Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-016
Kathleen MacLeod served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from June 1964 to June 1966 as an English teacher in the TEFL program (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). Her group was the fourth one to serve in Iran. After spending a year in Mexico during college, she had expected to be sent to a Spanish speaking country. Training was conducted at the University of Michigan English Language Institute and included the Farsi language and Iranian history. MacLeod initially worked in Tehran teaching English to public health engineers, and at the UNESCO School of Social Work. After a few months, she requested a reassignment to an area with more locals. In Gorgan, MacLeod taught at a girls' high school. She lived with a local midwife and sometimes accompanied the midwife when she delivered babies in nearby villages. MacLeod has maintained lasting friendships with her Iranian friends and other volunteers after her service. Interviewed and recorded by Julius (Jay) Sztuk, October 17, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).