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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] And I don't know how obvious that was. I mean, whether it was expressed, articulated by people.

[User] It was.

[Assistant] OK.

[User] It was articulated. It wasn't. It was interesting, I would think, out of. Out of half the, half the fellows in our group were in that kind of situation. And it didn't matter whether they were single or married.

[Assistant] Tell me about how the training was structured.


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

[User] We went into training in February and we had PT at 6:30 in the morning outside on the frost.

[Assistant] OK.

[User] We had, then we had two hour, I believe it was 2 hours every day of language training. And then, of course, some time we were expected to speak, try and speak on our own. We had a cross cultural training or classes. We had, we had a pair of returned volunteers from Guatemala who had actually gone and scoped out our sites, those that are on the south coast of Guatemala, and I guess some of the highland sites also. And so they were familiar with the sites and what was going on in the area. They had actually lived in this, on the south coast in a group before us.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And so they told us about some of the customs of the various areas and we worked with, um, with them on how, talking about housing or the kinds of people and things like that.

[Assistant] And that was in informal settings or strictly classroom or both?


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

[User] We had, then we had two hour, I believe it was 2 hours every day of language training. And then, of course, some time we were expected to speak, try and speak on our own. We had a cross cultural training or classes. We had, we had a pair of returned volunteers from Guatemala who had actually gone and scoped out our sites, those that are on the south coast of Guatemala, and I guess some of the highland sites also. And so they were familiar with the sites and what was going on in the area. They had actually lived in this, on the south coast in a group before us.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And so they told us about some of the customs of the various areas and we worked with, um, with them on how, talking about housing or the kinds of people and things like that.

[Assistant] And that was in informal settings or strictly classroom or both?

[User] Both on that, because they were part of the. I think that they actually were those that gave us some of the background and history of Guatemala, and we were going into areas that had been in the land reform movement. So we got briefed on how that all developed. And of course, hardly any of us had ever heard of Arbenz or any of the other guys that had been the dictators or the rulers and presidents in there before. So it was, it was all new to us.

[Assistant] Do you recall if you also had a segment on American Studies where you sort of learned about communism and world, you know, the world, politics?


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

[User] And so they told us about some of the customs of the various areas and we worked with, um, with them on how, talking about housing or the kinds of people and things like that.

[Assistant] And that was in informal settings or strictly classroom or both?

[User] Both on that, because they were part of the. I think that they actually were those that gave us some of the background and history of Guatemala, and we were going into areas that had been in the land reform movement. So we got briefed on how that all developed. And of course, hardly any of us had ever heard of Arbenz or any of the other guys that had been the dictators or the rulers and presidents in there before. So it was, it was all new to us.

[Assistant] Do you recall if you also had a segment on American Studies where you sort of learned about communism and world, you know, the world, politics?

[User] You know, I don't remember. I don't remember that.

[Assistant] Or do you remember any discussions of that Central America was a very politically sensitive area?


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

[User] You know, I don't remember. I don't remember that.

[Assistant] Or do you remember any discussions of that Central America was a very politically sensitive area?

[User] It wasn't really, um, it really wasn't thrown in of how politically sensitive it was.

[Assistant] Oh, OK.

[User] We just knew that there was trouble there, but we didn't I don't recall them making the connection about how. We were very concerned what was going on there.

[Assistant] So no cautions about, you know, what you say, what you're not to say.


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

[User] It wasn't really, um, it really wasn't thrown in of how politically sensitive it was.

[Assistant] Oh, OK.

[User] We just knew that there was trouble there, but we didn't I don't recall them making the connection about how. We were very concerned what was going on there.

[Assistant] So no cautions about, you know, what you say, what you're not to say.

[User] Well, the most of, the main cautions were of just about not being a braggart. And also, it must, we must have had something of some training about how to handle if you got challenged about the fact that you're an American and you're an ugly American or something like that, because I used that when I was in the field. I had an instance where I had to sit back and just let somebody vent and go on.

[Assistant] Was the entire group at Las Cruces going into rural community development?


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

[User] We just knew that there was trouble there, but we didn't I don't recall them making the connection about how. We were very concerned what was going on there.

[Assistant] So no cautions about, you know, what you say, what you're not to say.

[User] Well, the most of, the main cautions were of just about not being a braggart. And also, it must, we must have had something of some training about how to handle if you got challenged about the fact that you're an American and you're an ugly American or something like that, because I used that when I was in the field. I had an instance where I had to sit back and just let somebody vent and go on.

[Assistant] Was the entire group at Las Cruces going into rural community development?

[User] Uh, yes. However, we're not all on the south coast, where some of them are in the highlands. So we had two different cultures, two different cultural venues.

[Assistant] And you split when you. So from the beginning you knew you were going to the south coast?


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

[User] Well, the most of, the main cautions were of just about not being a braggart. And also, it must, we must have had something of some training about how to handle if you got challenged about the fact that you're an American and you're an ugly American or something like that, because I used that when I was in the field. I had an instance where I had to sit back and just let somebody vent and go on.

[Assistant] Was the entire group at Las Cruces going into rural community development?

[User] Uh, yes. However, we're not all on the south coast, where some of them are in the highlands. So we had two different cultures, two different cultural venues.

[Assistant] And you split when you. So from the beginning you knew you were going to the south coast?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] OK. About how many were in the group, do you recall?


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

[User] Uh, yes. However, we're not all on the south coast, where some of them are in the highlands. So we had two different cultures, two different cultural venues.

[Assistant] And you split when you. So from the beginning you knew you were going to the south coast?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] OK. About how many were in the group, do you recall?

[User] Uh, there were about 46 altogether when we started out, and 36 went into country.

[Assistant] And it was the fourth, fifth, six program into Guatemala?


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] OK. About how many were in the group, do you recall?

[User] Uh, there were about 46 altogether when we started out, and 36 went into country.

[Assistant] And it was the fourth, fifth, six program into Guatemala?

[User] Guatemala IX.

[Assistant] Nine. OK. Was, did, was anyone indicate during training that your ability to learn Spanish would affect whether you would be finally selected or not?


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

[User] Uh, there were about 46 altogether when we started out, and 36 went into country.

[Assistant] And it was the fourth, fifth, six program into Guatemala?

[User] Guatemala IX.

[Assistant] Nine. OK. Was, did, was anyone indicate during training that your ability to learn Spanish would affect whether you would be finally selected or not?

[User] Um. There was an indication of that, but probably more. But, uh, it didn't pan out because those that deselected at that time, Spanish wasn't any worse for them than it was for anybody else.

[Assistant] So there were other issues with that.


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

[User] Guatemala IX.

[Assistant] Nine. OK. Was, did, was anyone indicate during training that your ability to learn Spanish would affect whether you would be finally selected or not?

[User] Um. There was an indication of that, but probably more. But, uh, it didn't pan out because those that deselected at that time, Spanish wasn't any worse for them than it was for anybody else.

[Assistant] So there were other issues with that.

[User] And there were, in fact, there was a native, there was a Puerto Rican, and she wasn't accepted, even though her Spanish was great. So that was not a.

[Assistant] Right. And how were you doing with Spanish as you began?


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

[User] Um. There was an indication of that, but probably more. But, uh, it didn't pan out because those that deselected at that time, Spanish wasn't any worse for them than it was for anybody else.

[Assistant] So there were other issues with that.

[User] And there were, in fact, there was a native, there was a Puerto Rican, and she wasn't accepted, even though her Spanish was great. So that was not a.

[Assistant] Right. And how were you doing with Spanish as you began?

[User] Poking along.

[Assistant] I'm surprised it was only 2 hours a day. That's less than intensive.


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

[User] And there were, in fact, there was a native, there was a Puerto Rican, and she wasn't accepted, even though her Spanish was great. So that was not a.

[Assistant] Right. And how were you doing with Spanish as you began?

[User] Poking along.

[Assistant] I'm surprised it was only 2 hours a day. That's less than intensive.

[User] Well, I could be wrong on how much. I mean, we did have language lab at night, and we would go in at night and get on the earphones and practice.

[Assistant] And were you tested at different points during the training?


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

[User] Poking along.

[Assistant] I'm surprised it was only 2 hours a day. That's less than intensive.

[User] Well, I could be wrong on how much. I mean, we did have language lab at night, and we would go in at night and get on the earphones and practice.

[Assistant] And were you tested at different points during the training?

[User] Yes. And when I tested, when I finished, I was a zero plus.

[Assistant] OK. Did that concern you, were you worried about that?


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

[User] Not, well, not particularly. I mean, I could make myself understood.

[Assistant] Uh huh.

[User] And when I, as it turned out, my problem was fluency and being a problem of trying to be right before I said something and everybody putting words in my mouth. Whereas when I went actually was in country, nobody tried to put words in my mouth. They corrected me as if you, as you would correct anybody learning the language, a child or whatever, that get in the right order. And so they allowed me to develop the fluency in the ear. And in a month, I was a one.

[Assistant] Oh, great.

[User] So it. I mean, an FS-1.

