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

[User] We had to have been met, sure.

[Assistant] Where do you fly into?

[User] Guatemala City.

[Assistant] OK.

[User] And then we were taken to a court, a sort of a motel-like hotel, but it was low rise with a big inner court. And we were to stay there I think one to two weeks. I can't remember exactly how long. Again, for more orientation, to meet some of the local Guatemalan agriculture agents that we were going to be working with or under. And we were being told about resources, you know, Department of Education and this Department of Agriculture. Yeah. Yeah. In other words, I'm jumping ahead a little bit. But in retrospect, in retrospect, as I look back on my role there, I looked on it as one of a facilitator where as I connected. I connected people with agencies or the resources, and I was the middleman rather than the actual teacher or so. And that was really, that was really the thrust of our assignment too. That was what we were trained to do.

[Assistant] During the two weeks, did you meet people from the ministry for which you were working and counterparts?


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

[User] Guatemala City.

[Assistant] OK.

[User] And then we were taken to a court, a sort of a motel-like hotel, but it was low rise with a big inner court. And we were to stay there I think one to two weeks. I can't remember exactly how long. Again, for more orientation, to meet some of the local Guatemalan agriculture agents that we were going to be working with or under. And we were being told about resources, you know, Department of Education and this Department of Agriculture. Yeah. Yeah. In other words, I'm jumping ahead a little bit. But in retrospect, in retrospect, as I look back on my role there, I looked on it as one of a facilitator where as I connected. I connected people with agencies or the resources, and I was the middleman rather than the actual teacher or so. And that was really, that was really the thrust of our assignment too. That was what we were trained to do.

[Assistant] During the two weeks, did you meet people from the ministry for which you were working and counterparts?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Who you'd be working alongside?


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

[User] And we were served some refreshments. And by the way, that Ambassador was shot, right, by I'll call them terrorists while we were there.

[Assistant] Oh.

[User] And, um, but. I'm going to say something politically incorrect probably.

[Assistant] That's OK.

[User] But I thought the way he treated us, if that was the way he treated, you know? I mean, there was something grossly wrong with the demeanor or the body language or whatever. And his replacement, by the way, and this comes close to our term, the end of our two years, was exactly opposite. He was a wonderful guy, came, arrived with his kids, had us go up to the bedroom. The newborn baby was asleep in the drawer. I mean, you know, I thought, thank God they finally have somebody here who can relate, you know?

[Assistant] Let's talk a little bit about. What was the particular political environment of Guatemala and its relation to the U.S., just in capsule as it affected you as a volunteer?


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

[User] And, um, but. I'm going to say something politically incorrect probably.

[Assistant] That's OK.

[User] But I thought the way he treated us, if that was the way he treated, you know? I mean, there was something grossly wrong with the demeanor or the body language or whatever. And his replacement, by the way, and this comes close to our term, the end of our two years, was exactly opposite. He was a wonderful guy, came, arrived with his kids, had us go up to the bedroom. The newborn baby was asleep in the drawer. I mean, you know, I thought, thank God they finally have somebody here who can relate, you know?

[Assistant] Let's talk a little bit about. What was the particular political environment of Guatemala and its relation to the U.S., just in capsule as it affected you as a volunteer?

[User] Well. Politically, we met the AID people, you know, because I guess we were going to eventually get milk.

[Assistant] There were no civil wars going on in the area, were there?


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

[User] Well. Politically, we met the AID people, you know, because I guess we were going to eventually get milk.

[Assistant] There were no civil wars going on in the area, were there?

[User] No, there was, uh, I keep wanting to say terrorism. Well, it's an easy word right now. Yeah, there were things going on. Yes, there were uprisings in the mountains, in the highlands. See, we were not in that area.

[Assistant] In Guatemala?

[User] Yeah. Yeah. There were uprisings among the Indians. There was a big like Che Guevara influence up there. But we were sent to far more conservative places away from that area.

[Assistant] Do you recall if you were made aware of that?


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

[User] No, there was, uh, I keep wanting to say terrorism. Well, it's an easy word right now. Yeah, there were things going on. Yes, there were uprisings in the mountains, in the highlands. See, we were not in that area.

[Assistant] In Guatemala?

[User] Yeah. Yeah. There were uprisings among the Indians. There was a big like Che Guevara influence up there. But we were sent to far more conservative places away from that area.

[Assistant] Do you recall if you were made aware of that?

[User] Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And we were, you know.

[Assistant] Any precautions about the way you behave or the?


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

[User] Yeah. Yeah. There were uprisings among the Indians. There was a big like Che Guevara influence up there. But we were sent to far more conservative places away from that area.

[Assistant] Do you recall if you were made aware of that?

[User] Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And we were, you know.

[Assistant] Any precautions about the way you behave or the?

[User] Oh, sure. Just just behave. Just sort of behave and don't get into any trouble. I remember one of my first experiences walking around with a guy, Dick Burke, on free time one day, and it seemed every corner there were military with guns and. And Dick, Dick's dead now, gosh. He had been, he was an ex-seminarian and he was a friendly kind of guy. He was a sweet guy, but he was just happy go lucky. And he, I remember him waving to the guys with the guns, you know, excited and making friends. And I, I almost wanted to slap his hand down. You know, he was almost like a fool. Be careful, you know, kind of thing.

[Assistant] This was in Guatemala City?


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

[User] Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And we were, you know.

[Assistant] Any precautions about the way you behave or the?

[User] Oh, sure. Just just behave. Just sort of behave and don't get into any trouble. I remember one of my first experiences walking around with a guy, Dick Burke, on free time one day, and it seemed every corner there were military with guns and. And Dick, Dick's dead now, gosh. He had been, he was an ex-seminarian and he was a friendly kind of guy. He was a sweet guy, but he was just happy go lucky. And he, I remember him waving to the guys with the guns, you know, excited and making friends. And I, I almost wanted to slap his hand down. You know, he was almost like a fool. Be careful, you know, kind of thing.

[Assistant] This was in Guatemala City?

[User] This was in Guatemala City as we were wandering around. That was the only sort of time when I thought his behavior wasn't quite what we should be doing, you know, being so silly or.

[Assistant] Was there any talk of the CIA or any attempt to associate you with?


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

[User] This was in Guatemala City as we were wandering around. That was the only sort of time when I thought his behavior wasn't quite what we should be doing, you know, being so silly or.

[Assistant] Was there any talk of the CIA or any attempt to associate you with?

[User] No, not then. The only, the only thing that eventually came to pass, and I don't remember during those first two weeks, no, at all. But in time a director by the name of Boubion. I remember, he advised us that some American people were going to be in our regions running these, um, training seminars, things like that, and that we were to be very, uh, sort of disappear or not.

[Assistant] Avoid them?

[User]
Yeah. Avoid them. Yeah. And of course, we didn't. And, you know, and I don't even know the rhyme or reason and, you know, perhaps I'd have to tap another volunteer maybe to get another input into this. But I remember that these quote training groups that were really mostly Guatemalan people. But the Americans were the ones providing the transportation and the equipment and all that. They were fabulous training programs. And, I mean, we were just wanting them for our people whenever that occurred. I think that was a good year into the two years. So that occurred.

And I even remember hitching rides back and forth to the capital with these guys, these American guys. And I remember turning point blank to one of them once and asking, are you CIA? And he said, if I am, I don't know it, or something like that. Some non-descriptive. So I didn't ask any more and I just. But I couldn't see. If they were up to something, I don't know what they were up to and it didn't affect me or my community or anything. Only, I would say only in a positive sense.

[Assistant] Let's jump back to the two weeks at the end of the. What was the Peace Corps staff at that point, do you recall?


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

[User] No, not then. The only, the only thing that eventually came to pass, and I don't remember during those first two weeks, no, at all. But in time a director by the name of Boubion. I remember, he advised us that some American people were going to be in our regions running these, um, training seminars, things like that, and that we were to be very, uh, sort of disappear or not.

[Assistant] Avoid them?

[User]
Yeah. Avoid them. Yeah. And of course, we didn't. And, you know, and I don't even know the rhyme or reason and, you know, perhaps I'd have to tap another volunteer maybe to get another input into this. But I remember that these quote training groups that were really mostly Guatemalan people. But the Americans were the ones providing the transportation and the equipment and all that. They were fabulous training programs. And, I mean, we were just wanting them for our people whenever that occurred. I think that was a good year into the two years. So that occurred.

And I even remember hitching rides back and forth to the capital with these guys, these American guys. And I remember turning point blank to one of them once and asking, are you CIA? And he said, if I am, I don't know it, or something like that. Some non-descriptive. So I didn't ask any more and I just. But I couldn't see. If they were up to something, I don't know what they were up to and it didn't affect me or my community or anything. Only, I would say only in a positive sense.

[Assistant] Let's jump back to the two weeks at the end of the. What was the Peace Corps staff at that point, do you recall?

[User] Mr. [David J.] Boubion. I can't remember his first name.

[Assistant] He was the director?


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

[User]
Yeah. Avoid them. Yeah. And of course, we didn't. And, you know, and I don't even know the rhyme or reason and, you know, perhaps I'd have to tap another volunteer maybe to get another input into this. But I remember that these quote training groups that were really mostly Guatemalan people. But the Americans were the ones providing the transportation and the equipment and all that. They were fabulous training programs. And, I mean, we were just wanting them for our people whenever that occurred. I think that was a good year into the two years. So that occurred.

