At the age of 71, Dr. Bernadine Hoff joined the Peace Corps and went to Morocco, where she was assigned to teach business English at the Ecole Nationale de Commerce et de Gestion, in Agadir



In the four years she was there, she learned to live without things many Americans would call indispensable. "I didn't have a telephone. I didn't have a refrigerator. I had a hot water heater, but it only worked for the shower." But there were other compensations. "Everything over there was done at a leisurely pace," Hoff said. "There was no time pressure. You pretty much did things when you wanted to, and if you didn't want to, well, you'd take a nap. Or go visit a friend."

At the age of 71, Dr. Bernadine Hoff joined the Peace Corps and went to Morocco, where she was assigned to teach business English at the Ecole Nationale de Commerce et de Gestion, in Agadir

From teaching to Peace Corps, 80-year-old keeps life exciting

By: ANDREW PETERSON - For the North County Times

Caption: Dr. Bernadine Hoff, who has traveled the U.S. and other parts of the world, including Morocco with the Peace Corps, stands in what she calls her "Hall of Fame," a collection of maps, plaques and momentoes from her adventures, while in her Carlsbad home on Saturday. Photo: HAYNE PALMOUR IV Staff Photographer

CARLSBAD ---- As beset as Americans are by stress, environmental risks and the consequences of bad lifestyle choices, statistical data tells us we're living longer than ever. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the average life expectancy for a person born in the United States is 77.9 years.

But there's more to life than its length ---- and if our emeritus years are blighted by decrepitude and disease, longevity may become a curse. It's this realization that animates our search for ways to live full, vibrant lives as we age.

In this regard, Bernadine "Bernie" Hoff's life stands out as one worth emulating.

At 80 years old, the octogenarian educator, who lives in Carlsbad, said she recently celebrated her 40th birthday ---- for the second time. She keeps a schedule many people half her age would find demanding.

"The positive attitude is so important," she said in a phone interview, "because it gives you the drive you need to do what you know you should do."

And what Hoff knows she should do is what she's done her whole life: teach. For three years she's taught a safe driving course for seniors. She's served on the Core Adjunct Faculty at National University since 1981 and taught troops at Camp Pendleton and Twenty-Nine Palms.

"The glass really is half full, not half empty," she said. "My parents taught me that."

One could say Hoff's glass is overflowing. In August of 1997, at the age of 71, she joined the Peace Corps and went to Morocco, where she was assigned to teach business English at the Ecole Nationale de Commerce et de Gestion, in Agadir.

"Morocco has a marvelous bus system and marvelous walking places, but it's hazardous," she recalled. "About every six months I would step in a hole and fall. But I have strong bones and nothing serious ever happened. I would get up in the morning, go to school, teach all day, then go into their computer room ... and I would get ready for the next day's class."

In the four years she was there, she learned to live without things many Americans would call indispensable.

"I didn't have a telephone. I didn't have a refrigerator. I had a hot water heater, but it only worked for the shower."

But there were other compensations.

"Everything over there was done at a leisurely pace," Hoff said. "There was no time pressure. You pretty much did things when you wanted to, and if you didn't want to, well, you'd take a nap. Or go visit a friend."

In the late summer of 2001, with her Peace Corps obligations complete, Hoff returned to the U.S.

"I had to live by the American pace again," she said. "It's traffic jams and telephones going constantly ---- you're always rushing to catch up."

Fortunately, she had the constitutional wherewithal to rise to the challenge. She plunged into the classroom, rooming with a friend who lived in Joshua Tree and teaching young Marines college-level English four days a week at Copper Mountain Community College.

That was five years ago, and she hasn't slowed down since.

"A lot of it is genetic," she said. "I'm blessed ---- I don't have high blood pressure ... I don't have high cholesterol. I don't have osteoporosis. I don't have arthritis. All of the things that slow people down, I don't have."

Reading this, some might be tempted to dismiss her story as an accident of good fortune ---- of only limited significance for the majority of people who lack her genetic endowments. But Hoff's days are far from carefree. Having the right parents hasn't exempted her from toil and suffering. She struggles to make ends meet, and there are days when she would just as soon not have to teach a room full of students.

But she does it anyway.

"I plunge in. Get my mind on something else. I tend to not talk about my problems."

It is, she said, a tactic anyone can use.

"I do it with my driving (for instance) ... I know that if I'm going to be a safe driver, I have to focus on the act of driving. ... When I find my mind wandering when I'm driving, I say, 'Bernie ---- focus.'"