[Assistant] Did, um, what the. Oh, did you have opportunities during training to speak Spanish? I mean, in Las Cruces, were there, did you go into areas and?


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

[User] And when I, as it turned out, my problem was fluency and being a problem of trying to be right before I said something and everybody putting words in my mouth. Whereas when I went actually was in country, nobody tried to put words in my mouth. They corrected me as if you, as you would correct anybody learning the language, a child or whatever, that get in the right order. And so they allowed me to develop the fluency in the ear. And in a month, I was a one.

[Assistant] Oh, great.

[User] So it. I mean, an FS-1.

[Assistant] Did, um, what the. Oh, did you have opportunities during training to speak Spanish? I mean, in Las Cruces, were there, did you go into areas and?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Try to shop or anything?


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Try to shop or anything?

[User] Well, they gave us a visit in, to families in New Mexico. And I think we did a weekend visit with a family there. And then we had a ten day excursion into Guadalajara, Mexico.

[Assistant] Oh.

[User] And so we lived with a family in a hilo, which is a small village in the area. And, uh, that was good because there were some English speakers in town, only because they had been in California for a period of time. But yeah, we got our fluency better.

[Assistant] What was your agenda during the ten days, were you just alone with the family, or did you still have training in a group?


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

[User] Well, they gave us a visit in, to families in New Mexico. And I think we did a weekend visit with a family there. And then we had a ten day excursion into Guadalajara, Mexico.

[Assistant] Oh.

[User] And so we lived with a family in a hilo, which is a small village in the area. And, uh, that was good because there were some English speakers in town, only because they had been in California for a period of time. But yeah, we got our fluency better.

[Assistant] What was your agenda during the ten days, were you just alone with the family, or did you still have training in a group?

[User]
Um, we were placed two volunteers to a town, and were, two volunteers actually were housed at the same house. It was a real surprise to the family we moved in with, that Bob and I were not married, and they very graciously made some arrangements. And so we didn't have, we weren't sleeping together so. Um. We were, we were to get to know the town. And that was, that was our main agenda. Pick out the major things like, uh, who are the leaders of the town, where the school was, the number of teachers and students, what the events that might be going on in school.

What the economy of the town was if they happen to be, in our case there are a lot of goats and they raised, they were milk goats for the candy industry. They have a really good, um, goat milk candy. So we would work with, go to work with the farmers or with the, with one of the members of the family and shadow them basically the day. Go for a walk with the grandmother and listen to her chatter to you.

[Assistant] How did it feel to? I mean, you're now in another totally different environment. And, you know, so I think sort of one of the things you wanted in joining the Peace Corps.


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

[User] And so we lived with a family in a hilo, which is a small village in the area. And, uh, that was good because there were some English speakers in town, only because they had been in California for a period of time. But yeah, we got our fluency better.

[Assistant] What was your agenda during the ten days, were you just alone with the family, or did you still have training in a group?

[User]
Um, we were placed two volunteers to a town, and were, two volunteers actually were housed at the same house. It was a real surprise to the family we moved in with, that Bob and I were not married, and they very graciously made some arrangements. And so we didn't have, we weren't sleeping together so. Um. We were, we were to get to know the town. And that was, that was our main agenda. Pick out the major things like, uh, who are the leaders of the town, where the school was, the number of teachers and students, what the events that might be going on in school.

What the economy of the town was if they happen to be, in our case there are a lot of goats and they raised, they were milk goats for the candy industry. They have a really good, um, goat milk candy. So we would work with, go to work with the farmers or with the, with one of the members of the family and shadow them basically the day. Go for a walk with the grandmother and listen to her chatter to you.

[Assistant] How did it feel to? I mean, you're now in another totally different environment. And, you know, so I think sort of one of the things you wanted in joining the Peace Corps.

[User] Yes. And I was very curious, very interested in what was going on. I was very comfortable with everything except that somebody, a neighbor or somebody else in town, wanted to see what I looked like. So they climbed up on the window and looked in the window at night.

[Assistant] Oh. That would be a little disconcerting.


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

[User]
Um, we were placed two volunteers to a town, and were, two volunteers actually were housed at the same house. It was a real surprise to the family we moved in with, that Bob and I were not married, and they very graciously made some arrangements. And so we didn't have, we weren't sleeping together so. Um. We were, we were to get to know the town. And that was, that was our main agenda. Pick out the major things like, uh, who are the leaders of the town, where the school was, the number of teachers and students, what the events that might be going on in school.

What the economy of the town was if they happen to be, in our case there are a lot of goats and they raised, they were milk goats for the candy industry. They have a really good, um, goat milk candy. So we would work with, go to work with the farmers or with the, with one of the members of the family and shadow them basically the day. Go for a walk with the grandmother and listen to her chatter to you.

[Assistant] How did it feel to? I mean, you're now in another totally different environment. And, you know, so I think sort of one of the things you wanted in joining the Peace Corps.

[User] Yes. And I was very curious, very interested in what was going on. I was very comfortable with everything except that somebody, a neighbor or somebody else in town, wanted to see what I looked like. So they climbed up on the window and looked in the window at night.

[Assistant] Oh. That would be a little disconcerting.

[User] And then we got, this is, we had a place that had a latrine in the back of the property. That was better than what I ended up with in Guatemala.

[Assistant] Yeah. And did you find that in the evening you'd try to sit and talk with Bob just to have a chance to speak English? Or did you consciously avoid that or?


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

[User] Yes. And I was very curious, very interested in what was going on. I was very comfortable with everything except that somebody, a neighbor or somebody else in town, wanted to see what I looked like. So they climbed up on the window and looked in the window at night.

[Assistant] Oh. That would be a little disconcerting.

[User] And then we got, this is, we had a place that had a latrine in the back of the property. That was better than what I ended up with in Guatemala.

[Assistant] Yeah. And did you find that in the evening you'd try to sit and talk with Bob just to have a chance to speak English? Or did you consciously avoid that or?

[User] We really didn't.

[Assistant] Or vice versa?


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

[User] Yeah, we really didn't try to, um. I, you know, I'm not real clear what we actually did. We did make a conscious effort to sort out what we did during the day without, uh, other family members present.

[Assistant] Mm hmm.

[User] So when we would have family members and us, we were there, what we would listen to what was going on. And if I felt that he didn't catch what they were talking about, then I'd do a translation and vice versa.

[Assistant] Uh huh.

[User] But that was the closest that we came.

[Assistant] Yeah. Were there any technical studies in training?


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

[User] So when we would have family members and us, we were there, what we would listen to what was going on. And if I felt that he didn't catch what they were talking about, then I'd do a translation and vice versa.

[Assistant] Uh huh.

[User] But that was the closest that we came.

[Assistant] Yeah. Were there any technical studies in training?

[User] Oh, yeah, we did a lot with, um, with farming, gardening, raising chickens, raising. I don't think we did hogs.

[Assistant] And where was that done?


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

[User] But that was the closest that we came.

[Assistant] Yeah. Were there any technical studies in training?

[User] Oh, yeah, we did a lot with, um, with farming, gardening, raising chickens, raising. I don't think we did hogs.

[Assistant] And where was that done?

[User] At Las Cruces.

[Assistant] Is there an agricultural center or?


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

[User] Oh, yeah, we did a lot with, um, with farming, gardening, raising chickens, raising. I don't think we did hogs.

[Assistant] And where was that done?

[User] At Las Cruces.

[Assistant] Is there an agricultural center or?

[User] Well, it's. Um. It's. They're a land grant college.

[Assistant] Oh, OK, yeah. And during the training, was it, did you get fairly specific indications of what it was you were going to be doing when you went to Guatemala? Setting aside however it worked out, but during the training time.


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

[User] What we got was techniques on getting to know the community and figuring, helping a community to figure out what it wanted to do.

[Assistant] OK.

[User] And then to, uh, we talked about agencies and we understood the agency that we were working for and understood about cooperative extension and other kinds and the health services and things like that of the community, of the area.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] Um, we really didn't have things like how to get a group of people together and get them motivated or directed in particular.

[Assistant] And Peace Corps had been doing this for a couple of years before you went.


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

[User] Um, we really didn't have things like how to get a group of people together and get them motivated or directed in particular.

[Assistant] And Peace Corps had been doing this for a couple of years before you went.

[User] You mean in?

[Assistant] In Guatemala.

[User] Yes. Yeah.

[Assistant] So there was a store of information about it.


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

[User] You mean in?

[Assistant] In Guatemala.

[User] Yes. Yeah.

[Assistant] So there was a store of information about it.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] Was the story coming out of, say, the returned volunteers and training and others that this project worked, that it was having, achieving something?


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

[User] Yes. Yeah.

[Assistant] So there was a store of information about it.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] Was the story coming out of, say, the returned volunteers and training and others that this project worked, that it was having, achieving something?

[User] Well, they made it very clear that every site was different. So you couldn't say everybody's going to have a milk program or everybody's going to have a latrine program or anything like that. And it was a matter of knowing where. They made it very clear that, um, there was help for what you wanted to do. You just, it was tough to decide what it was that was going to happen.

