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

[User] No, this was still.

[Assistant] This was still before you graduated.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] Do you recall the application? Because usually when you do fill the application out, you indicate country of interest that you'd like to go here.

[User] I think that that was. I don't remember the, I think that came after the test. And I do remember, all kidding aside, thinking that Africa because the colonial era was ending, that that would be the most fantastic. That would be just the greatest place to be. And I did want to go to Africa. And as I say, this handwritten note about, please, I want to be with all those lawyers, you know? And I was disappointed when I got the assignment for health education.

[Assistant] So you wrote to Shriver, the next thing you know, got a telegram saying you're invited to train.


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

[User] I think that that was. I don't remember the, I think that came after the test. And I do remember, all kidding aside, thinking that Africa because the colonial era was ending, that that would be the most fantastic. That would be just the greatest place to be. And I did want to go to Africa. And as I say, this handwritten note about, please, I want to be with all those lawyers, you know? And I was disappointed when I got the assignment for health education.

[Assistant] So you wrote to Shriver, the next thing you know, got a telegram saying you're invited to train.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] For Colombia.

[User] Right. For health education. And it was all women.

[Assistant] And where was the training?


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

[User] Right.

[Assistant] For Colombia.

[User] Right. For health education. And it was all women.

[Assistant] And where was the training?

[User] University of New Mexico.

[Assistant] At Las Cruces?


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

[User] Right. For health education. And it was all women.

[Assistant] And where was the training?

[User] University of New Mexico.

[Assistant] At Las Cruces?

[User] No. In Albuquerque.

[Assistant] OK. And what was the time frame then?


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

[User] University of New Mexico.

[Assistant] At Las Cruces?

[User] No. In Albuquerque.

[Assistant] OK. And what was the time frame then?

[User] Pretty quick. I remember I got the telegram it seems to me like in May and our training started July 7th.

[Assistant] OK. And you had to fit graduation in there.


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

[User] No. In Albuquerque.

[Assistant] OK. And what was the time frame then?

[User] Pretty quick. I remember I got the telegram it seems to me like in May and our training started July 7th.

[Assistant] OK. And you had to fit graduation in there.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] What was your family's reaction?


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

[User] Pretty quick. I remember I got the telegram it seems to me like in May and our training started July 7th.

[Assistant] OK. And you had to fit graduation in there.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] What was your family's reaction?

[User] My mother was appalled. And my father was more concerned about how was I going to support myself, you know. But my mother did not want me to go. It just did not, um. She was afraid for my safety, and um.

[Assistant] That was when she knew you would likely to go to Colombia.


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

[User] Right.

[Assistant] What was your family's reaction?

[User] My mother was appalled. And my father was more concerned about how was I going to support myself, you know. But my mother did not want me to go. It just did not, um. She was afraid for my safety, and um.

[Assistant] That was when she knew you would likely to go to Colombia.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] How about your peers, your friends?


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

[User] My mother was appalled. And my father was more concerned about how was I going to support myself, you know. But my mother did not want me to go. It just did not, um. She was afraid for my safety, and um.

[Assistant] That was when she knew you would likely to go to Colombia.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] How about your peers, your friends?

[User] Well, they were excited for me, but they all were going to join the Peace Corps, but I was the only one who went. It was one of those things, you know, a year later, I would say they were still sitting in the UMC, you know, drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes, talking about saving the world. And I was there in the middle of nowhere, you know? Thanks.

[Assistant] What was your initial reaction when you got the telegram? Cause all of a sudden, it's real.


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

[User] Right.

[Assistant] How about your peers, your friends?

[User] Well, they were excited for me, but they all were going to join the Peace Corps, but I was the only one who went. It was one of those things, you know, a year later, I would say they were still sitting in the UMC, you know, drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes, talking about saving the world. And I was there in the middle of nowhere, you know? Thanks.

[Assistant] What was your initial reaction when you got the telegram? Cause all of a sudden, it's real.

[User] Yeah. I was amazed they wanted me, and I did not want to go to Colombia with all women and do health education. But I didn't.

[Assistant] Did you think to say no and see if they could offer you a better deal?


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

[User] Well, they were excited for me, but they all were going to join the Peace Corps, but I was the only one who went. It was one of those things, you know, a year later, I would say they were still sitting in the UMC, you know, drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes, talking about saving the world. And I was there in the middle of nowhere, you know? Thanks.

[Assistant] What was your initial reaction when you got the telegram? Cause all of a sudden, it's real.

[User] Yeah. I was amazed they wanted me, and I did not want to go to Colombia with all women and do health education. But I didn't.

[Assistant] Did you think to say no and see if they could offer you a better deal?

[User] I did not. I really did not, because in those days, even getting, I mean, getting accepted for training was a big step and I didn't. I didn't think. I mean, we knew that that training was not any guarantee that you would go overseas. And I just, you know, I felt lucky to have gotten that far.

[Assistant] Had you ever studied Spanish?


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

[User] Yeah. I was amazed they wanted me, and I did not want to go to Colombia with all women and do health education. But I didn't.

[Assistant] Did you think to say no and see if they could offer you a better deal?

[User] I did not. I really did not, because in those days, even getting, I mean, getting accepted for training was a big step and I didn't. I didn't think. I mean, we knew that that training was not any guarantee that you would go overseas. And I just, you know, I felt lucky to have gotten that far.

[Assistant] Had you ever studied Spanish?

[User] Yes, I had taken Spanish in college. I hadn't done real well, but yeah, I had.

[Assistant] OK. So how did you, what happened? How did you get from Denver to Albuquerque?


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

[User] I did not. I really did not, because in those days, even getting, I mean, getting accepted for training was a big step and I didn't. I didn't think. I mean, we knew that that training was not any guarantee that you would go overseas. And I just, you know, I felt lucky to have gotten that far.

[Assistant] Had you ever studied Spanish?

[User] Yes, I had taken Spanish in college. I hadn't done real well, but yeah, I had.

[Assistant] OK. So how did you, what happened? How did you get from Denver to Albuquerque?

[User] It happened real quick. I mean, I was going to go visit a friend of mine who was in Mexico City, that was going to be my graduation trip, and I went for my initial evaluation, physical evaluation. I needed to have dental work done. So that cancels the trip, and I had to use money for dental work and people, dentists, people moved, well they didn't move heaven and earth, but people made accommodations. Dentists did, and I stayed with a friend's family so that I could get the work done in time to report to training. So there was a sense of, well, let us help you do this since you're, you know.

[Assistant] Where was your family living?


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

[User] Yes, I had taken Spanish in college. I hadn't done real well, but yeah, I had.

[Assistant] OK. So how did you, what happened? How did you get from Denver to Albuquerque?

[User] It happened real quick. I mean, I was going to go visit a friend of mine who was in Mexico City, that was going to be my graduation trip, and I went for my initial evaluation, physical evaluation. I needed to have dental work done. So that cancels the trip, and I had to use money for dental work and people, dentists, people moved, well they didn't move heaven and earth, but people made accommodations. Dentists did, and I stayed with a friend's family so that I could get the work done in time to report to training. So there was a sense of, well, let us help you do this since you're, you know.

[Assistant] Where was your family living?

[User] In Canyon City, which is about 150 miles southwest of Denver.

[Assistant] But do you remember at the goodbye, did you think next thing you'd be in Colombia?


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

[User] In Canyon City, which is about 150 miles southwest of Denver.

[Assistant] But do you remember at the goodbye, did you think next thing you'd be in Colombia?

[User] No, I knew that there would be training and that we'd be home after training.

[Assistant] Oh, OK.

[User] So I knew that.

[Assistant] So at that point it wasn't like.


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

[User] No, I knew that there would be training and that we'd be home after training.

[Assistant] Oh, OK.

[User] So I knew that.

[Assistant] So at that point it wasn't like.

[User] No, no. And in those days it was the three months training or the 10 weeks or whatever. And then you came home and then you were gone for two years. And I saw it as an adventure, really, really an adventure. I wasn't at all sure that I would get through training.

[Assistant] Now talk about first reporting to training in Albuquerque.


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

[User] So I knew that.

[Assistant] So at that point it wasn't like.

[User] No, no. And in those days it was the three months training or the 10 weeks or whatever. And then you came home and then you were gone for two years. And I saw it as an adventure, really, really an adventure. I wasn't at all sure that I would get through training.

[Assistant] Now talk about first reporting to training in Albuquerque.

[User] Um, I just, I remember getting off the plane and there was somebody waving a sign and a couple of us kind of gravitated towards, you know, kind of looking each other over, as I say, we were an all-female group. And uh, and we had a nickname for him, which I will not say, but he was part of the training, you know, he was a training coordinator and he was always waving signs and changing schedules and herding us to this place or that place. And so that was my first, uh.

[Assistant] Now you're in the midst of, how many were in the training group?


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

[User] Um, I just, I remember getting off the plane and there was somebody waving a sign and a couple of us kind of gravitated towards, you know, kind of looking each other over, as I say, we were an all-female group. And uh, and we had a nickname for him, which I will not say, but he was part of the training, you know, he was a training coordinator and he was always waving signs and changing schedules and herding us to this place or that place. And so that was my first, uh.

