Two's Company

Beverly and James Sweet with Nepalese colleague (center)

by Wrexie Bardaglio

Whenever James Sweet '72 had a bad day at his job as a foundry production control manager, he would come home and say to his wife, Beverly Pollock Sweet '74, "Let's join the Peace Corps." Whenever Bev came home frazzled from teaching, she would say to Jim, "I think we should join the Peace Corps." One memorable day in 1978, after talking it over for eight or nine months, they looked at one another and said, "Let's do it!"

"Five days after the Peace Corps received our applications we were offered positions in Zambia, but we would have had to leave in two weeks," says Jim. "We weren't ready to go so soon."

A short time later the Sweets, who speak French, declined a South American post, feeling that Spanish-speaking volunteers would be better choices. The next call from the Peace Corps offered them positions in Nepal. "No one spoke Nepalese, so anyone going would have to learn the language," says Beverly. The Sweets jumped at the opportunity to leave their home in Wellsville, New York, for the remote Himalayan kingdom, although, Bev says, "a lot of people thought we were crazy. After all, we had good jobs and a house."

Both Sweets, however, were intrinsically equipped to embrace the Peace Corps adventure. Jim was a fan of John F. Kennedy, and Kennedy's call to altruism had resonated deeply with him. In high school, he says, "I was influenced by The Ugly American. After reading that, I felt like [proving that] Americans didn't have to be jerks when abroad."

Beverly, a history major, had always been interested in travel and other cultures. Like her husband, she wanted to do something altruistic, to "use my resources to be an instrument for democracy," she says, "to represent the United States and help others on a personal level."

The Sweets plunged in to the Peace Corps' rigorous, high-intensity language training for 3 weeks, followed by 10 weeks of additional language study and cross-cultural learning. Later that training would come in handy as Bev coped with a serious illness Jim contracted in their village. "As I watched him wasting away," she remembers, "a student said to me, 'Mrs. Sweet, I hope Mr. Sweet doesn't die, but if he does, can I have his jeans?' That showed me just how much death was an ordinary part of daily life in Nepal." What would be an unacceptable comment in an American setting was just a reflection of the cultural realities of their new home.

Training completed, the Sweets passed language-proficiency exams and were soon on their own, armed with water filters, iodine pills, and assignments. Jim, who'd majored in business administration, helped Nepali businessmen institute such techniques as inventory management. For example, he says, "Let's say they were selling matches. They would sell them all. And then there would be no matches for sale, for anyone wanting to buy matches. Ordering more matches could take a week. I tried to teach them to plan ahead, to incorporate practical techniques into their operations."

Bev's challenge was setting up a new program teaching English at the university. Her classroom was a rough space over a cowshed. Her assignment perfectly suited her skills, but she felt the program wasn't as well organized as it could have been. "They needed health care, water treatment methods, and bridge building, for example," she points out. "But I was asked to do a university education program."

Nonetheless, Nepal had a huge impact on the couple, so much so that when their tour was completed Jim contracted a job under USAID and they returned for four years. Years later, they recount how their time in that country has shaped their lives. "There were great aspects to the experience, but incredible difficulties as well. I got the baseball scores four or five weeks late," Jim deadpans. Becoming serious, the sports writer for the Wellsville Daily Reporter continues, "The Peace Corps influenced me immensely. I was on a fast track all through high school and college. There was nothing but moving up. But after I returned from Nepal and went back to work, material things didn't seem to matter as much. It's nice to have money [and] things, but I saw that the Nepali, who didn't have all these things, didn't realize they were poor, and therefore they weren't."

As for Bev, back to teaching at Wellsville High, every year she actively recruits 11th and 12th graders during Peace Corps Day --- knowing that if they end up as volunteers, they'll have an unforgettable experience.