Serving America: Memories of Peace Corps

Captioning sponsored by WPBT ( SHOUTING ) I HAVE TODAY SIGNED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PEACE CORPS.

( ARTILLERY FIRE ) AND IT SEEMED TO ME THAT THE PEACE CORPS WAS THE ADVENTURE FOR MY GENERATION, AND SO I SIGNED UP.

HEY, I HAVE JUST ONE WORD FOR THIS GRADUATE, JUST ONE WORD... IN THE EARLY DAYS, DAVE, PEOPLE THOUGHT IT WAS A JOKE.

AND IN THE EARLY YEARS THIS WAS A VERY SEAT-OF-YOUR-PANTS OPERATION.

IT'S NOT THE SLICK BUSINESS THAT YOU CAN SEE TODAY.

AND THEY PASSED OUT A SHEET, AN ASSIGNMENT SHEET, AND IT SAID "IBARGUEN, PUERTO AYACUCHO," AND I LOOKED ON A MAP AND I SAW WHERE...

IT'S A AMAZON FEDERAL TERRITORY; IT WASN'T EVEN A STATE.

AND I SAID, "AMASONAS!

THAT'S A JUNGLE!

I'M FROM SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

THEY CAN'T SEND ME THERE."

T YEARS CHANGED MY LIFE, TRANSFORMED ME.

PEACE CORP WAS A DEFINING MOMENT IN MY LIFE; IT CHANGED MY DIRECTION.

PROUDLY SPONSORED IN PART BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, WHOSE MOMENTUM 2 CAMPAIGN IS POWERING ITS NEXT DYNAMIC STAGE OF PROGRAMS AS ONE OF AMERICA'S GREAT UNIVERSITIES.

YOU REMEMBER, I'M PRETTY SURE, THE COUNTRY'S FIRST REACTION TO THE PEACE CORPS IDEA.

IT WASN'T ALL FAVORABLE.

THERE WAS SOME CONTROVERSY.

SOME CALLED IT THE "KIDDIE CORPS."

SOME SAID IT WAS GOING TO BE JUST ANOTHER SET OF HIT AND RUN DO-GOODERS IN BERMUDA SHORTS AND BUTTON DOWN SHIRTS.

BUT TO MANY AMERICANS, THE PEACE CORPS IDEA SEEMED WELL WORTH TRYING.

THE PRESIDENT HAD SAID, YOU REMEMBER, "ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU; ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY."

AND AT THAT POINT IN TIME, PEOPLE WHO JOINED THE PEACE CORPS RECOMMENDED THEIR FRIENDS, AND I HAD BEEN RECOMMENDED BY A FRIEND OF MINE WHO WAS IN THE PHILIPPINES.

AND I FILLED OUT THE APPLICATION, AND SO I WAS ON THE FILE AND THEN I DIDN'T GO IN THE NAVY.

I CAME HOME ONE DAY, AND MY DAD SAID, "YOU HAD A CALL FROM SARGENT SHRIVER."

I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

AND I HAD GONE OVERSEAS MY JUNIOR YEAR AND I STUDIED IN DENMARK, WHICH IS MY HERITAGE, AND SOMEHOW I GOT THE BUG OVER THERE THAT I HAD TO DO SOMETHING.

AND I LIKED JOHN KENNEDY, AND SO WHEN HE CAME WITH THIS IDEA, I SAID, "THAT'S FOR ME."

MANY PEOPLE OF ALL AGES SAW IN THE PEACE CORPS A REAL CHANCE TO DO SOMETHING FOR THEIR COUNTRY AND FOR THE WORLD AND IN A DIRECT AND PERSONAL WAY, A CHANCE TO SERVE PERSONALLY THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM AND UNDERSTANDING.

I THINK IT ALL STARTED WITH PRESIDENT KENNEDY BECAUSE I WENT TO A CATHOLIC COLLEGE IN THE MID WEST, WAS RAISED CATHOLIC, SO WHEN A HANDSOME YOUNG MAN GETS ELECTED PRESIDENT THAT IS CATHOLIC, YOU KNOW, IT STEWED EXTRA INTEREST.