[Assistant] Now you're in the midst of, how many were in the training group?

[User] OK, um, that was the summer. That was the summer of '63. And they used to talk about they were going to just parachute volunteers. There were 300 in training at UNM.

[Assistant] Wow.

[User] And we, our group, 42 went down and I think we were over 60, all women. But we trained concurrently with a group of men who were going to Ecuador and there were about 75 of them. And then there was a group going. There was a group that was four weeks ahead of us that was going to Colombia. There was a group going to Brazil, you know. And it just seemed like there were, the whole campus was Peace Corps trainees.

[Assistant] But you could identify your own Colombia.


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

[User] OK, um, that was the summer. That was the summer of '63. And they used to talk about they were going to just parachute volunteers. There were 300 in training at UNM.

[Assistant] Wow.

[User] And we, our group, 42 went down and I think we were over 60, all women. But we trained concurrently with a group of men who were going to Ecuador and there were about 75 of them. And then there was a group going. There was a group that was four weeks ahead of us that was going to Colombia. There was a group going to Brazil, you know. And it just seemed like there were, the whole campus was Peace Corps trainees.

[Assistant] But you could identify your own Colombia.

[User] Oh, absolutely. Because we, yeah, we trained together. We roomed together. We were on the same schedule.

[Assistant] What was your initial impression of the others in the group? I mean, you joined and now.


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

[User] And we, our group, 42 went down and I think we were over 60, all women. But we trained concurrently with a group of men who were going to Ecuador and there were about 75 of them. And then there was a group going. There was a group that was four weeks ahead of us that was going to Colombia. There was a group going to Brazil, you know. And it just seemed like there were, the whole campus was Peace Corps trainees.

[Assistant] But you could identify your own Colombia.

[User] Oh, absolutely. Because we, yeah, we trained together. We roomed together. We were on the same schedule.

[Assistant] What was your initial impression of the others in the group? I mean, you joined and now.

[User] My first impression, which really turned out to be wrong, was they were all home ec majors. And what was I doing here, you know? And um, that changed.

[Assistant] Yeah. For the most part, were they recent college graduates?


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

[User] Oh, absolutely. Because we, yeah, we trained together. We roomed together. We were on the same schedule.

[Assistant] What was your initial impression of the others in the group? I mean, you joined and now.

[User] My first impression, which really turned out to be wrong, was they were all home ec majors. And what was I doing here, you know? And um, that changed.

[Assistant] Yeah. For the most part, were they recent college graduates?

[User] We were all college graduates. There were one or two women who had had two years of college, but everybody else was a college grad.

[Assistant] Anyone over 30?


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

[User] My first impression, which really turned out to be wrong, was they were all home ec majors. And what was I doing here, you know? And um, that changed.

[Assistant] Yeah. For the most part, were they recent college graduates?

[User] We were all college graduates. There were one or two women who had had two years of college, but everybody else was a college grad.

[Assistant] Anyone over 30?

[User] Yes. A woman named Olga, who was like in her sixties. And I think she was the oldest and by far and she did go overseas. She did.

[Assistant] Were there any in that group who came from a Hispanic background?


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

[User] Yes. And again, you know, it's only in retrospect that it registers. Two women who, one was the daughter of, her last name was Lara, and she was the daughter of, or she was the niece of a very famous songwriter in Mexico. And then another woman who came from California and the very, the first day, either the first day we were there or the first Sunday, Maria Elena and three or four other women in my group went out to the Albuquerque airport and parachuted. They couldn't, I can't believe, because it's just coming to mind, because I remember she had these leather boots and they couldn't have parachuted. But I think they did. They did something.

[Assistant] Skydiving?

[User] They couldn't have skydived. Because I don't think we did. But it seems to me they, something just, they were tremendous women. They were just tremendous. Yeah. And I remember.

[Assistant] Did you?

[User] No! I wanted.

[Assistant] Your feet were on the ground.


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

[User] They couldn't have skydived. Because I don't think we did. But it seems to me they, something just, they were tremendous women. They were just tremendous. Yeah. And I remember.

[Assistant] Did you?

[User] No! I wanted.

[Assistant] Your feet were on the ground.

[User] Yes. I wanted to sit and drink coffee and smoke cigarettes and save the world.

[Assistant] Now, talk about the structure of training. It must have different phases.


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

[User] No! I wanted.

[Assistant] Your feet were on the ground.

[User] Yes. I wanted to sit and drink coffee and smoke cigarettes and save the world.

[Assistant] Now, talk about the structure of training. It must have different phases.

[User] It was very demanding physically. We had calisthenics every morning. We were told that we were American women and we didn't have upper body strength and that we had to, we did a lot of exercises to develop upper body strength. Climbing up ropes in the gym. We ran for a mile every morning. We had very intensive language training.

[Assistant] Well, let's stay with the physical.


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

[User] Yes. I wanted to sit and drink coffee and smoke cigarettes and save the world.

[Assistant] Now, talk about the structure of training. It must have different phases.

[User] It was very demanding physically. We had calisthenics every morning. We were told that we were American women and we didn't have upper body strength and that we had to, we did a lot of exercises to develop upper body strength. Climbing up ropes in the gym. We ran for a mile every morning. We had very intensive language training.

[Assistant] Well, let's stay with the physical.

[User] Oh, with the physical, OK.

[Assistant] Was it just that 40, your health ed group that was doing this?


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

[User] It was very demanding physically. We had calisthenics every morning. We were told that we were American women and we didn't have upper body strength and that we had to, we did a lot of exercises to develop upper body strength. Climbing up ropes in the gym. We ran for a mile every morning. We had very intensive language training.

[Assistant] Well, let's stay with the physical.

[User] Oh, with the physical, OK.

[Assistant] Was it just that 40, your health ed group that was doing this?

[User] No, that was part of everybody. Everybody. We ran for a mile in the morning, and I think everybody was pretty much on the same schedule in terms of running in the morning, breakfast and lunch and dinner, so that all volunteers were, I mean, all trainees were in that thing.

[Assistant] With the phys ed, did you have a feeling attendance was being taken and people were watching you?


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

[User] Oh, with the physical, OK.

[Assistant] Was it just that 40, your health ed group that was doing this?

[User] No, that was part of everybody. Everybody. We ran for a mile in the morning, and I think everybody was pretty much on the same schedule in terms of running in the morning, breakfast and lunch and dinner, so that all volunteers were, I mean, all trainees were in that thing.

[Assistant] With the phys ed, did you have a feeling attendance was being taken and people were watching you?

[User] Absolutely. Absolutely. And I was going to say we didn't miss anything, and that was the other part. And there was a real emphasis on you're American women and you're weak. And we're really going to see, you know, for us.

[Assistant] Who's articulating this? Who are the trainers?


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

[User] Absolutely. Absolutely. And I was going to say we didn't miss anything, and that was the other part. And there was a real emphasis on you're American women and you're weak. And we're really going to see, you know, for us.

[Assistant] Who's articulating this? Who are the trainers?

[User] Later on, when we did survival training, we had ex Marines.

[Assistant] But initially?

[User] Initially they were the PE staff at UNM.

[Assistant] But they had not been volunteers.


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

[User] Later on, when we did survival training, we had ex Marines.

[Assistant] But initially?

[User] Initially they were the PE staff at UNM.

[Assistant] But they had not been volunteers.

[User] No, no, no, no. We did not. And we were Colombia 11. But Colombia I still was in the process of terminating and they did come back and train us, but not till further on in our training.

[Assistant] Ok, now let's talk about the language training.


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

[User] No, no, no, no. We did not. And we were Colombia 11. But Colombia I still was in the process of terminating and they did come back and train us, but not till further on in our training.

[Assistant] Ok, now let's talk about the language training.

[User] We had native speakers. It was audiolingual and it was five hours a day.

[Assistant] Wow.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] When you went into it, was there any implication that if you didn't learn the language at a certain level, you wouldn't go?


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

[User] We had native speakers. It was audiolingual and it was five hours a day.

[Assistant] Wow.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] When you went into it, was there any implication that if you didn't learn the language at a certain level, you wouldn't go?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Did they give you a particular test you had to pass or?


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] When you went into it, was there any implication that if you didn't learn the language at a certain level, you wouldn't go?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Did they give you a particular test you had to pass or?

[User] We were tested all the time in class. I don't remember.

[Assistant] OK. And how did you take to the language training?


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] Did they give you a particular test you had to pass or?

[User] We were tested all the time in class. I don't remember.

[Assistant] OK. And how did you take to the language training?

[User] I don't have a facility in language. I really don't. And I was in the third group out of five and five would have been bilingual and one would have been people had no language background at all. And I did a lot of memorizing because I couldn't verbalize very well. But one of the things that we, after a while we were just so tired because we went from 6:00 in the morning to maybe 9:00 or 10:00 at night. And I think that you get so tired that a lot of your resistance, you know, you're picking stuff up and you don't even realize it. Language was very important.

[Assistant] What was your own feeling about language learning, that you were going to make it or this was going to be what did you in?


