace Corps volunteers?

[User] Yes. And I think they gave me a small stipend. It was very small but allowed me to buy some materials. So. And there was a young, probably late teenage, early twenties. She was about my age, a young woman who I got along with really well. And she came in and sort of was my assistant and she kept the school going after we left. She kept it going. I don't know how long it went, but I think people were pretty pleased with it. You know, at first it was like, oh, no, no, no. These are my babies. They don't go to school yet. But then eventually it became a good thing. So I was proud of that. There was something written up about it. I can't remember who wrote it. Somebody came. We must have had historians that were doing reporting on the different Peace Corps volunteers.

[Assistant] So in some sort of Peace Corps publication?

[User] Yeah. They took pictures.

[Assistant] Ah, good, good. You got some recognition for that.


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

[User] Yes. And I think they gave me a small stipend. It was very small but allowed me to buy some materials. So. And there was a young, probably late teenage, early twenties. She was about my age, a young woman who I got along with really well. And she came in and sort of was my assistant and she kept the school going after we left. She kept it going. I don't know how long it went, but I think people were pretty pleased with it. You know, at first it was like, oh, no, no, no. These are my babies. They don't go to school yet. But then eventually it became a good thing. So I was proud of that. There was something written up about it. I can't remember who wrote it. Somebody came. We must have had historians that were doing reporting on the different Peace Corps volunteers.

[Assistant] So in some sort of Peace Corps publication?

[User] Yeah. They took pictures.

[Assistant] Ah, good, good. You got some recognition for that.

[User] Yeah, it was, it was very positive.

[Assistant] So you spent your time. I'm impressed that you were able to find what was available, the space, and you made that happen.


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

[User] Well, it was so much better than this assignment to somehow teach while children were eating lunch. I just didn't.

[Assistant] No, no.

[User] And what I ended up in that comedor doing was like washing dishes. And that drove me crazy because they didn't have hot water.

[Assistant] Oh, yeah.

[User] Any grease that was on the plates, well, that just stayed. It was greasy dishes drying in the sun.

[Assistant] So there was the preschool for the kids that you started and a little sewing, sewing club sort of for the women, because you made those sewing machines accessible to them.


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

[User] And what I ended up in that comedor doing was like washing dishes. And that drove me crazy because they didn't have hot water.

[Assistant] Oh, yeah.

[User] Any grease that was on the plates, well, that just stayed. It was greasy dishes drying in the sun.

[Assistant] So there was the preschool for the kids that you started and a little sewing, sewing club sort of for the women, because you made those sewing machines accessible to them.

[User] Yeah. I think that what we were hoping to do is sell those clothes at the market. There was a Saturday market.

[Assistant] Oh, was that, to get a little business going?


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

[User] Any grease that was on the plates, well, that just stayed. It was greasy dishes drying in the sun.

[Assistant] So there was the preschool for the kids that you started and a little sewing, sewing club sort of for the women, because you made those sewing machines accessible to them.

[User] Yeah. I think that what we were hoping to do is sell those clothes at the market. There was a Saturday market.

[Assistant] Oh, was that, to get a little business going?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] Where did they get the cloth?


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

[User] Yeah. I think that what we were hoping to do is sell those clothes at the market. There was a Saturday market.

[Assistant] Oh, was that, to get a little business going?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] Where did they get the cloth?

[User] I don't know.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, yeah.


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] Where did they get the cloth?

[User] I don't know.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[User] You know, we probably begged for it. You know, probably went to the local little stores and said, do you have any cloth that we could use for this?

[Assistant] Uh huh. Baby clothes are pretty small so.


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

[User] Yeah, that was a good thing.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] To make them. I think that was the idea.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah.

[User] Cause they were small. Another thing we did is we taught English in the high school.

[Assistant] Oh, you did?


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

[User] Cause they were small. Another thing we did is we taught English in the high school.

[Assistant] Oh, you did?

[User] And that was very, um, I don't know, it wasn't very well organized and there weren't very many people. And a lot of the people were much older than you. It wasn't high school age.

