Interview with Dahna Marie Taylor, October 8, 2020

Partial Transcript: Hi. Uh, thi--today is October 8, 2020. My name is Olivia Donaldson.

Segment Synopsis: Taylor is a middle school special education teacher. As a Peace Corps volunteer in Casablanca, Morocco, she taught at a school for the blind. As a Volunteer in Ecuador, she taught blind adults in a home-schooling setting. Moroccan schools are owned and run by the royal family.

Keywords: Blind people; Casablanca, Morocco; Placements; Profession; Royal family; Schools for the blind

Subjects: Blind children--Orientation and mobility.; Blind children.; Blind--Education.; Blind--Orientation and mobility; Blind--Services for; Ecuador; Morocco; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ecuador; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Morocco; Teachers; Teachers of the blind; Teaching; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in education; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: But first can you tell me a little about the trajectory you took, um, and your motivations for joining the Peace Corps initially?

Segment Synopsis: Taylor graduated with a degree in sociology. She had watched TV commercials for Peace Corps that intrigued her; she knew no one who'd joined, though. Her application was a big book to complete because Peace Corps wanted to know about every skill she may have had. Taylor remembers only white Volunteers in the ads on TV. John F. Kennedy asked them to apply for their country. Taylor didn't want a 9-5 job after graduation, too.

Keywords: John F. Kennedy; Origin of her interest in serving; Skills; Sociology; Television commercials

Subjects: Lifestyles; Peace Corps (U.S.); Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: And when you joined, um, the Peace Corps again to go to Ecuador, did you have to go through an application process a second time?

Segment Synopsis: As Taylor submitted her Close of Service papers in Rabat, at a friend's suggestion she decided to request an Extension of Service form. That required her to commit to another 2 years of service; she ended up in Ecuador, a country where Spanish is spoken and she knew the language. When people there learned that she'd just completed 2 years in Morocco, they figured that she was either an FBI or CIA agent. She says Peace Corps gave her invaluable skills.

Keywords: Close of Service; Extension of service; Path from Morocco to Ecuador; Rabat (Morocco); Spanish (Language)

Subjects: Ecuador; Language and languages; Morocco; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ecuador; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Morocco; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: And did you, did you learn those languages during the training?

Segment Synopsis: For Morocco, Taylor's training began at the Little Rock Institute for the Blind in Arkansas where she lived in the dorms for about a month learning technical skills. Then, she and her small cohort group of blind mobility Volunteers missed a flight and stayed in the Consulate in Belgium, en route to Morocco where they met their larger group of 80 Volunteers. In all, there were about 10 special education Volunteers in her main group. Taylor was treated as if she were blind, wearing blinders during training hours. In Ecuador, Taylor took the cultural and language training; there were about 30 Volunteers in her group there. It was an immersion experience in which she stayed in a home during all of training.

Keywords: Belgium; Blind mobility; Blind people; Immersion experience; Little Rock (Ark.); Little Rock Institute for the Blind; Pre-service training

Subjects: Blind--Education.; Blind--Orientation and mobility; Blind--Services for; Morocco; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Morocco; Teachers; Teachers of the blind; Teaching; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in education; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: What was the home stay experience like during your training in Ecuador?

Segment Synopsis: Taylor's host family in Ecuador benefited financially from her living with them; in return, she learned about the culture and used her Spanish speaking skills. Taylor's first dinner there was a cow leg, including hooves. Taylor served in 2 countries with people of color. In Morocco, female Volunteers with fair hair and skin often wrapped up their hair in scarves to hide it. In Ecuador, there is also a racial mix so that Taylor also felt at ease. Because Taylor is Black, people didn't believe that she was American. She was the only Black Volunteer in her group in Ecuador. When Taylor joined Peace Corps, few Volunteers were minorities, perhaps because of financial considerations. After service, Taylor was awarded a Peace Corps Fellows Scholarship to pay tuition for college. Taylor says that for minorities, it is hard to be in the Peace Corps. Taylor lost friends because her experiences were removed from theirs. She stopped talking about her experiences. It was hard for her to feel comfortable at local meetings of RPCVs when there were so few minorities there.

Keywords: African American Volunteers; African Americans; Black Americans; Black Volunteers; Diversity in the Peace Corps; Female Volunteers in Morocco; Financial considerations; Minorities; Peace Corps Fellows Scholarship; People of color; Women of color

Subjects: Culture; Ecuador; Food habits; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal relations; Language and languages; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Morocco; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ecuador; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Morocco; Race relations; Teachers; Teaching; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in education; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Did the, did the Peace Corps and your recruiter, um, prepare you for the lack of racial diversity among Peace Corps volunteers at that time?

Segment Synopsis: Taylor says she is used to being the only Black person in a group. In Morocco and in Ecuador, Taylor cut her hair, wearing it as an Afro which embarrassed her. She says that Peace Corps reduces you to who you really are. During Peace Corps Week, she sometimes gives presentations to kids, fulfilling Peace Corps' 3rd goal. When her parents were ill, she stopped thinking about Peace Corps for a while. She finally began attending RPCV events in San Diego 30 years after service. She channeled her energy into her education and career, and missions abroad with her church. Peace Corps taught Taylor the value of sharing her skills and values with others in the developing world.