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

[User] I don't have a facility in language. I really don't. And I was in the third group out of five and five would have been bilingual and one would have been people had no language background at all. And I did a lot of memorizing because I couldn't verbalize very well. But one of the things that we, after a while we were just so tired because we went from 6:00 in the morning to maybe 9:00 or 10:00 at night. And I think that you get so tired that a lot of your resistance, you know, you're picking stuff up and you don't even realize it. Language was very important.

[Assistant] What was your own feeling about language learning, that you were going to make it or this was going to be what did you in?

[User] No, I was beginning to feel pretty, because I was in the third group.

[Assistant] Right.

[User] So I was beginning to feel. Plus, I just I had had Spanish in my senior year in college and I hadn't done that well. But it was like I was, now that was being a help. And I was not worried about the language. Perhaps I should have been, but I wasn't.

[Assistant] Did you begin to have a sense of commitment was growing to being a Peace Corps volunteer? You must have been, you know, not sure at all.


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

[User] No, I was beginning to feel pretty, because I was in the third group.

[Assistant] Right.

[User] So I was beginning to feel. Plus, I just I had had Spanish in my senior year in college and I hadn't done that well. But it was like I was, now that was being a help. And I was not worried about the language. Perhaps I should have been, but I wasn't.

[Assistant] Did you begin to have a sense of commitment was growing to being a Peace Corps volunteer? You must have been, you know, not sure at all.

[User] I had. What happened. You develop the group. You know, you're bonding with these people that you're going through all this strenuous stuff with and you really care about them and you don't want to leave that. That was first thing. Second thing is, you already hate the Peace Corps staff. You know, you're just, you know, you can't wait. Yeah, yeah. Can't wait to get away from them. I had been and continue to have a lot of questions about the actual projects that we were doing and how comprehensive our training was.

[Assistant] Well that will come later.


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

[User] So I was beginning to feel. Plus, I just I had had Spanish in my senior year in college and I hadn't done that well. But it was like I was, now that was being a help. And I was not worried about the language. Perhaps I should have been, but I wasn't.

[Assistant] Did you begin to have a sense of commitment was growing to being a Peace Corps volunteer? You must have been, you know, not sure at all.

[User] I had. What happened. You develop the group. You know, you're bonding with these people that you're going through all this strenuous stuff with and you really care about them and you don't want to leave that. That was first thing. Second thing is, you already hate the Peace Corps staff. You know, you're just, you know, you can't wait. Yeah, yeah. Can't wait to get away from them. I had been and continue to have a lot of questions about the actual projects that we were doing and how comprehensive our training was.

[Assistant] Well that will come later.

[User] Yeah, but that was right on. That was from the very beginning.

[Assistant] OK, so you had PE, you had the language. What else in training in the early phase?


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

[User] I had. What happened. You develop the group. You know, you're bonding with these people that you're going through all this strenuous stuff with and you really care about them and you don't want to leave that. That was first thing. Second thing is, you already hate the Peace Corps staff. You know, you're just, you know, you can't wait. Yeah, yeah. Can't wait to get away from them. I had been and continue to have a lot of questions about the actual projects that we were doing and how comprehensive our training was.

[Assistant] Well that will come later.

[User] Yeah, but that was right on. That was from the very beginning.

[Assistant] OK, so you had PE, you had the language. What else in training in the early phase?

[User] OK, we had to have a course in American government because if, we did a lot of this, if the communists captured you, you have to be able to defend your country. We had a course in Russian history.

[Assistant] Well, was it world communism?


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

[User] Yeah, but that was right on. That was from the very beginning.

[Assistant] OK, so you had PE, you had the language. What else in training in the early phase?

[User] OK, we had to have a course in American government because if, we did a lot of this, if the communists captured you, you have to be able to defend your country. We had a course in Russian history.

[Assistant] Well, was it world communism?

[User] No. It seems to me Russian history. Very good professor. And then we had a lot of cultural stuff about Colombia, history of Colombia, and then cultural things. We had very little training in health education, very little. And what we had.

[Assistant] In the early phase then, did the those going to Colombia would, did you go to separate lectures on the history of Colombia? Or was everybody learning?


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

[User] OK, we had to have a course in American government because if, we did a lot of this, if the communists captured you, you have to be able to defend your country. We had a course in Russian history.

[Assistant] Well, was it world communism?

[User] No. It seems to me Russian history. Very good professor. And then we had a lot of cultural stuff about Colombia, history of Colombia, and then cultural things. We had very little training in health education, very little. And what we had.

[Assistant] In the early phase then, did the those going to Colombia would, did you go to separate lectures on the history of Colombia? Or was everybody learning?

[User] No, we were, because the training groups were staggered by training start date. And so every group was kind of going through its own stuff. And it seems to me that a lot of stuff was done in language groups so that there were maybe, maybe 15 in my, 10 or 15 in my language group. And we were, we would be tracked for some cultural education based on our language group.

[Assistant] And how early did the technical training start, was that in the early phases too?


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

[User] No. It seems to me Russian history. Very good professor. And then we had a lot of cultural stuff about Colombia, history of Colombia, and then cultural things. We had very little training in health education, very little. And what we had.

[Assistant] In the early phase then, did the those going to Colombia would, did you go to separate lectures on the history of Colombia? Or was everybody learning?

[User] No, we were, because the training groups were staggered by training start date. And so every group was kind of going through its own stuff. And it seems to me that a lot of stuff was done in language groups so that there were maybe, maybe 15 in my, 10 or 15 in my language group. And we were, we would be tracked for some cultural education based on our language group.

[Assistant] And how early did the technical training start, was that in the early phases too?

[User] That was in the early phases at UNM.

[Assistant] What did it consist of?


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

[User] No, we were, because the training groups were staggered by training start date. And so every group was kind of going through its own stuff. And it seems to me that a lot of stuff was done in language groups so that there were maybe, maybe 15 in my, 10 or 15 in my language group. And we were, we would be tracked for some cultural education based on our language group.

[Assistant] And how early did the technical training start, was that in the early phases too?

[User] That was in the early phases at UNM.

[Assistant] What did it consist of?

[User] I think we had a first aid course, but no, we had a self-help medical course that was for everybody in the evening. The training was inadequate. That's all I can say. I remember at one point, we were taken down to Albuquerque's, the public health or the public utilities, and they gave us a demonstration on how to use an atomic stove, which was an early microwave. We visited some community centers. When we got up into Taos later on, we again, but the training from, in terms of health, was just inadequate. I think we studied the food groups and I remember my partner and I, we got to Colombia. We couldn't remember were there five food groups or eight? I mean, you know, it was truly, um, I kept waiting for training and it never came in the health part.

[Assistant] Was there anyone in that phase of training who was defining what a health ed Peace Corps volunteer would likely be doing?


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

[User] That was in the early phases at UNM.

[Assistant] What did it consist of?

[User] I think we had a first aid course, but no, we had a self-help medical course that was for everybody in the evening. The training was inadequate. That's all I can say. I remember at one point, we were taken down to Albuquerque's, the public health or the public utilities, and they gave us a demonstration on how to use an atomic stove, which was an early microwave. We visited some community centers. When we got up into Taos later on, we again, but the training from, in terms of health, was just inadequate. I think we studied the food groups and I remember my partner and I, we got to Colombia. We couldn't remember were there five food groups or eight? I mean, you know, it was truly, um, I kept waiting for training and it never came in the health part.

[Assistant] Was there anyone in that phase of training who was defining what a health ed Peace Corps volunteer would likely be doing?

[User] Absolutely not.

[Assistant] OK, so it was all kind of generalized.


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

[User] I think we had a first aid course, but no, we had a self-help medical course that was for everybody in the evening. The training was inadequate. That's all I can say. I remember at one point, we were taken down to Albuquerque's, the public health or the public utilities, and they gave us a demonstration on how to use an atomic stove, which was an early microwave. We visited some community centers. When we got up into Taos later on, we again, but the training from, in terms of health, was just inadequate. I think we studied the food groups and I remember my partner and I, we got to Colombia. We couldn't remember were there five food groups or eight? I mean, you know, it was truly, um, I kept waiting for training and it never came in the health part.

[Assistant] Was there anyone in that phase of training who was defining what a health ed Peace Corps volunteer would likely be doing?

[User] Absolutely not.

[Assistant] OK, so it was all kind of generalized.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] At the time, if you can remember, did you have a sense that it was just very general and didn't relate to what you were going to do?


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

[User] Absolutely not.

[Assistant] OK, so it was all kind of generalized.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] At the time, if you can remember, did you have a sense that it was just very general and didn't relate to what you were going to do?

[User] Yes, yes. We as a group had concerns.

[Assistant] Another very big part of the training process is selection. Do you recall the selection process?


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

[User] Right.

[Assistant] At the time, if you can remember, did you have a sense that it was just very general and didn't relate to what you were going to do?

[User] Yes, yes. We as a group had concerns.

[Assistant] Another very big part of the training process is selection. Do you recall the selection process?

[User] As if one could ever forget. Yeah.

[Assistant] And how did it work?


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

[User] Yes, yes. We as a group had concerns.

[Assistant] Another very big part of the training process is selection. Do you recall the selection process?

[User] As if one could ever forget. Yeah.