And I even remember hitching rides back and forth to the capital with these guys, these American guys. And I remember turning point blank to one of them once and asking, are you CIA? And he said, if I am, I don't know it, or something like that. Some non-descriptive. So I didn't ask any more and I just. But I couldn't see. If they were up to something, I don't know what they were up to and it didn't affect me or my community or anything. Only, I would say only in a positive sense.

[Assistant] Let's jump back to the two weeks at the end of the. What was the Peace Corps staff at that point, do you recall?

[User] Mr. [David J.] Boubion. I can't remember his first name.

[Assistant] He was the director?

[User] He was the director. And then there was another assistant, a woman, Sally. Her name, first name was Sally. I can't think of her last name. And I think a couple of Guatemalan secretaries.

[Assistant] Was there a technical officer on the Peace Corps staff?


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

[User] Mr. [David J.] Boubion. I can't remember his first name.

[Assistant] He was the director?

[User] He was the director. And then there was another assistant, a woman, Sally. Her name, first name was Sally. I can't think of her last name. And I think a couple of Guatemalan secretaries.

[Assistant] Was there a technical officer on the Peace Corps staff?

[User] I don't think so. There was a doctor, Dr. Stubblefield, and his wife. He was a married guy, but he was in the Peace Corps office.

[Assistant] And when did you get your assignment?


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

[User] He was the director. And then there was another assistant, a woman, Sally. Her name, first name was Sally. I can't think of her last name. And I think a couple of Guatemalan secretaries.

[Assistant] Was there a technical officer on the Peace Corps staff?

[User] I don't think so. There was a doctor, Dr. Stubblefield, and his wife. He was a married guy, but he was in the Peace Corps office.

[Assistant] And when did you get your assignment?

[User] Within those two weeks in the city. Yeah, we were handed out.

[Assistant] Do you recall how it came about?


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

[User] And I was being sent to a site by myself, um, but they had three married couples within, I'd say the nearest one was about two miles from me. Others were slightly longer, but the two mile one I could bike to. So I guess there were seven of us, three couples and me all got in the same bus, thank God. I mean, we were supporting each other, and it was about a three and a half hour ride by rickety bus from Guatemala City. Slow bus, stopping everywhere, all through the little towns. Then we got to Retalhuleu.

[Assistant] Retal?

[User] Retalhuleu. And then we had to transfer to another bus. And all seven of us, thank goodness, were on the next bus because that really, we got off the main road, if you want to call it a main road. And then we were on dirt roads.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And I was the first one that was dropped off at my site.

[Assistant] Now, what was the site you were dropped off at?


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

[User] Retalhuleu. And then we had to transfer to another bus. And all seven of us, thank goodness, were on the next bus because that really, we got off the main road, if you want to call it a main road. And then we were on dirt roads.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And I was the first one that was dropped off at my site.

[Assistant] Now, what was the site you were dropped off at?

[User] A one story barrack like structure with a water tower beside it.

[Assistant] Was there a village there?


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

[User] And I was the first one that was dropped off at my site.

[Assistant] Now, what was the site you were dropped off at?

[User] A one story barrack like structure with a water tower beside it.

[Assistant] Was there a village there?

[User] No, there was no town. No, no. No town. It was just, there was a thing in the middle of nowhere. There was a football field, a soccer field, and there was a little tienda or store at the far end of the football field. That was the center of town. That was it.

[Assistant] What was the building that was there?


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

[User] A one story barrack like structure with a water tower beside it.

[Assistant] Was there a village there?

[User] No, there was no town. No, no. No town. It was just, there was a thing in the middle of nowhere. There was a football field, a soccer field, and there was a little tienda or store at the far end of the football field. That was the center of town. That was it.

[Assistant] What was the building that was there?

[User] It was a school. It was a school. And oh, my assignment was to help out the school teacher.

[Assistant] The school teacher.


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

[User] No, there was no town. No, no. No town. It was just, there was a thing in the middle of nowhere. There was a football field, a soccer field, and there was a little tienda or store at the far end of the football field. That was the center of town. That was it.

[Assistant] What was the building that was there?

[User] It was a school. It was a school. And oh, my assignment was to help out the school teacher.

[Assistant] The school teacher.

[User] The school teacher. See, what they did in training or what they were trying to do was to give us roles. They wanted to give us an identity to go to places so that we'd be more accepted. And I guess some of the work ahead of time had been to go around and send out questionnaires and see if any of these communities wanted to have, host a Peace Corps volunteer there. I mean, I was paying my own way. I got a salary and I bought my own food and all. But did they want anybody to come in? And the school teacher there, the sole school teacher, he was a smart guy and he had two sisters living in the United States. So I think he saw an opportunity here to maybe get some assistance, get some help. And I was to live with him and his wife and his three going on four kids in this structure.

[Assistant] Had there been any volunteers in the area before?


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

[User] It was a school. It was a school. And oh, my assignment was to help out the school teacher.

[Assistant] The school teacher.

[User] The school teacher. See, what they did in training or what they were trying to do was to give us roles. They wanted to give us an identity to go to places so that we'd be more accepted. And I guess some of the work ahead of time had been to go around and send out questionnaires and see if any of these communities wanted to have, host a Peace Corps volunteer there. I mean, I was paying my own way. I got a salary and I bought my own food and all. But did they want anybody to come in? And the school teacher there, the sole school teacher, he was a smart guy and he had two sisters living in the United States. So I think he saw an opportunity here to maybe get some assistance, get some help. And I was to live with him and his wife and his three going on four kids in this structure.

[Assistant] Had there been any volunteers in the area before?

[User] No, no, we were all first timers. This was a brand new introduction. The people had never had volunteers before.

[Assistant] What was his name? Do you remember?


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

[User] The school teacher. See, what they did in training or what they were trying to do was to give us roles. They wanted to give us an identity to go to places so that we'd be more accepted. And I guess some of the work ahead of time had been to go around and send out questionnaires and see if any of these communities wanted to have, host a Peace Corps volunteer there. I mean, I was paying my own way. I got a salary and I bought my own food and all. But did they want anybody to come in? And the school teacher there, the sole school teacher, he was a smart guy and he had two sisters living in the United States. So I think he saw an opportunity here to maybe get some assistance, get some help. And I was to live with him and his wife and his three going on four kids in this structure.

[Assistant] Had there been any volunteers in the area before?

[User] No, no, we were all first timers. This was a brand new introduction. The people had never had volunteers before.

[Assistant] What was his name? Do you remember?

[User] Hmm. Oh, God, isn't that awful? I should. Um, Don David. Don David. David Sandoval. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Assistant] Was he expecting you?


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

[User] No, no, we were all first timers. This was a brand new introduction. The people had never had volunteers before.

[Assistant] What was his name? Do you remember?

[User] Hmm. Oh, God, isn't that awful? I should. Um, Don David. Don David. David Sandoval. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Assistant] Was he expecting you?

[User] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. He was expecting me and he was very gracious. His wife, Irma, she was lovely.

[Assistant] So you wandered around the school and finally found?


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

[User] Hmm. Oh, God, isn't that awful? I should. Um, Don David. Don David. David Sandoval. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Assistant] Was he expecting you?

[User] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. He was expecting me and he was very gracious. His wife, Irma, she was lovely.

[Assistant] So you wandered around the school and finally found?

[User] No, no. The bus left me off. They, I mean, the bus only comes once a day, so I mean, it's a big thing. And I guess he knew about when I'd be coming, certain days. So they were on the lookout and they came out and greeted me because I just literally got off the bus and standing there with some suitcase and they came out and greeted me.

[Assistant] Did you think to yourself, well, this is the end of the line?


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

[User] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. He was expecting me and he was very gracious. His wife, Irma, she was lovely.

[Assistant] So you wandered around the school and finally found?

[User] No, no. The bus left me off. They, I mean, the bus only comes once a day, so I mean, it's a big thing. And I guess he knew about when I'd be coming, certain days. So they were on the lookout and they came out and greeted me because I just literally got off the bus and standing there with some suitcase and they came out and greeted me.

[Assistant] Did you think to yourself, well, this is the end of the line?

[User] Well, I remember. I remember really like waving goodbye to the other six people, not knowing how far away they were going from me and uh.

[Assistant] Any tears at that point?


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

[User] No, no. The bus left me off. They, I mean, the bus only comes once a day, so I mean, it's a big thing. And I guess he knew about when I'd be coming, certain days. So they were on the lookout and they came out and greeted me because I just literally got off the bus and standing there with some suitcase and they came out and greeted me.

[Assistant] Did you think to yourself, well, this is the end of the line?

[User] Well, I remember. I remember really like waving goodbye to the other six people, not knowing how far away they were going from me and uh.

[Assistant] Any tears at that point?

[User] I think I was too terrified to cry. No, I didn't cry. I didn't cry. But um. Oh, well, so he showed me to my room. I did have a private room, thank goodness.

[Assistant] Now, did he live at the school?


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Oh, OK.

[User] It was a one story, one story structure with a breezeway through the middle.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] Which. And then on one half was the one big classroom, huge classroom. And then there were like two storage rooms, I think, which opened up from the breezeway. One of those storage rooms was given to me and it was very small, but adequate. At least it was private.

[Assistant] Did it have a window?


