Interview with Juliet Sorensen, December 24, 2020

Partial Transcript: Today is December 24, 2020. I am Evelyn Ganzglass.

Segment Synopsis: Sorensen talks about joining the Peace Corps. She talks about an immersive, from-the-ground-up experience at the community level. She talks about improving her Arabic speaking ability. Sorensen talks about family members who have served in the Peace Corps and in government. She talks about the application process and her invitation to join a maternal and child health program in Morocco. Sorensen talks about growing up in New York City and her undergraduate education at Princeton University. She talks about going to law school at Columbia University after leaving the Peace Corps.

Keywords: Applications; Assignments; Career paths; Family; Healthcare; Interests; Languages; Moroccan Arabic (Language); Morocco; Public health

Subjects: Careers; Education, Higher; Families; Language and languages; Morocco; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Morocco; Public health

Partial Transcript: Okay. So, you applied. You got in.

Segment Synopsis: Sorensen talks about meeting her Peace Corps group in Chicago and then flying to Morocco for training in Rabat. She talks about excellent language training in Arabic which helped her to improve her speaking ability. She talks about learning Berber. Sorensen talks about training in culture and cultural immersion. She talks about learning to teach Moroccan women and the goal of reducing maternal mortality.

Keywords: Berber (Language); Cultural training; Education programs; Fluency; Goals; Healthcare; Influences; Language training; Moroccan Arabic (Language); Morocco; Mothers; Personal growth

Subjects: Communication and culture; Community health services; Culture; Language and languages; Morocco; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Morocco; Public health

Partial Transcript: So, you finished training. In--was it in Rabat that you had the training?

Segment Synopsis: Sorensen talks about living in Tinzouline, Zagora Provence. She talks about living in a traditional Moroccan house. She talks about a previous Peace Corps volunteer in that village. She talks about Raja, a nurse, her Moroccan counterpart. Sorensen talks about her work in health education for women and children. She talks about traveling by bike to rural hamlets and meeting with local women to discuss various health concerns.

Keywords: Accomplishments; Conversations; Counterparts; Food culture; Houses; Local people; Morocco; Public health; Reproductive health; Transportation

Subjects: Communication and culture; Community health services; Families; Food habits; Interpersonal relations; Lifestyles; Morocco; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Morocco; Public health

Partial Transcript: And what were the other activities that you, um, you, you did in between the, the home lessons?

Segment Synopsis: Sorensen talks about several projects, funded outside of Peace Corps, that she did. She talks about dental hygiene, travel for women, and building latrines in elementary schools. Sorensen talks about vacationing in Europe and visiting her future husband. She talks about women friends in Morocco. She talks about separation of the genders in Morocco.

Keywords: Driving; Extracurricular activities; Friends; Funding; Gender roles; Health training; Morocco; Outhouses; Public health; Travel

Subjects: Community health services; Dental care; Friendship; Hygiene; Interpersonal relations; Morocco; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Morocco; Public health; Travel

Partial Transcript: That’s right. We keep thinking, what will happen in the future for researchers when they don't have all these letters that they can read?

Segment Synopsis: Sorensen talks about gender roles in Morocco. She talks about sexism. She talks about women being separate but not equal. Sorensen talks about her contribution to Morocco and her friends' condolences upon the death of her father. She talks about Americans who visited her in Tinzouline. Sorensen talks about Casablanca as a sister city. She talks about speaking about Morocco at schools in the United States. She talks about getting a tattoo of a fibula as a reminder of her time in the desert country.

Keywords: Cultural exchange; Education programs; Friends; Gender discrimination; Gender roles; Male-dominated society; Morocco; Returning; Role of women; Second goal; Third goal

Subjects: Culture; Friendship; International travel; Interpersonal relations; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Misogyny; Morocco; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Morocco; Schools; Sexism