Interview with Brian Boyle, May 25, 2021

Interview Summary

Brian Boyle served as a Peace Corps education volunteer in Nigeria from 1962-1964. Although his parents were opposed, he joined after graduating college and went to Columbia Teacher’s College for training on teaching techniques, the language of Northern Nigeria, and the culture and customs of the new country of Nigeria. Arriving in Lagos in the new year, he had another week of training there and in Minna before traveling to his site of Bida. He taught biology at a boys’ high school that had been established by the British and lived with another volunteer in a house next to two other volunteers who had arrived 6 months earlier. On vacations he traveled around Nigeria and across the Sahara to Algeria, and he met and befriended many people. Peace Corps brought him out of his bubble and taught him that people all over the world are the same. After returning, he felt some loneliness because his old friends had gotten jobs and many were married, but he quickly made new friends and got a law degree. He has continued to be active in the local Peace Corps organization.

Interview Keyword

Nigeria (Country of service) 1962-1964 (Date of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Education Columbia Teacher's College Lagos, Nigeria Bida, Nigeria Post-colonial Sahara Second Goal Biology education Kaduna, Nigeria

Interview LC Subject

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

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