Close
Not finding the information you're looking for? Please contact the Archives research staff.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-071
Toby Marion served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan from 1971 to 1975 in an education program. As a science teacher, he took experiment kits (provided by the United Nations Development Programme) around to middle and high schools in Kapisa Province and taught local science teachers how to use them. Marion then extended his service to teach three semesters of engineering in Kabul. In the interview, he discusses his reasons for joining the Peace Corps, what Afghanistan was like in the early 1970s, the comfortable standard of living he enjoyed on $90/month, and how his group was encouraged to dress professionally in order to garner respect. He speaks about the life-long friends he developed, of the satisfaction of becoming fluent in Farsi, and how impressed he was with the world knowledge of illiterate local villagers. He also recounts a 46-day hike across central Afghanistan, and shares how the Peace Corps influenced him to become an internationalist. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, February 3, 2020. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-031
John W. Bing served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Afghanistan from 1964 to 1967 as an English teacher. Afterwards he worked on the Peace Corps staff in Afghanistan (1967), and at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C., as Regional Training Officer for the Middle East (1967-1968). Bing was part of the Afghanistan III group. During his first year of service, he taught English at the University of Kabul. In the second year, he taught English at an agricultural middle school in Baghlan. In both places he used the aural-oral method of instruction plus textbooks developed by Columbia University specifically for Afghanistan. Much of the interview is focused on Bing's views on and activities to promote cross-cultural understanding. Bing was a co-author of the first draft of the Peace Corps' first cross-cultural training manual. In addition, he has worked in the field of international education and cross-cultural training in numerous positions during his post-Peace Corps career. He ends the interview by discussing a project of the Friends of Afghanistan RPCV group, funded by Afghan RPCVs and Afghan-Americans, that supports weavers in Bamayan, Afghanistan. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, November 5, 2018. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-051
Terrence (Terry) Dougherty served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan from 1972 to 1975 as an English teacher. He was stationed in Taloqan where he taught English as a foreign language (TEFL). After a medical issue, he transferred to Kabul. He then worked with college professors to train them how to teach English. Dougherty served during a very eventful period in Afghanistan and he even witnessed a coup. He discusses Afghan history and how it relates to more current events. Since 2004, Dougherty has been hosting high school students from Afghanistan and working with Afghan refugees. Interviewed and recorded by Tamatha Nibert, June 22, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2008-084
John Frantz served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan from 1968 to 1970 as a teacher in a medical school. He and his wife Mary (both doctors) were recruited to join. Accompanied by three of their four minor children, they were assigned to the Department of Internal Medicine at Nangrahar University in Jalalabad. The couple taught medical students at the university and at the adjoining hospital. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, July 8, 2008. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2008-083
Dr. Mary Frantz served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan from June 1968 to June 1970 as a teacher of medical students. Frantz and her husband, Dr. John Frantz, and three daughters (ages 9, 11, and 14) participated in Peace Corps training in Western Colorado, where Mary and John studied Farsi. In Jalalabad, they were in charge of the Department of Internal Medicine at Nangrahar University, and taught medical students at the university and at the adjoining hospital. They also home-schooled their children. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, July 10, 2008. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2004-002-024
Alan (Al) Pedolsky served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan from 1970 to 1971 as a teacher. This was during the Vietnam War, which he had protested. Pedolsky was stationed in Kabul and worked as an English teacher. The natural landscape in Afghanistan made a significant impression on him because he was raised in Brooklyn and had never seen such mountains. Interviewed and recorded by Robin Southern, May 17, 2003. 1 tape (web streaming files combined into 1 file).