AND HIS MESSAGE WITH GOING ABROAD AND DOING SOMETHING FOR OTHERS REALLY RESONATED WITH ME.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW, SON?

I MEAN, WITH YOUR LIFE?

THERE'S MONEY IN LAW.

YOU GOT TO GO TO LAW SCHOOL.

YOU'LL NEVER REGRET IT.

I DON'T BELIEVE IT.

WHY, HE'S A MAN.

ONE WORD FOR YOU.

YOU REMEMBER IT.

ONE WORD?

PLASTICS.

THERE'S TIME ENOUGH AT START A GOOD CAREER FIRST FIND OUT SOMETHING ABOUT LIFE.

IF YOU DON'TYOU MAY NEVER LEARN THAT MONEY ISN'T THE ONLY THING IN IT.

AT THAT TIME, IF YOU JOINED THE PEACE CORPS, YOUR YEARS OF SERVICE IN THE PEACE CORPS DEFERRED YOU FROM DUTY.

AND SO THEREFORE WITH TWO YEARS IN THE PEACE CORPS, YOU WERE NOT ELIGIBLE TO BE DRAFTED.

SO THAT WAS INCENTIVE CLEARLY DURING THAT TIME.

IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT.

BUT I SHOULD ALSO ADD, WE WERE ABOUT 120 MEMBERS IN OUR TRAINING PROGRAM, SOME OF WHOM WERE THERE FOR JUST THAT REASON.

WELL, THEY DIDN'T LAST MORE THAN A MONTH IN COUNTRY.

THEY, IT JUST WASN'T FOR THEM AND THEY LEFT BY CHOICE.

BUT OTHERS, LIKE MYSELF, THRIVED.

THERE WAS A PEACE CORPS PUSH DOWN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS, AND I JUST COULDN'T SEE MYSELF TURNING THE OPPORTUNITY DOWN.

I REALLY DID NOT WANT TO GO INTO THE SUBURBS OF CHICAGO AND TEACH.

I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE MUCH MORE EXCITING TO GO OVERSEAS AND TEACH IN AFRICA, AND AS IT TURNED OUT I DIDN'T HAVE TO LEARN A LANGUAGE BECAUSE MOST OF THE LIBERIANS SPEAK ENGLISH.

SO I WAS FORTUNATE.

BUT I JUST WANTED THE ADVENTURE BEFORE I SETTLED DOWN IN THE UNITED STATES.

AND SO FROM CITIES AND TOWNS, FARMS, VILLAGES AND FACTORIES, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND LABOR UNIONS AND BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS, FROM ALL OVER CAME THE MEN AND WOMEN FROM EVERY WALK OF LIFE, THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF THEM, EAGER TO VOLUNTEER.

YOUNG MEN AND YOUNG WOMEN, AND THOSE NOT SO YOUNG, TOO.

MANY GAVE UP BETTER PAYING JOBS TO TAKE PART IN THIS GREAT EXPERIMENT.

FOR EACH ONE OF THEM, IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT JOB THEY COULD IMAGINE.

MY MOTHER THOUGHT IT WAS A WONDERFUL IDEA, MY FATHER THOUGHT IT WAS HORRIBLE.

HE DIDN'T WANT ME TO GO.

THEY WERE THEY WERE IMMIGRANTS, AND THEY CAME FROM DENMARK AND THEY MADE A VERY NICE LIFE.

AND HE THOUGHT, WHY SHOULD I GIVE THAT UP TO GO TO GUATEMALA WHERE I WOULD BE, WHERE I DIE?

HE INSISTED I WOULD DIE.

AND THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE, AND I THOUGHT, "OH, MY GOSH, DAD, YOU'RE RIGHT."

WELL, THEY WERE... MY MOTHER ESPECIALLY WAS A BIT TAKEN ABACK.