[Assistant] One other aspect of training is the selection process. Usually there's a mid board and then a final board and often there are psychiatric interviews, psychological testing. Do you recall that?


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

[User] Right.

[Assistant] Was the story coming out of, say, the returned volunteers and training and others that this project worked, that it was having, achieving something?

[User] Well, they made it very clear that every site was different. So you couldn't say everybody's going to have a milk program or everybody's going to have a latrine program or anything like that. And it was a matter of knowing where. They made it very clear that, um, there was help for what you wanted to do. You just, it was tough to decide what it was that was going to happen.

[Assistant] One other aspect of training is the selection process. Usually there's a mid board and then a final board and often there are psychiatric interviews, psychological testing. Do you recall that?

[User] Yeah, they were horrible.

[Assistant] Why? I mean, tell me about it.


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

[User] Well, we had a team of about, I think there were six.

[Assistant] Six.

[User] Six. And there were some that were, that you got the impression they were out to challenge you, why you're going to go, give you all these kinds of things, troubles, and see how you reacted to it somehow. And there was, there were a couple, I mean, like the head, the head guy actually was. Um. You felt like he was more pro the fact that you might be going or not.

[Assistant] Mm hmm.

[User] And sometimes their questions. Well, I was pretty, uh, 23 years old, but very naive in a lot of things. And they would ask some, what if this should happen? Well, what if this, if you were approached by a Latin guy and propositioned or whatever, what would you do? Well, I had never even been propositioned by any of my classmates so. Well, I guess I'll figure it out when I get there. I don't know. Um, and I, what I recall is that after the interviews, people were pretty closed mouth about how they went. And in some of the cases, some of the situations, you don't know what they were faced with. But a number of those individuals that were really closed mouth were deselected.

[Assistant] I mean, for yourself, I mean, did you, did you think that possibly you would be deselected or did you feel confident that you were going to make it through?


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

[User] Six. And there were some that were, that you got the impression they were out to challenge you, why you're going to go, give you all these kinds of things, troubles, and see how you reacted to it somehow. And there was, there were a couple, I mean, like the head, the head guy actually was. Um. You felt like he was more pro the fact that you might be going or not.

[Assistant] Mm hmm.

[User] And sometimes their questions. Well, I was pretty, uh, 23 years old, but very naive in a lot of things. And they would ask some, what if this should happen? Well, what if this, if you were approached by a Latin guy and propositioned or whatever, what would you do? Well, I had never even been propositioned by any of my classmates so. Well, I guess I'll figure it out when I get there. I don't know. Um, and I, what I recall is that after the interviews, people were pretty closed mouth about how they went. And in some of the cases, some of the situations, you don't know what they were faced with. But a number of those individuals that were really closed mouth were deselected.

[Assistant] I mean, for yourself, I mean, did you, did you think that possibly you would be deselected or did you feel confident that you were going to make it through?

[User] I felt pretty confident, as I recall. I didn't know. I never said I'm not going to make it.

[Assistant] Yeah. And final selection comes and.


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

[User] And sometimes their questions. Well, I was pretty, uh, 23 years old, but very naive in a lot of things. And they would ask some, what if this should happen? Well, what if this, if you were approached by a Latin guy and propositioned or whatever, what would you do? Well, I had never even been propositioned by any of my classmates so. Well, I guess I'll figure it out when I get there. I don't know. Um, and I, what I recall is that after the interviews, people were pretty closed mouth about how they went. And in some of the cases, some of the situations, you don't know what they were faced with. But a number of those individuals that were really closed mouth were deselected.

[Assistant] I mean, for yourself, I mean, did you, did you think that possibly you would be deselected or did you feel confident that you were going to make it through?

[User] I felt pretty confident, as I recall. I didn't know. I never said I'm not going to make it.

[Assistant] Yeah. And final selection comes and.

[User] You're on board, ready to go.

[Assistant] And the 46 is now 36.


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

[User] I felt pretty confident, as I recall. I didn't know. I never said I'm not going to make it.

[Assistant] Yeah. And final selection comes and.

[User] You're on board, ready to go.

[Assistant] And the 46 is now 36.

[User] Mm hmm.

[Assistant] It was, did any kind of group spirit or feeling develop through the training program?


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

[User] Mm hmm.

[Assistant] It was, did any kind of group spirit or feeling develop through the training program?

[User] Oh, yeah. I mean, you got to, you got to know people differently than what you'd been used to getting to know people. I mean, you're forced to listen to their stories.

[Assistant] Mm hmm.

[User] I mean, that was the entertainment. I mean, you didn't have TV or you didn't do these other kinds of things, and it was a lot easier to get to know other people than to do any homework.

[Assistant] What did you do with your free time during training, if there was any?


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

[User] Well, we did have some like nights off when we went into Las Cruces and found Latin bars. And that was one of, that was cultural, you know?

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And we had events at the married student housing. They would organize a potluck or a dinner kind of thing, and we'd set up, do things that were. We had some pretty creative cooks amongst our married folks.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah.

[User] And then, yeah.

[Assistant] Did the group resist any of the deselections? I mean, did you, was there anyone who was deselected that your group said, no, no, no, that person should go?


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

[User] And we had events at the married student housing. They would organize a potluck or a dinner kind of thing, and we'd set up, do things that were. We had some pretty creative cooks amongst our married folks.

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah.

[User] And then, yeah.

[Assistant] Did the group resist any of the deselections? I mean, did you, was there anyone who was deselected that your group said, no, no, no, that person should go?

[User] Yeah. There's the gal from Puerto Rico. We didn't know why she got deselected.

[Assistant] And did you say anything?


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

[User] And then, yeah.

[Assistant] Did the group resist any of the deselections? I mean, did you, was there anyone who was deselected that your group said, no, no, no, that person should go?

[User] Yeah. There's the gal from Puerto Rico. We didn't know why she got deselected.

[Assistant] And did you say anything?

[User] We asked them, but there wasn't. Um. I never really pursued it so.

[Assistant] Oh, OK. Yeah. Was there any break between training and reporting to Guatemala?


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

[User] We asked them, but there wasn't. Um. I never really pursued it so.

[Assistant] Oh, OK. Yeah. Was there any break between training and reporting to Guatemala?

[User] Yes. Yes. We went home.

[Assistant] For?

[User] Three or four days.

[Assistant] To pack and everything?


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

[User] Yes. Yes. We went home.

[Assistant] For?

[User] Three or four days.

[Assistant] To pack and everything?

[User] Pack and get everything together. And then we all met and flew to Houston.

[Assistant] For the few days back home, did anyone try to discourage you from going or?


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

[User] Three or four days.

[Assistant] To pack and everything?

[User] Pack and get everything together. And then we all met and flew to Houston.

[Assistant] For the few days back home, did anyone try to discourage you from going or?

[User] No. No. They were, what do you need?

[Assistant] Oh, OK. Great. Great. Do you recall packing any security blanket kind of items?


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

[User] Well, I had a birthday in training, and my roommate gave me an elf, I would say, I guess. And I made sure that that got in.

[Assistant] Yeah. Yeah.

[User] Um, I think if I had done it differently, I would have taken my picture album at the time.

[Assistant] Yeah. Yeah.

[User] Because people always want to know what your family looks like and stuff.

[Assistant] Were people taking tape recorders at that time and tape players?


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

[User] Because people always want to know what your family looks like and stuff.

[Assistant] Were people taking tape recorders at that time and tape players?

[User] Yes, yes.

[Assistant] Mostly cassette?

[User] Um, reel to reel, small reel to reels. There weren't cassettes at the time. And I, I don't remember if I had one then, but I did get ahold of one down in Guatemala and I still have it. And I have the tapes.

[Assistant] Did you, uh, did you take a camera?


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

[User] Um, reel to reel, small reel to reels. There weren't cassettes at the time. And I, I don't remember if I had one then, but I did get ahold of one down in Guatemala and I still have it. And I have the tapes.

[Assistant] Did you, uh, did you take a camera?

[User] Oh, yeah. I took a very good camera and, uh, left it at the Houston airport.

[Assistant] So. OK.

[User] And then I, uh, we were able to get. We had folks that were going into Panama and we were able to get ahold of some duty free cameras. I got one within about a month, two months.

[Assistant] Were there any questions about using a camera?


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

[User] And then I, uh, we were able to get. We had folks that were going into Panama and we were able to get ahold of some duty free cameras. I got one within about a month, two months.

[Assistant] Were there any questions about using a camera?

[User] No.

[Assistant] OK.

[User] No. And I'm not sure just why there wouldn't have been, or would have been or it wouldn't have been, either way, but we didn't have any problems with that. The biggest caution about the camera is, where are you going to get the film developed?

[Assistant] Yeah. Sometimes it's, uh, for the appearance it gives it makes you, you know, puts you in the category of tourists. Sometimes it's culturally insensitive. Sometimes there are political hazards, and it varies from country to country.


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

[User] No.

[Assistant] OK.