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

[User] Which. And then on one half was the one big classroom, huge classroom. And then there were like two storage rooms, I think, which opened up from the breezeway. One of those storage rooms was given to me and it was very small, but adequate. At least it was private.

[Assistant] Did it have a window?

[User] It had high windows, everything was up high, so you couldn't look in and see anybody. But it was up high. It was all screens. I mean, no windows. There were no windows and, um, but high ceilings. Cement floor. Wood walls.

[Assistant] Indoor plumbing?

[User] No.

[Assistant] Any running water?


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

[User] No.

[Assistant] Any running water?

[User] No, no. Pump. Pump out back. Now there were lavatories that had originally been installed when the school was built, but they were not used. They were not used. I used that because at least there was a hole there. And what I would do is just get big buckets of water and use that. I could not bring myself to go out in the bushes if I didn't have to.

[Assistant] Right.

[User] Didn't have to. So I was, it was sort of like my own private bathroom because nobody else did.

[Assistant] As soon as you met him, were you, did he know enough English? Did he know some English or were you?


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

[User] No, no. Pump. Pump out back. Now there were lavatories that had originally been installed when the school was built, but they were not used. They were not used. I used that because at least there was a hole there. And what I would do is just get big buckets of water and use that. I could not bring myself to go out in the bushes if I didn't have to.

[Assistant] Right.

[User] Didn't have to. So I was, it was sort of like my own private bathroom because nobody else did.

[Assistant] As soon as you met him, were you, did he know enough English? Did he know some English or were you?

[User] Yeah. Yeah, he had pieces here and there, but we spoke Spanish. We communicated in Spanish. Oh, no, no. I mean, it was very, very definite that we had to get along by that time in Spanish. And I took my meals there. See, the deal was with the teacher and his wife. And they had all prearranged this. So I was being fed by them, but giving them so much a month or a week. And I really forget how that worked but.

[Assistant] Do you recall your initial pattern of eating meals with them, what the meals were like?


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

[User] Yeah. Yeah, he had pieces here and there, but we spoke Spanish. We communicated in Spanish. Oh, no, no. I mean, it was very, very definite that we had to get along by that time in Spanish. And I took my meals there. See, the deal was with the teacher and his wife. And they had all prearranged this. So I was being fed by them, but giving them so much a month or a week. And I really forget how that worked but.

[Assistant] Do you recall your initial pattern of eating meals with them, what the meals were like?

[User] Well, um, yeah, the. I remember Irma made a wonderful huevos revueltos, that's scrambled eggs. What am I thinking of? No, chile relleno. She made wonderful stuffed chilies. She was actually, she was really a good cook. And I ate extremely well. She'd cook out back over a woodstove and, um, but it tasted good to me. And not much meat. Hardly any meat, but eggs and chicken.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] Not many vegetables. Of course, we have been told not to eat any lettuce.

[Assistant] What did you do for water to drink?


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

[User] Not many vegetables. Of course, we have been told not to eat any lettuce.

[Assistant] What did you do for water to drink?

[User] Water was gotten out of the well, the pump, pumped out, and I got my own tinaja, like an earthenware pot, which would keep it quite cool, by the way.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And I dropped iodine tablets in it.

[Assistant] Oh, you didn't have a chance to boil it or anything?


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

[User] Water was gotten out of the well, the pump, pumped out, and I got my own tinaja, like an earthenware pot, which would keep it quite cool, by the way.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And I dropped iodine tablets in it.

[Assistant] Oh, you didn't have a chance to boil it or anything?

[User] No. No, at that point, no. And I would do that. And I can't even remember whether they did the same thing. They didn't have the iodine tablets though. But, you know, in retrospect, I think these wells were safe. I think they really were safe water all along, but we didn't know that.

[Assistant] So the first couple of weeks.


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

[User] And I dropped iodine tablets in it.

[Assistant] Oh, you didn't have a chance to boil it or anything?

[User] No. No, at that point, no. And I would do that. And I can't even remember whether they did the same thing. They didn't have the iodine tablets though. But, you know, in retrospect, I think these wells were safe. I think they really were safe water all along, but we didn't know that.

[Assistant] So the first couple of weeks.

[User] The first couple of weeks, I thought I was going to go crazy. I mean, that, I went through culture shock. I mean, you know, struggling with the Spanish, for one thing, and thinking, is this going to be it for two years? Am I going to be living this? Because what would happen, I think it was lack of privacy. I had not been used to being, you know, surrounded by people all the time and not know where to get away from or go to. And that was scary to me.

[Assistant] Were the children curious about you?


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

[User] In the first two weeks, yeah. And he was sort of our guardian out in the field. And I'll never forget him pulling in in his jeep. I was never so glad to see anybody in my life. He said, you want to go for a ride? We'll go see the other volunteers. Well, you know, that was like heaven to me. I mean, because I didn't, I didn't have, I didn't know where to go. I didn't know where to go to see them or anything.

[Assistant] So you weren't going to Mass?

[User] No. That was another. Oh, my mother turning over in her grave. I did. I struggled to get to church. I found out where the Mass was.

[Assistant] How far was it?

[User] It was in Retalhuleu. It was about an hour away, down the dirt roads again in that one little rickety bus. And I did for about two Sundays. I got on that thing, it left at like 6:00 in the morning. And God, the chickens running over my feet in my sandals and all this. And I get to the church in the town. It wasn't too hard to find, you know, the only church. I was the only one there. I mean, this whole thing was such an awakening to me and my Catholicity or whatever, you know, too. I mean, I started to really question things in the traveling. Traveling was a big eye opener but. And I came back and I scratched my head. Latin America, Catholic country. I'm the only one at church on Sunday. Something's wrong with this picture. So I stopped going and I wasn't struck by thunder and lightning and I wasn't going to go to hell. And I didn't, you know, and it was sort of the beginning of the end for me in my whole religion. But I never told my mom that.

[Assistant] How soon did you get a bike?


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

[User] It was in Retalhuleu. It was about an hour away, down the dirt roads again in that one little rickety bus. And I did for about two Sundays. I got on that thing, it left at like 6:00 in the morning. And God, the chickens running over my feet in my sandals and all this. And I get to the church in the town. It wasn't too hard to find, you know, the only church. I was the only one there. I mean, this whole thing was such an awakening to me and my Catholicity or whatever, you know, too. I mean, I started to really question things in the traveling. Traveling was a big eye opener but. And I came back and I scratched my head. Latin America, Catholic country. I'm the only one at church on Sunday. Something's wrong with this picture. So I stopped going and I wasn't struck by thunder and lightning and I wasn't going to go to hell. And I didn't, you know, and it was sort of the beginning of the end for me in my whole religion. But I never told my mom that.

[Assistant] How soon did you get a bike?

[User] I think shortly. Maybe when that Guatemalan guy came, he might have delivered my bike to me, but I didn't have it right away, so I was without wheels for a while. It was all by foot. And I'd be, I'd be just walking on these dirt roads by myself, trying to see the lay of the land. It was a rural community. The town was the school and the little tienda at the end of the football field. There was no center. People lived in thatched roof, bamboo sided, dirt floor homes.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And they were, it was an interesting.

[Assistant] Did they live on their farms?


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

[User] I think shortly. Maybe when that Guatemalan guy came, he might have delivered my bike to me, but I didn't have it right away, so I was without wheels for a while. It was all by foot. And I'd be, I'd be just walking on these dirt roads by myself, trying to see the lay of the land. It was a rural community. The town was the school and the little tienda at the end of the football field. There was no center. People lived in thatched roof, bamboo sided, dirt floor homes.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And they were, it was an interesting.

[Assistant] Did they live on their farms?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] And then so.


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

[User] And they were, it was an interesting.

[Assistant] Did they live on their farms?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] And then so.

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] There's a distance between. OK.


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] And then so.

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] There's a distance between. OK.

[User] Yeah. There were distances between the farms and, uh, among the farms I should say. So it was a spread out place and, I mean, I ended up really needing the bike.

[Assistant] But initially you just, for your own curiosity, you were trying to understand the environment you were in.


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] There's a distance between. OK.

[User] Yeah. There were distances between the farms and, uh, among the farms I should say. So it was a spread out place and, I mean, I ended up really needing the bike.

[Assistant] But initially you just, for your own curiosity, you were trying to understand the environment you were in.

[User] Yeah, yeah. Trying to discover what was around.

[Assistant] What did you have any conversations with any farmers or their families as you wandered?


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

[User] Yeah. There were distances between the farms and, uh, among the farms I should say. So it was a spread out place and, I mean, I ended up really needing the bike.

[Assistant] But initially you just, for your own curiosity, you were trying to understand the environment you were in.

[User] Yeah, yeah. Trying to discover what was around.

[Assistant] What did you have any conversations with any farmers or their families as you wandered?

[User] Yeah, I would always. I think they had all been told by the school teacher that a Peace Corps volunteer was coming. And I'm just trying to remember, was there ever any formal introduction of me? There may have been, but again, it might have been during that time when I blocked it out, I was just sort of shocked. But as I'd walk along, I'd always say, buenos dias. And, you know, and the one thing is that people in these countries that they're just so kind and friendly and good, you know? I mean, there was no never any fear and I never was afraid of them, and they'd just be respectful. Buenos dias, senorita. You know, and so.