SHE WAS QUITE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT THIS WAS GOING TO AFRICA BUSINESS.

MY FATHER WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE LIBERAL, AND HE THOUGHT THAT WAS A GREAT IDEA.

HE WAS A NATIVE FRENCH SPEAKER; HE THOUGHT THAT WAS WONDERFUL I HAD THIS EXPERIENCE IN FRENCH- SPEAKING AFRICA.

BUT MOTHER WAS A BIT CONCERNED, I THINK.

I REMEMBER WHEN HE HEARD I HAD GONE IN, WHEN I HAD ACCEPTED THE PEACE CORPS, HE CALLED ME INTO HIS OFFICE AT HOME AND SAID, "EXACTLY HOW MUCH MONEY ARE THEY PAYING YOU FOR THIS?"

AND I SAID, "WELL, DAD, IT IS THE HIGHEST PAYING PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER POSITION IN THE WORLD," I SAID, THINKING THAT THAT MIGHT MAKE SOME DIFFERENCE AND BECAUSE THE COST OF LIVING IN VENEZUELA WAS PRETTY HIGH.

AND HE SAID, "WELL, EXACTLY HOW MUCH IS THAT?"

AND I SAID, "IT'S $156 A MONTH."

AND HE SAID, "I PAID"-- AND REMEMBER, THIS IS 1966, SO $4,000 A YEAR WAS TODAY'S EQUIVALENT OF WHAT IT IS, 45 OR 48 OR WHATEVER THOSE SCHOOLS COST THESE DAYS-- HE SAID, "I PAID $4,000 A YEAR SO YOU CAN TAKE A JOB AT $156 A MONTH INSTEAD OF GOING TO LAW SCHOOL LIKE WE AGREED YOU SHOULD DO."

AND I SAID, "WELL, WE AGREE I SHOULD DO IT, BUT JUST NOT NOW."

HE SAID, "I JUST CAN'T TALK ABOUT THIS.

" MY GROUP WENT UP TO NORTH BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA.

WE WERE ON A DISUSED ARMY BASE, AND WE WERE TAUGHT SWAHILI BY ACTUALLY ETHIOPIANS AND SOMALIS.

AND IT WAS A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE.

AND I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY INTERESTING, AT LEAST FOR ME, WAS THIS PART OF OURS ABOUT UNDERSTANDING OTHER CULTURES.

I LIVED FOR TWO, MAYBE THREE WEEKS WITH A NATIVE AMERICAN SIOUX FAMILY WHERE I WAS BAILING HAY.

AND I ALWAYS REMEMBER WATCHING A WESTERN WITH THEM AT THE TIME, AND THEY WERE ROOTING FOR THE INDIANS AND INSTEAD OF THE COWBOYS.

OUR TRAINING PROGRAM WAS VERY ACADEMICALLY ORIENTED.

I THINK EVERYONE IN THE PROGRAM HAD A B.A.

DEGREE.

MOST PEOPLE WERE JUST RECENTLY GRADUATED FROM UNIVERSITY.

SOME MAY HAVE BEEN FIVE YEARS OLDER AND HAD SOME EXPERIENCE.

BUT THE TRAINING PROGRAM WAS SIT AROUND AND STUDYING THE LANGUAGE, STUDYING T ABILITY TO TEACH ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE, STUDYING COMMUNISM-- A VERY BIG PART OF THE PROGRAM WAS STUDYING COMMUNISM-- AND THEN STUDYING ABOUT AFRICA.

AND THEY HAD PSYCHOLOGISTS ON THE STAFF WHO WERE LOOKING AT YOU TO SEE IF YOU WERE GOING TO BE MENTALLY STABLE IN THESE CONDITIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

AS I RECALL, IT WAS THREE DIFFERENT TIMES DURING OUR THREE-MONTH TRAINING PROGRAM THAT WE GOT EVALUATED BY THE STAFF.

