Interview with Leora Kurtzer, July 31, 2020

Partial Transcript: This is Evelyn Ganzglass. Today is July 31, 2020.

Segment Synopsis: Kurtzer said volunteer activities were important to her family. She was working in a marketing agency after college graduation but wanted a more meaningful and enjoyable job.

Keywords: Adaptability; Altruism; Career paths; Evacuations; Jobs; Personal growth

Subjects: Careers; Emotions; Parents; Volunteerism

Partial Transcript: So, where did you, where did you grow up, Leora ?

Segment Synopsis: Before she went to college, Kurtzer's family moved widely. This included living in Israel for 5 years. So even before joining the Peace Corps, Kurtzer was comfortable with moving and had experienced living in other cultures. Kurtzer majored in marketing at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Keywords: Adjustment; College majors; International travel; Study abroad

Subjects: Childhood; Culture shock; Israel; Travel; Traveling

Partial Transcript: And what was your parents' reaction to your joining the Peace Corps?

Segment Synopsis: Kurtzer was assigned to the China program after only about a month following her application, but she had to wait another year before her cohort left for China. Her parents were supportive of her application. While waiting, she continued working at the marketing agency and volunteered as an English as a second language teacher.

Keywords: Anxiety; Application process; Applying; Cohorts; Medical clearance; Preparations; Teaching English as a second language; Waiting periods

Subjects: Emotions; Parents; Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--China; Teachers; Teaching; Volunteer workers in education

Partial Transcript: So, a year passes.

Segment Synopsis: Kurtzer's cohort started with about 81 members. All these volunteers were intended to serve as university level English teachers. After staging in San Francisco, they traveled to Chengdu, China. There, they first stayed in a hotel. After 2 weeks, they moved in with host families. The cohort was subdivided into 4 groups.

Keywords: Cohorts; Education programs; Host families; Housing; Pre-service training; San Francisco (Calif.); Secondary projects; Side projects; Staging

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.)--China; Volunteer workers in education

Partial Transcript: And how was your home stay while you were in training?

Segment Synopsis: Kurtzer enjoyed her home stay. Only the host father spoke English. Initially, Kurtzer had no Chinese fluency. Kurtzer describes interactions with her host family and their physical living conditions.

Keywords: Host families; Host fathers; Host grandmothers; Host mothers; Host sisters; Housing; Interpersonal relations; Pre-service training; Translation

Subjects: Acculturation; Culture; Emotions; Peace Corps (U.S.)--China

Partial Transcript: Talk a little bit, talk a little bit about the training.

Segment Synopsis: Of her cohort's 4 sub-groups, Kurtzer was placed in the one for trainees with the lowest fluency in Chinese language and the least amount of English teaching experience. During training, the cohort's native teachers were very supportive. The trainees studied Mandarin Chinese, Chinese culture, and did 2 weeks of practice English teaching with Chinese high school students in Chengdu.

Keywords: Cohorts; Cultural training; Emotions; Encouragement; Language skills; Language training; Practice teaching; Pre-service training; Teachers; Teaching; Teaching English as a foreign language; Technical training

Subjects: Culture; High schools; Holidays; Peace Corps (U.S.)--China

Partial Transcript: Well, where were you then assigned after the training?

Segment Synopsis: Kurtzer was assigned to Guizhou Medical University in the city of Guiyang. She taught English majors. She lived alone and had little contact with other foreigners at the school. To Kurtzer, Guiyang seemed less cosmopolitan than Chengdu. Kurtzer commuted from her apartment to her work site by bus. This trip took an average of 40 minutes.

Keywords: Buses; College majors; Daily routines; Housing; Living alone; Living situation

Subjects: College campuses; Emotions; Language and languages.; Peace Corps (U.S.)--China; Schools; Teachers; Teaching; Universities and colleges; Volunteer workers in education

Partial Transcript: And, and did you get to know people where you lived? How did that work out?

Segment Synopsis: Kurtzer made friends with colleagues in her neighborhood and with other commuters on the bus to and from school. Most of her conversations with all these friends were in English. She continued to study Mandarin with a tutor. She had trouble understanding the local dialect.

Keywords: Close of Service; Conversations; Dialects; Local people; Pre-service training; Tutors

Subjects: Advice; Communication and culture.; Emotions; Friendship; Intercultural communication.; Interpersonal communication and culture; Interpersonal relations and culture; Language and languages.; Peace Corps (U.S.)--China

Partial Transcript: And, and what, and what was your teaching experience like?

Segment Synopsis: The goal of Kurtzer's class was to improve the oral English fluency of the students. Her students were weak in this skill. Her first semester, in particular, was challenging for her and for her students. Kurtzer subsequently adapted her teaching with the aim to make it less stressful for the students. In addition, she tried to teach them other transferable skills such as how to give an effective presentation. Teaching became more fun for her. She bonded well with her students. By the end of her third term, many of her students were coming to her office hours.

Keywords: Adjustment; Challenges; Challenging; Changes; Conversations; Cultural differences; Empowerment; Encouragement; Fluency; Questions; Skills; Speaking; Teaching English as a foreign language

Subjects: Acculturation; Careers; Communication and culture; Communication and culture.; Emotions; Intercultural communication.; Language and culture.; Language and languages.; Peace Corps (U.S.)--China; Stress (Psychology); Teachers; Teaching; Volunteer workers in education

Partial Transcript: And you said you had--you formed some friendships while you were there?

Segment Synopsis: Kurtzer kept her relationship with her students professional, although some of them shared personal problems with her. Kurtzer developed closer friendships with some of her Chinese colleagues, with her Mandarin tutor, and with a woman who audited all her classes.