Keywords: Afro hairstyle; Presentations; School presentations; Sharing values and skills; Speaking styles; Third Goal; Travel; Voice

Subjects: Acculturation; Culture; Ecuador; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Morocco; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ecuador; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Morocco; Race discrimination; Race relations; Racism; Teachers; Teaching; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in education; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Um, so if you think back to your, your time in Morocco and, and Ecuador, what was, what was like a typical day for you?

Segment Synopsis: In Casablanca, Taylor taught mobility and basic skills to blind students. People in her church in San Diego sent her teaching supplies. The playground was full of trees and the kids would run into them. She taught them to navigate that yard. In Ecuador, Taylor home-schooled kids; she partnered with a local priest, and taught them swimming. In Ecuador, her community started its own association for the blind, which she considers her major accomplishment. In Morocco, she encouraged the director to look out for the welfare of the kids, not his political position. One day, a student in Morocco got paint all over his face. In Arabic, she told him to wash his face. However, the word for face is similar to head, and the child washed his head. Intonations were important in both Arabic and Spanish. In Ecuador, Taylor wanted to buy chicken but said the Arabic word instead of the Spanish word. She taught her classes in Morocco in Arabic, which was tiring. While in Morocco, her mother visited her; in Ecuador, both her sister and mother visited her.

Keywords: Arabic (Language); Associations for the blind; Blind people; Blind persons; Casablanca (Morocco); Confusing words; Donations; Miscommunication; Misunderstandings; Playgrounds; Priests; Spanish (Language); Swimming lessons

Subjects: Blind children--Orientation and mobility.; Blind children.; Blind--Education.; Blind--Orientation and mobility; Blind--Services for; Ecuador; Language and languages; Morocco; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ecuador; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Morocco; Teachers; Teachers of the blind; Teaching; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in education; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: My sister got sick but--uh, have you heard of the red tide?

Segment Synopsis: In Morocco, Casablanca has French markets which eased her concerns about food. In Ecuador, Taylor boiled all of her water and stored it in jugs. She ate fish and lamb in Morocco; in Ecuador, Taylor ate more vegetables than meat. Being away from pork for two years in Morocco, she acquired an allergy to it. Taylor considers it impolite not to eat what a host presents her, so she ate lamb tongue, a delicacy in Morocco. She also ate beetles and guinea pig in Ecuador.

Keywords: Beetles; Casablanca (Morocco); Food allergies; French markets; Guinea pigs; Sharing food

Subjects: Culture; Ecuador; Food habits; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Morocco; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ecuador; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Morocco; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: What were your relationships like with, um, the host country nationals in each country?

Segment Synopsis: Taylor had a counterpart in her school in Morocco. Having an American teacher in their school was "a big deal." Her heart breaks for those that she left behind, especially one little boy, Mohamed, whose parents were thought to have sinned because he was blind. Blind people in the U.S. are not seen as being "less than," but they struggled in Morocco. In Ecuador, she taught one-on-one. She also taught teachers in special education techniques. Taylor met one of the Shrivers in Ecuador. She tried to teach the director of the Moroccan school that his students deserve good things.

Keywords: Americans; Counterparts; Culture; Leaving the students; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Sins; Special education techniques; Teacher trainers

Subjects: Blind children--Orientation and mobility.; Blind children.; Blind--Education.; Blind--Orientation and mobility; Blind--Services for; Blind--Social conditions; Ecuador; Interpersonal relations; Morocco; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ecuador; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Morocco; Teachers; Teachers of the blind; Teaching; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in education; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Have you--I, I know it's hard to keep in touch with people.

Segment Synopsis: Volunteers in Morocco partied a lot; she planned two reunions with them. In 2020, a 3rd reunion was planned but COVID-19 interfered. From Ecuador, there is a core group of Volunteers that planned a reunion. Both groups have Zoom meetings or reunions but Taylor has not attended all of them.

Keywords: Communication; Contact; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Reunions; Zoom meetings

Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); Ecuador; Interpersonal relations; Morocco; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ecuador; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Morocco; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Um, is there anything I didn't ask you about that you, you want to share?

Segment Synopsis: When Taylor has talked about Peace Corps, she feels that she's encouraging people to see the world. Sometimes people get stuck in their lives. Peace Corps allows a person to share their knowledge and to learn about others. Taylor says that there's more than material possessions. She says that service is important and is not spoken about anymore. Peace Corps is volunteerism. John F. Kennedy's statement was her motto. Taylor wants to be like Jimmy Carter's mother, Lillian. Were Taylor to apply again, she'd be interested in serving in Asia or the former USSR.

Keywords: "Servant's heart"; John F. Kennedy; Lillian Carter; Reflections on Peace Corps; See the world; Service; Volunteerism

Subjects: Intercultural communication; Lifestyles; Peace Corps (U.S.); Voluntarism; Volunteers