[User] No. And I'm not sure just why there wouldn't have been, or would have been or it wouldn't have been, either way, but we didn't have any problems with that. The biggest caution about the camera is, where are you going to get the film developed?

[Assistant] Yeah. Sometimes it's, uh, for the appearance it gives it makes you, you know, puts you in the category of tourists. Sometimes it's culturally insensitive. Sometimes there are political hazards, and it varies from country to country.

[User] There were some concerns probably for those who were going up into the highlands with the more indigenous groups. But quite frankly, a camera was an asset where I lived because, oh, they didn't have pictures of their children. And if you could get some and give them a picture, then they were more than pleased.

[Assistant] Yeah. So you reported to Houston and was it a charter flight or?


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

[User] No. And I'm not sure just why there wouldn't have been, or would have been or it wouldn't have been, either way, but we didn't have any problems with that. The biggest caution about the camera is, where are you going to get the film developed?

[Assistant] Yeah. Sometimes it's, uh, for the appearance it gives it makes you, you know, puts you in the category of tourists. Sometimes it's culturally insensitive. Sometimes there are political hazards, and it varies from country to country.

[User] There were some concerns probably for those who were going up into the highlands with the more indigenous groups. But quite frankly, a camera was an asset where I lived because, oh, they didn't have pictures of their children. And if you could get some and give them a picture, then they were more than pleased.

[Assistant] Yeah. So you reported to Houston and was it a charter flight or?

[User] No. It was a regular flight, yeah.

[Assistant] Uh, tell me about your arrival in, uh, where did you arrive?


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

[User] No. It was a regular flight, yeah.

[Assistant] Uh, tell me about your arrival in, uh, where did you arrive?

[User] We arrived in Guatemala City.

[Assistant] All right.

[User] And we went into town. We were all housed at a pension near the, uh, near the Peace Corps office.

[Assistant] Was there any reception at the airport? You were the ninth group.


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

[User] We arrived in Guatemala City.

[Assistant] All right.

[User] And we went into town. We were all housed at a pension near the, uh, near the Peace Corps office.

[Assistant] Was there any reception at the airport? You were the ninth group.

[User] I don't remember that. I do know that we were invited, at two different points, to the ambassador's house for a reception. And I don't recall now whether it was right there. It must have been one in the beginning. And because I was, went to the house at least twice.

[Assistant] Who was the ambassador, do you recall?


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

[User] I don't remember that. I do know that we were invited, at two different points, to the ambassador's house for a reception. And I don't recall now whether it was right there. It must have been one in the beginning. And because I was, went to the house at least twice.

[Assistant] Who was the ambassador, do you recall?

[User] No, I'm sorry.

[Assistant] That's OK.

[User] Um, we have. [tape break]

[Assistant] Tell me about your days in Guatemala City. By now was your assignment completely firm? And are you being assigned alone? And at any point in training, did you fill out a form indicating who you would like to be assigned with and not assigned with?


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

[User] Um, we have. [tape break]

[Assistant] Tell me about your days in Guatemala City. By now was your assignment completely firm? And are you being assigned alone? And at any point in training, did you fill out a form indicating who you would like to be assigned with and not assigned with?

[User] We didn't have a, I don't recall having an opportunity to choose like that. And I was assigned alone.

[Assistant] All right.

[User] In a village that was five, six, maybe, maybe ten miles from the, well, no. About eight miles from a couple of guys that were assigned on the same road.

[Assistant] Name of the village?


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

[User] We didn't have a, I don't recall having an opportunity to choose like that. And I was assigned alone.

[Assistant] All right.

[User] In a village that was five, six, maybe, maybe ten miles from the, well, no. About eight miles from a couple of guys that were assigned on the same road.

[Assistant] Name of the village?

[User] Los Bracitos. Little arms.

[Assistant] And how long were you in Guatemala City?


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

[User] In a village that was five, six, maybe, maybe ten miles from the, well, no. About eight miles from a couple of guys that were assigned on the same road.

[Assistant] Name of the village?

[User] Los Bracitos. Little arms.

[Assistant] And how long were you in Guatemala City?

[User] We couldn't have been in there any more than a week.

[Assistant] Any special activities at that point?


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

[User] Los Bracitos. Little arms.

[Assistant] And how long were you in Guatemala City?

[User] We couldn't have been in there any more than a week.

[Assistant] Any special activities at that point?

[User] Just to see the city, get familiar with the city and how it worked because that was like the main touchstone place.

[Assistant] Did, uh, where. So you met the staff at that point?


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

[User] We couldn't have been in there any more than a week.

[Assistant] Any special activities at that point?

[User] Just to see the city, get familiar with the city and how it worked because that was like the main touchstone place.

[Assistant] Did, uh, where. So you met the staff at that point?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] And who was, who were on the staff? I mean, by position, not necessarily by name.


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] And who was, who were on the staff? I mean, by position, not necessarily by name.

[User] Um, well, there was a director and an assistant director. There was a regional supervisor for our area and a regional supervisor for the highland areas.

[Assistant] All American?

[User] Yes. And there was a doctor. And. An American doctor. In the staff. When I got down on the coast, the regional director was also moved down to, was on the coast. So it was easier to get back and forth to his house or for him to get out to see us. And then we had a Guatemalan doctor.

[Assistant] How far were you from Guatemala City?


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

[User] Um, well, there was a director and an assistant director. There was a regional supervisor for our area and a regional supervisor for the highland areas.

[Assistant] All American?

[User] Yes. And there was a doctor. And. An American doctor. In the staff. When I got down on the coast, the regional director was also moved down to, was on the coast. So it was easier to get back and forth to his house or for him to get out to see us. And then we had a Guatemalan doctor.

[Assistant] How far were you from Guatemala City?

[User] Oh, about, depending on where the floods were. Um. It was about 2 hours. No, it was an hour out of my village to the highway. And then it was about 2 hours from Mazatenango into the city.

[Assistant] Can you describe your first going out to the village?


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

[User] Yes. And there was a doctor. And. An American doctor. In the staff. When I got down on the coast, the regional director was also moved down to, was on the coast. So it was easier to get back and forth to his house or for him to get out to see us. And then we had a Guatemalan doctor.

[Assistant] How far were you from Guatemala City?

[User] Oh, about, depending on where the floods were. Um. It was about 2 hours. No, it was an hour out of my village to the highway. And then it was about 2 hours from Mazatenango into the city.

[Assistant] Can you describe your first going out to the village?

[User] Well. Yeah.

[Assistant] The group now is breaking up, I mean. Had the group split into southern and highlands, socially I mean?


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

[User] Well. Yeah.

[Assistant] The group now is breaking up, I mean. Had the group split into southern and highlands, socially I mean?

[User] Um. Pretty, well, no. I guess, I guess I have to say yes. Although there were some of the couples that went into the highlands, at least one of them was still part of the overall social group. One of the things that happened is that the highland groups had some pretty specific responsibilities that were not solely community development, because they were going to be working with cooperatives, basic craft cooperatives in the highlands area.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And so they, they had, they got their head into, to what they needed to do for those kinds of things.

[Assistant] Do you remember if it was sort of a wrench leaving the group? I mean, you've gone through a fairly intense period and.


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

[User] Um. Pretty, well, no. I guess, I guess I have to say yes. Although there were some of the couples that went into the highlands, at least one of them was still part of the overall social group. One of the things that happened is that the highland groups had some pretty specific responsibilities that were not solely community development, because they were going to be working with cooperatives, basic craft cooperatives in the highlands area.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And so they, they had, they got their head into, to what they needed to do for those kinds of things.

[Assistant] Do you remember if it was sort of a wrench leaving the group? I mean, you've gone through a fairly intense period and.

[User] Sure.

[Assistant] Now you're there and you're going off alone.


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

[User] And so they, they had, they got their head into, to what they needed to do for those kinds of things.

[Assistant] Do you remember if it was sort of a wrench leaving the group? I mean, you've gone through a fairly intense period and.

[User] Sure.

[Assistant] Now you're there and you're going off alone.

[User]
Um. I am. I've noticed that being alone does not bother me or being set off to myself. There were four of us that went down this road from Mazatenango, and we dropped off the first gal who has excellent high level of Spanish ability, very, very comfortable. And she was in a small indigenous community on the coast. But it was. Yeah.

And then. Then we dropped off the two guys, Gordon and Kevin, in Monterrey, and they had, got to explore what they did, where they were, their digs. And they had a center made with several buildings made out of cinderblock. And their facility, their housing, was in one of those buildings. So they had a, they had a toilet and a shower there and of course, a sink. They had a concrete floor. They walked upstairs. They had a, they had a corrugated roof, not steel, but an asbestos concrete roof, tejelita kind of roof. So that was good. OK, we'll see you guys. Then they took me down to my place and introduced to the family I was going to be staying with.

[Assistant] Who had arranged that?


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

[User] Sure.

[Assistant] Now you're there and you're going off alone.

