Interview with Susan Boohaker, July 27, 2020

Partial Transcript: Hello, this is, uh, Jay Sztuk.

Segment Synopsis: Boohaker's parents are in Foreign Service so she grew up overseas in Western Europe and the Middle East. Her undergraduate work was done in the United States at Virginia Tech. She met lots of people with Peace Corps experience working for the Foreign Service. She thought their Peace Corps stories were interesting and so since high school she wanted to serve in the Peace Corps after college and then go into the Foreign Service. She lived in Abu Dhabi, Budapest, Paris, Jordan, Cairo, Bangkok, Washington D.C., and Germany.

Because she has an M.A. in food studies that she received from an institution in Rome, Peace Corps assigned her to Senegal working in agriculture. The application process took a year. She applied when she was still an undergraduate but was rejected. She applied again after graduate school. It was difficult to get her medical clearances in Rome, but once she did the acceptance process proceeded swiftly. She returned to the United States where she had an internship and shipped out from there. There were 60 in her departing group.

Keywords: Acceptance; Applying; Assignments; Career paths; College majors; Family; Future plans; Graduate schools; Master's degrees; Medical clearance; Motivation; Sustainability; Sustainable agriculture

Subjects: Families; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Senegal; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in horticulture; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So, well, so traveling was nothing new to you.

Segment Synopsis: It was hot. The soil was red. The traffic was crazy; there were no traffic lights. The vegetation was different than that in Virginia--more shrubs and less greenery. There was trash everywhere.

Keywords: Acculturation; Culture; Culture shock; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Senegal

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So, uh, tell me about your, your training.

Segment Synopsis: There are lots of Peace Corps volunteers in Senegal. There is a large training center in Thiès. Local teachers came there for language and cultural instruction. Peace Corps headquarters are in the nearby capital Dakar. Personnel came from Dakar to the training center to give technical instruction. There were 10 weeks of training in the local language and technical skills. Volunteers lived with local families during training. The language barrier made it hard. Her language study group of 4 volunteers lived in the same neighborhood and studied the Malinka language and gardening together. The host families had hosted Americans before. Because communication was difficult with her host family, she didn't get to know them well. Volunteers were literally "dumped" into a strange culture. It was intense, confusing and frustrating in training. About 15 volunteers decided to leave. There were some strange and scary medical issues.

Keywords: Acculturation; Cultural training; Culture; Culture shock; Emotions; Host family; Language barriers; Language training; Lifestyles; Local languages; Manners and customs; Quitting; Senegal; Technical training; Training; Training centers

Subjects: Culture shock; Emotions; Families; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal communication and culture; Interpersonal relations; Language and culture; Language and languages; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Senegal; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in horticulture; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So, uh, where was your, your site?

Segment Synopsis: Permanent site was in southeast Senegal close to Mali and Guinea, near Saraya, the regional city. She compares the culture in the north (Wolof) to the culture in the south (Malinka). There were lots of volunteers in the Saraya area, but they were alone in their own villages. Villages were 3-13 miles apart. Boohaker's village had about 200 people. The area is rural and roads are undeveloped. It is 15 hours from the training center.

Keywords: Acculturation; Culture; Culture shock; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Villages

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Senegal; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Tell me about the village. What was it like?

Segment Synopsis: Boohaker got to know everyone in the village. She was the third volunteer. There were no English-speakers. They were patient with her. Everyone was close in the village. It was quiet. There was no mosque. In the morning everyone went to the fields so she was alone a lot. She went to the fields to find people. She learned how they farmed that way and so was able to start projects.

Keywords: Acculturation; Culture; Culture shock; English (Language); Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Senegal; Villages

Subjects: Communication and culture; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal relations; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Senegal; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Did you go out and work with these farmers individually or did, did, uh--were you able to have some training in the, in the village, uh, you know, collectively...

Segment Synopsis: There was a master farmer 1.5 miles away. He taught Boohaker about how locals farmed. They set up trainings together. He came up with project ideas and Boohaker facilitated. He was an older man recruited by Peace Corps. He received seeds for his help. Boohaker was working on a women's project involving a grant for a well at the time of COVID evacuation. Other projects dealing with pests and drought came from discussions with workers in the fields. Sorghum, corn, rice millet, and beans were the local crops. Gardening training was given twice yearly in the rainy season. Women's gardens not only produced healthy food but also were a source of income.

Keywords: Evacuations; Food; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Secondary projects; Senegal; Teaching

Subjects: Food habits; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Senegal; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in horticulture; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: What was your living situation there in the village?

Segment Synopsis: Boohaker had her own hut. She had a front and back yard. There was a chicken coop on the site. There was no electricity or running water. She carried water in jugs on her head from a water pump 2 compounds away.

Keywords: Housing; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Running water; Senegal

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Senegal; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: And, um, well, uh, yeah, tell me something about your village experience.

Segment Synopsis: At first, life in the village was hard. It was a new and different culture, different from what she had learned in training. There was a language barrier for the first 3 months. She communicated with sign language and pictures in the sand. Her host brother helped her with the language 2 hours a day. The women were hard to get along with at first. The village is segregated by gender. There were 2 male volunteers at the site before Boohaker. She was dealing mostly with men as farmers. So the women were jealous and couldn't relate to her and saw her as privileged. When she started working with the women on gardening and greeted them in the fields things improved. As her language improved, she was able to gossip with the women. This was right before she left. She made friends with a couple of female teenagers in her compound.