AND IF THE STAFF DEEMED FOR SOME REASON THAT YOU WERE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR WORK IN AFRICA, YOU WERE ASKED TO LEAVE THE TRAINING PROGRAM.

PEACE CORPS IS WORKING IN 61 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD.

VOLUNTEERS WITH OVER 300 SKILLS ARE HELPING PEOPLE TO HELP THEMSELVES.

AND EACH VOLUNTEER, WHETHER A SKILLED CRAFTSMAN, A FARMER, AN ACCOUNTANT OR A SCIENTIST, IS TEACHING SOME SKILL THE COUNTRIES THEMSELVES HAVE SET AS A PRIORITY.

I WAS ACTUALLY 21, BARELY 21 WHEN I WENT IN THE PEACE CORPS.

THERE WAS A GROUP OF US, BUT WE WERE IN A VERY RURAL PART OF IRAN-- IN KURDISTAN, WHICH IS DOWN ON THE IRAQI BORDER NEAR THE PERSIAN GULF-- AND WE WERE ASSIGNED TO AN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

SO ILSO TAUGHT AT A MEDICAL COLLEGE IN TOWN.

I TAUGHT ENGLISH.

THE GUYS WERE ALL AGRICULTURAL SPECIALISTS, AND MY COLLEAGUE, WE CALLED IT THE HARVARD OF SOUTHERN IRAN, WHICH WE HELPED DEVELOP THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR.

BUT WE ALSO HELPED THE VILLAGERS UH DEVELOP SCHOOLS.

WE WERE SIGNED UP REALLY IN GUATEMALA.

THEY WANTED US TO START CARE FEEDING PROGRAMS, AND OF COURSE WE WERE SENT OUT TO THE BOONDOCKS.

WE WERE FIVE HOURS BY BUS FROM GUATEMALA CITY, AND THAT WAS A LONG TRIP TO JUST TO GET OUT TO OUR SITE.

AND THEN WE... WE WORKED IN THE VILLAGES, AS WELL.

PEOPLE WOULD COME DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAINSIDE.

THEY'D COME FIVE HOURS BY HORSEBACK OR BY FOOT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE PROGRAMS, AND THAT WAS VERY, VERY IMPRESSIVE.

MY JOB WAS BASICALLY JUST WHAT IT SAID, TO PROVIDE ECONOMIC ADVICE IN CERTAIN SECTOR OF THE ECONOMY.

AND IT WAS TOTALLY ATYPICAL-- NEGATIVE, IF YOU WILL-- IN THE SENSE THAT I DID NOT GO UP- COUNTRY AND I WASN'T IN A RURAL AREA.

I WASN'T TEACHING.

I WAS WORKING GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, U.N. PEOPLE, ETC., ETC.

BUT THE POSITIVE PART OF IT WAS, FROM A MACRO POINT OF VIEW, I GOT TO WORK THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE COUNTRY.

AND THEN MY MOST INTERESTING THING WAS THE MINISTER, FOR WANT OF NOBODY ELSE ASKED ME TO SET UP A GROUP TO DEVELOP HORTICULTURE IN KENYA.

I BEGAN IN CARACAS AT THE UNIVERSITY CENTRALE, AND THEN I MOVED TO MERIDA, WHICH IS ONE OF THE OLDEST TOWNS IN THE ANDES.

WE WERE UNIVERSITY TEACHERS, AND SO WE WERE ALL BASED IN UNIVERSITIES.

WE HAD TWO PEOPLE WHO WERE SOCIOLOGISTS.

WE HAD SPECIALISTS IN FISHERIES AND AGRICULTURE.

THEN WE HAD A LOT OF ENGLISH TEACHERS, ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE, AND WE HAD LIBRARIANS BECAUSE LIBRARIES IN LATIN AMERICA AND SPAIN, FOR THAT MATTER, TEED TO BE PRIVATE LIBRARIES.

AND THERE WERE VERY FEW REALLY ORGANIZED PUIC LIBRARIES, AND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES WERE LITTLE BUT SCARCE.