[Assistant] That was about the only conversation?


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

[User] Yeah, I would always. I think they had all been told by the school teacher that a Peace Corps volunteer was coming. And I'm just trying to remember, was there ever any formal introduction of me? There may have been, but again, it might have been during that time when I blocked it out, I was just sort of shocked. But as I'd walk along, I'd always say, buenos dias. And, you know, and the one thing is that people in these countries that they're just so kind and friendly and good, you know? I mean, there was no never any fear and I never was afraid of them, and they'd just be respectful. Buenos dias, senorita. You know, and so.

[Assistant] That was about the only conversation?

[User] Yeah. Yeah. Until I got into the school situation. The teacher asked me to maybe, you know, I just sort of watched him a couple of days. I mean, he had a heck of a job on his head and he was teaching, oh, I guess about 120 kids in this one classroom. And they ranged in age from 6 to 13. I mean, some of the 13 year olds were coming for first grade. He only taught up to third grade. And these kids still worked on the farm. That's, you know, why many of them hadn't really gone to school or couldn't go to school. But eventually I found a place or positioning. I used to take some of them out under the trees and in my limited Spanish start teaching them to count and we'd use soda bottle caps.

[Assistant] Oh, OK.

[User] And all that. So I was starting to be, I became like his teacher's aide.

[Assistant] And what you would do with the kids was, you worked it out with him.


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

[User] Yeah. Yeah. Until I got into the school situation. The teacher asked me to maybe, you know, I just sort of watched him a couple of days. I mean, he had a heck of a job on his head and he was teaching, oh, I guess about 120 kids in this one classroom. And they ranged in age from 6 to 13. I mean, some of the 13 year olds were coming for first grade. He only taught up to third grade. And these kids still worked on the farm. That's, you know, why many of them hadn't really gone to school or couldn't go to school. But eventually I found a place or positioning. I used to take some of them out under the trees and in my limited Spanish start teaching them to count and we'd use soda bottle caps.

[Assistant] Oh, OK.

[User] And all that. So I was starting to be, I became like his teacher's aide.

[Assistant] And what you would do with the kids was, you worked it out with him.

[User] Yeah. Yeah. And I was actually relieving him, you know, sort of being, as I said, a teacher's aide initially and.

[Assistant] When you first were dropped there after the two weeks, did you have any specific sense of what it is your job was going to be?


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

[User] And all that. So I was starting to be, I became like his teacher's aide.

[Assistant] And what you would do with the kids was, you worked it out with him.

[User] Yeah. Yeah. And I was actually relieving him, you know, sort of being, as I said, a teacher's aide initially and.

[Assistant] When you first were dropped there after the two weeks, did you have any specific sense of what it is your job was going to be?

[User] Um.

[Assistant] Had anyone give it a definition?


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

[User] Um.

[Assistant] Had anyone give it a definition?

[User] Yeah, I, the way it was in my mind was that the first thing was to get to know the people and get them to know you. Earn their trust. And that's, that was the role. I mean, any suspicion and all would be eventually melt away if I came in with a specific purpose. And then the second phase, as I understood it, was to learn what the people were feeling and wanting for their community, expressing thoughts about what would make their lives better, etc., etc. And then with that information, start to connect them to resources and ways that they could achieve these goals.

[Assistant] Right.

[User] That's what I mean. The whole thing of facilitator was very, very clear to me as to what what we were to do. And so, and that took time. I mean, it was six months before I even began to get that kind of feedback from them. [tape break]

[Assistant] During the first six months.


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

[User] Yeah, I, the way it was in my mind was that the first thing was to get to know the people and get them to know you. Earn their trust. And that's, that was the role. I mean, any suspicion and all would be eventually melt away if I came in with a specific purpose. And then the second phase, as I understood it, was to learn what the people were feeling and wanting for their community, expressing thoughts about what would make their lives better, etc., etc. And then with that information, start to connect them to resources and ways that they could achieve these goals.

[Assistant] Right.

[User] That's what I mean. The whole thing of facilitator was very, very clear to me as to what what we were to do. And so, and that took time. I mean, it was six months before I even began to get that kind of feedback from them. [tape break]

[Assistant] During the first six months.

[User] During the first six months, I started going out and visiting people. Every day I would try to get to one or two or three people during the course of the day because mid-day you really had to quit. It got hot. And everybody was at siesta and all that. But on the morning and maybe in the late afternoon, I'd try again and go. And I would just go. And maybe the teacher, I don't know whether he, I mean, maybe he told me who to go see or who lived down that road. I mean, he was a big help to me and he'd give me the names of the people and maybe somehow they found out that I might be coming or something but. And it was just a matter of going and seeing their homes and visiting them and sitting down with them and.

[Assistant] Were there natural leaders within that community?


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

[User] That's what I mean. The whole thing of facilitator was very, very clear to me as to what what we were to do. And so, and that took time. I mean, it was six months before I even began to get that kind of feedback from them. [tape break]

[Assistant] During the first six months.

[User] During the first six months, I started going out and visiting people. Every day I would try to get to one or two or three people during the course of the day because mid-day you really had to quit. It got hot. And everybody was at siesta and all that. But on the morning and maybe in the late afternoon, I'd try again and go. And I would just go. And maybe the teacher, I don't know whether he, I mean, maybe he told me who to go see or who lived down that road. I mean, he was a big help to me and he'd give me the names of the people and maybe somehow they found out that I might be coming or something but. And it was just a matter of going and seeing their homes and visiting them and sitting down with them and.

[Assistant] Were there natural leaders within that community?

[User] Well, not, not readily available to me anyway, at the beginning, but in time there was. And I'll tell you, I'm jumping ahead a little. But when that supposedly CIA connected group came into town, I believe that was their goal, was leadership training. And it was during those workshops that the real leaders became very obvious to me. I mean, there were some that I knew right away and some I was very, very fond of. A guy by name of Eladio, whom I adored, he and his wife. And he was a natural leader. And he blossomed during those trainings.

[Assistant] Did he live in town?


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

[User] During the first six months, I started going out and visiting people. Every day I would try to get to one or two or three people during the course of the day because mid-day you really had to quit. It got hot. And everybody was at siesta and all that. But on the morning and maybe in the late afternoon, I'd try again and go. And I would just go. And maybe the teacher, I don't know whether he, I mean, maybe he told me who to go see or who lived down that road. I mean, he was a big help to me and he'd give me the names of the people and maybe somehow they found out that I might be coming or something but. And it was just a matter of going and seeing their homes and visiting them and sitting down with them and.

[Assistant] Were there natural leaders within that community?

[User] Well, not, not readily available to me anyway, at the beginning, but in time there was. And I'll tell you, I'm jumping ahead a little. But when that supposedly CIA connected group came into town, I believe that was their goal, was leadership training. And it was during those workshops that the real leaders became very obvious to me. I mean, there were some that I knew right away and some I was very, very fond of. A guy by name of Eladio, whom I adored, he and his wife. And he was a natural leader. And he blossomed during those trainings.

[Assistant] Did he live in town?

[User] He lived in, no, he was in the rural. He had a farm too. But I'm really jumping ahead. I went back to my site 20 years later and he was one of the first ones I asked about. He had moved into town. So he, and I don't know, I don't really know what ever happened to him.

[Assistant] Now in a sense though, I mean, other than the school and the tienda, there was still, there was a town or?


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

[User] Well, not, not readily available to me anyway, at the beginning, but in time there was. And I'll tell you, I'm jumping ahead a little. But when that supposedly CIA connected group came into town, I believe that was their goal, was leadership training. And it was during those workshops that the real leaders became very obvious to me. I mean, there were some that I knew right away and some I was very, very fond of. A guy by name of Eladio, whom I adored, he and his wife. And he was a natural leader. And he blossomed during those trainings.

[Assistant] Did he live in town?

[User] He lived in, no, he was in the rural. He had a farm too. But I'm really jumping ahead. I went back to my site 20 years later and he was one of the first ones I asked about. He had moved into town. So he, and I don't know, I don't really know what ever happened to him.

[Assistant] Now in a sense though, I mean, other than the school and the tienda, there was still, there was a town or?

[User] Well, no, the nearest town was Retalhuleu, an hour away.

[Assistant] And that, the people didn't, did they relate to that town administratively?


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

[User] He lived in, no, he was in the rural. He had a farm too. But I'm really jumping ahead. I went back to my site 20 years later and he was one of the first ones I asked about. He had moved into town. So he, and I don't know, I don't really know what ever happened to him.

[Assistant] Now in a sense though, I mean, other than the school and the tienda, there was still, there was a town or?

[User] Well, no, the nearest town was Retalhuleu, an hour away.

[Assistant] And that, the people didn't, did they relate to that town administratively?

[User] Well, that was the market. No, no. That's where they'd go to market. So they'd go on their bus, on this rickety bus to go into town and get some.

[Assistant] And people from other areas would also go there?


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

[User] Sure. Yeah. Let me give you a little background on the community I was working in. It was, they were called parcela mientos, parcels, parcels of land. And the land originally had been a finca, a huge farm. Cotton, coffee. No, it couldn't have been coffee. It was probably cotton, owned by Germans in pre-World War II. The Germans had run these farms and lived there part time, I guess. And World War II, they all went back to Germany to fight and they never came back. So the government, the Guatemalan government, then parceled these lands out. So these owners, these farmers were first time landowners.