[User]
Um. I am. I've noticed that being alone does not bother me or being set off to myself. There were four of us that went down this road from Mazatenango, and we dropped off the first gal who has excellent high level of Spanish ability, very, very comfortable. And she was in a small indigenous community on the coast. But it was. Yeah.

And then. Then we dropped off the two guys, Gordon and Kevin, in Monterrey, and they had, got to explore what they did, where they were, their digs. And they had a center made with several buildings made out of cinderblock. And their facility, their housing, was in one of those buildings. So they had a, they had a toilet and a shower there and of course, a sink. They had a concrete floor. They walked upstairs. They had a, they had a corrugated roof, not steel, but an asbestos concrete roof, tejelita kind of roof. So that was good. OK, we'll see you guys. Then they took me down to my place and introduced to the family I was going to be staying with.

[Assistant] Who had arranged that?

[User] The volunteers that had been in country before. They had gone down and made the contacts with.

[Assistant] Had anyone been in the village before?


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

[User]
Um. I am. I've noticed that being alone does not bother me or being set off to myself. There were four of us that went down this road from Mazatenango, and we dropped off the first gal who has excellent high level of Spanish ability, very, very comfortable. And she was in a small indigenous community on the coast. But it was. Yeah.

And then. Then we dropped off the two guys, Gordon and Kevin, in Monterrey, and they had, got to explore what they did, where they were, their digs. And they had a center made with several buildings made out of cinderblock. And their facility, their housing, was in one of those buildings. So they had a, they had a toilet and a shower there and of course, a sink. They had a concrete floor. They walked upstairs. They had a, they had a corrugated roof, not steel, but an asbestos concrete roof, tejelita kind of roof. So that was good. OK, we'll see you guys. Then they took me down to my place and introduced to the family I was going to be staying with.

[Assistant] Who had arranged that?

[User] The volunteers that had been in country before. They had gone down and made the contacts with.

[Assistant] Had anyone been in the village before?

[User] No.

[Assistant] OK, you were the first.


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

[User] The volunteers that had been in country before. They had gone down and made the contacts with.

[Assistant] Had anyone been in the village before?

[User] No.

[Assistant] OK, you were the first.

[User] Yes. And there had been. There had been volunteers across the river from our village. And the village knew about volunteers across the river. And so, yeah, I was shown where my bed was and it was a two room house without connecting doors. I mean, it's a door to this room and a door to that room from the outside, and thatched roof. And there was my bed. And I had my mosquito netting and sat down, got started to get acquainted with folks, and that was just about as much reception at the moment. But then they, the padres de familia, the head of the groups. I mean, the civic leaders actually came and we had a little bit of a reception and welcome and all that kind of stuff.

[Assistant] Was it a family compound you were in, with a series of houses or?


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

[User] No.

[Assistant] OK, you were the first.

[User] Yes. And there had been. There had been volunteers across the river from our village. And the village knew about volunteers across the river. And so, yeah, I was shown where my bed was and it was a two room house without connecting doors. I mean, it's a door to this room and a door to that room from the outside, and thatched roof. And there was my bed. And I had my mosquito netting and sat down, got started to get acquainted with folks, and that was just about as much reception at the moment. But then they, the padres de familia, the head of the groups. I mean, the civic leaders actually came and we had a little bit of a reception and welcome and all that kind of stuff.

[Assistant] Was it a family compound you were in, with a series of houses or?

[User] No.

[Assistant] Or little chambers?


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

[User] Yes. And there had been. There had been volunteers across the river from our village. And the village knew about volunteers across the river. And so, yeah, I was shown where my bed was and it was a two room house without connecting doors. I mean, it's a door to this room and a door to that room from the outside, and thatched roof. And there was my bed. And I had my mosquito netting and sat down, got started to get acquainted with folks, and that was just about as much reception at the moment. But then they, the padres de familia, the head of the groups. I mean, the civic leaders actually came and we had a little bit of a reception and welcome and all that kind of stuff.

[Assistant] Was it a family compound you were in, with a series of houses or?

[User] No.

[Assistant] Or little chambers?

[User] No, it was a village and, oh, the family. The family compound that I was in, it had this two room structure. Then it had a kitchen structure, kitchen dining room structure, and then it had a more formalized house with a concrete floor, the thatched roof in it also. And that was the teacher's, the actual teacher's house. And her husband was a truck owner. And so they were able to build this facility that had some walls and stuff like that in there.

[Assistant] But where did the family live that you were staying with?


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

[User] No, it was a village and, oh, the family. The family compound that I was in, it had this two room structure. Then it had a kitchen structure, kitchen dining room structure, and then it had a more formalized house with a concrete floor, the thatched roof in it also. And that was the teacher's, the actual teacher's house. And her husband was a truck owner. And so they were able to build this facility that had some walls and stuff like that in there.

[Assistant] But where did the family live that you were staying with?

[User] Well, the family consisted of the teacher and her husband and her baby and then the teacher's wife, uh, teacher's. Teacher's mother and sister. And that was the extent of the family.

[Assistant] Ah, OK.

[User] And so the mother actually helped out as a teacher in the school, and the sister helped keep things together. And she was about 14. No, she was about 16, 17 year old. So what happened is, what it had been is, that Martha was in, had this room and Velma had this room. And when I came, they gave me Velma's room and then Velma slept with Martha.

[Assistant] So all you really had was the room, and then all the rest of the facilities were common to the group.


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

[User] Well, the family consisted of the teacher and her husband and her baby and then the teacher's wife, uh, teacher's. Teacher's mother and sister. And that was the extent of the family.

[Assistant] Ah, OK.

[User] And so the mother actually helped out as a teacher in the school, and the sister helped keep things together. And she was about 14. No, she was about 16, 17 year old. So what happened is, what it had been is, that Martha was in, had this room and Velma had this room. And when I came, they gave me Velma's room and then Velma slept with Martha.

[Assistant] So all you really had was the room, and then all the rest of the facilities were common to the group.

[User] Right. Right.

[Assistant] OK. And that must have been an adjustment. I mean, washing, latrine, the whole works.


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

[User] There were two latrines in town.

[Assistant] Oh, yes.

[User] And it was interesting because the. One of the families that had the latrine was a merchant and a trucker, and they had a little cantina, real good food. It was a good place to eat. That's where one of the latrines was. And that family was always at odds with the teachers. So the teachers didn't go and use their latrine. But if I were over there for dinner or something, then I could use the latrine.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] Um, the other family that had a latrine was the next door neighbors to the cantina. Fairly well-educated individuals for the town. And when my parents came to visit, they, um, they invited us to use their latrine, which was easier to reach than Dona Elicia's.

[Assistant] Did anyone have indoor plumbing?


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

[User] And it was interesting because the. One of the families that had the latrine was a merchant and a trucker, and they had a little cantina, real good food. It was a good place to eat. That's where one of the latrines was. And that family was always at odds with the teachers. So the teachers didn't go and use their latrine. But if I were over there for dinner or something, then I could use the latrine.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] Um, the other family that had a latrine was the next door neighbors to the cantina. Fairly well-educated individuals for the town. And when my parents came to visit, they, um, they invited us to use their latrine, which was easier to reach than Dona Elicia's.

[Assistant] Did anyone have indoor plumbing?

[User] No, no indoor plumbing.

[Assistant] On the compound, did you have running water to wash with?


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

[User] Um, the other family that had a latrine was the next door neighbors to the cantina. Fairly well-educated individuals for the town. And when my parents came to visit, they, um, they invited us to use their latrine, which was easier to reach than Dona Elicia's.

[Assistant] Did anyone have indoor plumbing?

[User] No, no indoor plumbing.

[Assistant] On the compound, did you have running water to wash with?

[User] No, we used, uh, we got water out of the well that was in the square in front of the school. Our compound was right next to the school. On the square.

[Assistant] So, well, let's talk about your adjustment to the living conditions over the first couple of weeks.


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

[User] Well, it does. It does. Yeah. The thing is, you realize that you're not the only one that's isolated down here. All these folks have to figure out how to make their lives better.

[Assistant] How was your health through the first couple of weeks?

[User] Um, it was good, except that I hadn't eaten very much. Or if I had, I had to. I didn't have diarrhea right then in particular, but I mean, everything was different, so.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And it pointed out to me, probably it was the first indication that for me to be successful, I really need to eat. Get some protein.

[Assistant] Yeah. And it was not readily available in the village or?


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

[User] Um, it was good, except that I hadn't eaten very much. Or if I had, I had to. I didn't have diarrhea right then in particular, but I mean, everything was different, so.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And it pointed out to me, probably it was the first indication that for me to be successful, I really need to eat. Get some protein.

[Assistant] Yeah. And it was not readily available in the village or?

[User] Not particularly, no. I mean, they'd kill, they'd slaughter maybe once in two weeks. And there, so there was meat to buy. Families had chickens and eggs and a family would have chicken and maybe chicken for Sunday dinner or something like that. But it was mostly eggs and beans and rice.

[Assistant] And where you were living in the village, did you do your own cooking?


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

[User] And it pointed out to me, probably it was the first indication that for me to be successful, I really need to eat. Get some protein.