[Assistant] And how did it work?

[User] We had two selection boards and then a final board. We had a selection, I think, training was 12 weeks, at the end. Some were an early selection that may have almost been a self-selection out. We had some people leave early on.

[Assistant] Well, what did you have to go through in the selection process?


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

[User] OK. I didn't have to go through. We were observed all the time.

[Assistant] By who?

[User] Our trainers, our teachers, everybody was making, observing what we were doing. We filled out questionnaires. We were tested all the time. We were given the Minnesota.

[Assistant] Multiphasic.

[User] Yeah. And I was called in because I had marked down that I thought my body was falling apart. And they asked about that and I said, probably because I had all this dental work done, you know?

[Assistant] And was it a psychologist, a psychiatrist, who saw you?


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

[User] Our trainers, our teachers, everybody was making, observing what we were doing. We filled out questionnaires. We were tested all the time. We were given the Minnesota.

[Assistant] Multiphasic.

[User] Yeah. And I was called in because I had marked down that I thought my body was falling apart. And they asked about that and I said, probably because I had all this dental work done, you know?

[Assistant] And was it a psychologist, a psychiatrist, who saw you?

[User] I think it was a woman. I think it was a psychologist, and she asked me some questions. We did have a psychiatrist from Colorado, his name was Garcia, who was assigned to our group, who sat on it. We had selection boards that met in secret and we knew they were meeting, but that we didn't go before them or anything. This interview was the only thing that I remember and she asked me why I wanted to join. And I told her, you know, wanted to do something concrete. And there was just a lot of testing, a lot of background checks. We were very worried about.

[Assistant] The FBI was doing background checks.


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

[User] Yeah. And I was called in because I had marked down that I thought my body was falling apart. And they asked about that and I said, probably because I had all this dental work done, you know?

[Assistant] And was it a psychologist, a psychiatrist, who saw you?

[User] I think it was a woman. I think it was a psychologist, and she asked me some questions. We did have a psychiatrist from Colorado, his name was Garcia, who was assigned to our group, who sat on it. We had selection boards that met in secret and we knew they were meeting, but that we didn't go before them or anything. This interview was the only thing that I remember and she asked me why I wanted to join. And I told her, you know, wanted to do something concrete. And there was just a lot of testing, a lot of background checks. We were very worried about.

[Assistant] The FBI was doing background checks.

[User] Background checks. What were they going to find?

[Assistant] Did you have any concern on that score?


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

[User] I think it was a woman. I think it was a psychologist, and she asked me some questions. We did have a psychiatrist from Colorado, his name was Garcia, who was assigned to our group, who sat on it. We had selection boards that met in secret and we knew they were meeting, but that we didn't go before them or anything. This interview was the only thing that I remember and she asked me why I wanted to join. And I told her, you know, wanted to do something concrete. And there was just a lot of testing, a lot of background checks. We were very worried about.

[Assistant] The FBI was doing background checks.

[User] Background checks. What were they going to find?

[Assistant] Did you have any concern on that score?

[User] Yeah, I think, in the sense that you didn't know what was personal and what was not. You didn't know how, what people would say. You didn't know how your life would be evaluated. And certainly in those days in college, I mean, women had curfews and you couldn't do this and you couldn't do that, and a lot of us had done that. And what if that came up and, you know, all that kind of stuff? So there was more apprehension about the background check.

[Assistant] Did you feel uncertain about the selection?


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

[User] Background checks. What were they going to find?

[Assistant] Did you have any concern on that score?

[User] Yeah, I think, in the sense that you didn't know what was personal and what was not. You didn't know how, what people would say. You didn't know how your life would be evaluated. And certainly in those days in college, I mean, women had curfews and you couldn't do this and you couldn't do that, and a lot of us had done that. And what if that came up and, you know, all that kind of stuff? So there was more apprehension about the background check.

[Assistant] Did you feel uncertain about the selection?

[User] Oh, absolutely. And it was Orwellian in the sense that you really felt you were being watched all the time and that that wasn't fair.

[Assistant] Did you do peer ratings also?


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

[User] Yeah, I think, in the sense that you didn't know what was personal and what was not. You didn't know how, what people would say. You didn't know how your life would be evaluated. And certainly in those days in college, I mean, women had curfews and you couldn't do this and you couldn't do that, and a lot of us had done that. And what if that came up and, you know, all that kind of stuff? So there was more apprehension about the background check.

[Assistant] Did you feel uncertain about the selection?

[User] Oh, absolutely. And it was Orwellian in the sense that you really felt you were being watched all the time and that that wasn't fair.

[Assistant] Did you do peer ratings also?

[User] Yes. And we did peer ratings twice and the second time a lot of us declined to do them.

[Assistant] Oh, I was going to ask about that, OK.


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

[User] Oh, absolutely. And it was Orwellian in the sense that you really felt you were being watched all the time and that that wasn't fair.

[Assistant] Did you do peer ratings also?

[User] Yes. And we did peer ratings twice and the second time a lot of us declined to do them.

[Assistant] Oh, I was going to ask about that, OK.

[User] But you would, I would always remind myself that I volunteered for this, you know. And there was that, the worst, the only thing worse about being there was not being there, and that was Peace Corps. That was just Peace Corps.

[Assistant] Did the group begin to coalesce against the process?


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

[User] Yes. And we did peer ratings twice and the second time a lot of us declined to do them.

[Assistant] Oh, I was going to ask about that, OK.

[User] But you would, I would always remind myself that I volunteered for this, you know. And there was that, the worst, the only thing worse about being there was not being there, and that was Peace Corps. That was just Peace Corps.

[Assistant] Did the group begin to coalesce against the process?

[User] Very much so. Very strongly.

[Assistant] I don't think that was a conscious thing on their part, but.


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

[User] But you would, I would always remind myself that I volunteered for this, you know. And there was that, the worst, the only thing worse about being there was not being there, and that was Peace Corps. That was just Peace Corps.

[Assistant] Did the group begin to coalesce against the process?

[User] Very much so. Very strongly.

[Assistant] I don't think that was a conscious thing on their part, but.

[User] You know, sometimes I wonder. Because you never knew.

[Assistant] So the first selection board occurred and?


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

[User] Very much so. Very strongly.

[Assistant] I don't think that was a conscious thing on their part, but.

[User] You know, sometimes I wonder. Because you never knew.

[Assistant] So the first selection board occurred and?

[User] Some women. I can't remember how we found out. People were called in for interviews and I was not called in for an interview. My interview had been earlier around the Minnesota test. They were called in for interviews and they were either told that we don't think this is right for you or they were told we have some concerns. And so we had people leave and the ones who left then, only a couple of women left. And I think young.

[Assistant] You didn't have any explanations given to you.


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

[User] You know, sometimes I wonder. Because you never knew.

[Assistant] So the first selection board occurred and?

[User] Some women. I can't remember how we found out. People were called in for interviews and I was not called in for an interview. My interview had been earlier around the Minnesota test. They were called in for interviews and they were either told that we don't think this is right for you or they were told we have some concerns. And so we had people leave and the ones who left then, only a couple of women left. And I think young.

[Assistant] You didn't have any explanations given to you.

[User] Never. What would happen, we were never given anything, but the women would come and tell you. People would tell us why they were told that they were selected out. And then Peace Corps would tell us, discount what anyone is telling you because they, you know, they may choose not to tell you the real reason. So it was that kind of game playing.

[Assistant] Yeah. Did the group disagree with any of the selection choices?


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

[User] Some women. I can't remember how we found out. People were called in for interviews and I was not called in for an interview. My interview had been earlier around the Minnesota test. They were called in for interviews and they were either told that we don't think this is right for you or they were told we have some concerns. And so we had people leave and the ones who left then, only a couple of women left. And I think young.

[Assistant] You didn't have any explanations given to you.

[User] Never. What would happen, we were never given anything, but the women would come and tell you. People would tell us why they were told that they were selected out. And then Peace Corps would tell us, discount what anyone is telling you because they, you know, they may choose not to tell you the real reason. So it was that kind of game playing.

[Assistant] Yeah. Did the group disagree with any of the selection choices?

[User] The first time?

[Assistant] And did you do anything about it?


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

[User] The first time?

[Assistant] And did you do anything about it?

[User] The first time, no. These are great questions. The selection at the end we did. If you want me to tell you about it.

[Assistant] Sure.

[User]
Yeah. The last selection was the night before we left Taos. We'd been up there for a month and our boards met and then, I mean, it was tough. It was just awful. We have this big barbecue celebration. And then they said everybody would be given a piece of paper and it would have either a circle or an X and a circle meant one thing and an X meant something else. And of course, I couldn't remember which was which. And one was you were going and the other was you were not going. And we were all there, bonded, with the guys from Ecuador, and it was god awful. And there was one woman who was selected out that night, and she was told that her parents had divorced and that she had not, hey didn't feel that she had handled it and that she was likely to have a problem when she got overseas. And we thought that was crazy.

