Interview with Sophie Mills, August 17, 2020

Partial Transcript: Today is August 17th, 2020.

Segment Synopsis: Mills is from Ashville, North Carolina and grew up with a sense of service. Her father had taught English in Taiwan, which she visited. She attended Davidson College, near Charlotte, North Carolina, as Donald Trump was elected president. She felt that metaphorical walls began separating the U.S. from other countries. She majored in political science where she researched challenges, especially climate change and migration. She wanted to work to find global solutions for these. She was afraid of Peace Corps but a family friend had served and her positive experiences allayed the fears of being alone since making friends can happen anywhere.

Keywords: Albania; Anxiety; Anxious; Childhood; Closing borders; College majors; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Education; Education programs; Education volunteers; Emotions; English (Language); English teachers; Evacuations; Family; Fears; Friends; Friendships; Parents; Returned Peace Corps Volunteers; Travel; Traveling

Subjects: Air travel; Albania; Asheville (N.C.); COVID-19 (Disease); Charlotte (N.C.); Childhood; Education, Higher; Emigration and immigration; Emotions; Evacuation; Families; Friendship; International travel; Parents; Peace Corps (U.S.); Political science; Travel; Universities and colleges

Partial Transcript: How did you first hear about Peace Corps?

Segment Synopsis: Mills has known about Peace Corps for many years. In the musical "Legally Blonde," there is mention of a character joining Peace Corps. Near the end of college, she researched it. Her application process was very long. When she decided to apply, there was a government shutdown. She sent an application in February, 2019 for East Timor. After waiting 4-6 weeks she contacted the office but was told her shrimp allergy made her ineligible there. There were other countries that were okay. She applied to Albania while knowing nothing about Eastern Europe. After 3 months, an officer said she could change from business to apply for teaching English. She felt the purpose was to help in any capacity. In June 2019, she was accepted, provisionally, depending on medical clearance. She underwent numerous medical tests which finally allowed acceptance. She was elated when that happened, since only 10% of medical appeals are successful. It was about an 11 month process. Her father was happy. Her mother was concerned. They supported her with finances for medical tests.

Keywords: Anxiety; Anxious; Application process; Applications; Applying; Challenges; Challenging; East Timor; Education; Education volunteers; Emotions; English (Language); English teachers; Examinations; Family; Fears; Medical clearance; Mothers; Parents; Peace Corps staff; Peace Corps-related medical issues; Pre-employment screenings

Subjects: Albania; Education, Higher; Emotions; Families; Health; Parents; Peace Corps (U.S.); Universities and colleges

Partial Transcript: Um, in those four months were--did you do anything particular in preparing, uh, to go in Peace Corps?

Segment Synopsis: To prepare for departure, Mills got a book on Albanian language. She shopped for clothing for the cold weather. The Peace Corps country director had the volunteers write letters to themselves about why they wanted to join and to introduce themselves to the host families. She worked to save money and kept busy to avoid being nervous. Pre-service training was to be 10 weeks. It was exciting. There was a new Peace Corps contract with Montenegro and those volunteers were grouped with those for Albania. The training site was moved from Elbasan to the area of Lezhe. There were seven groups, and one for Montenegro. All groups joined occasionally. They studied Albanian six days a week for either 4 or 8 hours. They also watched teachers for technical training. Her school was one of the best. It was cold so students had to mind a wood stove. Her room had electric heat. The principal welcomed them as special guests to a local museum and he helped to plan a community project. A current volunteer there was helpful through frustrations. The population was about 2000. Her host family included a widow, and a sanitation worker. The society had not provided much education for women. No one spoke English. They wanted to know current events and about her life. The house was smaller than those of most volunteers, since the Peace Corps requirements were more than what most households had. It was fine to her as representative of life in Albania. Albania was never part of Balkan states. A communist dictator felt others were not communist enough, so the borders were closed. Her town, Gjadër, was an airbase with large runways that had been blocked to avoid smuggling drugs. Mountains were nearby, with heavily guarded areas.

Keywords: Albania; Anxiety; Anxious; Challenges; Classrooms; Clothes; Clothing; Cohorts; Conversations; Emotions; Family; Fears; Gender discrimination; Gender roles; Gjadër (Albania); Host families; Host family; Host mothers; Host sisters; Houses; Housing; Language training; Languages; Living conditions; Local people; Locals; Male-dominated society; Mothers; On-site training; Pre-service training; Role of women; Schools; Teachers; Technical training; Towns; Training centers; Transportation; Travel; Women

Subjects: Albania; Emotions; Families; Language and languages; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Albania; Schools; Social norms; Teachers

Partial Transcript: Did you feel your training, uh--you were evacuated during training, so you didn't actually complete the full training session.

