2006.10.29: October 29, 2006: Headlines: COS - Morocco: Older Volunteers: North County Times: 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
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Morocco:
Peace Corps Morocco :
The Peace Corps in Morocco:
2006.10.29: October 29, 2006: Headlines: COS - Morocco: Older Volunteers: North County Times: 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
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.'"
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: October, 2006; COS - Morocco; Older Volunteers
When this story was posted in November 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
 | 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. |
 | 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. |
 | 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. |
 | 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. |
 | 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. |
 | 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. |
 | 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. |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: North County Times
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Morocco; Older Volunteers
PCOL35023
83