Category Archives: Korea

Religion in the Peace Corps

One central aspect of service in the Peace Corps is religion. Whether or not Volunteers are religious, they frequently serve in communities that are religious or include beliefs that Volunteers are unfamiliar with. The Peace Corps Community Archive features Volunteers’ experiences encountering new religious traditions, relying on their own faith, interrogating it in light of their service, or all three. This collection of Volunteers’ stories show that Volunteers often experience new or different understandings of religion during their tours.

A Volunteer’s new experiences with religion often starts quickly. In 1970, Edward “Ted” Ferriter, who served in southern India, lived with a Hindu host family while training. Every morning, his host’s wife started her morning with prayers at the family’s altar. [1] When Jessica Vapnek reached the village of Kirumba in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1985, she had to announce her religion. Kirumba primarily had Catholic and Protestant missionaries and infrastructure. Villagers expected her to be one or the other, but Vapnek was Jewish. A previous Volunteer recommended that she say that she was Catholic, as the Protestants did not consume alcohol. Vapnek decided to say that she was Jewish. [2] While she was still accepted, so few people had heard of Judaism that they mostly assumed she was, in her words, “kind of Catholic, but not.” [3]

Other Volunteers have memorable experiences with religion by participating in holidays or seeing holy sites. In northern India, Susan Fortner served in the city of Prayagraj (also known as Allahabad), from 1962-1963. Throughout her service and travels, she interacted with Hindus, Muslims, Jains, Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews. Fortner was also able to visit religious sites across the country. These included a mosque in Kashmir which held some of Muhammad’s hair, as well as the Kali Temple and a Jain temple in in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). Additionally, she was able to visit Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying, though she did not meet its titular founder. [4]

Joanne Trabert, who served in the Guatemalan village of Granados from 1996-1998, experienced several religious ceremonies and holidays. One notable holiday she experienced was Christmas in 1996. In the weeks before Christmas, she and local friends, who were Catholic, decorated their houses together. On the evening of December 24, Trabert went to a Catholic service, ate tamales, and enjoyed fireworks and parties into the wee hours. The next morning, she exchanged gifts with close friends in Granados. That evening, Trabert, two other Volunteers, and some visiting relatives cooked a traditional American Christmas dinner and celebrated with local friends. [5]

Photo of Joanne Trabert receiving a vase from friends in Granados on Christmas Eve, 1996. Unknown, 1996, in photo album, American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

Some religious Peace Corps Volunteers find meaningful ways to practice their beliefs. Marion Oakleaf was a member of the Religious Society of Friends (also known as Quakers). Her Peace Corps service in South Korea from 1966-1967 was simply one part of a life filled with volunteer work and service-oriented jobs. [6] As previously mentioned, Jessica Vapnek was a Jewish Volunteer serving in an area with few to no other Jewish people. During her training, she was able to celebrate Shabbat with other Jewish Volunteer trainees, as well as when she was traveling. [7] After her service, she traveled around Zaire and spoke of her amazement of visiting a synagogue and meeting with a rabbi; the two even had mutual friends. [8]

Other Volunteers consider their beliefs in different ways as a result of their service. This was particularly the case for two sets of Volunteers who fell in love and married early in their service. In early 1964, Bill VanderWerf and Barbara Jones met at training in Oregon to serve in Iran. [9] They married in Iran that September. [10] When they decided to marry, they wrote their parents, but they also had to tell them about new religious transitions. VanderWerf had switched from Catholicism to Protestantism long before his service and simply had not told his parents. However, Jones decided to leave her childhood denomination, Christian Science, during training in Portland, though she still considered herself a Protestant. Jones now considered Christian Science to be too rigid and insular for the more diverse world that she was encountering. [11]

Arnold Zeitlin and Marian Frank met in California during training for Ghana in the summer of 1961; they married that December. Zeitlin was Jewish, while Frank grew up a Presbyterian but had since become more generally spiritual. When they became engaged, they wrote letters to their own parents and to their fiancée’s parents to introduce themselves and ask for blessings. One of their largest concerns was how their families would react to an interreligious marriage.  In her letters, Frank emphasized the similarity of their beliefs and values. [12] Zeitlin wrote his parents a similar note, emphasizing that he was still very much Jewish, but that “I believe deeply that we will be stronger because of our diversity.” [13] Through the Peace Corps, these two couples not only fell in love but thought about their religious beliefs in new and different ways.

Arnold and Marian Zeitlin (bottom left) after their marriage, sitting with the Ghanian teachers they worked alongside. Unknown, 1962-1963, in scrapbook, undated, American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

Peace Corps Volunteers encounter or reconsider many ideas during their service, and religion is no exception. Whether visiting a holy site, finding ways to practice their faith overseas, or in day-to-day interactions, Volunteers often have new experiences or understandings of religion during their service.

