Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History

Interview with Wini Yunker, March 3, 2005

Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries
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00:00:00 - Family background and education

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Partial Transcript: This is Angene Wilson recording an interview with Wini Yunker for the oral history project, uh, for Peace Corps on March 3, 2005.

Segment Synopsis: Yunker talks about where she grew up and her family. She talks about her relationship with her parents and five sisters as well as where they all ended up. She talks about all of her grandchildren and gender trends within her family. She talks about Nicholasville, Kentucky and their community built around the church. She talks about growing up during World War II as one of her first experiences with the world. She talks about her education and the high expectations imposed on her because of her high achieving sisters. She talks about her family's love of reading and how little she knew about geography.

Keywords: Birthplace; Church; Community; Death; Expectations; Family; Gender; Geography; Kentucky; Peace Corps; Siblings; Small town; The second world war; WW2; WWII; World War Two; Worldview

Subjects: Education.; Peace Corps (U.S); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ukraine.; World War, 1939-1945

00:06:08 - Occupations prior to the Peace Corps and earning her degree

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Partial Transcript: What did you do after you graduated from high school?

Segment Synopsis: Yunker talks about marrying one of her friends from her drama group and divorcing him soon after. She talks about returning to Kentucky and eventually moving to Washington D.C. to work for a magazine. She talks about what she did for recreation in Washington such as joining a chess club and being the hostess for the USO. She talks about going to the Peace Corps headquarters but being rejected because she did not have a college degree. She talks about reapplying for the Peace Corps in the 1980s and waiting until her son was older. She talks about going to Spalding University to get her degree in marketing.

Keywords: Age; Career; Children; College; College degree; Education; Family; Gender; Kentucky; Marketing; Occupation; Peace Corps; Rejection; Requirements; Soldiers; Support; Travel; Ukraine; United Service Organizations Inc. (USO); University; Washington D.C.

Subjects: Occupation, Choice of; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ukraine.; Travel.

00:12:03 - Graduate school and reapplying for the Peace Corps

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Partial Transcript: So then, once I got out of school, time just was hanging heavy on my head.

Segment Synopsis: Yunker talks about taking the GRE and being accepted into the Patterson School. She talks about obstacles in her journey to get a master's degree. She talks about taking graduate courses before applying to Peace Corps and succeeding in both courses but continuing to be rejected. She talks about the time it took to get her degree while working a full-time job and then applying for the Peace Corps.

Keywords: Application; Career; College; Courses; Degree; Education; Graduate school; International commerce; Lexington (Ky.); Master's degree; Obstacles; Occupation; Patterson School; University of Kentucky

Subjects: Education.; Occupation, Choice of; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ukraine.

00:17:34 - Peace Corps application process and acceptance

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Partial Transcript: So what was the, what was the process--(clears throat)--of joining for you?

Segment Synopsis: Yunker talks about the application paperwork and having her two interviews. She talks about the interview questions they asked her about how she would adapt to different cultures. She talks about the process of getting her teeth removed and an operation on her foot so that she could participate in the Peace Corps. She talks about getting the choice of continent and choosing Eastern Europe because of her love of Dracula and the language being Latin in origin. She talks about her son's commitment to taking care of their house while she was gone.

Keywords: Acceptance; Application process; Career; Hurdles; Interview; Interview process; Interviews; Medical application; Occupation; Patterson School; Preparation; Recommendations

Subjects: Language and languages.; Peace Corps (U.S); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ukraine.

00:23:50 - First experiences in Ukraine and relationship with host country nationals

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Partial Transcript: And that was the worst winter of the three I had there.

Segment Synopsis: Yunker talks about her first experiences when she got off of the plane and heading to her training site. She talks about not being able to drink the water in Ukraine and the host family that she stayed with. She talks about the training program and how close the group became over time. She talks about the culture, history, geography, and language courses that she took. She talks about her placement in a village and her best friend and host. She talks about the family history of her host and the history of Ukraine, as well as where she traveled. She talks about her host coming to visit her to see Kentucky and her previous visit to America.

Keywords: America; Business; Cherkasy; Communication; Connection; Economics; First experience; Friendships; Geography; High school; History; Host country nationals; Preparation; Relationships; School; Teaching; Ukraine; Ukrainian

Subjects: Culture.; Language and languages.; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ukraine.

00:31:38 - Teaching students and living situation

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Partial Transcript: So your Peace Corps job was, um, teaching secondary school--

Segment Synopsis: Yunker talks about her experience teaching students and their interest in learning about economics. She talks about her living situation and the hazardous climate. She talks about the different amenities of her apartment and the financial support from the Peace Corps. She talks about the health care part of her training process where they were educated on sexually transmitted diseases.

Keywords: America; Apartment; Business; Climate; Crime; Economics; Economy; Education; Healthcare; Host country nationals; Housing; Living situation; School; Sex education; Students; Ukraine

Subjects: Education.; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ukraine.

00:36:26 - Safety training and learning Ukrainian

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Partial Transcript: How many--that makes me think. How many, uh, people were older volunteers in your group?

Segment Synopsis: Yunker talks about the demographics of her volunteer group and the importance of safety. She talks about the different safety precautions given to them by Peace Corps and how often they were used. She talks about how her age impacted how others treated her and the average age of retirement in Ukraine. She talks about the type of English that her students learned and how her southern accent was perceived. She talks about having a difficult time learning Ukrainian and the beauty of the language.

Keywords: Age; British English; Community; Community programs; Conversations; Couples; Culture; English; Interaction; Married couples; Precautions; Relationships; Safety; Sports; Students; Training; Ukraine; Ukrainian; Volunteers

Subjects: Interpersonal relations and communication; Language and languages.; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ukraine.; Safety Programs.