Segment Synopsis: Training was three-fourths of the way through at the time of evacuation, the first day of her practicum. Training seemed to prepare them well for the culture. The first week was in the capital, Tirana. They discussed the concept of implicit and explicit cultures, and of societies where jobs are important and others where who a person is, is more important. Staff included three Americans and others were Albanian nationals. The Albanian education system was explained, as well as the need for Americans to teach English to make language useful. Albania has a high emigration rate, primarily to Greece and Italy. Other languages are therefore needed. Learning English actually helped encourage emigration since opportunities in Albania were limited. Volunteers could feel overwhelmed with the problems of the country. Peace Corps headquarters wanted to send volunteers to new sites, as a site should have progressed from the training. School corruption made it hard to feel useful with requests for grade inflation and nepotism in positions. For Mills, the struggles were with a few volunteers who chose Albania for its proximity to other countries and their desire to visit them. Their negative attitudes toward Albania were disappointing, as well as how they would impact Albanians' opinions of Americans. Mills wanted to make Albanian friends and overcome the disappointment.

Keywords: Albania; America; Americans; Attitudes; Challenges; Conversations; English (Language); English teachers; Evacuations; Greece; Italy; On-site training; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Albania; Peace Corps staff; Practicums; Pre-service training; Relationships; School systems; Teachers; Teaching; Training; Travel; Traveling; United States

Subjects: Albania; Evacuation; Greece; International travel; Interpersonal communication and culture; Interpersonal relations; Italy; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Albania

Partial Transcript: Now in terms of evacuation, when did you first hear about it, about, uh, COVID-19?

Segment Synopsis: In January, 2020, as Mills was going to Albania, there was talk of evacuation of Peace Corps in China. Around February 20th, she heard of cases of COVID-19 in Italy, which shares close ties with Albania. About 5000 commute there daily. Many had family members who had emigrated there. There were two news stations and everyone watched nightly updates with camera crews showing hospital patients. The expectation was clear. Mongolia was evacuated in late February and volunteers were warned of emergency plans to stay alert. Trainees began to discuss whether or not they would return if evacuated. On March 9, she began student teaching in Lezhe and learned of the first confirmed local case. The government declared a state of emergency with all schools to close for two weeks. Language classes continued, but had to be held elsewhere. On March 10th, volunteers were told to practice teaching on each other, which did not go well. The head of training told them things were still uncertain but she felt evacuation was coming. On March 12th, she went hiking when the view was nice. During the night, evacuation was formally announced. Other volunteers who were in their sites had to be informed and transported. The police had begun requiring masks. The townspeople gathered to say good-bye. It was emotional. They went to a hotel near the Tirana airport with all the volunteers. Trainees were sworn in. The oath was also emotional. Upset, many who had to leave abruptly became drunk and damaged the hotel. She left on March 14 from Tirana and missed the connection in Frankfurt. That airport was deserted. Reports came of evacuations of Eastern Europe, nearly in a panic, more than other areas. The next day, she left for Washington, D.C. She says that Albania was not hygienic. People coughed into their hands and did not use soap regularly. They did not seem aware of precautions. Masks and social distancing were not used. One woman thought the town was too small to be affected, even though there was lots of internal travel. No one knew how bad it would be. She did not know she would be sworn out until she was home. She arrived in Washington, D.C., where the airport was not very busy and social distancing was attempted. She self-quarantined for two weeks. She had received a mask around March 1st and another in evacuation week. Not knowing the necessity, she gave hers away. A Peace Corps Response Volunteer from Peru stayed at a house that belonged to her parents. She has been in touch a little with some volunteers. She sends messages to her host family and language teachers.

Keywords: Airports; Albania; Attitudes; Behavior; Closing borders; Cohorts; Coming home; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19); Emergency action plans; Emotions; Evacuations; Family; Friends; Friendships; Germany; Global call for evacuation; Host families; Host mothers; Italy; Language training; Leaving; Local people; Locals; Macedonia; Peace Corps directors; Peace Corps staff; Practice teaching; Practicums; Pre-service training; Schools; Swearing in; Teaching; Technical training; Towns; Transportation; Travel; Traveling

Subjects: Air travel; Albania; COVID-19 (Disease); Emigration and immigration; Evacuation; Families; Friendship; International travel; Italy; Language and languages; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Albania; Schools; Teaching; Travel

Partial Transcript: What, if anything, could Peace Corps have done to make the transition easier?

Segment Synopsis: Mills says her transition was easy as a trainee. Alerting volunteers in service would have been good since they knew nothing of what was coming until departure. Security and privacy may have been concerns. Global Instagram showed much anxiety. Lack of knowledge has been hard, as it is for everyone. She has said she wants to go back but no plans can yet be made. Being productive while hoping to return is difficult. There are groups in the area and Zoom communication was nice but she would like to interact after they are in-person. She attended some workshops Peace Corps has held. Since they were sworn in, she received some funds. She feels she can continue to work remotely and wait until the summer to make other decisions. She may go to graduate school and return to Peace Corps. She is glad she did it and hopes there will be discussion about the evacuation and before going forward.

Keywords: Anxiety; Closing borders; Cohorts; Coming home; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19); Emergency action plans; Emotions; Evacuations; Friendships; Future plans; Global call for evacuation; Graduate schools; Leaving; Plans; Readjustment; Returning; Swearing in; United States

Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); Education, Higher; Emotions; Evacuation; Friendship; Peace Corps (U.S.); Universities and colleges