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Headlines: October, 2006; COS - Morocco; Older Volunteers

When this story was posted in November 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




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Ron Tschetter in Morocco and Jordan On his first official trip since being confirmed as Peace Corps Director, Ron Tschetter (shown at left with PCV Tia Tucker) is on a ten day trip to Morocco and Jordan. Traveling with his wife (Both are RPCVs.), Tschetter met with volunteers in Morocco working in environment, youth development, health, and small business development. He began his trip to Jordan by meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah II and Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah and discussed expanding the program there in the near future.

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November 12, 2006: This Month's Top Stories Michael O'Hanlon writes: The New Congress and Iraq 9 Nov Amanda Host named new PC Press Director 12 Nov Shays will reach across the aisle for answers in Iraq 8 Nov Petri loses chance to become committee chairman 8 Nov Doyle gets a mandate to improve education 8 Nov Eunice Shriver spends election night with Schwarzenegger 8 Nov Donna Shalala writes: Eliminating gender bias in universities 7 Nov Robert Paul upheld peace amid Afghan war 6 Nov Carol Bellamy receives humanitarian award 6 Nov Joseph Opala studies Black Seminoles 6 Nov David C. Liner named PC Chief of Staff 3 Nov PCV Matthew Costa remembered 2 Nov Ethiopian-American community rallied for Garamendi 2 Nov Christopher Poulos named Teacher of the Year 1 Nov Peace Corps Writers and the Lost Generation 1 Nov James Rupert writes: A deadly attack in Pakistan 31 Oct Hill meets secretly with North Korea to restart talks 31 Oct Jimmy Carter remembers mother in Peace Corps 30 Oct Leigh Emery travels world for science 27 Oct IFAW breaks ground for new headquarters 25 Oct RPCVs Podcast Around the Globe 23 Oct

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Election 2006: Results of RPCV Races Chris Shays claims victory in closely watched race Jim Walsh wins re-election to Congress in close race Tom Petri unopposed for re-election to Congress Sam Farr wins re-election to Congress Mike Honda wins re-election to Congress Jim Doyle wins re-election to Wisconsin Governorship Kinky Friedman loses in long shot bid for Texas Governor John Garamendi elected Lt. Governor of California

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October 22, 2006: This Month's Top Stories The crisis over North Korea's nuclear bomb test 14 Oct Hill faced strong opposition for denuclearization agreement 8 Oct John Coyne writes: The first Peace Corps book 20 Oct Thomas Tighe moderates discussion with President Clinton 17 Oct PC announces Community College degree program 18 Oct Donna Shalala expresses dismay over football brawl 16 Oct Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley defends Lebanon policy 16 Oct Jan Guifarro elected Chair of NPCA Board 15 Oct Carl Pope writes: From the pump to the polls 13 Oct Ambassador Gaddi Vasquez Says Africa a Priority 12 Oct Chris Dodd opposes Bush terrorism bill 10 Oct Isaac Edvalson is founder of Africa's Tomorrow 9 Oct The Man who turned down Shriver 8 Oct Mae Jemison tells girls to reach for the stars 6 Oct Loren Finnell receives Shriver Award 4 Oct Matt Sesow paints onstage during opera 2 Oct Film examines anti-malaria drug lariam 29 Sep Blackwill dismisses Musharraf's claims 27 Sep Ron Tschetter sworn in as 17th Peace Corps Director 26 Sep Rape Victim Student Gets $1 Million From City College 26 Sep Ricardo Chavira narrates Public Service Announcements 25 Sep

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The Peace Corps Library The Peace Corps Library is now available online with over 40,000 index entries in 500 categories. Looking for a Returned Volunteer? Check our RPCV Directory or leave a message on our Bulletin Board. New: Sign up to receive our free Monthly Magazine by email, research the History of the Peace Corps, or sign up for a daily news summary of Peace Corps stories. FAQ: Visit our FAQ for more information about PCOL.

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Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments.

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He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor.

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Meet Ron Tschetter - Our Next Director Read our story about Ron Tschetter's confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that was carried on C-Span. It was very different from the Vasquez hearings in 2001, very cut and dried with low attendance by the public. Among the highlights, Tschetter intends to make recruitment of baby boomers a priority, there are 20 countries under consideration for future programs, Senator Dodd intends to re-introduce his third goal Peace Corps legislation this session, Tschetter is a great admirer of Senator Coleman's quest for accountability, Dodd thinks management at PC may not put volunteers first, Dodd wants Tschetter to look into problems in medical selection, and Tschetter is not a blogger and knows little about the internet or guidelines for volunteer blogs. Read our recap of the hearings as well as Senator Coleman's statement and Tschetter's statement.

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Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process.

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The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace.

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PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

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History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help.

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