Interview with Peter Van Deekle, May 10, 2021

Interview Summary

Peter Van Deekle served as an English teacher in Iran from 1968-1970. He first heard about the Peace Corps during his junior year of high school in 1963, when he volunteered at PC headquarters sorting applications. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he applied and was posted to Iran after two months of training in Brattleboro, VT and Hamadan, Iran. His first site as an English teacher was a small village called Borujerd, where he taught boys from many surrounding villages. Later in 1968 he was transferred to a site called Natanz, and was paired with a wealthy young roommate from the Iranian secret police. His third site was Zahedan, in Baluchistan, Iran, where he lived with a female Peace Corps volunteer who he later married. After a career in education with many interactions with foreign students, he is now working with the National Peace Corps Association.

Interview Keyword

Iran Peace Corps volunteer service Teaching English as a Second Language (TEFL/TOEFL) Secondary education Shah of Iran Hamadan, Iran Tehran, Iran Brattleboro, Vermont Borujerd, Iran Natanz, Iran Zahedan, Iran Domestic immersion National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) Farsi language Deselection Hamam (communal bath) John F. Kennedy Baluchistan Province, Iran

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.