I ORGANIZED TEN DIFFERENT GROUPS OF MAYBE 15 MEN AND THEIR FAMILIES IN TEN DIFFERENT VILLAGES BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS DOING.

BUT BECAUSE I HAD HAD A REALLY WONDERFUL LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION, THE PURPOSE OF WHICH IS TO TEACH YOU HOW TO ALWAYS KEEP LEARNING, AND SO I WAS REALLY GOOD AT ASKING QUESTIONS.

I WAS REALLY GOOD AT BEING OPEN TO SOMEBODY ELSE'S SUGGESTIONS.

I WAS A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER IN AFGHANISTAN IN 1968 AS AN ARCHITECT.

I HAD A SHORTENED TOUR IN AFGHANISTAN BECAUSE THE PROGRAMS I WAS INVOLVED WITH WERE OVER- PROGRAMMED.

WE WERE A GROUP OF SIX ARCHITECTS TO THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION-- WHICH WAS TOO MANY PEOPLE-- WHO ACTUALLY GOT IN.

AND THEN I STARTED TEACHING AT KABUL UNIVERSITY, ARCHITECTURE FIRST YEAR.

THE CHALLENGE WAS A DIFFERENT SET OF VALUES, A DIFFERENT SET OF DESIGN CRITERIA, WRITTEN LANGUAGE, FARSI, LOOKING SO MUCH LIKE ARABIC.

SO HOW TO APPROACH DESIGN?

SO WITH THAT IN MIND, I PRESENTED DIFFERENT LETTER CONFIGURATIONS, OBJECT CONFIGURATIONS ON A 9X12 SHEET OF PAPER BECAUSE THAT'S ALL THEY COULD GET THEIR HANDS ON.

SO IT WAS CHALLENGING, TO SAY THE LEAST.

AND THEN I LEFT AFGHANISTAN IN '69 AND WENT BACK INTO TRAINING IN 1970 TO GO TO BOTH BOLIVIA AND PERU IN SOUTH AMERICA.

I WAS ASSIGNED TO THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL BECAUSE AT THAT TIME I WAS VERY INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH CHILDREN.

I FOUND THAT THE LANGUAGE WAS A BARRIER.

WHILE I TRIED VERY HARD AT THE LANGUAGE, I DID OKAY WHEN WE WERE IN TRAINING.

I CAN READ AND WRITE IT, BUT TO SPEAK IT AND UNDERSTAND WHAT SOMEBODY ELSE IS SPEAKING IS KIND OF TRICKY.

AND TO BE ABLE TO DO IT IN CONJUNCTION WITH MEDICINE CAN BE VERY TRICKY.

SO I WAS PETRIFIED.

HONEST TO GOODNESS, I WAS...

I FIND MYSELF KIND OF FROZEN A LOT OF TIMES.

THERE ARE PLACES IN THE WORLD WHERE THERE ARE NO SCHOOLS, WHERE A BLACKBOARD PROPPED UP AGAINST A TREE MAKES A CLASSROOM, IF THERE IS ANY CLASS AT ALL.

I WAS TEACHING ENGLISH IN A SECONDARY BOY'S SCHOOL.

I TAUGHT THE EQUIVALENT.

IT WAS A FRENCH SYSTEM, SO I HAD CHILDREN WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN, LET'S SAY, THE EQUIVALENT OF SIXTH, SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADE IN AMERICA, AGE-WISE AND SKILL- WISE.

AND I TAUGHT ENGLISH EVERYDAY TO THREE DIFFERENT CLASSES, CESIUM, SAISEIUM AND CATRIUM, AN HOUR- LONG COURSE EVERY DAY, AND... AND EACH CLASS HAD AT LEAST 60 YOUNG BOYS IN IT.

AND THIS IS WHAT REALLY BLEW ME AWAY IS HAVING 60 STUDENTS AT ONCE.

SO I HAD...