[Assistant] Yeah. And it was not readily available in the village or?

[User] Not particularly, no. I mean, they'd kill, they'd slaughter maybe once in two weeks. And there, so there was meat to buy. Families had chickens and eggs and a family would have chicken and maybe chicken for Sunday dinner or something like that. But it was mostly eggs and beans and rice.

[Assistant] And where you were living in the village, did you do your own cooking?

[User] Not then.

[Assistant] OK. Well, what was the arrangement initially?


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

[User] Not then.

[Assistant] OK. Well, what was the arrangement initially?

[User] I ate with the family there. I'd go in for.

[Assistant] The teacher?

[User] The teacher's family there.

[Assistant] And what was the financial arrangement?


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

[User] I ate with the family there. I'd go in for.

[Assistant] The teacher?

[User] The teacher's family there.

[Assistant] And what was the financial arrangement?

[User] There was, um. I don't remember how much, we gave him an amount, but um, because I was living with a family, I wasn't paying them rent, I was paying for food. Later on, we finally, they, I had facility to get a hold of money that would have been my rent allowance all up front. And the community then built me a house.

[Assistant] Oh, OK. Well, let's move over now and talk about how you spent your time over the first couple of weeks, months establishing yourself in the village.


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

[User] The teacher's family there.

[Assistant] And what was the financial arrangement?

[User] There was, um. I don't remember how much, we gave him an amount, but um, because I was living with a family, I wasn't paying them rent, I was paying for food. Later on, we finally, they, I had facility to get a hold of money that would have been my rent allowance all up front. And the community then built me a house.

[Assistant] Oh, OK. Well, let's move over now and talk about how you spent your time over the first couple of weeks, months establishing yourself in the village.

[User] Yeah. Went around talking to people, exploring on my own, then out to visit various folks.

[Assistant] Any given day, how would you decide who you were going to go see, what you were going to do?


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

[User] There was, um. I don't remember how much, we gave him an amount, but um, because I was living with a family, I wasn't paying them rent, I was paying for food. Later on, we finally, they, I had facility to get a hold of money that would have been my rent allowance all up front. And the community then built me a house.

[Assistant] Oh, OK. Well, let's move over now and talk about how you spent your time over the first couple of weeks, months establishing yourself in the village.

[User] Yeah. Went around talking to people, exploring on my own, then out to visit various folks.

[Assistant] Any given day, how would you decide who you were going to go see, what you were going to do?

[User] Well. The padres de familia, I mean, when we got together and they would get together say on a Sunday afternoon and I was invited to be part of that, or listen in, and then they'd say, oh, come out and see my family or something like that. And so I'd make arrangements to go visit one or another to see what was going on. But I did, for a while, I mean. Just the chores of living. Finding the bush. Getting yourself together to go down to the river to take a bath. To get things organized. To get things washed. Make arrangements to have somebody wash your clothes or take care of them yourself. Those just, those were more like everyday things.

[Assistant] Yeah. Took a lot of time.


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

[User] Yeah. Went around talking to people, exploring on my own, then out to visit various folks.

[Assistant] Any given day, how would you decide who you were going to go see, what you were going to do?

[User] Well. The padres de familia, I mean, when we got together and they would get together say on a Sunday afternoon and I was invited to be part of that, or listen in, and then they'd say, oh, come out and see my family or something like that. And so I'd make arrangements to go visit one or another to see what was going on. But I did, for a while, I mean. Just the chores of living. Finding the bush. Getting yourself together to go down to the river to take a bath. To get things organized. To get things washed. Make arrangements to have somebody wash your clothes or take care of them yourself. Those just, those were more like everyday things.

[Assistant] Yeah. Took a lot of time.

[User] It did, yeah. Although because of my background, I wanted to know more about what their, um, agricultural practices were. And probably unusually, I would go to the fields with a passel of kids and a couple of farmers to maybe help with a planting project or something of that sort. But I also worked with one farmer in particular, actually a couple of. FAO had some trial, uh, fertilizer trial projects. And so we worked with a couple of the farmers to lay out the test plots and do the fertilizing and then collect the ears afterwards.

[Assistant] So from even early on, you, your Spanish was adequate to? I mean, the people wouldn't simply sit and laugh at you?


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

[User] Well. The padres de familia, I mean, when we got together and they would get together say on a Sunday afternoon and I was invited to be part of that, or listen in, and then they'd say, oh, come out and see my family or something like that. And so I'd make arrangements to go visit one or another to see what was going on. But I did, for a while, I mean. Just the chores of living. Finding the bush. Getting yourself together to go down to the river to take a bath. To get things organized. To get things washed. Make arrangements to have somebody wash your clothes or take care of them yourself. Those just, those were more like everyday things.

[Assistant] Yeah. Took a lot of time.

[User] It did, yeah. Although because of my background, I wanted to know more about what their, um, agricultural practices were. And probably unusually, I would go to the fields with a passel of kids and a couple of farmers to maybe help with a planting project or something of that sort. But I also worked with one farmer in particular, actually a couple of. FAO had some trial, uh, fertilizer trial projects. And so we worked with a couple of the farmers to lay out the test plots and do the fertilizing and then collect the ears afterwards.

[Assistant] So from even early on, you, your Spanish was adequate to? I mean, the people wouldn't simply sit and laugh at you?

[User] No.

[Assistant] So you were encouraged, you were encouraged about your use of language.


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

[User] It did, yeah. Although because of my background, I wanted to know more about what their, um, agricultural practices were. And probably unusually, I would go to the fields with a passel of kids and a couple of farmers to maybe help with a planting project or something of that sort. But I also worked with one farmer in particular, actually a couple of. FAO had some trial, uh, fertilizer trial projects. And so we worked with a couple of the farmers to lay out the test plots and do the fertilizing and then collect the ears afterwards.

[Assistant] So from even early on, you, your Spanish was adequate to? I mean, the people wouldn't simply sit and laugh at you?

[User] No.

[Assistant] So you were encouraged, you were encouraged about your use of language.

[User] Oh, yeah. Yes.

[Assistant] Related question. Why were you in that village and what was the padre's sense of who you are? I mean, had they requested you or?


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

[User] No.

[Assistant] So you were encouraged, you were encouraged about your use of language.

[User] Oh, yeah. Yes.

[Assistant] Related question. Why were you in that village and what was the padre's sense of who you are? I mean, had they requested you or?

[User]
The little aldea, I guess, must have been a little aldea at the, long, long time ago, but very small, just a little central area. When the land reform movement took place, there were these, the majority of the people that lived in this town worked for the big landowners before the land was divided up. And part of the process was to move them to this aldea and that they would become a cooperative and that they would farm cooperatively without any guidance or even history to do so. But that's what they were sent there to do. So it had administration by the, by INTA, uh, Instituto Nacional de Transformación Agraria. And so they knew that this was somebody coming down on the part of INTA, to help them get some of the things they needed to do.

Because they knew that they didn't have latrines, that they didn't have pumped water, they didn't have electricity. And they needed those things, but they didn't. And they would go to INTA to get that started supposedly. Well, that's why I was there, is to be the, help them organize to do what they need to do.

[Assistant] And was that, I mean, had INTA actually sent you there? I mean, was Peace Corps working with them?


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

[User] Oh, yeah. Yes.

[Assistant] Related question. Why were you in that village and what was the padre's sense of who you are? I mean, had they requested you or?

[User]
The little aldea, I guess, must have been a little aldea at the, long, long time ago, but very small, just a little central area. When the land reform movement took place, there were these, the majority of the people that lived in this town worked for the big landowners before the land was divided up. And part of the process was to move them to this aldea and that they would become a cooperative and that they would farm cooperatively without any guidance or even history to do so. But that's what they were sent there to do. So it had administration by the, by INTA, uh, Instituto Nacional de Transformación Agraria. And so they knew that this was somebody coming down on the part of INTA, to help them get some of the things they needed to do.

Because they knew that they didn't have latrines, that they didn't have pumped water, they didn't have electricity. And they needed those things, but they didn't. And they would go to INTA to get that started supposedly. Well, that's why I was there, is to be the, help them organize to do what they need to do.

[Assistant] And was that, I mean, had INTA actually sent you there? I mean, was Peace Corps working with them?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] And saying, so all right. Then your role was to help the village take advantage of what INTA represented and begin to grow.


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

[User]
The little aldea, I guess, must have been a little aldea at the, long, long time ago, but very small, just a little central area. When the land reform movement took place, there were these, the majority of the people that lived in this town worked for the big landowners before the land was divided up. And part of the process was to move them to this aldea and that they would become a cooperative and that they would farm cooperatively without any guidance or even history to do so. But that's what they were sent there to do. So it had administration by the, by INTA, uh, Instituto Nacional de Transformación Agraria. And so they knew that this was somebody coming down on the part of INTA, to help them get some of the things they needed to do.

Because they knew that they didn't have latrines, that they didn't have pumped water, they didn't have electricity. And they needed those things, but they didn't. And they would go to INTA to get that started supposedly. Well, that's why I was there, is to be the, help them organize to do what they need to do.

