Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2015-006
Lillian Baer served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Ivory Coast in an education program. She worked in a secondary school in the city of Man teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Peace Corps training began at Dartmouth, the summer after her junior year in college, and continued a year later after graduation in Quebec and then in Bouaké, Ivory Coast. Lillian describes an extremely difficult and frustrating first year as a volunteer, struggling with the language. She persevered, however, and found the second year to be very satisfying and productive. After competing volunteer service, Lillian served for six years as Peace Corps staff, from 1973 to 1979, as Education Specialist for the Africa Region in Washington, D.C.; Director of Regional Training Resource Office in Dakar, Senegal; Acting PC Director in 3 countries; and Associate PC Director for Education and Training in Senegal. Lillian went on to live in Senegal for 32 years. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, October 23, 2014. 3 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).