I HAD 180 THAT I WAS TEACHING, AND SO IF YOU GAVE A TEST YOU HAD 180 TESTS TO CORRECT.

BUT OUR CLASSROOM HAD A LEAKY TIN ROOF, AND IT HAD BLACKBOARDS WHICH WERE NO LONGER BLACK; IT WAS HARD TO WRITE ON THEM.

AND THE FLOORS, YOU HAD TO BE CAREFUL YOU DIDN'T FALL THROUGH.

SO TEACHING WAS A REAL CHALLENGE BECAUSE I HAD NEVER TAUGHT BEFORE, REALLY.

AND HOW CAN YOU TEACH 60 KIDS AT ONE TIME WHEN A THIRD OF THEM ARE TROUBLEKERS, A THIRD ARE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, AND A THIRD ARE BRIGHT?

AND WHERE DO YOU AIM AND EVERYTHING?

SO I HAD A LONG TIME WITH THAT AND IT WAS...

IT WAS A CHALLENGE.

I WAS IN A SMALL TOWN, GREENVILLE, ALONG THE COAST, AND THERE WAS ALREADY TWO PEACE CORPS LADIES THERE.

AND SHE... ONE OF THEM WAS ALREADY TEACHING IN THE HIGH SCHOOL OR JUNIOR HIGH, SO I ENDED UP TEACHING LITTLE KINDERGARTNERS.

AND SO, THEN, IN DECEMBER, I REQUESTED A TRANSFER TO MONROVIA SO I COULD GET IN A MIDDLE SCHOOL OR HIGH SCHOOL TO TEACH WHAT I WAS SUPPOSE TO BE TEACHING, SCIENCE.

SO I DID.

I GOT INTO A JUNIOR HIGH.

AND I ENJOYED IT.

THE SIXTH GRADERS THERE WERE GREAT.

TEACHING IN THE PEACE CORPS IS A DIFFICULT CHALLENGE.

AS ONE VOLUNTEER KNOWS WHO WAS TOLD BY A NEW HEADMASTER THAT SHE HAD FOUR DISTINCT DISADVANTAGES: SHE WAS NEW; SHE WAS YOUNG; SHE WAS A WOMAN; AND SHE WAS PRETTY.

ONE OF THE MOST TOUCHING THINGS, I THINK, WAS WHEN I WAS INTRODUCED BY MY GHANAIAN COHORT TO A GROUP OF ELDERLY FOLKS IN ONE OF THE REGIONAL VILLAGES, AND ONE OLD, OLD LADY WHO COULD BARLEY STAND UP, SHE WAS STOOPED OVER WITH HER CANE, AND WHEN I WAS INTRODUCED TO HER, SHE LOOKED AT ME LIKE VERY... LIKE SHE KNEW ME OR WAS TRYING TO SEE WHO I WAS AND SAID, "WE THOUGHT YOU ALL HAD DIED."

SO SHE KNEW ABOUT THE SLAVE TRADE, SHE KNEW ABOUT THAT HISTORY, BUT BECAUSE THERE WERE SO FEW AFRICAN AMERICANS COMING BACK TO AFRICA, YOU KNOW, IN THE PEACE CORPS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, SHE HAD JUST THOUGHT THAT WE HAD ALL PERISHED ON OUR WAY TO THE NEW WORLD OR IN THE NEW WORLD.

AND THEN SHE SAID, "WELCOME HOME."

AND THAT WAS IN MY FIRST WEEK AFTER HAVING ARRIVED.

SO THAT SET THE TONE.

YOU USUALLY DO SIGN UP FOR TWO YEARS.

I STAYED FOR ABOUT A YEAR BECAUSE I DID FIND IT HARD.

AS WE WERE DRIVING, RIDING THROUGH THE STREETS THAT THE... A LOT OF THE AFGHAN MEN REALLY DID NOT APPROVE OF US BEING OUT IN THE PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT VEILS AND RIDING BICYCLES.