[Assistant] Mm hmm.

[User] So Joe did that, and I did that.

[Assistant] Mm hmm. Mm hmm. In the evenings?


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

[User] And that was very, um, I don't know, it wasn't very well organized and there weren't very many people. And a lot of the people were much older than you. It wasn't high school age.

[Assistant] Mm hmm.

[User] So Joe did that, and I did that.

[Assistant] Mm hmm. Mm hmm. In the evenings?

[User] Mm hmm. And that was kind of fun. It was.

[Assistant] I'm sure it was, yes.


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

[User] So Joe did that, and I did that.

[Assistant] Mm hmm. Mm hmm. In the evenings?

[User] Mm hmm. And that was kind of fun. It was.

[Assistant] I'm sure it was, yes.

[User] Go teach English. Okay.

[Assistant] Did Peace Corps come out to visit you and check on how you're doing?


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

[User] Mm hmm. And that was kind of fun. It was.

[Assistant] I'm sure it was, yes.

[User] Go teach English. Okay.

[Assistant] Did Peace Corps come out to visit you and check on how you're doing?

[User] See these fingers?

[Assistant] I see two.


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

[User] Go teach English. Okay.

[Assistant] Did Peace Corps come out to visit you and check on how you're doing?

[User] See these fingers?

[Assistant] I see two.

[User] There is the best story. I have to get this on tape because it was so dramatic and I love to tell it. The Peace Corps doctor came to visit us kind of unexpectedly, and his name was Peter.

[Assistant] He didn't call you on your cell phone?


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

[User] See these fingers?

[Assistant] I see two.

[User] There is the best story. I have to get this on tape because it was so dramatic and I love to tell it. The Peace Corps doctor came to visit us kind of unexpectedly, and his name was Peter.

[Assistant] He didn't call you on your cell phone?

[User] No, no, no. But we were always glad, you know, when other volunteers happened to show up. Like Ed showed up because he had transportation. Another woman from Nacaome came. I remember she stayed the night and she had those night terrors where she would scream during the night.

[Assistant] Oh no! This is a Peace Corps volunteer?


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

[User] There is the best story. I have to get this on tape because it was so dramatic and I love to tell it. The Peace Corps doctor came to visit us kind of unexpectedly, and his name was Peter.

[Assistant] He didn't call you on your cell phone?

[User] No, no, no. But we were always glad, you know, when other volunteers happened to show up. Like Ed showed up because he had transportation. Another woman from Nacaome came. I remember she stayed the night and she had those night terrors where she would scream during the night.

[Assistant] Oh no! This is a Peace Corps volunteer?

[User] Yeah. So we learned a little bit about her. But anyway, Peter came, the volunteer, and he was a very, very lovely person and we were having kind of a social time. I think we were having dinner. And while we were eating dinner, we heard this screaming. Horrible screaming. And it turned out that Don Jesus had had his, the tip of his pointer finger cut off while working on La Rapida.

[Assistant] Oh, the slow-moving fast truck. Yes.


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

[User] No, no, no. But we were always glad, you know, when other volunteers happened to show up. Like Ed showed up because he had transportation. Another woman from Nacaome came. I remember she stayed the night and she had those night terrors where she would scream during the night.

[Assistant] Oh no! This is a Peace Corps volunteer?

[User] Yeah. So we learned a little bit about her. But anyway, Peter came, the volunteer, and he was a very, very lovely person and we were having kind of a social time. I think we were having dinner. And while we were eating dinner, we heard this screaming. Horrible screaming. And it turned out that Don Jesus had had his, the tip of his pointer finger cut off while working on La Rapida.

[Assistant] Oh, the slow-moving fast truck. Yes.

[User] So they wrapped that finger. They knew that, you know, they always knew everything we were doing. And I guess I had introduced the doctor when he came earlier in the day or something. So they knew that we had this doctor.

[Assistant] The Peace Corps doctor was at your house? Yeah.


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

[User] So they did.