Keywords: Adaptability; Adjustment; Cultural differences; Cultural training; Difficult; Fluency; Friendships; Host brothers; Language barriers; Lifestyles; Local languages; Manners and customs; Role of women; Senegal; Villages; Women

Subjects: Acculturation; Culture; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal communication and culture; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Language and culture; Language and languages; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Senegal; Social norms; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in horticulture; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Did you work at all at the school?

Segment Synopsis: Boohaker worked at a middle school 5 miles away. The government wanted a school garden project. She worked with a girls' club regarding gardening and planting. She also worked on girls' empowerment--stay in school, go on to high school, don't get married right away at 16. This effort may be in tension with family pressure.

Keywords: Empowerment; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Marriage; Middle schools; Schools; Senegal

Subjects: Culture; Families; Marriage; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Schools; Senegal; Social norms; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So this is a, a rural community and they had been farming for generations.

Segment Synopsis: Techniques were taught by the master farmer. Boohaker didn't want to teach as she didn't want to teach incorrect things. She just facilitated. Her role was to help people learn from one another.

Keywords: Senegal; Teachers; Teaching; Techniques

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Senegal; Teachers; Teaching; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in horticulture; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: What, what did you enjoy most about, about your job?

Segment Synopsis: Boohaker says she was challenged physically and emotionally. She learned to be resilient. She was sick for a time. She got burned on her leg. She had a little gas stove to boil water. She was wearing a wrapped skirt which caught fire. A friend tore it off. She was treated regionally but the wound became infected. She was transported 15 hours to Dakar. She was in sick bay for 2 months. She was happy to return to her site. Every day she was learning something new. Everything was challenging. She continues to stay in touch with her host family and master farmer. A village 5 miles away from hers has good cell service.

Keywords: Cell phones; Challenges; Challenging; Communication; Community health services; Emotions; Hospitals; Host family; Illness; Senegal

Subjects: Emotions; Hospitals; Interpersonal relations; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Senegal; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So, um, about, oh, three-quarters of the way into your, your service there...

Segment Synopsis: The first case of coronavirus in Senegal showed up in March 2020. Volunteers were evacuated a week later. Boohaker was reluctant to leave because her projects were in full swing. She was given two days to pack. When she left, she and the villagers were crying. People understood the virus was a big deal. Boohaker told villagers she would be back. She would like to go back now if she had the chance. Boohaker would not have extended; she wanted to go back to the U.S. It was challenging enough that she would not have extended. Three hundred volunteers were evacuated by bus to the training center. Communication on details was poor. They left the country the next day after they gathered at the training center. It was nerve wracking. They did their Close of Service. They took the last flight out of Senegal.

Keywords: Close of Service; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19); Emotions; Evacuations; Extensions; Senegal; Villages

Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); Emotions; Evacuation; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Senegal; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So you had been there for a year and a half or so.

Segment Synopsis: Boohaker said achieving Peace Corps' second goal of helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served was easy. Boohaker believes she was successful in fulfilling the first goal of helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women. She pointed to lots of interesting projects in which she was involved, including USAID's farmer to farmer program, and her work in identifying what trainings were needed and facilitating lots of them.

Keywords: Accomplishments; Senegal; Technical training; Training; United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Senegal; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in horticulture; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So, um, do you feel like, um--oh, how, how do you feel about how this Peace Corps experience, uh, has changed you and will influence, uh, any future decisions you make, uh, future choices you make?

Segment Synopsis: Boohaker said she liked how Peace Corps has redefined what international relations looks like on the ground. She said she really saw what development looked like through USAID. Peace Corps helped her define her career toward international relations and development work. She said the experience was humbling and gave her a greater understanding of a different culture. She noted it is crucial to learn the language of the people served.

Keywords: Career paths; Careers; Culture; Emotions; International development; Language barriers; Language skills; Senegal; United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Subjects: Careers; Culture; Emotions; Language and culture; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Senegal; United States. Agency for International Development.; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: And what are your plans for the future then?

Segment Synopsis: Boohaker wants a career in agriculture dealing with gardening and plants. She wants to join the Foreign Service and work with the USDA. She has a job with the USDA now as a labeling officer. She says she was lucky to get the job and believes she got the job due to her MA. She used the Peace Corps job portal and the associated email to apply.

Keywords: Education; Jobs; Senegal

Subjects: Careers; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2000-2010 Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Senegal; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in horticulture; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So, uh, any other, uh, stories you'd like to tell or any, any other experiences you'd like to relate here?

Segment Synopsis: During the rainy season, there is thunder and lightning and it can be scary. Her hut leaked. Boohaker would feel the lightning nearby--her hair stood on end. Once, a hut in the village was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. The villagers thought it was because the person in the hut was using a cell phone.

Keywords: Cell phones; Senegal; Villages; Weather

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Senegal; Senegal; Voluntarism; Volunteers