Interview with Robert Onstine, December 15, 2021

Interview Summary

Robert Onstine served as a Peace Corps Volunteer on three separate occasions: 1966-1968 in Colombia, 2000-2002 in Morocco, and 2017-2019 in Ecuador. He specialized in education as a teacher, teacher trainer and as a health educator in these countries. Before his Colombia experience, Rob was a teacher in California, responded to President Kennedy’s advice to serve his country in peace, and wanted to be stationed in a Spanish-speaking country as he had lived abroad in Spain previously and had studied Spanish literature and history as an undergraduate. He trained in Las Cruces, New Mexico at New Mexico State University with 100 other potential volunteers for eleven weeks. Twenty-six volunteers then traveled to Colombia and stayed in Bogota, the capital, for three days meeting with government officials before going to Cartagena and then on to San Jacinto where he requested a transfer to the town of Cali after three months. While in San Jacinto, Rob was tasked with shipping grain and working with nutrition as his work as an educator was overlooked. In Cali, he worked with a local university’s language department and in the department’s language laboratory. He taught a class in literature, especially Latin American literature, and felt that his students were very receptive to his presentations. He became involved in his local community and enjoyed learning the cultural values of the people there, and he merged into their lifestyle willingly. He lived in an apartment and befriended a Colombian woman who became his fiancé. Living conditions were acceptable as Rob cooked and went to the local markets often. He enjoyed his interaction with the local teaching staff, and there were community meetings every afternoon and evening. During non-work time, Rob kept involved with his work and his classroom presentations and occasionally traveled with his fiancé to other towns. During his COS (Completion of Service) process, he took a language test in Spanish in which he did very well. He had been treated for parasites, as well. After his tour of duty, Rob sailed from Cartagena to Madrid, Spain, earned a Master’s degree in Hispanic Literature and Language while attending a Middlebury College satellite campus there, married his fiancé, and spent many years teaching linguistics in four or five universities in California. He then went on to receive a Ph. D. In 2000, Rob again got the urge to make the Peace Corps a part of his life after attending a re-entry meeting which spurred his excitement. He was teaching at a university at the time and was set to take over a previous Peace Corps position in Morocco. He attended a staging session in Washington, D.C. and then flew to Casablanca and then traveled on to Rabat. He worked eleven weeks in a college there and learned a form of Arabic called the Moroccan Darija language. He held one of four teaching positions offered and went to work in Mohammadia, a coastal town. Most of his teaching there was to bilingual students as well as political science students. Rob also taught in the health sciences. He lived with a family for three months and then secured an apartment by the sea with another Morrocan teacher at the university. He became involved in the culture of the area and about Islam. He met an Islamic woman whom he eventually married as she went back to the United States with him. Until 2017, Rob taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District, mainly in Advanced Placement Spanish classes. Then, he felt the Peace Corps urge again, and he signed on again as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador. His training there was in Quito, and he taught in a Catholic school. He taught Creative Writing and started a Literacy Club. With two vacation days per month, Rob traveled and visited with local environmentalists. Throughout all of his Peace Corps experiences, Rob had not a single regret regarding his service, and he expressed heart-felt gratitude towards the Corps and its support. He is involved with Friends groups in both Colombia and Morocco and resides in California.

Interview Keyword

Peace Corps (US): Countries of Service: Colombia, Morocco, Ecuador Dates of Service: 1966-1968, 2000-2002, 2017-2019 Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Education Peace Corps (US): 1960-1970, 2000-2002, 2010-2020 Languages: Spanish, Moroccan Darija Language Training: New Mexico State University, Bogota, Cartagena, San Jacinto, Cali, Casablanca, Mohammadia, Quito Cultural Training: New Mexico State University, Bogota, Cartagena, San Jacinto, Cali, Casablanca, Mohammadia, Quinto

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