And when it got time to get on the plane in New York, we staged, we refused to get on the plane until we were told that she'd have a chance to get, you know, to go. And it was a minor little, you know, we weren't very successful, but we felt that was incredibly unfair. And I still think it was unfair. With the men, there was somebody that they selected out and that night, when we went back to the ski lodge where we had been staying, the men of Ecuador V got up a petition right away because they thought it was so unfair. And I remember encouraging somebody that was a friend of mine at the time to sign the petition. They signed the petition. The guy got to go down to Ecuador and had a severe cultural shock reaction and had to be escorted home. So that. But yeah, the selection, the selection was, I don't. It was just really awful.

[Assistant] The one effect tends to be to create group spirit.


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

[User] The first time, no. These are great questions. The selection at the end we did. If you want me to tell you about it.

[Assistant] Sure.

[User]
Yeah. The last selection was the night before we left Taos. We'd been up there for a month and our boards met and then, I mean, it was tough. It was just awful. We have this big barbecue celebration. And then they said everybody would be given a piece of paper and it would have either a circle or an X and a circle meant one thing and an X meant something else. And of course, I couldn't remember which was which. And one was you were going and the other was you were not going. And we were all there, bonded, with the guys from Ecuador, and it was god awful. And there was one woman who was selected out that night, and she was told that her parents had divorced and that she had not, hey didn't feel that she had handled it and that she was likely to have a problem when she got overseas. And we thought that was crazy.

And when it got time to get on the plane in New York, we staged, we refused to get on the plane until we were told that she'd have a chance to get, you know, to go. And it was a minor little, you know, we weren't very successful, but we felt that was incredibly unfair. And I still think it was unfair. With the men, there was somebody that they selected out and that night, when we went back to the ski lodge where we had been staying, the men of Ecuador V got up a petition right away because they thought it was so unfair. And I remember encouraging somebody that was a friend of mine at the time to sign the petition. They signed the petition. The guy got to go down to Ecuador and had a severe cultural shock reaction and had to be escorted home. So that. But yeah, the selection, the selection was, I don't. It was just really awful.

[Assistant] The one effect tends to be to create group spirit.

[User] Absolutely.

[Assistant] Even if it's a negative motivation.


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

[User]
Yeah. The last selection was the night before we left Taos. We'd been up there for a month and our boards met and then, I mean, it was tough. It was just awful. We have this big barbecue celebration. And then they said everybody would be given a piece of paper and it would have either a circle or an X and a circle meant one thing and an X meant something else. And of course, I couldn't remember which was which. And one was you were going and the other was you were not going. And we were all there, bonded, with the guys from Ecuador, and it was god awful. And there was one woman who was selected out that night, and she was told that her parents had divorced and that she had not, hey didn't feel that she had handled it and that she was likely to have a problem when she got overseas. And we thought that was crazy.

And when it got time to get on the plane in New York, we staged, we refused to get on the plane until we were told that she'd have a chance to get, you know, to go. And it was a minor little, you know, we weren't very successful, but we felt that was incredibly unfair. And I still think it was unfair. With the men, there was somebody that they selected out and that night, when we went back to the ski lodge where we had been staying, the men of Ecuador V got up a petition right away because they thought it was so unfair. And I remember encouraging somebody that was a friend of mine at the time to sign the petition. They signed the petition. The guy got to go down to Ecuador and had a severe cultural shock reaction and had to be escorted home. So that. But yeah, the selection, the selection was, I don't. It was just really awful.

[Assistant] The one effect tends to be to create group spirit.

[User] Absolutely.

[Assistant] Even if it's a negative motivation.

[User] Absolutely. Right.

[Assistant] Well, the initial phase of training was in Albuquerque.


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

[User] Absolutely.

[Assistant] Even if it's a negative motivation.

[User] Absolutely. Right.

[Assistant] Well, the initial phase of training was in Albuquerque.

[User]
Right. [tape break]

Language test.

[Assistant] OK, so apparently you were learning it, and you were learning it somehow.


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

[User] Absolutely. Right.

[Assistant] Well, the initial phase of training was in Albuquerque.

[User]
Right. [tape break]

Language test.

[Assistant] OK, so apparently you were learning it, and you were learning it somehow.

[User] And I don't remember. I have a dear, dear friend of mine who was in the language, who had not had Spanish at all, and she was in the first group of, you know, and she got to go. So I don't remember people being selected out on the basis of language.

[Assistant] Now what was the point of the Taos training?


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

[User]
Right. [tape break]

Language test.

[Assistant] OK, so apparently you were learning it, and you were learning it somehow.

[User] And I don't remember. I have a dear, dear friend of mine who was in the language, who had not had Spanish at all, and she was in the first group of, you know, and she got to go. So I don't remember people being selected out on the basis of language.

[Assistant] Now what was the point of the Taos training?

[User] We were rural community development and northern New Mexico has villages that were in those days, very, very, um. They were three and four hundred years old, and the people living there were Spanish speaking and culturally they had a lot in common with the people we would be working with in Latin America. And the University of New Mexico had been doing community development in northern New Mexico for about a year or so. And it was. Community development is almost cultish in the sense that they had preconceived notions about what these communities should do to develop. And that wasn't good. But we.

[Assistant] So how did you spend your time when you were up there?


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

[User] And I don't remember. I have a dear, dear friend of mine who was in the language, who had not had Spanish at all, and she was in the first group of, you know, and she got to go. So I don't remember people being selected out on the basis of language.

[Assistant] Now what was the point of the Taos training?

[User] We were rural community development and northern New Mexico has villages that were in those days, very, very, um. They were three and four hundred years old, and the people living there were Spanish speaking and culturally they had a lot in common with the people we would be working with in Latin America. And the University of New Mexico had been doing community development in northern New Mexico for about a year or so. And it was. Community development is almost cultish in the sense that they had preconceived notions about what these communities should do to develop. And that wasn't good. But we.

[Assistant] So how did you spend your time when you were up there?

[User] We went, we went up to the Taos ski lodge, Taos Ski Valley, and then we spent. We were there for a week and then we'd spend a week out in a site assignment and then we go back.

[Assistant] Not the whole group.


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

[User] We were rural community development and northern New Mexico has villages that were in those days, very, very, um. They were three and four hundred years old, and the people living there were Spanish speaking and culturally they had a lot in common with the people we would be working with in Latin America. And the University of New Mexico had been doing community development in northern New Mexico for about a year or so. And it was. Community development is almost cultish in the sense that they had preconceived notions about what these communities should do to develop. And that wasn't good. But we.

[Assistant] So how did you spend your time when you were up there?

[User] We went, we went up to the Taos ski lodge, Taos Ski Valley, and then we spent. We were there for a week and then we'd spend a week out in a site assignment and then we go back.

[Assistant] Not the whole group.

[User] No, OK.

[Assistant] Talk about your own experience.


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

[User] No, OK.

[Assistant] Talk about your own experience.

[User] My own experience. I was in Peñasco, New Mexico, and there were.

[Assistant] Alone?

[User] No, no, no, no. There were Ecuador, men training for Ecuador and women in my group. We were about eight or 10 in Peñasco.

[Assistant] Where did you stay?


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

[User] My own experience. I was in Peñasco, New Mexico, and there were.

[Assistant] Alone?

[User] No, no, no, no. There were Ecuador, men training for Ecuador and women in my group. We were about eight or 10 in Peñasco.

[Assistant] Where did you stay?

[User] We stayed in the theater. And the movie that was playing was called Lode Macho and we saw it all over Latin America. I think it's still playing in Peñasco and they would bring out, we had army cots. We slept in the lobby. And the food was just wonderful and there were some.

[Assistant] Who were your hosts?


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

[User] No, no, no, no. There were Ecuador, men training for Ecuador and women in my group. We were about eight or 10 in Peñasco.

[Assistant] Where did you stay?

[User] We stayed in the theater. And the movie that was playing was called Lode Macho and we saw it all over Latin America. I think it's still playing in Peñasco and they would bring out, we had army cots. We slept in the lobby. And the food was just wonderful and there were some.

[Assistant] Who were your hosts?

[User] The people who owned the theater and the café associated to it. They really kind of were the people that took care of, that were, I guess, our host, but nobody had really invited us into the village because the village was not that, or this was before the War on Poverty. There really wasn't, you know. But the Colombian I volunteers were there and they took over our training when we went up to northern New Mexico. And they began, there was a Center for Community Development at the University of New Mexico, and they became employees of the center that had a contract to train us. And that's, they came on board and it was like, OK, we're here.

[Assistant] When you're in Peñasco with the seven others, there's also a Colombia I volunteer?


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

[User] We stayed in the theater. And the movie that was playing was called Lode Macho and we saw it all over Latin America. I think it's still playing in Peñasco and they would bring out, we had army cots. We slept in the lobby. And the food was just wonderful and there were some.

[Assistant] Who were your hosts?

[User] The people who owned the theater and the café associated to it. They really kind of were the people that took care of, that were, I guess, our host, but nobody had really invited us into the village because the village was not that, or this was before the War on Poverty. There really wasn't, you know. But the Colombian I volunteers were there and they took over our training when we went up to northern New Mexico. And they began, there was a Center for Community Development at the University of New Mexico, and they became employees of the center that had a contract to train us. And that's, they came on board and it was like, OK, we're here.

[Assistant] When you're in Peñasco with the seven others, there's also a Colombia I volunteer?

[User] Yes. Yes. And they had veto power over whether or not we went.

[Assistant] Was it just one person?


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

[User] Yes. Yes. And they had veto power over whether or not we went.

[Assistant] Was it just one person?

[User] We just had one trainer, yeah.

[Assistant] In Peñasco?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] You remember who it was?


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

[User] We just had one trainer, yeah.

[Assistant] In Peñasco?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] You remember who it was?

[User] His first name was Brad, and I don't remember his last name, and I think he had two or other, you know, a couple of other sites.

[Assistant] And what did you do in that phase?


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] You remember who it was?

[User] His first name was Brad, and I don't remember his last name, and I think he had two or other, you know, a couple of other sites.

[Assistant] And what did you do in that phase?

[User] We visited the clinic.

[Assistant] Did you do everything in a group?


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

[User] His first name was Brad, and I don't remember his last name, and I think he had two or other, you know, a couple of other sites.

[Assistant] And what did you do in that phase?

[User] We visited the clinic.

[Assistant] Did you do everything in a group?

[User] Yeah. Not the men, the women. We went to a clinic and we assisted in the clinic. It was the first time we met with women who only spoke Spanish. You know, we.

[Assistant] How'd you do? What was your?


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

[User] Yeah. Not the men, the women. We went to a clinic and we assisted in the clinic. It was the first time we met with women who only spoke Spanish. You know, we.

[Assistant] How'd you do? What was your?

[User] I remember that I held a little boy, they were doing shots. And we did clerical stuff. We did assist. And I remember asking him, quieres agua, do you want some water? And he said, yes, and I thought, there you go, you know.

[Assistant] Communication.

[User] The other thing I remember is the nuns. They had some apples that they wanted us to sort into big apples and little apples, and they were like four of us. And I remember the smell of the apples and the four of us, all of us college graduates, going bananas. Is this a big apple or a little apple?

[Assistant] The nuns, you said?


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

[User] I remember that I held a little boy, they were doing shots. And we did clerical stuff. We did assist. And I remember asking him, quieres agua, do you want some water? And he said, yes, and I thought, there you go, you know.

[Assistant] Communication.

[User] The other thing I remember is the nuns. They had some apples that they wanted us to sort into big apples and little apples, and they were like four of us. And I remember the smell of the apples and the four of us, all of us college graduates, going bananas. Is this a big apple or a little apple?

[Assistant] The nuns, you said?

[User] There were some missionary sisters in Peñasco who ran, no, they had a school. I guess they ran part of the school. Yeah. And that was what. And I remember thinking, you know, this does not bear well for.

[Assistant] Were they just putting you down?


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

[User] The other thing I remember is the nuns. They had some apples that they wanted us to sort into big apples and little apples, and they were like four of us. And I remember the smell of the apples and the four of us, all of us college graduates, going bananas. Is this a big apple or a little apple?

[Assistant] The nuns, you said?

[User] There were some missionary sisters in Peñasco who ran, no, they had a school. I guess they ran part of the school. Yeah. And that was what. And I remember thinking, you know, this does not bear well for.

[Assistant] Were they just putting you down?

[User] It was, well, I don't know. The apples needed to be sorted. And we were an extra pair of hands. And the other thing is that this, that was just beautiful. The Colombian volunteer, this one woman that we thought we were helping, she was she was a senior citizen and we thought we were helping her because we were going to convince her to build a latrine or get inside plumbing or something. And she saw herself as an American whose job it was to help these poor fools. You know, that she was helping us, and I remember she had this sense that she was, that we were like the last group through before the snow came. And she was kind of relieved because it had been a rough summer.

[Assistant] Did she speak both English and Spanish?


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

[User] There were some missionary sisters in Peñasco who ran, no, they had a school. I guess they ran part of the school. Yeah. And that was what. And I remember thinking, you know, this does not bear well for.

[Assistant] Were they just putting you down?

[User] It was, well, I don't know. The apples needed to be sorted. And we were an extra pair of hands. And the other thing is that this, that was just beautiful. The Colombian volunteer, this one woman that we thought we were helping, she was she was a senior citizen and we thought we were helping her because we were going to convince her to build a latrine or get inside plumbing or something. And she saw herself as an American whose job it was to help these poor fools. You know, that she was helping us, and I remember she had this sense that she was, that we were like the last group through before the snow came. And she was kind of relieved because it had been a rough summer.

[Assistant] Did she speak both English and Spanish?

[User] No, she spoke Spanish.

[Assistant] And she articulated this to you?


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

[User] It was, well, I don't know. The apples needed to be sorted. And we were an extra pair of hands. And the other thing is that this, that was just beautiful. The Colombian volunteer, this one woman that we thought we were helping, she was she was a senior citizen and we thought we were helping her because we were going to convince her to build a latrine or get inside plumbing or something. And she saw herself as an American whose job it was to help these poor fools. You know, that she was helping us, and I remember she had this sense that she was, that we were like the last group through before the snow came. And she was kind of relieved because it had been a rough summer.

[Assistant] Did she speak both English and Spanish?

[User] No, she spoke Spanish.

[Assistant] And she articulated this to you?

[User] Yes, and my Spanish, I've always been able to understand much better than I could speak. But the thing is that we would share with each other, the group, we would share this stuff. So I remember us laughing about the apples. And I remember thinking this woman had this idea, you know, of course, and it was good for us to understand that. You know, because at first we thought, well, you know, she doesn't understand, we're here to help her.

[Assistant] Now, the Colombia I volunteer, did he tried to introduce any reality checks? I mean, like this is what you're going to face when you get down there. Did he even know the project that you were going into?


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

[User] No, she spoke Spanish.

[Assistant] And she articulated this to you?

[User] Yes, and my Spanish, I've always been able to understand much better than I could speak. But the thing is that we would share with each other, the group, we would share this stuff. So I remember us laughing about the apples. And I remember thinking this woman had this idea, you know, of course, and it was good for us to understand that. You know, because at first we thought, well, you know, she doesn't understand, we're here to help her.

[Assistant] Now, the Colombia I volunteer, did he tried to introduce any reality checks? I mean, like this is what you're going to face when you get down there. Did he even know the project that you were going into?

[User] No.

[Assistant] What did he do?


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

[User] Yes, and my Spanish, I've always been able to understand much better than I could speak. But the thing is that we would share with each other, the group, we would share this stuff. So I remember us laughing about the apples. And I remember thinking this woman had this idea, you know, of course, and it was good for us to understand that. You know, because at first we thought, well, you know, she doesn't understand, we're here to help her.

[Assistant] Now, the Colombia I volunteer, did he tried to introduce any reality checks? I mean, like this is what you're going to face when you get down there. Did he even know the project that you were going into?

[User] No.

[Assistant] What did he do?

[User] He was community development, so he knew community development, but he didn't know health education. And they were very much like the top sergeants, like the kind of, you know, hey, I don't know whether you can make it or not. It was that kind of thing.

[Assistant] Ok, so you couldn't go up and say, what am I going to be doing when I'm in Colombia or what's the expectation or what's the role of the Peace Corps?


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

[User] No.

[Assistant] What did he do?

[User] He was community development, so he knew community development, but he didn't know health education. And they were very much like the top sergeants, like the kind of, you know, hey, I don't know whether you can make it or not. It was that kind of thing.

[Assistant] Ok, so you couldn't go up and say, what am I going to be doing when I'm in Colombia or what's the expectation or what's the role of the Peace Corps?

[User] No. They would tell us what they did, but Colombia I guys were kind of like demigods down in Colombia, you know what I mean? So it was more like, can you meet our standard?

[Assistant] During the whole, all the training, did anyone from Peace Corps, either Washington or Colombia, speak to the group?


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

[User] He was community development, so he knew community development, but he didn't know health education. And they were very much like the top sergeants, like the kind of, you know, hey, I don't know whether you can make it or not. It was that kind of thing.

[Assistant] Ok, so you couldn't go up and say, what am I going to be doing when I'm in Colombia or what's the expectation or what's the role of the Peace Corps?

[User] No. They would tell us what they did, but Colombia I guys were kind of like demigods down in Colombia, you know what I mean? So it was more like, can you meet our standard?

[Assistant] During the whole, all the training, did anyone from Peace Corps, either Washington or Colombia, speak to the group?

[User] Sargent Shriver spoke to the group.

[Assistant] OK, do you remember that?


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

[User] Sargent Shriver spoke to the group.

[Assistant] OK, do you remember that?

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] How big?

[User] The whole group.

[Assistant] When you were in Albuquerque?


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

[User] Yes.

[Assistant] How big?

[User] The whole group.

[Assistant] When you were in Albuquerque?

[User] Yeah. Like all five hundred of us.

[Assistant] What's your recollection of that?


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

[User] The whole group.

[Assistant] When you were in Albuquerque?

[User] Yeah. Like all five hundred of us.

[Assistant] What's your recollection of that?