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Edward Ferriter, “My Peace Corps Story, India 1970-1972.” American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

[2] Jessica Vapnek to friends and family, August 16, 1985. American University Archives, Washington, D.C. Vapnek’s collection also includes a letter of advice from previous Volunteers in Kirumba, which is the subject of a different blog post [https://blogs.library.american.edu/pcca/to-the-new-volunteer-helpful-letters-in-a-new-place/]

[3] Jessica Vapnek to friends and family, October 7, 1985. American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

[4] Susan Fortner, “India: A Memoir,” 3, American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

[5] Joanne Trabert to friends, January 9, 1997. American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

[6] Marian Oakleaf obituary, April 3, 2016. American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

[7] Jessica Vapnek to friends and family, August 25, 1985; Jessica Vapnek to friends and family, February 16, 1986. American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

[8] Jessica Vapnek to friends and family, August 9, 1987. American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

[9] Barbara VanderWerf, “Four Seasons: A Khareji in Iran in the 1960s,” (unpublished manuscript, 2021), 7-13.

[10] VanderWerf, “Four Seasons,” 101-102.

[11] VanderWerf, “Four Seasons,” 101-102.

[12] Marian Frank to her parents, October 30, 1961; Marian Frank to Morris and Bess Zeitlin, October 31, 1961. American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

[13] Arnold Zeitlin to Morris and Bess Zeitlin, October 30, 1961. American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

Peace Corps Pet Photos

Over the past year and a half, I have looked at hundreds of Peace Corps Volunteers’ letters and photos, which are on topics as diverse as the Volunteers and their assignments. Once in a while, however, I come across a pet photo. While more lighthearted than my usual posts, these pictures are too adorable for me to keep to myself, so here are some of my favorites.

Volunteers’ donations only sometimes contain photos or descriptions of pets or animals that they bond with. This could be because these experiences were infrequent, given the temporary nature of Peace Corps service and the amount of traveling that Volunteers often do. It could also be that interactions with local animals became so routine that Volunteers, especially those serving before the use of digital cameras, did not think it necessary to take specific pictures of them. However, those photos that do exist are always a treat to discover while processing collections.

In 1966, Marian Oakleaf became a Volunteer to South Korea. In April, she and the other Volunteers carried out part of their training in Roslyn, Washington, in the heart of the Cascade Mountains. Oakleaf mostly took pictures of local attractions, the mountains, area residents, and her fellow Volunteers. However, two photos of cats snuggled up in blankets feature in her scrapbook of the experience, alongside the lighthearted caption, “Spoiled cats!” [1]

Marian Oakleaf’s cat photos. Marian Oakleaf, 1966, in scrapbook “Peace Corps: 1966-67,” undated, American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

While it is not clear whose cats these were, Oakleaf obviously found them to be a bright spot of her time in Roslyn. Oakleaf left training early to help set up the Peace Corps’ South Korea office in anticipation of the other Volunteers’ arrival. While Oakleaf enjoyed her Peace Corps experience, illness sadly forced her to cut her service short. However, photos such as these preserved happy memories of her Volunteer work, including some very cuddly cats.

Dan Krummes served as a teacher between 1972-1974 in Kaolack, a city in central Senegal. His posthumous donation to the archives included pages of photos, including photos featuring the caption “Moustapha N’Diaye, our wild dog: 1973.” [2] (This is a not uncommon first and last name in Senegal.)

Photo of Moustapha N’Diaye eating food from a Volunteer, 1973. Dan Krummes, 1973, American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

Unfortunately, Krummes’s letters give no additional information about Moustapha, but there was clearly mutual affection between the dog and the Volunteers. Krummes’s letters and photos reveal several highlights of his service: time spent with other Volunteers, settling into life in Kaolack, and taking trips throughout Western Africa. These photos of Moustapha show that Krummes also valued his time with the dog enough to immortalize their encounters.

As these stories show, pets may not have been entirely common for Peace Corps Volunteers to connect with or photograph, but, when they did, the Volunteer would create timeless memories. These are testament to how humans and animals can connect, even when the humans are halfway across the world from their homes. I hope you’ve enjoyed them!

 

 

[1] Marian Oakleaf, scrapbook titled “Peace Corps: 1966-1967,” undated, American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

[2] Dan Krummes, c. 1974, American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

Marian Oakleaf in South Korea

Place of Service: Seoul 

Service Type: Setting up The Peace Corps’ South Korea office  

Dates in Service: 1966-1967 

Keywords: Business 

Accession Date: April 23, 2016 

Access: Third Party Donation, no rights; one restricted folder 

Collection Size: 1 linear foot 

Document Types 

  • Correspondence 
  • Scrapbooks 

Finding Aid: 

  1. Box 1: Documents  
    1. Training and Service Log, June-December 1966 
    2. Peace Corps Correspondence, 1965-1966 
    3. Correspondence Received, 1966-1967 
    4. Peace Corps Volunteer Questionnaire, 1965 (Restricted) 
    5. Obituary, 2016 
  2. Box 2: Scrapbook, 1965-1967, 1999 

Barbara Wallace in Korea

Country of Service: Korea
Service Type: Health
Dates in Service: 1975-1977
Keywords: Health

Accession Date: September 29, 2021
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 0.5 linear feet

Document Types

  • Correspondence
  • Photographs

Digital Surrogates

Finding Aid

  1. Correspondence to parents during service 
  2. Slides 
  3. Video/Slideshow