[Assistant] And was that, I mean, had INTA actually sent you there? I mean, was Peace Corps working with them?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] And saying, so all right. Then your role was to help the village take advantage of what INTA represented and begin to grow.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] Was there, did you have any kind of counterpart?


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] And saying, so all right. Then your role was to help the village take advantage of what INTA represented and begin to grow.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] Was there, did you have any kind of counterpart?

[User] Not in the village, no. No.

[Assistant] So in the early months, what goals did you set for yourself in relation to what you were doing there? One was survival, clearly.


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

[User] Right.

[Assistant] Was there, did you have any kind of counterpart?

[User] Not in the village, no. No.

[Assistant] So in the early months, what goals did you set for yourself in relation to what you were doing there? One was survival, clearly.

[User] Sure. Also, I knew that I could get a hold of, um. Not a caipirinha, but CMP. Corn milk. CMS, corn milk soy product that can be made into the drink or. It's a more like a, more. We could also get straight milk, powdered milk, and do a distribution program with the kids, with the families. And I tried to do some classes on how to incorporate this. And actually I practiced myself with some of those kinds of things.

[Assistant] How do you get the supplies?


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

[User] Not in the village, no. No.

[Assistant] So in the early months, what goals did you set for yourself in relation to what you were doing there? One was survival, clearly.

[User] Sure. Also, I knew that I could get a hold of, um. Not a caipirinha, but CMP. Corn milk. CMS, corn milk soy product that can be made into the drink or. It's a more like a, more. We could also get straight milk, powdered milk, and do a distribution program with the kids, with the families. And I tried to do some classes on how to incorporate this. And actually I practiced myself with some of those kinds of things.

[Assistant] How do you get the supplies?

[User] Have them brought down on the bus.

[Assistant] That you could, could you call in, write in, or do you have to go in and set up an order?


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

[User] Sure. Also, I knew that I could get a hold of, um. Not a caipirinha, but CMP. Corn milk. CMS, corn milk soy product that can be made into the drink or. It's a more like a, more. We could also get straight milk, powdered milk, and do a distribution program with the kids, with the families. And I tried to do some classes on how to incorporate this. And actually I practiced myself with some of those kinds of things.

[Assistant] How do you get the supplies?

[User] Have them brought down on the bus.

[Assistant] That you could, could you call in, write in, or do you have to go in and set up an order?

[User] I had to go in and set up an order.

[Assistant] Was there, did you have any kind of communication out to the outside world?


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

[User] Have them brought down on the bus.

[Assistant] That you could, could you call in, write in, or do you have to go in and set up an order?

[User] I had to go in and set up an order.

[Assistant] Was there, did you have any kind of communication out to the outside world?

[User] No. No.

[Assistant] Other than by going.


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

[User] I had to go in and set up an order.

[Assistant] Was there, did you have any kind of communication out to the outside world?

[User] No. No.

[Assistant] Other than by going.

[User] No, we didn't have any phone or that was too, that was before cell phones.

[Assistant] How did you get mail?


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

[User] No, we didn't have any phone or that was too, that was before cell phones.

[Assistant] How did you get mail?

[User] It was brought down on the bus.

[Assistant] By?

[User] By, that was the mail system. They bring you down a bag and give it to the alcalde in the town, and then they would distribute it.

[Assistant] Mm hmm. So early on, you decided that it was a priority, or it was a way of getting yourself into the community, to do the CMS?


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

[User] By, that was the mail system. They bring you down a bag and give it to the alcalde in the town, and then they would distribute it.

[Assistant] Mm hmm. So early on, you decided that it was a priority, or it was a way of getting yourself into the community, to do the CMS?

[User] Right.

[Assistant] Project?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] How many? What was the population of the village approximately?


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

[User] Right.

[Assistant] Project?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] How many? What was the population of the village approximately?

[User] About 600.

[Assistant] Oh, OK. And how did you, how did you know how to organize the distribution? I mean, did people want this or were they suspicious of it, I mean?


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] How many? What was the population of the village approximately?

[User] About 600.

[Assistant] Oh, OK. And how did you, how did you know how to organize the distribution? I mean, did people want this or were they suspicious of it, I mean?

[User] Well, we discussed it. We brought it up in a town meeting and said, this is what we have but, um, and I can make arrangements to bring this down. This is how it can be distributed. And I knew the, I shared it with them, what they needed to know. And that was the names of the family and the names of all the kids and their ages on a card. And then when they came in, we found the card and checked them off and gave them their two pounds or three pounds or whatever it was, the allotment for the size of the family was.

[Assistant] Who was working alongside you doing this?


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

[User] About 600.

[Assistant] Oh, OK. And how did you, how did you know how to organize the distribution? I mean, did people want this or were they suspicious of it, I mean?

[User] Well, we discussed it. We brought it up in a town meeting and said, this is what we have but, um, and I can make arrangements to bring this down. This is how it can be distributed. And I knew the, I shared it with them, what they needed to know. And that was the names of the family and the names of all the kids and their ages on a card. And then when they came in, we found the card and checked them off and gave them their two pounds or three pounds or whatever it was, the allotment for the size of the family was.

[Assistant] Who was working alongside you doing this?

[User] There was, there were a couple of older girls that would come in and work with me on volunteer for those days.

[Assistant] And they were just from village families?


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

[User] Well, we discussed it. We brought it up in a town meeting and said, this is what we have but, um, and I can make arrangements to bring this down. This is how it can be distributed. And I knew the, I shared it with them, what they needed to know. And that was the names of the family and the names of all the kids and their ages on a card. And then when they came in, we found the card and checked them off and gave them their two pounds or three pounds or whatever it was, the allotment for the size of the family was.

[Assistant] Who was working alongside you doing this?

[User] There was, there were a couple of older girls that would come in and work with me on volunteer for those days.

[Assistant] And they were just from village families?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Or had the family sent them?


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Or had the family sent them?

[User] Um. It was very interesting that the, um. Some cadre of 12, 13, 14, 16 year old girls that played basketball, were growing up, and they were interested in doing things and doing and being around me.

[Assistant] OK.

[User] And so we didn't have, we didn't have anything formalized like a club or anything. We got doing going on. I have to say that early on in my service, though, you asked why we went to this site. It was of interest. And it must have been of interest politically for other reasons too, because we had a civic development group that came out who was trained at, I believe, out of LaSalle University, and they came in, talked with the folks, with the, all the men or the directors, the fathers, fathers of the families, padres de familia. And said, hey, wouldn't you like to know more about your government? Let's use them more, how you can be better, how we can be better citizens, how we can get more out of what these folks are doing. And they actually ran a week long civic training program.

[Assistant] Where was this in the sequence of your being there?


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

[User] Um. It was very interesting that the, um. Some cadre of 12, 13, 14, 16 year old girls that played basketball, were growing up, and they were interested in doing things and doing and being around me.

[Assistant] OK.

[User] And so we didn't have, we didn't have anything formalized like a club or anything. We got doing going on. I have to say that early on in my service, though, you asked why we went to this site. It was of interest. And it must have been of interest politically for other reasons too, because we had a civic development group that came out who was trained at, I believe, out of LaSalle University, and they came in, talked with the folks, with the, all the men or the directors, the fathers, fathers of the families, padres de familia. And said, hey, wouldn't you like to know more about your government? Let's use them more, how you can be better, how we can be better citizens, how we can get more out of what these folks are doing. And they actually ran a week long civic training program.

[Assistant] Where was this in the sequence of your being there?

[User] Right in the first part, probably. Well, it was, it was during the rainy season still. So it had to have been September.

[Assistant] OK. So that was during your initial period. Were they resident in the village?


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

[User] Right in the first part, probably. Well, it was, it was during the rainy season still. So it had to have been September.

[Assistant] OK. So that was during your initial period. Were they resident in the village?

[User] For the time that we, for that week.

[Assistant] Right.

[User] They stayed in the village.

[Assistant] And they were Americans also?


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

[User] They stayed in the village.

[Assistant] And they were Americans also?

[User] Actually, no. Firmin was not an American. He was, he was Guatemalan.

[Assistant] Oh.

[User] And he had other Guatemalans that were in that training process in the program.

[Assistant] So were you the only?


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

[User] Actually, no. Firmin was not an American. He was, he was Guatemalan.

[Assistant] Oh.

[User] And he had other Guatemalans that were in that training process in the program.

[Assistant] So were you the only?

[User] I was the only gringa.

[Assistant] Gringo and gringa in the village?


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

[User] And he had other Guatemalans that were in that training process in the program.

[Assistant] So were you the only?

[User] I was the only gringa.

[Assistant] Gringo and gringa in the village?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] OK. But did you make contact with that group, that training group, when they came or they just, they were there and it had an influence?


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] OK. But did you make contact with that group, that training group, when they came or they just, they were there and it had an influence?