[User] It was kind of, by that time we were really just not, we didn't. He got some tough questions from the audience because we had a lot of questions about the training. Exactly what were we doing? And I remember he said, finally, to somebody, if you don't like this, I'll send you to the Philippines. And in those days, the Philippines was a real tough, tough assignment. You know, Latin America was a good assignment that, you know, and I remember whenever I see Arlene, I always think of that, Shriver saying, I'll send you to the Philippines. We were not, um, there's a lot of frustration about. And you would get this kind of stuff that if you asked a question about what you were going to do, it might indicate that you could not tolerate what they called an unstructured situation. And it was kind of like a Catch 22, which is a book a lot of people were reading during training.

[Assistant] Oh yeah. So you didn't, at no point in training did you have a clear sense of what it is you would be doing when you got to Colombia?


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

[User] Yeah. Like all five hundred of us.

[Assistant] What's your recollection of that?

[User] It was kind of, by that time we were really just not, we didn't. He got some tough questions from the audience because we had a lot of questions about the training. Exactly what were we doing? And I remember he said, finally, to somebody, if you don't like this, I'll send you to the Philippines. And in those days, the Philippines was a real tough, tough assignment. You know, Latin America was a good assignment that, you know, and I remember whenever I see Arlene, I always think of that, Shriver saying, I'll send you to the Philippines. We were not, um, there's a lot of frustration about. And you would get this kind of stuff that if you asked a question about what you were going to do, it might indicate that you could not tolerate what they called an unstructured situation. And it was kind of like a Catch 22, which is a book a lot of people were reading during training.

[Assistant] Oh yeah. So you didn't, at no point in training did you have a clear sense of what it is you would be doing when you got to Colombia?

[User] Well, yes and no. We did some community surveys. We were supposed to do that. What do people want?

[Assistant] When you were up in Peñasco?


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

[User] It was kind of, by that time we were really just not, we didn't. He got some tough questions from the audience because we had a lot of questions about the training. Exactly what were we doing? And I remember he said, finally, to somebody, if you don't like this, I'll send you to the Philippines. And in those days, the Philippines was a real tough, tough assignment. You know, Latin America was a good assignment that, you know, and I remember whenever I see Arlene, I always think of that, Shriver saying, I'll send you to the Philippines. We were not, um, there's a lot of frustration about. And you would get this kind of stuff that if you asked a question about what you were going to do, it might indicate that you could not tolerate what they called an unstructured situation. And it was kind of like a Catch 22, which is a book a lot of people were reading during training.

[Assistant] Oh yeah. So you didn't, at no point in training did you have a clear sense of what it is you would be doing when you got to Colombia?

[User] Well, yes and no. We did some community surveys. We were supposed to do that. What do people want?

[Assistant] When you were up in Peñasco?

[User] Peñasco. Felt needs. I remember we had a discussion about some things that had been done at the clinic and that I felt we should build on what people wanted. But we weren't really there long enough.

[Assistant] You were there what, six weeks?


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

[User] Well, yes and no. We did some community surveys. We were supposed to do that. What do people want?

[Assistant] When you were up in Peñasco?

[User] Peñasco. Felt needs. I remember we had a discussion about some things that had been done at the clinic and that I felt we should build on what people wanted. But we weren't really there long enough.

[Assistant] You were there what, six weeks?

[User] No, no, no. We were up in New Mexico for a month and only out in the villages for like a week, at a time, for two weeks. So it was very, very brief. It was just, it was more like an introduction to a culture rather than training.

[Assistant] Did anyone within the training group of the women, did they have a background in social work or community development?


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

[User] Peñasco. Felt needs. I remember we had a discussion about some things that had been done at the clinic and that I felt we should build on what people wanted. But we weren't really there long enough.

[Assistant] You were there what, six weeks?

[User] No, no, no. We were up in New Mexico for a month and only out in the villages for like a week, at a time, for two weeks. So it was very, very brief. It was just, it was more like an introduction to a culture rather than training.

[Assistant] Did anyone within the training group of the women, did they have a background in social work or community development?

[User] No. We had a couple of people who were, who had a degree in home economics. Most of us, yeah, but most of us were sociology, history, political science. We really and truly were the BA generalist.

[Assistant] Did anyone in your group during the training simply say, well, this this is a lot of nonsense. I'm not going to do it. I'm going to resign.


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

[User] No. We had a couple of people who were, who had a degree in home economics. Most of us, yeah, but most of us were sociology, history, political science. We really and truly were the BA generalist.

[Assistant] Did anyone in your group during the training simply say, well, this this is a lot of nonsense. I'm not going to do it. I'm going to resign.

[User] Um, I tried to.

[Assistant] Oh, OK.

[User] And I, and this again, is another Peace Corps story, and I don't remember what, I think it was the atomic stove stuff. And I remember going over to Hokona Hall, which was where the Peace Corps administration was, and I said, I want to resign. And as it turned out, there was nobody there who was authorized to accept my resignation. And so they just kind of blew it off. But yeah, I felt very young.

[Assistant] So it must have been personally very stressful, I mean, you and others as well.


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

[User] Um, I tried to.

[Assistant] Oh, OK.

[User] And I, and this again, is another Peace Corps story, and I don't remember what, I think it was the atomic stove stuff. And I remember going over to Hokona Hall, which was where the Peace Corps administration was, and I said, I want to resign. And as it turned out, there was nobody there who was authorized to accept my resignation. And so they just kind of blew it off. But yeah, I felt very young.

[Assistant] So it must have been personally very stressful, I mean, you and others as well.

[User] But because it was that wanting to be with the group. Wanting to go, wanting very much to be a part of the whole effort and yet feeling very strongly that it didn't, what were we were being trained to do didn't make sense. You know that we didn't have, you know.

[Assistant] Let me ask you, you mentioned that Shriver had come, but had anyone from staff of Peace Corps?


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

[User] And I, and this again, is another Peace Corps story, and I don't remember what, I think it was the atomic stove stuff. And I remember going over to Hokona Hall, which was where the Peace Corps administration was, and I said, I want to resign. And as it turned out, there was nobody there who was authorized to accept my resignation. And so they just kind of blew it off. But yeah, I felt very young.

[Assistant] So it must have been personally very stressful, I mean, you and others as well.

[User] But because it was that wanting to be with the group. Wanting to go, wanting very much to be a part of the whole effort and yet feeling very strongly that it didn't, what were we were being trained to do didn't make sense. You know that we didn't have, you know.

[Assistant] Let me ask you, you mentioned that Shriver had come, but had anyone from staff of Peace Corps?

[User] Yes, the head of Colombia came, Chris Sheldon. And in those days, it was sometimes I think of World War II and this kind of, you know, very cavalier. You know, we're all going over the, yeah, kind of thing. And he said he didn't know how many volunteers he had in Colombia, three hundred? And he was just, but that was Chris Sheldon. I mean, he was. And people liked him, you know, but he was not incompetent at all. But he was very casual and he wasn't making promises to anyone. He said, I've got volunteers in jail down there. You know, the Colombian law you, they had been out drinking and they wound up in jail and they were on their own. And that was, you know, and it was kind of like, I don't know what I'm going to put you and your helmet and you're doing. You know, it was just kind of a.

[Assistant] That must have been frustrating.


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

[User] But because it was that wanting to be with the group. Wanting to go, wanting very much to be a part of the whole effort and yet feeling very strongly that it didn't, what were we were being trained to do didn't make sense. You know that we didn't have, you know.

[Assistant] Let me ask you, you mentioned that Shriver had come, but had anyone from staff of Peace Corps?

[User] Yes, the head of Colombia came, Chris Sheldon. And in those days, it was sometimes I think of World War II and this kind of, you know, very cavalier. You know, we're all going over the, yeah, kind of thing. And he said he didn't know how many volunteers he had in Colombia, three hundred? And he was just, but that was Chris Sheldon. I mean, he was. And people liked him, you know, but he was not incompetent at all. But he was very casual and he wasn't making promises to anyone. He said, I've got volunteers in jail down there. You know, the Colombian law you, they had been out drinking and they wound up in jail and they were on their own. And that was, you know, and it was kind of like, I don't know what I'm going to put you and your helmet and you're doing. You know, it was just kind of a.

[Assistant] That must have been frustrating.

[User] Well, that wasn't that frustrating because it was kind of like, this is the persona. This is our leader, you know? And people had confidence in him, the Colombia I people had confidence in him, and he had the feeling that he knew what he was doing. He might not share it with us, but you know. And he was funny. And so he was not. That's what I remember.

[Assistant] OK. Let's go to, you're back in Albuquerque. You finish your training.


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

[User] Yes, the head of Colombia came, Chris Sheldon. And in those days, it was sometimes I think of World War II and this kind of, you know, very cavalier. You know, we're all going over the, yeah, kind of thing. And he said he didn't know how many volunteers he had in Colombia, three hundred? And he was just, but that was Chris Sheldon. I mean, he was. And people liked him, you know, but he was not incompetent at all. But he was very casual and he wasn't making promises to anyone. He said, I've got volunteers in jail down there. You know, the Colombian law you, they had been out drinking and they wound up in jail and they were on their own. And that was, you know, and it was kind of like, I don't know what I'm going to put you and your helmet and you're doing. You know, it was just kind of a.

[Assistant] That must have been frustrating.

[User] Well, that wasn't that frustrating because it was kind of like, this is the persona. This is our leader, you know? And people had confidence in him, the Colombia I people had confidence in him, and he had the feeling that he knew what he was doing. He might not share it with us, but you know. And he was funny. And so he was not. That's what I remember.

[Assistant] OK. Let's go to, you're back in Albuquerque. You finish your training.

[User] We finished training in Taos.

[Assistant] Oh, OK. Now that was just the health ed group and the Ecuador.


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

[User] Well, that wasn't that frustrating because it was kind of like, this is the persona. This is our leader, you know? And people had confidence in him, the Colombia I people had confidence in him, and he had the feeling that he knew what he was doing. He might not share it with us, but you know. And he was funny. And so he was not. That's what I remember.

[Assistant] OK. Let's go to, you're back in Albuquerque. You finish your training.

[User] We finished training in Taos.

[Assistant] Oh, OK. Now that was just the health ed group and the Ecuador.

[User] Right.

[Assistant] Did any of the health ed group marry any of the Ecuador group?


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

[User] Right.

[Assistant] Did any of the health ed group marry any of the Ecuador group?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] During training?

[User] No, that was not allowed during training. It was not supposed to be in-country.

[Assistant] Did anyone try to switch projects?


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] During training?

[User] No, that was not allowed during training. It was not supposed to be in-country.

[Assistant] Did anyone try to switch projects?

[User] You couldn't because we were all women and they were all men.

[Assistant] OK, so it happened later.


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

[User] No, that was not allowed during training. It was not supposed to be in-country.

[Assistant] Did anyone try to switch projects?

[User] You couldn't because we were all women and they were all men.

[Assistant] OK, so it happened later.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] OK. So final selection, you mentioned that it was not easy. But at some point you, you know, you've been accepted, you are now a Peace Corps volunteer. Do you recall if there was a swearing-in ceremony?


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

[User] You couldn't because we were all women and they were all men.

[Assistant] OK, so it happened later.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] OK. So final selection, you mentioned that it was not easy. But at some point you, you know, you've been accepted, you are now a Peace Corps volunteer. Do you recall if there was a swearing-in ceremony?

[User] There was. And it was at the barbecue. It was.

[Assistant] When you're getting your little X's and O's.


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

[User] There was. And it was at the barbecue. It was.

[Assistant] When you're getting your little X's and O's.

[User] Yes. And by that time, everybody was in love with somebody else. And I said that we were all computerized matched, you know, because everything. And I, of course, found the only other person by the time we got up to Taos, who was still real dubious about the whole thing. So and then I didn't know what his, whether he had an X or a zero. He didn't know whether I had an X, you know, show me yours. I mean, it's just madness. And I remember standing in this, at the D.H. Lawrence Ranch, which is where the barbecue was, being sworn in.

[Assistant] By?

[User] One of our trainers, one of the staff, I don't even know.

[Assistant] So now it's for real, for real. What happened after Taos?


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

[User] One of our trainers, one of the staff, I don't even know.

[Assistant] So now it's for real, for real. What happened after Taos?

[User] We went home for 10 days and then we.

[Assistant] You, individually.

[User] Oh, I lost. We were given $200 clothing allowance, which I lost. Got home.

[Assistant] You flew back from?


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

[User] We went home for 10 days and then we.

[Assistant] You, individually.

[User] Oh, I lost. We were given $200 clothing allowance, which I lost. Got home.

[Assistant] You flew back from?

[User] From Denver. Yeah, from Albuquerque to Denver. My parents met me at the plane and my father said, be careful, your mother, she's going to try and persuade you not to go. And I said something about I had taken an oath and my mother said, oh, you took an oath? And so finally, I got my clothing allowance. They had found that they had found it in Albuquerque and put it in inter-campus mail, so.

[Assistant] So now you're preparing your shopping for two years?


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

[User] Oh, I lost. We were given $200 clothing allowance, which I lost. Got home.

[Assistant] You flew back from?

[User] From Denver. Yeah, from Albuquerque to Denver. My parents met me at the plane and my father said, be careful, your mother, she's going to try and persuade you not to go. And I said something about I had taken an oath and my mother said, oh, you took an oath? And so finally, I got my clothing allowance. They had found that they had found it in Albuquerque and put it in inter-campus mail, so.

[Assistant] So now you're preparing your shopping for two years?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] And at that point, did you have any second thoughts about, you know, do I really want to go?


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

[User] From Denver. Yeah, from Albuquerque to Denver. My parents met me at the plane and my father said, be careful, your mother, she's going to try and persuade you not to go. And I said something about I had taken an oath and my mother said, oh, you took an oath? And so finally, I got my clothing allowance. They had found that they had found it in Albuquerque and put it in inter-campus mail, so.

[Assistant] So now you're preparing your shopping for two years?

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] And at that point, did you have any second thoughts about, you know, do I really want to go?

[User] Absolutely not, because what I had decided. And somewhere along the way, you make the commitment. And I had decided that this was something I wanted to do and that I was totally committed to the idea and that it might not work and that I understood that and that I was willing to accept whatever came.

[Assistant] But you didn't have a clear idea of what you would be doing once you got to Colombia.


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] And at that point, did you have any second thoughts about, you know, do I really want to go?

[User] Absolutely not, because what I had decided. And somewhere along the way, you make the commitment. And I had decided that this was something I wanted to do and that I was totally committed to the idea and that it might not work and that I understood that and that I was willing to accept whatever came.

[Assistant] But you didn't have a clear idea of what you would be doing once you got to Colombia.

[User] No.

[Assistant] But you felt it was still worth trying.


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

[User] Absolutely not, because what I had decided. And somewhere along the way, you make the commitment. And I had decided that this was something I wanted to do and that I was totally committed to the idea and that it might not work and that I understood that and that I was willing to accept whatever came.

[Assistant] But you didn't have a clear idea of what you would be doing once you got to Colombia.

[User] No.

[Assistant] But you felt it was still worth trying.

[User] Yes. And trying is probably the word. It was worth the effort.

[Assistant] Did you have any interaction with your peers during home leave?


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

[User] No.

[Assistant] But you felt it was still worth trying.

[User] Yes. And trying is probably the word. It was worth the effort.

[Assistant] Did you have any interaction with your peers during home leave?

[User] No.

[Assistant] So it was just pretty much family.


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

[User] Yes. And trying is probably the word. It was worth the effort.

[Assistant] Did you have any interaction with your peers during home leave?

[User] No.

[Assistant] So it was just pretty much family.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] And your mom, because you took the oath, your mom stayed quiet. Do you have any siblings?


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

[User] No.

[Assistant] So it was just pretty much family.

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] And your mom, because you took the oath, your mom stayed quiet. Do you have any siblings?

[User] I have three sisters, three younger sisters.

[Assistant] What did they think of you?


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

[User] Yeah.

[Assistant] And your mom, because you took the oath, your mom stayed quiet. Do you have any siblings?

[User] I have three sisters, three younger sisters.

[Assistant] What did they think of you?

[User] You know, I really don't remember. Because my dad had been in the Army, the idea of somebody leaving, packing up and going away, was something that was real common. My baby sister was upset because I was 10 years older and I was kind of the person who would be, I was her guardian. And I told her not to worry and then I told her on my Peace Corps insurance she was the beneficiary. And I think my other two sisters were in college and had their own lives, you know.

[Assistant] So they weren't preparing you for sainthood before you went.


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

[User] I have three sisters, three younger sisters.

[Assistant] What did they think of you?

[User] You know, I really don't remember. Because my dad had been in the Army, the idea of somebody leaving, packing up and going away, was something that was real common. My baby sister was upset because I was 10 years older and I was kind of the person who would be, I was her guardian. And I told her not to worry and then I told her on my Peace Corps insurance she was the beneficiary. And I think my other two sisters were in college and had their own lives, you know.

[Assistant] So they weren't preparing you for sainthood before you went.

[User] No, absolutely not. No, no, no.

[Assistant] So what next? You flew to New York.


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

[User] You know, I really don't remember. Because my dad had been in the Army, the idea of somebody leaving, packing up and going away, was something that was real common. My baby sister was upset because I was 10 years older and I was kind of the person who would be, I was her guardian. And I told her not to worry and then I told her on my Peace Corps insurance she was the beneficiary. And I think my other two sisters were in college and had their own lives, you know.

[Assistant] So they weren't preparing you for sainthood before you went.

[User] No, absolutely not. No, no, no.

[Assistant] So what next? You flew to New York.

[User] Flew to New York.

[Assistant] Was that, did you have any time in New York?


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

[User] No, absolutely not. No, no, no.

[Assistant] So what next? You flew to New York.

[User] Flew to New York.

[Assistant] Was that, did you have any time in New York?

[User] No, we got in like, I got in at 5:00 and we flew out the next morning about 10:00 or 11:00.

[Assistant] And was that a charter plane?


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

[User] Flew to New York.

[Assistant] Was that, did you have any time in New York?

[User] No, we got in like, I got in at 5:00 and we flew out the next morning about 10:00 or 11:00.

[Assistant] And was that a charter plane?

[User] No. We were on a plane with other people.

[Assistant] At that point, who was it that was on the flight?