Keywords: Host mothers; Social media; WeChat

Subjects: Communication and culture.; Friendship; Intercultural communication.; Interpersonal communication and culture; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Language and languages.; Peace Corps (U.S.)--China; Tutors and tutoring

Partial Transcript: Did you ever talk about the United States or about politics or anything like that?

Segment Synopsis: When asked, Kurtzer freely spoke about American politics. Kurtzer was more circumspect regarding controversial Chinese topics. Kurtzer knew that her conversations might be monitored.

Keywords: Acceptance; Conversations; Ethnic minority regions; Politics; Taboo topics; Uighurs; Xinjiang

Subjects: Conflict management; Minorities; Oppression; Peace Corps (U.S.)--China

Partial Transcript: Did you get to travel at all while you were there?

Segment Synopsis: Kurtzer traveled during school vacations. At times, she traveled to see other Peace Corps volunteers. Sometimes, she traveled together with other Guiyang Peace Corps volunteers. One of Kurtzer's Chinese friends noted the increase in domestic travelers during the last 20 years as a result of the exponential growth of the Chinese middle class. Kurtzer noticed the disparity in economic development between urban and rural areas.

Keywords: Changes; Differences; Emotions; Holidays; Living conditions; Rural areas; Traveling

Subjects: Lifestyles; Peace Corps (U.S.)--China

Partial Transcript: So, so you were in China at the very beginning of the global pandemic. How did you learn about, uh, COVID?

Segment Synopsis: At the end of January 2020, while at her cohort's mid-service training, one volunteer, during a 45 minute session about malaria, raised a question about the new coronavirus. The doctors merely responded that the situation was being monitored. The doctors didn't anticipate that it would be a major problem. After the training, Kurtzer left for vacation in Macao and Taiwan. Within two weeks after the training ended, China volunteers were told to evacuate to Thailand because of COVID-19. When Kurtzer received this notification, she was in Taiwan. So, she left directly for Thailand and abandoned her belongings in China.

Keywords: Belongings; Cohorts; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Doctors; Health training; In-service training; Malaria; Mid-service training; News; Regrets; Tourism

Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); Emotions; Evacuation; International travel; Macao (China); Peace Corps (U.S.)--China; Taiwan; Thailand

Partial Transcript: And then you met up with others in Thailand as well?

Segment Synopsis: Kurtzer commended the Peace Corps China staff for quickly evacuating the 140 volunteers, especially since it was during the Chinese New Year holiday and many volunteers were on vacation away from their work sites. For a couple of days in Thailand, there was uncertainty about whether the volunteers would return to China. Ultimately, their service was ended in Thailand. Kurtzer opted to receive a monetary payment from the Peace Corps as opposed to a plane ticket back to the U.S. After 2 weeks in Thailand, Kurtzer left to visit a cousin in the Philippines as she had intended when she had originally made her vacation plans.

Keywords: Choices; Close of Service; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Holidays; Peace Corps staff; Plans; Travel; Traveling; Uncertainty

Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); Culture; Evacuation; Finance; International travel; Peace Corps (U.S.)--China; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Management; Philippines; Thailand

Partial Transcript: And then did you get caught up in quarantines and closed airports and all of that as well coming home?

Segment Synopsis: After leaving Thailand, Kurtzer visited the Philippines and Vietnam before flying back to the U.S. Before returning to Dallas, Kurtzer spent a week in Washington, D.C. Kurtzer described official health precautions at her various points of entry. These protocols caused her little trouble.

Keywords: Airports; Coming home; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Dallas (Tex.); Emotions; Philippines; Quarantines; Temperature checks; Travel; Traveling; Vietnam

Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); International travel; Washington (D.C.)

Partial Transcript: So, what, what are your thoughts about the China program closing?

Segment Synopsis: Kurtzer feels that the abrupt ending of the Peace Corps China program by leaders in Washington, D.C. was politically motivated. Her in-service training in January 2020 included volunteers from several cohorts. At that time, China volunteers were told that they would all be able to complete their full 2 years of service. Accordingly, the Peace Corps China program would not end for at least another year and a half. She disagrees with the official U.S. rationale that Peace Corps volunteers are no longer needed in China.

Keywords: Cohorts; First Goal; In-service training; Mid-service training; Peace Corps staff; Perspectives; Second Goal; Third Goal

Subjects: Emotions; Interpersonal relations; Peace Corps (U.S.)--China; Washington (D.C.); World politics

Partial Transcript: So as you, as you think back on, on your Peace Corps experience, you've really touched on the person-to-person aspects, the benefits, uh, of that.

Segment Synopsis: Kurtzer plans to maintain contact with her friends made in the Peace Corps. She hopes to return to China someday. Kurtzer recognizes that an official government position does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the common people. One can like the people of a country without liking their government's position on any particular topic.

Keywords: Black Lives Matter; First Goal; Future plans; News; Safety; Second goal; Social media; Third Goal; WeChat

Subjects: Friendship; Interpersonal relations; Israel

Partial Transcript: So let, let me just ask, what have you been doing since you've been back?

Segment Synopsis: Kurtzer has been living in Oklahoma City for the past 5 months. Kurtzer has been active with other Returned Peace Corps Volunteers in the current movement for social justice and racial equality. While in high school in Israel, Kurtzer had, in part, studied art related subjects for 3 years. This experience influenced her decision to teach an art history class as her secondary project in the Peace Corps. In turn, this secondary project influenced her decision to pursue an advanced degree in art history after she left the Peace Corps. Kurtzer describes her art history class in China.

Keywords: Career paths; Close of Service; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Emotions; Future plans; High schools; Personal growth; Politics; Preparation; Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCV); Secondary projects; Side projects; Social media; Study abroad

Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); Dallas (Tex.); Education, Higher; Friendship; Israel; Oklahoma City (Okla.); Schools; Universities and colleges; Washington (D.C.)