[Assistant] Oh.

[User] And everyone was crying. And, you know, there was just a whole bunch of people and we kind of got some of the people to leave. But Don Jesus was there and I think his wife was there. And maybe a couple of the kids. Took the fingertip. And you can imagine, they did not practice hygiene on the nails. So there was this dirty, dirty fingertip in the salt water soaking.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] To keep it, keep it going. And Peter.

[Assistant] From the knuckle? I mean, how much of his finger was?


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

[User] To keep it, keep it going. And Peter.

[Assistant] From the knuckle? I mean, how much of his finger was?

[User] I think it was just above the knuckle. But you have to remember that he was the musician.

[Assistant] Oh.

[User] He needed that finger.

[Assistant] Oh. Because it was his instrument was the guitar.


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

[User] He needed that finger.

[Assistant] Oh. Because it was his instrument was the guitar.

[User] No, trombone.

[Assistant] Trombone.

[User] Yeah, it was a, uh. I'm pretty sure it was a trombone.

[Assistant] Oh, okay. So this is really critical that he had this. Yes.


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

[User] No, trombone.

[Assistant] Trombone.

[User] Yeah, it was a, uh. I'm pretty sure it was a trombone.

[Assistant] Oh, okay. So this is really critical that he had this. Yes.

[User] Yeah. And he was just beloved in the town. I mean, his name was Jesus.

[Assistant] Jesus, yeah. Right.


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

[User] Yeah, it was a, uh. I'm pretty sure it was a trombone.

[Assistant] Oh, okay. So this is really critical that he had this. Yes.

[User] Yeah. And he was just beloved in the town. I mean, his name was Jesus.

[Assistant] Jesus, yeah. Right.

[User] So, um, we gave him something to drink. I think it was just the local thing called guaro.

[Assistant] Which is an alcoholic drink? Uh huh.


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

[User] So, um, we gave him something to drink. I think it was just the local thing called guaro.

[Assistant] Which is an alcoholic drink? Uh huh.

[User] To kind of ease some of the pain. And then Peter sewed that fingertip back on.

[Assistant] My goodness.

[User] Put a bunch of antiseptic, gave him bandages and antiseptic to use, because he was only going to be there for a day. The doctor was leaving the next day.

[Assistant] The doctor was going to spend the night.


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

[User] To kind of ease some of the pain. And then Peter sewed that fingertip back on.

[Assistant] My goodness.

[User] Put a bunch of antiseptic, gave him bandages and antiseptic to use, because he was only going to be there for a day. The doctor was leaving the next day.

[Assistant] The doctor was going to spend the night.

[User] He's going to stay the night.

[Assistant] In your home?


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

[User] Put a bunch of antiseptic, gave him bandages and antiseptic to use, because he was only going to be there for a day. The doctor was leaving the next day.

[Assistant] The doctor was going to spend the night.

[User] He's going to stay the night.

[Assistant] In your home?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] In your little room?


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

[User] Yeah. And I don't remember. I think we had a porch that had a bed out or hammock or something. He was very resourceful. So I know he didn't sleep in our bed because it was too small. But anyway, uh, that was just one of the most dramatic scenes.

[Assistant] No kidding.

[User] I'm kind of averse to hospitals and surgery. Anyways.

[Assistant] Blood spurting.

[User] Blood spurting, everybody screaming. The pain. It was just, you know, tremendous.

[Assistant] Did you have antibiotics to give the guy?


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

[User] I'm kind of averse to hospitals and surgery. Anyways.

[Assistant] Blood spurting.

[User] Blood spurting, everybody screaming. The pain. It was just, you know, tremendous.

[Assistant] Did you have antibiotics to give the guy?

[User] Antibiotic cream.

[Assistant] Cream. But he couldn't give him those.


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

[User] Blood spurting, everybody screaming. The pain. It was just, you know, tremendous.

[Assistant] Did you have antibiotics to give the guy?

[User] Antibiotic cream.

[Assistant] Cream. But he couldn't give him those.

