Interview with Michael J. Dockry, September 10, 2020

Partial Transcript: Hello. Today is September 10, 2020.

Segment Synopsis: Dockry gives an overview of his background and the history of his tribe, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. He talks about first learning about Peace Corps. With both an undergraduate and graduate degree in forestry, Dockry felt as if he had valuable skills for his Peace Corps work. Dockry learned Spanish in graduate school to be prepared to apply for Peace Corps.

Keywords: Citizen Potawatomi Nation; Forestry; Graduate schools; Preparation for Peace Corps; Spanish (Language); Wisconsin

Subjects: American Indians; Bolivia; Communication and culture; Education, Higher; Indians of North America.; International travel; Language and languages; Native Americans; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Bolivia; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: I wondered, was there anything in your, in your upbringing or, uh, background as a Native American that kind of instilled that global citizenry idea in your, in your mind?

Segment Synopsis: Dockry talks about how his upbringing and cultural background influenced his decision to join Peace Corps and his Peace Corps experience. He describes the flight to La Paz, during which he turned 27, and the effects of altitude sickness upon arrival. He realized that Bolivia is not like the U.S. because it is a majority Indigenous country. He says that it is important for Indigenous people to talk with one another.

Keywords: Effect of background on experience; Global citizenry; Indigenous people; Indigenous person; New ecosystems; Recruitment

Subjects: Acculturation; Air travel; American Indians; Bolivia; Communication and culture; Culture; Indians of North America.; Indigenous people; International travel; Language and languages; Native Americans; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Bolivia; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So you flew into La Paz and then, um, tell me about your training site and the conditions there.

Segment Synopsis: Dockry flew into La Paz and then was driven to a Cochabamba where people spoke with a slow cadence, which was helpful in learning Spanish. He lived with a host family in a rural environment. The family raised pigs, cows, and chickens. They lived in a house with no indoor plumbing. He talks about the volunteers hanging out during training; his group meshed during these months. Most volunteers completed training although several left for various reasons, including medical issues.

Keywords: "Breadbasket of Bolivia"; Arrival; Cochabamba (Bolivia); Host family; La Paz (Bolivia); Language training; Political unrest; Rural environment; Slow cadence in speech in training; Volleyball

Subjects: Acculturation; Bolivia; Communication and culture; Culture; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal communication and culture; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Language and culture; Language and languages; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Bolivia; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Was it a hard adjustment to living in that--

Segment Synopsis: Dockry describes his initial adjustment to host family's house and members of the family. There was an older woman and man who lived separately. The man was a brick layer. A granddaughter lived with the woman and older grandson in university. Grandma spoke a different dialect, not "real" Spanish. Dockry loved the grandmother and she loved him, although he ate in the dining room while Grandma ate alone in the kitchen. Dockry invited kids in the family to eat and talk with him during meals. Breakfast consisted of bread and cheese made from the cow's milk, jam and tea. Lunch, when not served at the training site, consisted of enough food for 6 adults, including eating guinea pigs. Grandma insisted that he eat a lot, only then did she smile at him. Dinner was similar to breakfast.

Keywords: Adjustment; Adjustment to host family; Grandma; Grandmothers; Host families; Host family; Meals

Subjects: Acculturation; Bolivia; Communication and culture; Culture; Food habits; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal communication and culture; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Language and culture; Language and languages; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Bolivia; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: I remember a couple other stories from training there.

Segment Synopsis: Dockry describes his first dinner away from the training site, which included grilled beef heart with a fried potato on top. He also states that cow tongue is his favorite dish in Bolivia. Eating meat after having been a vegetarian for 7 years was a change for him. He realized that he couldn't refuse food from anyone. After having difficulties learning a new language, he found that he excelled at learning Spanish. Living it, feeling it, being surrounded by the language helped him learn quickly. Dockry thinks that the Peace Corps training was excellent, especially the language learning; in fact, he uses this feature of the program to recruit new PCVs. He says that training was a powerful experience for him. The visit to the open-air market served as experiential practice in speaking Spanish. His success in this gave him confidence and a sense of safety that he could succeed in Bolivia. He felt free and secure there.

Keywords: Confidence; Favorite dishes; First meals; Language acquisition; Open-air markets; Powerful experiences; Recruitment; Training

Subjects: Acculturation; Bolivia; Communication and culture; Culture; Food habits; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal communication and culture; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Language and culture; Language and languages; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Bolivia; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So what was the attitude towards Americans?

Segment Synopsis: Dockry served in Independencia, an area with left-wing political ideology, in the university, helping to create a distance-learning program for Indigenous people in remote areas of the country. During the election period, Dockry stayed in Cochabamba for safety reasons and worked at the university there establishing an ecology class. In Cochabamba, Dockry met his future wife, an architecture student, at a local cafe. Dockry says that some Bolivians thought Peace Corps was a religious group advocating world peace. The easiest explanation he gave to people in Independencia was that he worked for the university. Bolivians were interested in knowing the role that the U.S. was playing in Cuba. Other foreigners in Independencia included a German forestry project manager, and a German priest and nun. The priest fostered the relationship with the city and the university to advocate for a 3-year agricultural degree by buying a farm for students to use. Indigenous students left their communities to study in Cochabamba, leaving their homes, hoping to make their way in the city as educated young people. If successful, they were role models for younger students; if not, they reinforced the assumption that they could not make it outside of their rural community. Each student in the program was required to write a thesis on the effectiveness of new crops in the community. One new crop was fava beans, a native plant that people had stopped growing that, then, were again available to enrich nourishment.

