Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-051
Gloria Montalto served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from June 1969 to June 1971 as an English teacher. She served alongside her husband Nicholas. She speaks about the exciting time, including her marriage, prior to leaving for the Peace Corps, and impact of her New York City Italian-American background on her family's reaction to her decision. She discusses training both in the U.S. and in Iran, and the couple's desire to serve in the Iranian countryside. Montalto taught English in a girls' school. She is frank about her difficult first three months and the break-throughs that finally helped them integrate into the community. She also discusses her inexperience in cooking and other things, the challenges she faced in the school, her connection with the Muslim culture, and her life as a woman in Iran. Finally, Montalto talks about difficulty reintegrating upon her return to the U.S., as well as a trip back to their site in the 1990s. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, January 27, 2019. 1 digital audio file.