[User] Oral antibiotics. Yeah, I hope there were. But the good thing is, is that finger grew.

[Assistant] Oh, it did heal? Wow.


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

[User] Antibiotic cream.

[Assistant] Cream. But he couldn't give him those.

[User] Oral antibiotics. Yeah, I hope there were. But the good thing is, is that finger grew.

[Assistant] Oh, it did heal? Wow.

[User] The visiting nurse came a few weeks later and chided him for not keeping it clean enough. But it didn't fall off and it didn't get infected. [sneezes] Excuse me. So that was one scene.

[Assistant] What an amazing story.


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

[User] Oral antibiotics. Yeah, I hope there were. But the good thing is, is that finger grew.

[Assistant] Oh, it did heal? Wow.

[User] The visiting nurse came a few weeks later and chided him for not keeping it clean enough. But it didn't fall off and it didn't get infected. [sneezes] Excuse me. So that was one scene.

[Assistant] What an amazing story.

[User] It's forever etched in my mind.

[Assistant] Just the serendipity of that happening to Jesus on the one day that the Peace Corps doctor happened to be right there.


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

[User] Can you imagine? He never came again. The doctor never came again. We had no idea that he was coming when he did come.

[Assistant] Wow.

[User] It was amazing.

[Assistant] No kidding.

[User] Yeah. And he went on to play. You know, he can continue to play his instrument, his horn. Maybe it was just a horn.

[Assistant] I bet they're still telling that story today in Honduras.


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

[User] It was amazing.

[Assistant] No kidding.

[User] Yeah. And he went on to play. You know, he can continue to play his instrument, his horn. Maybe it was just a horn.

[Assistant] I bet they're still telling that story today in Honduras.

[User] I hope so. It was quite amazing.

[Assistant] Yeah. So in terms of.


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

[User] Yeah. And he went on to play. You know, he can continue to play his instrument, his horn. Maybe it was just a horn.

[Assistant] I bet they're still telling that story today in Honduras.

[User] I hope so. It was quite amazing.

[Assistant] Yeah. So in terms of.

[User] I feel like I'm lying when I tell that story.

[Assistant] Yeah, but it's true.


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

[User] I hope so. It was quite amazing.

[Assistant] Yeah. So in terms of.

[User] I feel like I'm lying when I tell that story.

[Assistant] Yeah, but it's true.

[User] The iguana eggs curing that little boy who looked like he was going to die in a minute. And then Jesus. There was just a lot of drama. Drama.

[Assistant] No kidding. So in terms of support from Peace Corps, it sounds like you gave, you had to write reports to them about what you were doing.


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

[User] I feel like I'm lying when I tell that story.

[Assistant] Yeah, but it's true.

[User] The iguana eggs curing that little boy who looked like he was going to die in a minute. And then Jesus. There was just a lot of drama. Drama.

[Assistant] No kidding. So in terms of support from Peace Corps, it sounds like you gave, you had to write reports to them about what you were doing.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] Did they offer you advice or help in any way? You talk about a little bit of money that you were able to get to buy supplies. When you went, how often did you have to go into the capital city, into Tegucigalpa?


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

[User] I would say that we went every couple of months. It was kind of an R and R situation.

[Assistant] Oh, yeah.

[User] And they did have classes that we would attend. There was a local person, Antonio Casa Solo was his name and he was very big in the radio schools that they had at that time. Radio schools would teach people who lived too far away to go to a regular school or academy.

[Assistant] Oh. Yeah.

[User] And so they would use the radio to, to teach and offer certain lessons. And that was Antonio Casa Solo. So he was just such a nice man and very good teacher and he liked working with Peace Corps volunteers. We always felt like we were doing something good for Honduras when he was around. He was very, uh, very uplifting. So, yeah, we would get away. I remember we went to El Salvador one time for a vacation and that was a real, oh, it was just like amazing. We were sitting on the sandy beach in the morning and we saw this sort of like a mirage. It was a woman coming and she had fresh oysters.

[Assistant] Oh, my goodness.