00:43:05 - A typical day in Ukraine and working at a women's center

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Partial Transcript: What was a typical day like?

Segment Synopsis: Yunker talks about her typical day serving as an economics teacher in Ukraine. She talks about the different kinds of food that she prepared for herself. She talks about her counterpart who arranged her classes so she could avoid teaching in the morning. She talks about creating the English Club for Women and preparing for her classes on her days off. She talks about her secondary projects at the women's center where she worked with women who needed the support. She talks about starting the English Club for Women so that they would feel more comfortable conversing. She talks about the prevalence of domestic violence and a seminar on it held at the library.

Keywords: Breakfast; Community development; Counterpart; Cuisine; Domestic violence; English; Food; Freedom; Fundraising; Gender; Grant money; Grants; Language; Leadership; Preparation; School; Secondary projects; Social inequality; Social work; Support; Teaching; Teaching English; Typical day; Ukraine

Subjects: Education.; Gender issues; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ukraine.

00:51:33 - Peace Corps softball tournament against host country nationals

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Partial Transcript: Um, the second year I was there, I was at a party and, uh, one of the young women had brought her boyfriend who said he was a baseball player.

Segment Synopsis: Yunker talks about the baseball stadium in the village and going to games. She talks about the Peace Corps volunteers playing softball against the professional Ukrainian baseball players. She talks about dealing with men who did not believe she was the spokeswoman for the baseball game. She talks about using the game as a way to fund-raise for the domestic violence association and a local orphanage. She talks about acquiring the softball team tee shirts for the four different teams that were playing. She talks about how excited everyone was and then rethinking it because of 9/11 but continuing it after talking to the Peace Corps.

Keywords: 9/11; America; Attire; Baseball; Charity; Community development; Counterpart; Culture; Domestic violence; Donation; Embassy; Fundraising; Gender; Language; Nine eleven; Recreation; Sexism; Softball; Sports; Translation; Transportation; Ukraine; Volunteers

Subjects: Language and languages.; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ukraine.; Travel; Volunteers

01:00:57 - Fundraising and working for the orphanage and hosting a Christmas party

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Partial Transcript: Uh, my most important secondary project was at the orphanage.

Segment Synopsis: Yunker talks about working at a local orphanage teaching English over the summer. She talks about the different programs and activities that they held for the children. She talks about a woman who visited from Minnesota and gave Yunker two hundred dollars to use for the orphanage. She talks about the preparation for the Christmas party, from acquiring a Santa Claus costume to buying presents for all of the children. She talks about the impact of the holiday party on the children and the news station that covered it. She talks about using a large donation from America to buy new winter shoes for all of the children in the orphanage. She talks about giving the children clothing and the continued financial report from Beth.

Keywords: Children; Christmas; Donation; Emotions; Feelings; Fundraising; Holiday; Holidays; Living conditions; Orphanage; Presents; Secondary projects; Ukraine

Subjects: Culture.; Education.; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ukraine.

01:10:43 - Traveling around Ukraine and being involved in the community

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Partial Transcript: What did you do for recreation?

Segment Synopsis: Yunker talks about traveling around Ukraine and going to a summer camp to teach English. She talks about taking the train system around the country and becoming the travel editor for a newspaper. She talks about taking the opportunity to go to the opera or ballet and making friends. She talks about having a television and getting involved in the Baptist church. She talks about building a relationship with a young orphan.

Keywords: Ballet; Children; Community; Donations; Friendships; Help; Impact; Making a difference; Movies; Newspaper; Odesa; Opera; Public transportation; Recreation; Relationships; Secondary projects; Support; Teaching; Technology; Train system; Transportation; Travel; Ukraine; Writing

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ukraine.; Travel.; Volunteer workers in education

01:15:56 - Adjusting to coming back to America

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Partial Transcript: It took me--I had to be sixty-five and go five thousand miles away from home to meet a U.S. President.

Segment Synopsis: Yunker talks about meeting President Clinton and her conversation with him. She talks about coming back home and the process of acclimating back to the United States. She talks about being told how to adjust and how to find a job during the last ceremony. She talks about not feeling needed, lacking excitement, and not feeling important. She talks about working on a political campaign and eventually working on other Democratic campaigns. She talks about being a foster parent for dogs and working with her church.

Keywords: Acclimating; Adapting; America; Coming home; Culture; Culture shock; Depression; Emotion; Experience; Feeling; Flight; Fostering; Going home; Leaving; Mental health; Political campaigns; Preparation; President Bill Clinton; Readjusting; Travel; Ukraine; WW2; WWII; World War Two

Subjects: Culture shock; Culture.; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ukraine.

01:22:35 - Impact of Peace Corps service and future international experiences

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Partial Transcript: What do you think the impact of your Peace Corps service was on the country and people?

Segment Synopsis: Yunker talks about Peace Corps' emphasis on sustainability and how pleased she is with her secondary projects. She talks about the softball tournament and building restrooms for the audience. She talks about how her service fulfilled a life-long dream and feeling at home there. She talks about keeping in touch with other Peace Corps volunteers and host country nationals. She talks about the importance of her friend, the principal, and the impact of her service on her family. She talks about family members who came to visit her and some of the adjustments they had to make. She talks about future international experiences that she is looking forward to. She talks about how positive the Peace Corps' impact on the world is.

Keywords: Adjustments; Africa; Baseball stadium; Change; Communication; Communism; Community; Connection; Culture; Family; Gender; Impact; International experiences; Kenya; Odesa; Programs; Projects; Relationships; Secondary projects; Softball stadium; Sustainability; Teaching; United Nations

Subjects: Culture; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ukraine.; Volunteer workers in education