[User] Oh, no, they knew I was there. And that was part of the deal was I participated. And one of the things that they went through, that I had no vision or no knowledge of was, you know, the importance of being formal in the way you run a meeting. And making, keeping minutes and the importance of what they call actas, which are motions or movements or whatever, or a statement of what it is the problem is and how you're going to handle it and who's going to be responsible. Basically a formalized motion. And that was part of the training for the individuals there. They actually, um. I'm not positive of this funding source for this project, but it was definitely tied in with AID.

[Assistant] Oh, OK.

[User] And so it was part of the, it wasn't done on their own. And because INTA was involved in it too, I mean, they had the administrator of the nearby parcelamiento was involved in it and a couple of the other agrónomos from the Ministry of Agriculture and from INTA were involved in it, because they did some, they did some classes and workshops in, um, improved practices. Farming or farming practices.

[Assistant] And is this all during your first six months?


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

[User] Oh, no, they knew I was there. And that was part of the deal was I participated. And one of the things that they went through, that I had no vision or no knowledge of was, you know, the importance of being formal in the way you run a meeting. And making, keeping minutes and the importance of what they call actas, which are motions or movements or whatever, or a statement of what it is the problem is and how you're going to handle it and who's going to be responsible. Basically a formalized motion. And that was part of the training for the individuals there. They actually, um. I'm not positive of this funding source for this project, but it was definitely tied in with AID.

[Assistant] Oh, OK.

[User] And so it was part of the, it wasn't done on their own. And because INTA was involved in it too, I mean, they had the administrator of the nearby parcelamiento was involved in it and a couple of the other agrónomos from the Ministry of Agriculture and from INTA were involved in it, because they did some, they did some classes and workshops in, um, improved practices. Farming or farming practices.

[Assistant] And is this all during your first six months?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] It almost sounds like they're doing your job, or that they were setting it up with the intent that you follow up on what they did.


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

[User] And so it was part of the, it wasn't done on their own. And because INTA was involved in it too, I mean, they had the administrator of the nearby parcelamiento was involved in it and a couple of the other agrónomos from the Ministry of Agriculture and from INTA were involved in it, because they did some, they did some classes and workshops in, um, improved practices. Farming or farming practices.

[Assistant] And is this all during your first six months?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] It almost sounds like they're doing your job, or that they were setting it up with the intent that you follow up on what they did.

[User] Well, that's exactly what happened, because after that.

[Assistant] Was that ever made explicit or?


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] It almost sounds like they're doing your job, or that they were setting it up with the intent that you follow up on what they did.

[User] Well, that's exactly what happened, because after that.

[Assistant] Was that ever made explicit or?

[User] Uh, not in the discussion we had when I first went into it, but when they started, when I learned about the process coming in, I was definitely a part of it and I was there to remind them of the procedures. So when they took off and decided on some of the projects. OK, now what are you going to do to work together? What are you going to do, that we really need to do? And they did have a problem and we put together a request and we actually, three of the guys and I went into Guatemala City, took the busses in and went to Guatemala City with our proposal to the head of INTA, to the directiva of INTA.

[Assistant] Now, three guys from the village?


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

[User] And down here's a river and then there's a road and this is all highland up in here. And this land had never been divided into lots because they were expected to farm it cooperatively and everybody works together. Well, the problem was, is that a guy would go out and work his tarea with his family on Monday and come back on Wednesday and somebody had planted it.

[Assistant] Uh huh.

[User] So they really needed to have definite lots. They said it. We need to have the boundaries set up here that these are our lot so we can do something.

[Assistant] Right.

[User] Otherwise it was not worth it to them to take, after they clear cut the land or cut down all the brush. It wasn't really worth it to them yet to take out the trunks, the stumps out of the ground. And so they were planting around the stumps.

[Assistant] And they were following traditional farming practices?


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] OK.

[User] But they, but they knew that if they could take out the trunks, things would be a lot better. And the reason is, they'd go and plant this, the corn, and it would get up, oh, say four feet high and all of a sudden the plants would turn totally brown. And if you dug in the roots, you'd find it was full of termites and it was from.

[Assistant] The tree.

[User] The trees that had been left in the ground. So nobody wanted to do that, because they didn't want the neighbor coming and planting what they just ripped up. So that was really urgent to divide the land. [tape break]

[Assistant] Distributing the lots.


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

[User] The trees that had been left in the ground. So nobody wanted to do that, because they didn't want the neighbor coming and planting what they just ripped up. So that was really urgent to divide the land. [tape break]

[Assistant] Distributing the lots.

[User] They came in with a map laid out and said, yes, we've got it all divided out for you. We've got it set up for how it can be. And they looked at it. And we're, we're not talking about a lot of land, but it had essentially one 30 foot wide road running from the front to the back. And a second one, because this is a little bit spread out here, that branched off over here, another 30 foot road that went back to the very back of the plot. The concept is, yes, you need a 30 foot road for a truck, for a corn truck to get in there. But when you started to take out 30 foot widths, you ended up with no corn to go in the corn truck. I mean, this was their logic. He says, well, we can do something different about this.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] So the community said, well, what can we do? And we'll work out. We can measure it out, we'll just go down this thing and measure how much it's going to be. We kind of know how many varas each is from one to the end. And we'll, if we divide it off so many per and we'll make a list of the families and who gets plots. And they did that.

[Assistant] And so they were working cooperatively in dividing the land.


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

[User] They came in with a map laid out and said, yes, we've got it all divided out for you. We've got it set up for how it can be. And they looked at it. And we're, we're not talking about a lot of land, but it had essentially one 30 foot wide road running from the front to the back. And a second one, because this is a little bit spread out here, that branched off over here, another 30 foot road that went back to the very back of the plot. The concept is, yes, you need a 30 foot road for a truck, for a corn truck to get in there. But when you started to take out 30 foot widths, you ended up with no corn to go in the corn truck. I mean, this was their logic. He says, well, we can do something different about this.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] So the community said, well, what can we do? And we'll work out. We can measure it out, we'll just go down this thing and measure how much it's going to be. We kind of know how many varas each is from one to the end. And we'll, if we divide it off so many per and we'll make a list of the families and who gets plots. And they did that.

[Assistant] And so they were working cooperatively in dividing the land.

[User] Yes. Yes.

[Assistant] What was your role?


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

[User] No, that's not the way we do things here. We take it, we take it from this point and we follow the contour of the land and mark it there. And then we, from there, we go, we go up the hill and then over the top and then mark it.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And so one crew started at the end of the property, one started at the beginning at the front of the property. And so right here in the middle there is a no man's land still.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] Where they came up here. Oh, we've got some left over. We got some left. So this is the, the habitat area here in the center now.

[Assistant] Were they creating plots of relatively uniform size?


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

[User] And so one crew started at the end of the property, one started at the beginning at the front of the property. And so right here in the middle there is a no man's land still.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] Where they came up here. Oh, we've got some left over. We got some left. So this is the, the habitat area here in the center now.

[Assistant] Were they creating plots of relatively uniform size?

[User] Oh, yes. Yeah.

[Assistant] And would it depend on the contour? Obviously, it would depend on the contouring.


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

[User] Where they came up here. Oh, we've got some left over. We got some left. So this is the, the habitat area here in the center now.

[Assistant] Were they creating plots of relatively uniform size?

[User] Oh, yes. Yeah.

[Assistant] And would it depend on the contour? Obviously, it would depend on the contouring.

[User] Well, they. It was plots of a regular size on the surface of the land. It wasn't horizontal.

[Assistant] OK. And this, what defined the overall piece of land?


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

[User] Oh, yes. Yeah.

[Assistant] And would it depend on the contour? Obviously, it would depend on the contouring.

[User] Well, they. It was plots of a regular size on the surface of the land. It wasn't horizontal.

[Assistant] OK. And this, what defined the overall piece of land?

[User] There was some private property around it that, um, a big cotton farmer had in the, in the area. And the river.

[Assistant] It sounds like you were extraordinarily busy in the first six months. I mean, which is not common for many rural community development projects where, you know, people spend maybe a full year just wandering the village, learning the language and figuring out what's going on. But you had a, there was a lot going and you participated.


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

[User] Well, they. It was plots of a regular size on the surface of the land. It wasn't horizontal.

[Assistant] OK. And this, what defined the overall piece of land?

[User] There was some private property around it that, um, a big cotton farmer had in the, in the area. And the river.

[Assistant] It sounds like you were extraordinarily busy in the first six months. I mean, which is not common for many rural community development projects where, you know, people spend maybe a full year just wandering the village, learning the language and figuring out what's going on. But you had a, there was a lot going and you participated.

[User] But I didn't sit in the village the whole time.

[Assistant] OK. What did you do?


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

[User] There was some private property around it that, um, a big cotton farmer had in the, in the area. And the river.

[Assistant] It sounds like you were extraordinarily busy in the first six months. I mean, which is not common for many rural community development projects where, you know, people spend maybe a full year just wandering the village, learning the language and figuring out what's going on. But you had a, there was a lot going and you participated.

[User] But I didn't sit in the village the whole time.

[Assistant] OK. What did you do?

[User] Well.

[Assistant] You were out helping with the survey.