Keywords: Agricultural degrees; Anti-Americanism; Attitudes; Bolivian agricultural degree; Cafes; Careers for agricultural students; College students; Cuba; Distance learning; Ecology; Fava beans; German forestation project; Germany; Independencia, Bolivia; Indigenous connections; Indigenous farming; Left-wing ideology; Nourishment; Politics; Presidential elections; Program in-country; Remote areas; Road of Death; Role models; Sites; Sustainable farming; Thesis; Tribal college movement; University; Values

Subjects: Acculturation; Bolivia; Communication and culture; Culture; Food habits; Independencia (Bolivia); Indigenous people; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal communication and culture; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Language and culture; Language and languages; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Bolivia; Politics and government; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Well, it seems like you didn't have any trouble adjusting.

Segment Synopsis: Dockry talks about the debate over what Indigenous means. He talks about racism in Bolivia during the time he was there. Indigenous people were not allowed in the university. He attended a reception at the embassy where a Native American flute player gave a concert.

Keywords: Embassies; Embassy; Flute players; Misconceptions; Racism; Racism against Indigenous people

Subjects: Acculturation; American Indians; Bolivia; Communication and culture; Culture; Indians of North America.; Indigenous people; Intercultural communication; International travel; Interpersonal communication and culture; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Language and culture; Language and languages; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Native Americans; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Bolivia; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Well, um, I was gonna ask about, other than working at this program at the university, what, what, what were some of the other things you, you did?

Segment Synopsis: The farm served as a demonstration for reforestation, soil control, agri-forestry, and erosion control. Peach trees modelled soil control in Independencia. A secondary project was to tutor university students at the school where the local priest worked. He presented his ecology course to these students. Dockry never cooked for himself; rather, he went to a pensione where other single men would congregate for dinner. Electricity was provided by a community generator that turned off at 9PM. He lived with an older gentleman who was deaf. By the end of his time, Dockry was one of the few people in the community who could understand him best. He had a really good connection with this man, who said that he and Dockry "were Inca."

Keywords: Agri-forestry; Cooking; Deafness; Demonstration farms; Electricians; Erosion control; Hearing impaired; House-mates; Pensione; Quechua; Reforestation; Secondary projects; Soil control; Tutors

Subjects: Acculturation; Bolivia; Communication and culture; Culture; Food habits; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal communication and culture; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Language and culture; Language and languages; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Bolivia; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: It seems as if you made some strong connections there.

Segment Synopsis: After his first year, Dockry made himself think in Spanish; he had little accent by then and little contact with other PCV's or any English-speakers. He had to go into La Paz in order to be paid, however. People didn't expect him to speak as well as he did. He extended his service working with the Bolivian Park Service in La Paz learning about the Service. Peace Corps sent Dockry to Amboro National Park, a very ecologically diverse national park. Clusters of volunteers worked in and around the park to promote tourism and environmental education, small business development, park security and employee management. Dockry was originally stationed in Santa Cruz, but moved to Buena Vista where he stayed with another volunteer. This experience led him to his current work with the U.S. Forest Service. The park was a tropical rain forest, a dream job. He learned to love the Quechan people during his extended service

Keywords: Amboro; Bolivian National Park Service; Economic development; Environmental education; Extended service; Extensions; Improved language proficiency; Relationships; Secondary projects

Subjects: Acculturation; Bolivia; Communication and culture; Culture; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal communication and culture; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Language and culture; Language and languages; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Bolivia; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Well, do you think that that--since you had, you had those two different experiences...

Segment Synopsis: Dockry didn't realize while in college that people could study abroad to learn languages. He had a very different set of experiences during his extended service, ending up serving nearly 4 years in Bolivia. He earned about $75/month while in Independencia, and about $100/month in Amboro. After completing his service, he and another volunteer canoed from Bolivia to Brazil, stopping at Madidi National Park in Bolivia due to circumstances.

Keywords: Canoe trips; Extended service; Extensions; Madidi National Park; Rate of pay

Subjects: Acculturation; Bolivia; Communication and culture; Culture; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal communication and culture; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Language and culture; Language and languages; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Bolivia; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So did you get married while you were in Peace Corps there or did you get married--

Segment Synopsis: Dockry married his Bolivian wife after his return to the U.S. Dockry is now a professor who encourages his students to consider applying to the Peace Corps because you learn a language and skills. It set him on his career path, in part because of the non-competitive status within the civil service. He thinks that Peace Corps did a reasonable job explaining the non-competitive status.

Keywords: Non-competitive status

Subjects: Acculturation; Communication and culture; Culture; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal communication and culture; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Language and culture; Language and languages; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Marriage; Peace Corps (U.S.); Voluntarism; Volunteers