AND WHEN I WOULD BE RIDING, I WOULD HEAR SOME OF THE MEN SAY THIS AWFUL SOUND, AND IT WAS KIND OF PIERCING.

AND THEN THEY WOULD SAY A WORD THAT I WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH, AND I ASKED SOMEONE WHO WAS BETTER IN FARSI THAN I WAS, AND SHE...

THEY SAID THEY ARE CALLING YOU A BLACK CAT.

AND I SAID, "WELL, WHAT DO THEY MEAN BY THAT?"

WELL, "BLACK" BECAUSE I AM BLACK AND "CAT" BECAUSE THEY WERE CALLING US STREETWALKERS, PROSTITUTES MORE OR LESS.

AND I THOUGHT, "OH, THAT IS NOT NICE."

AND I WAS JUST FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE ABOUT THE SITUATION, SO I TERMINATED EARLY.

I HAD STARTED IN AUGUST OF '65 AND I ENDED IN SEPTEMBER OF '66.

AND PART OF THE REASON WHY I ENDED EARLY IS BECAUSE I HAD ALL OF THESE...

WHEN I SIGNED UP, I HAD ALL OF THESE STARS IN MY EYES ABOUT...

I HAD OVERCOME RACE RELATIONS BECAUSE I HAD COME FROM A SEGREGATED BACKGROUND.

THE SCHOOL THAT I WENT TO WAS AN ALL-GIRL, ALL-BLACK CATHOLIC SCHOOL.

I WENT TO A CATHOLIC COLLEGE THAT WAS INTEGRATED, AND I THOUGHT, "WELL, I KNOW ALL ABOUT THIS," BUT I REALLY HADN'T COME TO TERMS WITH MY OWN FEELINGS RACE.

I REALLY WASN'T HONEST WITH MYSELF.

AND WHEN THE AFGHAN MEN WERE NOT SO KIND TO ME, CALLING ME A BLACK WHORE, I TOOK OFFENSE AT BOTH THOSE WORDS, AND I THOUGHT, "I FEEL I HAVE TO WORK THROUGH THAT, AND I CAN'T WORK THROUGH THAT HERE."

THE FRIENDSHIPS I FORMED THERE, THE INDEPENDENCE, THE DIFFERENCE, LEARNING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN...

BETWEEN LONELINESS AND SOLITUDE, I SPEND...

I'LL BET YOU I SPENT THE BETTER PART OF THOSE... THAT YEAR AND A HALF-PLUS BASICALLY BY MYSELF.

I WAS AT THE HEAD OF THE BOAT, THE MOTORMAN WAS AT THE BACK, AND WITH THE NOISE OF THE ENGINE AND THE HEAT OF THE SUN, YOU EXCHANGED VIRTUALLY NO WORDS AS YOU WENT ON TRIPS THAT WERE ALWAYS AT LEAST DAYS, SOMETIMES WEEKS LONG.

AND THAT KIND OF... THAT KIND OF SELF-CONFIDENCE THAT YOU COME AWAY WITH AFTER AN EXPERIENCE LIKE THAT IS PHENENAL.

FOR MANY VOLUNTEERS, THE FULL IMPACT OF THEIR EXPERIENCE DOESN'T COME UNTIL AFTER THEY RETURN HOME.

ONLY THEN DO THEY REALIZE THAT THEY HAVE WALKED ON THE LIP OF A LCANO, THAT THEY WERE IN ON THE BEGINNING OF A NEW WORK.

BUT FEW VOLUNTEERS JOIN THE PEACE CORPS FOR WHAT THEY CAN GET OUT OF IT.

PRESIDENT KENNEDY SAID, "ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU; ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY."

THESE MEN AND WOMEN HAVE ASKED AND THEIR ANSWER WAS PROVIDEBY THE PEACE CORPS.

PEACE CORPS WAS A DEFINING MOMENT IN MY LIFE.

IT CHANGED MY DIRECTION.