[Assistant] Oh, OK.

[User] So in some ways, I'm thinking in my political, politically mature mind now, that this was like the beginning or the budding of a middle class.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] People who had a stake, at least in their own futures. They weren't. Because, you know, the difference between wealth and poverty in a lot of these countries is so tremendous. But this was the beginning of a middle, of a middle class.

[Assistant] During the first six months, what happened with your Spanish?


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

[User] So in some ways, I'm thinking in my political, politically mature mind now, that this was like the beginning or the budding of a middle class.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] People who had a stake, at least in their own futures. They weren't. Because, you know, the difference between wealth and poverty in a lot of these countries is so tremendous. But this was the beginning of a middle, of a middle class.

[Assistant] During the first six months, what happened with your Spanish?

[User] Oh, it got much better. Much better.

[Assistant] Yeah. Do you remember sort of being more and more comfortable?


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

[User] People who had a stake, at least in their own futures. They weren't. Because, you know, the difference between wealth and poverty in a lot of these countries is so tremendous. But this was the beginning of a middle, of a middle class.

[Assistant] During the first six months, what happened with your Spanish?

[User] Oh, it got much better. Much better.

[Assistant] Yeah. Do you remember sort of being more and more comfortable?

[User] Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, I did. I got. I never, I never even at the end of the two years, I never scored that high. I think I was a two and a half or maybe a two when I came in, but I was really living with very simple people, uneducated people for the most part. So I didn't need a big vocabulary to get along, but I was learning.

[Assistant] Did you ever see Peace Corps staff during the six months?


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

[User] Oh, it got much better. Much better.

[Assistant] Yeah. Do you remember sort of being more and more comfortable?

[User] Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, I did. I got. I never, I never even at the end of the two years, I never scored that high. I think I was a two and a half or maybe a two when I came in, but I was really living with very simple people, uneducated people for the most part. So I didn't need a big vocabulary to get along, but I was learning.

[Assistant] Did you ever see Peace Corps staff during the six months?

[User] We would have meetings, group meetings, where we'd meet in some exotic, nice place for a little R&R, which was nice.

[Assistant] After what? After three months?


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

[User] Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, I did. I got. I never, I never even at the end of the two years, I never scored that high. I think I was a two and a half or maybe a two when I came in, but I was really living with very simple people, uneducated people for the most part. So I didn't need a big vocabulary to get along, but I was learning.

[Assistant] Did you ever see Peace Corps staff during the six months?

[User] We would have meetings, group meetings, where we'd meet in some exotic, nice place for a little R&R, which was nice.

[Assistant] After what? After three months?

[User] I think we met maybe after a month, the first month, and then maybe every two months after that we had regional meetings. And we'd get our notices by telegram.

[Assistant] Everyone, uh, everyone who would come to this were essentially doing the same kind of things?


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

[User] We would have meetings, group meetings, where we'd meet in some exotic, nice place for a little R&R, which was nice.

[Assistant] After what? After three months?

[User] I think we met maybe after a month, the first month, and then maybe every two months after that we had regional meetings. And we'd get our notices by telegram.

[Assistant] Everyone, uh, everyone who would come to this were essentially doing the same kind of things?

[User] Most of us were doing the same kind of thing, yeah.

[Assistant] Did the director say anything when you finally came to the meeting and it was obvious that you were going to stay?


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

[User] I think we met maybe after a month, the first month, and then maybe every two months after that we had regional meetings. And we'd get our notices by telegram.

[Assistant] Everyone, uh, everyone who would come to this were essentially doing the same kind of things?

[User] Most of us were doing the same kind of thing, yeah.

[Assistant] Did the director say anything when you finally came to the meeting and it was obvious that you were going to stay?

[User] I don't remember. I don't remember whether there was any formal, um, conclusion or tacit agreement or, I don't remember. But I guess.

[Assistant] The answer was obvious.


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

[User] Most of us were doing the same kind of thing, yeah.

[Assistant] Did the director say anything when you finally came to the meeting and it was obvious that you were going to stay?

[User] I don't remember. I don't remember whether there was any formal, um, conclusion or tacit agreement or, I don't remember. But I guess.

[Assistant] The answer was obvious.

[User] I may, yeah, yeah. I may have been doing so well at that time he didn't even have to bring it up. I mean, it was, I think I may have like thanked him at one point and said, you know, you told me the right thing to do.

[Assistant] During the, again, we'll stick with the first six months. That's kind of a. Did you travel out to visit people?


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

[User] I don't remember. I don't remember whether there was any formal, um, conclusion or tacit agreement or, I don't remember. But I guess.

[Assistant] The answer was obvious.

[User] I may, yeah, yeah. I may have been doing so well at that time he didn't even have to bring it up. I mean, it was, I think I may have like thanked him at one point and said, you know, you told me the right thing to do.

[Assistant] During the, again, we'll stick with the first six months. That's kind of a. Did you travel out to visit people?

[User] Well, once I found out where my neighbors lived, my closest Peace Corps. Yeah. Yeah. At least once a week I'd go over to their place for dinner, or they'd come to my place and. And there were many trips to the town in those first months because I had to furnish my room. Oh, I didn't. I skipped something. Another thing happened during the first six months, which, um, I was able to move out of the school and move into my own shack, I'll call it. Uh. It had been the former house of the German finca owner. Very humble, wood shack, cement floor, raised off the ground, no screening. So I had to go into town. A lot of the volunteers came to my site and put up the screens for me, you know, so you really. You just crave to be with the other volunteers, you know, and whenever you could, but you still had a job to do. So it was maybe once a week there was some socialization with some other volunteers.

[Assistant] Yeah. So now how soon after you arrived there did you get the shack and start fixing it up?


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

[User] I may, yeah, yeah. I may have been doing so well at that time he didn't even have to bring it up. I mean, it was, I think I may have like thanked him at one point and said, you know, you told me the right thing to do.

[Assistant] During the, again, we'll stick with the first six months. That's kind of a. Did you travel out to visit people?

[User] Well, once I found out where my neighbors lived, my closest Peace Corps. Yeah. Yeah. At least once a week I'd go over to their place for dinner, or they'd come to my place and. And there were many trips to the town in those first months because I had to furnish my room. Oh, I didn't. I skipped something. Another thing happened during the first six months, which, um, I was able to move out of the school and move into my own shack, I'll call it. Uh. It had been the former house of the German finca owner. Very humble, wood shack, cement floor, raised off the ground, no screening. So I had to go into town. A lot of the volunteers came to my site and put up the screens for me, you know, so you really. You just crave to be with the other volunteers, you know, and whenever you could, but you still had a job to do. So it was maybe once a week there was some socialization with some other volunteers.

[Assistant] Yeah. So now how soon after you arrived there did you get the shack and start fixing it up?

[User] I'm just trying to think. I think it might have been two months, three months. Once I found out about it. See, in my walking around I found out about it and I learned that that was owned by the government and, you know, we were there under the auspices. So I put in my request and said, could I move there? Because I really, I really was like living in a glass bowl in the school.

[Assistant] Was it a delicate matter, telling the teacher that you were moving out?


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

[User] Well, once I found out where my neighbors lived, my closest Peace Corps. Yeah. Yeah. At least once a week I'd go over to their place for dinner, or they'd come to my place and. And there were many trips to the town in those first months because I had to furnish my room. Oh, I didn't. I skipped something. Another thing happened during the first six months, which, um, I was able to move out of the school and move into my own shack, I'll call it. Uh. It had been the former house of the German finca owner. Very humble, wood shack, cement floor, raised off the ground, no screening. So I had to go into town. A lot of the volunteers came to my site and put up the screens for me, you know, so you really. You just crave to be with the other volunteers, you know, and whenever you could, but you still had a job to do. So it was maybe once a week there was some socialization with some other volunteers.

[Assistant] Yeah. So now how soon after you arrived there did you get the shack and start fixing it up?

[User] I'm just trying to think. I think it might have been two months, three months. Once I found out about it. See, in my walking around I found out about it and I learned that that was owned by the government and, you know, we were there under the auspices. So I put in my request and said, could I move there? Because I really, I really was like living in a glass bowl in the school.

[Assistant] Was it a delicate matter, telling the teacher that you were moving out?

[User] No, no, no. He was fine with it. You know, I wondered whether some of the other people might think, you know, something.

[Assistant] Then what did you do for food?


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

[User] I'm just trying to think. I think it might have been two months, three months. Once I found out about it. See, in my walking around I found out about it and I learned that that was owned by the government and, you know, we were there under the auspices. So I put in my request and said, could I move there? Because I really, I really was like living in a glass bowl in the school.

[Assistant] Was it a delicate matter, telling the teacher that you were moving out?

[User] No, no, no. He was fine with it. You know, I wondered whether some of the other people might think, you know, something.

[Assistant] Then what did you do for food?

[User] I did my own. Then I had to go and buy my propane stove and my five cylinder and.

[Assistant] Did you have a fridge or?


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

[User] I did my own. Then I had to go and buy my propane stove and my five cylinder and.

[Assistant] Did you have a fridge or?

[User] No, no. No refrigeration. So I got very little fresh, fresh food. Eggs, of course. And a guy would come around on a horse every so often and sell me the lomo that it would really be like filet mignon, which is about the only meat you could chew.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And I buy that from him. I'd have meat once a week, but I'm trying to think what I ate. I mean, I ate lots of beets, lots of root vegetables.

[Assistant] You went in town to buy food too?


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

[User] No, no. No refrigeration. So I got very little fresh, fresh food. Eggs, of course. And a guy would come around on a horse every so often and sell me the lomo that it would really be like filet mignon, which is about the only meat you could chew.

[Assistant] Yeah.

[User] And I buy that from him. I'd have meat once a week, but I'm trying to think what I ate. I mean, I ate lots of beets, lots of root vegetables.

[Assistant] You went in town to buy food too?

[User] Yeah, I. Yeah, I did buy them there. That's where I would buy my veggies, in town. I couldn't eat salads. I mean, that was, anything above the ground that couldn't eat. And I crave them.

[Assistant] So was it a little two burner stove?


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

[User] Yeah, I. Yeah, I did buy them there. That's where I would buy my veggies, in town. I couldn't eat salads. I mean, that was, anything above the ground that couldn't eat. And I crave them.

[Assistant] So was it a little two burner stove?

[User] Yeah, little two propane thing. And my pressure cooker came in mighty handy, you know, and I guess it was turnips and potatoes and beets and eggs. Chicken. Yeah. I mean, I.

[Assistant] So you.

[User] I then set up housekeeping. I then.

[Assistant] How close was the nearest house?


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

[User] Yeah, little two propane thing. And my pressure cooker came in mighty handy, you know, and I guess it was turnips and potatoes and beets and eggs. Chicken. Yeah. I mean, I.

[Assistant] So you.

[User] I then set up housekeeping. I then.

[Assistant] How close was the nearest house?

[User] From my new house? From the, well, I guess my nearest neighbor was, well, my nearest neighbor actually was an Indian family that was sort of the caretakers of this property. So they were within earshot. They would be, oh, I'd say 50 yards, 50 yards away. And then there was another house on the other side of the road. This new residence for me brought me back out to the main road where the bus would go. It wasn't paved yet, but yeah, it was at least not down this rickety lane to the schoolhouse. I felt connected a little bit more. I'm a city girl, you know.

[Assistant] Well, I was wondering whether you felt isolated, I mean, living alone. And were there any security concerns?


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

[User] From my new house? From the, well, I guess my nearest neighbor was, well, my nearest neighbor actually was an Indian family that was sort of the caretakers of this property. So they were within earshot. They would be, oh, I'd say 50 yards, 50 yards away. And then there was another house on the other side of the road. This new residence for me brought me back out to the main road where the bus would go. It wasn't paved yet, but yeah, it was at least not down this rickety lane to the schoolhouse. I felt connected a little bit more. I'm a city girl, you know.

[Assistant] Well, I was wondering whether you felt isolated, I mean, living alone. And were there any security concerns?

[User] No.

[Assistant] OK.

[User] No, there really wasn't. Yeah. When I, you know, when I think back to a lot of things I did with my life, I was like either dumb or a fool or something. But no, I never felt threatened or at-risk safety wise or anything. No, the people were amazingly respectful and beautiful people.

[Assistant] At the end of the six months.


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

[User] No.

[Assistant] OK.

[User] No, there really wasn't. Yeah. When I, you know, when I think back to a lot of things I did with my life, I was like either dumb or a fool or something. But no, I never felt threatened or at-risk safety wise or anything. No, the people were amazingly respectful and beautiful people.

[Assistant] At the end of the six months.

[User] Things were starting to happen.

[Assistant] Have you made any particular friends who might be? Sometimes people get one or two people from the country who are sort of their bridge to the culture, you know, that make it a little easier for you to understand what's going on. Did anyone emerge like that?


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

[User] No, there really wasn't. Yeah. When I, you know, when I think back to a lot of things I did with my life, I was like either dumb or a fool or something. But no, I never felt threatened or at-risk safety wise or anything. No, the people were amazingly respectful and beautiful people.

[Assistant] At the end of the six months.

[User] Things were starting to happen.

[Assistant] Have you made any particular friends who might be? Sometimes people get one or two people from the country who are sort of their bridge to the culture, you know, that make it a little easier for you to understand what's going on. Did anyone emerge like that?

[User] Well, this Eladio, the one farmer that I really, I really just found him. I think he was, I think he was very bright. I think he, if he didn't go to school, he should have been. He should have gone to school. He had a curiosity. He had a knowledge. Yeah. I would say he helped me with the farmers. I mean, he helped me understand what was going on. And by the end of six months, things were starting to, they were starting to talk to me and really let me know what was on their mind. Of course, the schoolteacher wanted another schoolteacher, full time, paid for by the government, and that was quite obvious. And that was echoed by a lot of the farmers too, because they knew that their children needed another teacher. They were. Um.

[Assistant] Well, let's take that issue that's a felt community need. What did you do? What was your role in doing something about it?


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

[User] I mean, we, you know, there's such a big difference in us that you learn to look at yourself. And it was. It was great. I was just got real excited when I found out, yeah, they could do it. And I started on, I started doing it. I started going around getting the signatures and things.

[Assistant] Did you have to go, did you have to go all the way into Guatemala City to get information or was it available closer at?

[User] You know, I can't quite remember. I can't quite remember. Maybe the teacher. Maybe the teacher himself knew about it, you know, and maybe. I'm just thinking. I mean, he was a smart guy. He was a smart guy. Maybe he felt that by getting me there, he'd get it. You know, for all I know, he may have had his petition in for a long time and might be, by me being there, you know, tiene cuello. That means, we have collar. You have some pull. I mean, he was politically.

[Assistant] You didn't literally carry the petitions around and see that they got signed, right?

[User] Oh yeah, I did.

[Assistant] Oh, you did, OK.


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

[User] You know, I can't quite remember. I can't quite remember. Maybe the teacher. Maybe the teacher himself knew about it, you know, and maybe. I'm just thinking. I mean, he was a smart guy. He was a smart guy. Maybe he felt that by getting me there, he'd get it. You know, for all I know, he may have had his petition in for a long time and might be, by me being there, you know, tiene cuello. That means, we have collar. You have some pull. I mean, he was politically.

[Assistant] You didn't literally carry the petitions around and see that they got signed, right?

[User] Oh yeah, I did.

[Assistant] Oh, you did, OK.

[User] Yeah. See I would do. That was where I fit in, that's what I would do. I'd go and explain things to people. But I had to earn their trust for them to start, you know, enabling me. Yeah. Whereas the teacher, I don't, I don't know whether he wanted to do it or. I don't know, I guess, I don't know.

[Assistant] He was using your collar.


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

[User] Oh yeah, I did.

[Assistant] Oh, you did, OK.

[User] Yeah. See I would do. That was where I fit in, that's what I would do. I'd go and explain things to people. But I had to earn their trust for them to start, you know, enabling me. Yeah. Whereas the teacher, I don't, I don't know whether he wanted to do it or. I don't know, I guess, I don't know.

[Assistant] He was using your collar.

[User] Yeah, right. He was. He was. Absolutely.

[Assistant] And this was during the second six months or beyond?


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

[User] Yeah, right. He was. He was. Absolutely.

[Assistant] And this was during the second six months or beyond?

[User] Right. Yeah. And I will add, I'm jumping ahead, but they did get a teacher by the time I left.

[Assistant] Good.

[User] Uh, what was the other thing that they wanted? They, uh, they wanted some health care. They wanted some sort of access to have. And I learned there was a male nurse living in the town where my, one of the married couples was. Well, they had already set up a nursing program there, an education program about nutrition and all that. So I tapped on him and asked him to come to my site one day a week too. So that was good. And I had the women coming to my house.

[Assistant] And he was Guatemalan?


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

[User] Right. Yeah. And I will add, I'm jumping ahead, but they did get a teacher by the time I left.

[Assistant] Good.

[User] Uh, what was the other thing that they wanted? They, uh, they wanted some health care. They wanted some sort of access to have. And I learned there was a male nurse living in the town where my, one of the married couples was. Well, they had already set up a nursing program there, an education program about nutrition and all that. So I tapped on him and asked him to come to my site one day a week too. So that was good. And I had the women coming to my house.

[Assistant] And he was Guatemalan?

[User] Oh, yeah. Yeah. And he was a pompous son of a gun. You know, he would show up once in a while, you know, and then he wouldn't show sometimes, you know. But if he didn't show, I would go into my nutrition courses and cooking. And I showed them how to use a pressure cooker and they, most of them cooked over wood so they didn't even know propane. There were many, many things I could substitute for.

[Assistant] So you ended up doing direct teaching.


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

[User] Uh, what was the other thing that they wanted? They, uh, they wanted some health care. They wanted some sort of access to have. And I learned there was a male nurse living in the town where my, one of the married couples was. Well, they had already set up a nursing program there, an education program about nutrition and all that. So I tapped on him and asked him to come to my site one day a week too. So that was good. And I had the women coming to my house.

[Assistant] And he was Guatemalan?

[User] Oh, yeah. Yeah. And he was a pompous son of a gun. You know, he would show up once in a while, you know, and then he wouldn't show sometimes, you know. But if he didn't show, I would go into my nutrition courses and cooking. And I showed them how to use a pressure cooker and they, most of them cooked over wood so they didn't even know propane. There were many, many things I could substitute for.

[Assistant] So you ended up doing direct teaching.

[User] I was semi teaching. Yeah. At that point, when he wouldn't show and all. But my main goal was to have him come.

[Assistant] So it wasn't a formal, like you asked people to commit to three months and you would give so many lessons in home ec and what have you?


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

[User] I was semi teaching. Yeah. At that point, when he wouldn't show and all. But my main goal was to have him come.

[Assistant] So it wasn't a formal, like you asked people to commit to three months and you would give so many lessons in home ec and what have you?

[User] No, no, no, no. It was like by the seat of your pants every week, you know? I mean, the day was set, the day of the week was set. They would show up. And then I started running a, um, storytelling thing. This was all on me with the little kids that they wanted after school to come to my house. And my sister, the nun, had gotten all her kids and her Catholic school to donate money, and I was able to buy a whole library of Spanish books.

[Assistant] Oh, lovely.

[User] So I had a library going in my house and the kids would come late in the afternoon.

[Assistant] Where'd you buy the books?


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

[User] No, no, no, no. It was like by the seat of your pants every week, you know? I mean, the day was set, the day of the week was set. They would show up. And then I started running a, um, storytelling thing. This was all on me with the little kids that they wanted after school to come to my house. And my sister, the nun, had gotten all her kids and her Catholic school to donate money, and I was able to buy a whole library of Spanish books.

[Assistant] Oh, lovely.

[User] So I had a library going in my house and the kids would come late in the afternoon.

[Assistant] Where'd you buy the books?

[User] In the capital, the capital city. I had to go in there and get them. And that was uh.

[Assistant] The kids would come and sit and read?


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

[User] So I had a library going in my house and the kids would come late in the afternoon.

[Assistant] Where'd you buy the books?

[User] In the capital, the capital city. I had to go in there and get them. And that was uh.

[Assistant] The kids would come and sit and read?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] You weren't running.


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

[User] In the capital, the capital city. I had to go in there and get them. And that was uh.

[Assistant] The kids would come and sit and read?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] You weren't running.

[User] Read stories. They didn't know what stories were, you know?

[Assistant] You weren't running a lending library.


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] You weren't running.

[User] Read stories. They didn't know what stories were, you know?

[Assistant] You weren't running a lending library.

[User] Did I lend them out or not? I may have. I don't know. I don't know. I can't remember. So many, so many important things I can't remember. But I just remember the niceness of that. That was a nice thing. That was fun for me.

[Assistant] The end of the first year was a break point sort of.


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

[User] Read stories. They didn't know what stories were, you know?

[Assistant] You weren't running a lending library.

[User] Did I lend them out or not? I may have. I don't know. I don't know. I can't remember. So many, so many important things I can't remember. But I just remember the niceness of that. That was a nice thing. That was fun for me.

[Assistant] The end of the first year was a break point sort of.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] Was there another conference of volunteers?


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

[User] Did I lend them out or not? I may have. I don't know. I don't know. I can't remember. So many, so many important things I can't remember. But I just remember the niceness of that. That was a nice thing. That was fun for me.

[Assistant] The end of the first year was a break point sort of.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] Was there another conference of volunteers?

[User]
Oh, there were conferences like every two months. We were always meeting each other. There was also a place that we could go to in the city called, it was called the papal house. A retired dentist from, I believe he was from Saint Louis or somewhere in the Midwest. He and his wife, when they retired, took their money, went down and bought this beautiful home in a very nice section of Guatemala and dedicated their lives to running sort of a B&B. At dirt cheap, I think $2, you'd get a bed with sheets on it and three meals and conversation around a big table. I mean, it was really a great place. And volunteers from all groups. And every chance I got, I would go in there.

And I had a couple of visitors too. I had my airline people, a couple of airline people flew down at two different times. A woman I had done all my traveling with to Europe, she had moved to San Francisco. She came down and visited me and spent two weeks and then I did my traveling then. I went up to the Petén and we did all the things tourists do.

[Assistant] You took a break?


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] Was there another conference of volunteers?

[User]
Oh, there were conferences like every two months. We were always meeting each other. There was also a place that we could go to in the city called, it was called the papal house. A retired dentist from, I believe he was from Saint Louis or somewhere in the Midwest. He and his wife, when they retired, took their money, went down and bought this beautiful home in a very nice section of Guatemala and dedicated their lives to running sort of a B&B. At dirt cheap, I think $2, you'd get a bed with sheets on it and three meals and conversation around a big table. I mean, it was really a great place. And volunteers from all groups. And every chance I got, I would go in there.

And I had a couple of visitors too. I had my airline people, a couple of airline people flew down at two different times. A woman I had done all my traveling with to Europe, she had moved to San Francisco. She came down and visited me and spent two weeks and then I did my traveling then. I went up to the Petén and we did all the things tourists do.

[Assistant] You took a break?

[User] Yeah, took a break.

[Assistant] Between the first and second?


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

[User]
Oh, there were conferences like every two months. We were always meeting each other. There was also a place that we could go to in the city called, it was called the papal house. A retired dentist from, I believe he was from Saint Louis or somewhere in the Midwest. He and his wife, when they retired, took their money, went down and bought this beautiful home in a very nice section of Guatemala and dedicated their lives to running sort of a B&B. At dirt cheap, I think $2, you'd get a bed with sheets on it and three meals and conversation around a big table. I mean, it was really a great place. And volunteers from all groups. And every chance I got, I would go in there.

And I had a couple of visitors too. I had my airline people, a couple of airline people flew down at two different times. A woman I had done all my traveling with to Europe, she had moved to San Francisco. She came down and visited me and spent two weeks and then I did my traveling then. I went up to the Petén and we did all the things tourists do.

[Assistant] You took a break?

[User] Yeah, took a break.

[Assistant] Between the first and second?

[User] Yeah, I had to save my money to do it. You know, pay was pretty, pretty modest.

[Assistant] Was there any restrictions on your travel at that point? Could you go back to the U.S. if you wanted?


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

[User] Yeah, took a break.

[Assistant] Between the first and second?

[User] Yeah, I had to save my money to do it. You know, pay was pretty, pretty modest.

[Assistant] Was there any restrictions on your travel at that point? Could you go back to the U.S. if you wanted?

[User] Oh, no, we couldn't. No, no. That was the understanding. We were not to go back.

[Assistant] During the whole two years.


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

[User] Yeah, I had to save my money to do it. You know, pay was pretty, pretty modest.

[Assistant] Was there any restrictions on your travel at that point? Could you go back to the U.S. if you wanted?

[User] Oh, no, we couldn't. No, no. That was the understanding. We were not to go back.

[Assistant] During the whole two years.

[User] I think that's changed now. I think it's changed a lot. But no, no, no.

[Assistant] And so where did you vacation?


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

[User] Oh, no, we couldn't. No, no. That was the understanding. We were not to go back.

[Assistant] During the whole two years.

[User] I think that's changed now. I think it's changed a lot. But no, no, no.

[Assistant] And so where did you vacation?

[User] Went up to the highlands, where the Indians are, where most tourists go when they go to Guatemala. That's where all the beautiful costumes and things they make. Lake Atitlán. Went up to the Petén, the Mayan civilization up there. Had to fly in there. And then actually visited another volunteer up there who had, had a very unique job. He was helping a group of Guatemalans homestead up in the jungle. The deal was if they went up in the forest jungle on this plateau and cleared it, they could keep the land. Well, the only way to get to these spots was by the river. So I flew in by airplane and then got on Phil's elongated canoe with a motor, went by about 45 minutes down the river to his site. He lived in a thatched roof.

[Assistant] What was Phil's?


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

[User] I think that's changed now. I think it's changed a lot. But no, no, no.

[Assistant] And so where did you vacation?

[User] Went up to the highlands, where the Indians are, where most tourists go when they go to Guatemala. That's where all the beautiful costumes and things they make. Lake Atitlán. Went up to the Petén, the Mayan civilization up there. Had to fly in there. And then actually visited another volunteer up there who had, had a very unique job. He was helping a group of Guatemalans homestead up in the jungle. The deal was if they went up in the forest jungle on this plateau and cleared it, they could keep the land. Well, the only way to get to these spots was by the river. So I flew in by airplane and then got on Phil's elongated canoe with a motor, went by about 45 minutes down the river to his site. He lived in a thatched roof.

[Assistant] What was Phil's?

[User] Phil Jones. And in fact, I tried to get him to come to this reunion. We were emailing. He's in Kosovo now. He still works for, uh, he worked for the World Bank.

[Assistant] I think I've heard of him.


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

[User] Went up to the highlands, where the Indians are, where most tourists go when they go to Guatemala. That's where all the beautiful costumes and things they make. Lake Atitlán. Went up to the Petén, the Mayan civilization up there. Had to fly in there. And then actually visited another volunteer up there who had, had a very unique job. He was helping a group of Guatemalans homestead up in the jungle. The deal was if they went up in the forest jungle on this plateau and cleared it, they could keep the land. Well, the only way to get to these spots was by the river. So I flew in by airplane and then got on Phil's elongated canoe with a motor, went by about 45 minutes down the river to his site. He lived in a thatched roof.

[Assistant] What was Phil's?

[User] Phil Jones. And in fact, I tried to get him to come to this reunion. We were emailing. He's in Kosovo now. He still works for, uh, he worked for the World Bank.

[Assistant] I think I've heard of him.

[User] You have heard of him?

[Assistant] I think so.


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

[User] Phil Jones. And in fact, I tried to get him to come to this reunion. We were emailing. He's in Kosovo now. He still works for, uh, he worked for the World Bank.

[Assistant] I think I've heard of him.

[User] You have heard of him?

[Assistant] I think so.

[User] Really? Phil Jones. He was in this kind of work all forever. I don't know how he stayed married. He's married. His wife lives in Pittsburgh. They have three kids, but he's gone most of the year.

[Assistant] Yeah. Maybe that's how they stay married.


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

[User] You have heard of him?

[Assistant] I think so.

[User] Really? Phil Jones. He was in this kind of work all forever. I don't know how he stayed married. He's married. His wife lives in Pittsburgh. They have three kids, but he's gone most of the year.

[Assistant] Yeah. Maybe that's how they stay married.

[User] Well, you know, you're absolutely right. I can agree with that totally.

[Assistant] But OK. End of the first year.


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

[User] Really? Phil Jones. He was in this kind of work all forever. I don't know how he stayed married. He's married. His wife lives in Pittsburgh. They have three kids, but he's gone most of the year.

[Assistant] Yeah. Maybe that's how they stay married.

[User] Well, you know, you're absolutely right. I can agree with that totally.

[Assistant] But OK. End of the first year.

[User] So yeah, so I went to the Petén, had a great time up there.

[Assistant] As you started your second year, do you recall setting any new goals for yourself? You know, now you can see that your time is finite.


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

[User] Well, you know, you're absolutely right. I can agree with that totally.

[Assistant] But OK. End of the first year.

[User] So yeah, so I went to the Petén, had a great time up there.

[Assistant] As you started your second year, do you recall setting any new goals for yourself? You know, now you can see that your time is finite.

[User] Yeah, I actually had a big calendar and I was counting the days. Not that I, you know, not I was rushing it, but I was, I was looking forward. I was.

[Assistant] Were you expected to do 24 months service or was it?


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

[User] So yeah, so I went to the Petén, had a great time up there.

[Assistant] As you started your second year, do you recall setting any new goals for yourself? You know, now you can see that your time is finite.

[User] Yeah, I actually had a big calendar and I was counting the days. Not that I, you know, not I was rushing it, but I was, I was looking forward. I was.

[Assistant] Were you expected to do 24 months service or was it?

[User] 24.

[Assistant] That's, so it's training plus 24?


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

[User] 24.

[Assistant] That's, so it's training plus 24?

[User] Right.

[Assistant] OK.

[User] Yeah. So, no, I didn't come back till June of '69.

[Assistant] OK. As you went into the second year, do you recall particularly thinking that, setting any goals for yourself or, you know?


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

[User] Right.

[Assistant] OK.

[User] Yeah. So, no, I didn't come back till June of '69.

[Assistant] OK. As you went into the second year, do you recall particularly thinking that, setting any goals for yourself or, you know?

[User] I just wanted to get the jobs that I had already started done. I wanted to try to see some results.

[Assistant] Which at that point was some health care, some school teaching, the petition to get another teacher there.


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

[User] Yeah. So, no, I didn't come back till June of '69.

[Assistant] OK. As you went into the second year, do you recall particularly thinking that, setting any goals for yourself or, you know?

[User] I just wanted to get the jobs that I had already started done. I wanted to try to see some results.

[Assistant] Which at that point was some health care, some school teaching, the petition to get another teacher there.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] And there was a fourth one.


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

[User] Uh, well, I didn't even tell you.

[Assistant] The library.

[User] Well, that was, that was my own thing. I knew that wasn't going to survive after me. I mean, I left them the books. No, they wanted a bridge. You know, you say Peace Corps builds bridges. I mean, it's so bad. But there was, there was one shortcut out to the highway that if this bridge were built, they could get their crops to the town faster and cheaper. And it was this stream like thing and there were great big round tubes. What do they call that?

[Assistant] Culverts?

[User] Culverts. Yeah, sure. But they were broken and scattered and anything. So that came out, you know, during the first six months or the second six months. Well, that was a whole different ballgame for me because that was out of my bailiwick. So then I had to start finding out what agencies could take care of that. Well, to make a long story short, the bridge was built. The bridge got built before I left and I have pictures and stuff so. But all the men had to provide the labor and, you know, all this information, I'd be the relayer.

[Assistant] So again, strictly the role of facilitator.


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

[User] Well, that was, that was my own thing. I knew that wasn't going to survive after me. I mean, I left them the books. No, they wanted a bridge. You know, you say Peace Corps builds bridges. I mean, it's so bad. But there was, there was one shortcut out to the highway that if this bridge were built, they could get their crops to the town faster and cheaper. And it was this stream like thing and there were great big round tubes. What do they call that?

[Assistant] Culverts?

[User] Culverts. Yeah, sure. But they were broken and scattered and anything. So that came out, you know, during the first six months or the second six months. Well, that was a whole different ballgame for me because that was out of my bailiwick. So then I had to start finding out what agencies could take care of that. Well, to make a long story short, the bridge was built. The bridge got built before I left and I have pictures and stuff so. But all the men had to provide the labor and, you know, all this information, I'd be the relayer.

[Assistant] So again, strictly the role of facilitator.

[User] Facilitator, absolutely. I told them, you could do it, what was needed, how much money. I think they all had to chip in some money, but the government would come and then if they provided the labor and, you know, all the rules of the game were brought back and forth. And they did it.

[Assistant] You never picked up a shovel and started digging?


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

[User] Culverts. Yeah, sure. But they were broken and scattered and anything. So that came out, you know, during the first six months or the second six months. Well, that was a whole different ballgame for me because that was out of my bailiwick. So then I had to start finding out what agencies could take care of that. Well, to make a long story short, the bridge was built. The bridge got built before I left and I have pictures and stuff so. But all the men had to provide the labor and, you know, all this information, I'd be the relayer.

[Assistant] So again, strictly the role of facilitator.

[User] Facilitator, absolutely. I told them, you could do it, what was needed, how much money. I think they all had to chip in some money, but the government would come and then if they provided the labor and, you know, all the rules of the game were brought back and forth. And they did it.

[Assistant] You never picked up a shovel and started digging?

[User] I never started planning or anything there. You mean, with their, with their?

[Assistant] Well, when the project was on, you know, sort of?


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

[User] Facilitator, absolutely. I told them, you could do it, what was needed, how much money. I think they all had to chip in some money, but the government would come and then if they provided the labor and, you know, all the rules of the game were brought back and forth. And they did it.

[Assistant] You never picked up a shovel and started digging?

[User] I never started planning or anything there. You mean, with their, with their?

[Assistant] Well, when the project was on, you know, sort of?

[User] No, no, no. It was, it was, it was really, it was, it was too big a job. I mean, it was, it was a nasty job. Yeah. I wouldn't have had the strength. I mean, first of all, I don't know how they did. Most of them were skin and bones, you know. What they could do with their strength was amazing.

[Assistant] So during the second year, you didn't say, if I don't finish this, then my time will not have been worth it or?


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

[User] I never started planning or anything there. You mean, with their, with their?

[Assistant] Well, when the project was on, you know, sort of?

[User] No, no, no. It was, it was, it was really, it was, it was too big a job. I mean, it was, it was a nasty job. Yeah. I wouldn't have had the strength. I mean, first of all, I don't know how they did. Most of them were skin and bones, you know. What they could do with their strength was amazing.

[Assistant] So during the second year, you didn't say, if I don't finish this, then my time will not have been worth it or?

[User] No, I, I, you know, I kind of had a philosophical outlook by then. I realized what a mammoth job it is to recreate foreign countries. I mean, you know, if I did a couple small things that were going to make their lives easier, that was going to be fine. And that was all I could ever expect or hope for.

[Assistant] Were you asked by Peace Corps whether you should be replaced?


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

[User] No, no, no. It was, it was, it was really, it was, it was too big a job. I mean, it was, it was a nasty job. Yeah. I wouldn't have had the strength. I mean, first of all, I don't know how they did. Most of them were skin and bones, you know. What they could do with their strength was amazing.

[Assistant] So during the second year, you didn't say, if I don't finish this, then my time will not have been worth it or?

[User] No, I, I, you know, I kind of had a philosophical outlook by then. I realized what a mammoth job it is to recreate foreign countries. I mean, you know, if I did a couple small things that were going to make their lives easier, that was going to be fine. And that was all I could ever expect or hope for.

[Assistant] Were you asked by Peace Corps whether you should be replaced?

[User] Um, I don't recall. I don't recall that process. By the way, we were not replaced. They never replaced that program.

[Assistant] Do you have any idea why?


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

[User] No, I, I, you know, I kind of had a philosophical outlook by then. I realized what a mammoth job it is to recreate foreign countries. I mean, you know, if I did a couple small things that were going to make their lives easier, that was going to be fine. And that was all I could ever expect or hope for.

[Assistant] Were you asked by Peace Corps whether you should be replaced?

[User] Um, I don't recall. I don't recall that process. By the way, we were not replaced. They never replaced that program.

[Assistant] Do you have any idea why?

[User] No. And I always was curious as to why. I figured were we failures? I don't know. But why it didn't continue, I don't know.

[Assistant] Now, by the end of the second year, was there more political activity building up in the civil war?