Interview with Eleanor Stancliffe, October 7, 2021

Interview Summary

Eleanor Stancliffe Argandona served as a nurse in Bolivia from 1962 to 1964. She was raised on a farm in Vermont and went to nursing school in Boston before joining Peace Corps, where she looked forward to learning Spanish. After training in Oklahoma and Puerto Rico, her training group went to La Paz and then to their sites of service. Eleanor served in a hospital in the small town of Rurrenbaque, where she was posted with another Peace Corps health worker. The health facility had very few resources, and physician interns served training rotations for just six months to a year. They adapted to the quiet life in the town and made friends with some of the Bolivian Air Force personnel who also lived in the town. Over time Eleanor became close to one of the men, and he decided to return to the US when her two years were complete. After a year back in Boston, the two married and are still together.

Interview Keyword

Morrissville, Vermont Spanish language Language learning Nursing education Camp Crozier (PR) Psychological testing Peace Corps training Bolivia Peter Brent Bigham Hospital (now Brigham and Women's Hospital), Boston (Ma.) La Paz, Bolivia Rurrenabaque, Bolivia Bolivia Air Force Communication technology Low-resource settings Merck manual Midwives Snake bites John F. Kennedy Carnaval fiesta Cochabamba, Bolivia Oruro, Bolivia Catholic religion Catholic ritual

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