I THINK PEOPLE TEND TO THINK OF PEACE CORPS AS A TWO-YEAR DETOUR OF LIFE'S HIGHWAY, BUT FOR THOSE OF US WHO SERVED IN THE PEACE CORPS, IT REALLY CHANGES OUR DIRECTION IT ENRICHES OUR ENTIRE LIFE.

TAKEAWAY MEMORY WAS THIS WONDERFUL WORK THAT I DID AND WORKING ON THIS GRAND SCALE IN TERMS OF HELPING A MAJOR DEVELOPMENT.

HOPEFULLY, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE HORTICULTURE EXPORTS TODAY FROM KENYA, I MADE A SMALL CONTRIBUTION TO IT BECAUSE THEY REALIZED THAT THEY COULD GROW ANYTHING IN THAT COUNTRY EXCEPT ORANGES, FUNNY ENOUGH.

THE PEOPLE THAT I MET, THE FRIENDSHIPS, BECAUSE I COULD GO BACK TO THE VILLAGES AND I HAVE.

AND THE PEOPLE THAT WE WORKED WITH ARE STILL THERE.

THEY'RE STILL FRIENDS.

BUT NO EXPERIENCE, NO FRIENDSHIP WAS LIKE THAT BECAUSE YOU PUT YOUR HEART AND SOUL ON THE LINE WITH THESE PROGRAMS.

AND WE STARTED HEALTH PROGRAMS THAT ARE NOW HOSPITALS.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE BUILT SCHOOLS, AND THEY'RE STILL TANGIBLE.

THEY'RE THERE TODAY, AND THEY'VE GROWN, THEY'VE DEVELOPED.

AND SO IT'S THE PEOPLE THAT DID THAT AND WE WERE JUST THE VEHICLE, THE CONDUIT.

I WAS VERY IDEALISTIC THEN-- PROBABLY STILL AM, I DON'T KNOW- - BUT I FELT LIKE I COULD HELP.

AND I THINK I DID HELP.

AND I JUST WANT TO MENTION ONE THING THAT I'M VERY, VERY PROUD OF, AND THAT IS THAT ONE OF MY STUDENTS CAME TO THE UNITED STATES IN 1970, AND HE WAS ONE OF MY STUDENTS IN THE SIXTH GRADE IN MONROVIA, AND HE STUDIED ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND GRADUATED FROM LOWELL WITH A B.S.

IN ENGINEERING.

AND HE AND I HAVE REMAINED FRIENDS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, EVEN CAME TO MY DAUGHTER'S WEDDING HERE IN SARASOTA.

AND SO I'M REAL PROUD OF IT.

AND HE SAID IT WAS ALL MY DOING, MY TEACHING OF SCIENCE TO HIM AND ELECTRICITY AND ALL THAT THAT GOT HIM STARTED.

SO HE REALLY PUFFS UP MY EGO, SO... I DID MEET SARGENT SHRIVER.

HE CAME OUT TO IRAN TO VISIT WITH US.

AND SHRIVER CAME BOUNCING OFF THE PLANE IN ABADAN, IRAN, FULL OF ENTHUSIASM.

HE WANTED TO KNOW WHAT OUR EXPERIENCE WAS LIKE.

WE ALL WENT OUT TO DINNER.

I DO REMEMBER ONE THING: THEY DIDN'T PAY THE BILL WHEN THEY LEFT.

AND YEARS LATER, IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE $42 OR SOMETHING, BUT IT WAS A LOT OF MONEY FOR A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER, SO WE ALL HAD TO CHIP IN.

YEARS LATER, I PRESENTED HIM WITH THAT BILL AND GOT HIM TO PAY ME.

PROUDLY SPONSORED IN PART BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, WHOSE MOMENTUM 2 CAMPAIGN IS POWING ITS NEXT DYNAMIC STAGE OF PROGRAMS AS ONE OF AMERICA'S GREAT UNIVERSITIES.

Captioning sponsored by WPBT Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH