Interview with Dylan Hallsmith, August 26, 2020

Partial Transcript: Today is August 26, 2020. This is Randolph Adams who served in the Dominican Republic from 1966 to 1969.

Segment Synopsis: Hallsmith was born in Greenfield, Massachusetts to a mom that was involved in international development and a dad involved in higher education. He lived in a variety of places around the world from ages 4-9. He states that he had been to 27 different countries before Peace Corps. He went to George Mason University and majored in international politics and government and minored in conflict analysis and resolution. He worked in a variety of jobs after college before meeting his wife. They worked together to get into philanthropy and international work. They applied to Peace Corps as a couple.

Keywords: Conflict analysis and resolution; Fund for the Public Interest; Global Community Initiatives; Health systems; International development; International politics and government; Mortgage industry; Politics and government

Subjects: Advisory Board Company; Botswana.; Charities.; Conflict management.; Education, Higher.; George Mason University; Greenfield (Mass.); Home schooling; Hospitals.; International negotiation and development; Medical technology.; Occupations.; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Botswana.; Peace Corps (U.S.). Africa Region; Political campaigning and communication; Political campaigns.; Political science.; Social service.; United Nations.; Universities and colleges.; Vermont; World politics.

Partial Transcript: Anything in particular about the application process in terms of, um, any issues you may have had?

Segment Synopsis: Hallsmith discusses the Peace Corps application process. He states that he would not have gone abroad without his wife, mentioning that the limbo period waiting for the health clearance for her was stressful. Macedonia was his first choice but he had a severe allergy to fish that prevented him from going to Macedonia because fish is predominant in their diet. His parents were thrilled he applied but his grandparents were worried about his living in a "third world country" and his friends were confused. He mentions that there were twenty minutes between when his wife received her acceptance and he received his acceptance. He discusses the various health and background checks. He used the waiting period to learn about Botswana.

Keywords: Allergies to fish; Background checks; Fish allergies; Identity verification; Pre-employment screenings; Waiting periods; Xenophobia--United States.

Subjects: Allergy.; Botswana.; Change (Psychology); Dental care; Emotions.; Employee screening; Families.; Fishes.; Food habits.; Friendship.; Health.; Job stress.; Life change events.; Macedonia.; Marriage.; Mental health.; Parents.; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Botswana.; Peace Corps (U.S.). Africa Region; Physical fitness.; Research.; Stress (Psychology); Travel; Waiting (Philosophy); Well-being.; Xenophobia.

Partial Transcript: Um, let's move on to your pre-service training and, um, can you give me somewhat of a description of what it was like?

Segment Synopsis: Hallsmith describes his training as a condensed college degree over two months. It included the logistics of his Peace Corps job as well as language training and cultural training that included Botswana residents singing songs and giving information about the history and development of Botswana. He discusses how he felt prepared to do youth development despite no direct experience in it. He also discusses how the culture of Botswana was receptive to his recommendations for how to manage the school versus how the U.S. expects an employee to have many years of experience before taking them seriously.

Keywords: Botswana--Culture; Cultural differences; Cultural training; Culture of Botswana

Subjects: Botswana--History; Botswana.; Cross-cultural orientation.; Cultural awareness.; Education.; Language and languages.; Language learning and language teaching; Music--African influences; Occupational training.; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Botswana.; Peace Corps (U.S.). Africa Region; School management and organization.; Schools; Singing.; Teaching.; Training; Youth development.

Partial Transcript: Where were you actually posted in Botswana?

Segment Synopsis: Hallsmith describes the village he was posted in, which was called Kanye and was one of the largest villages in the country. For training, he started in Gaborone in a government facility; the life skills sector took place in Ramotswa for three months and he stayed with a host family. He talks about their Botswanan names; his name was Tlotlo and his wife's name was Larona. For a week before moving to Kanye, they did a site visit with another host family, but had to move to another family for legal reasons. He states that he had to structure his own work days. His primary place of work was at the school but he also worked at some non-governmental organizations, hospitals, and the government center. He worked to have a system in place so that the students had places to go after school as well as implementing programs in response to a survey that showed that these students had a lot of severe problems outside of school. At the government centers and hospitals, he worked to establish community health programs.

Keywords: Crowded housing; Housing problems; PACT clubs; Peer approach to counseling by teens (PACT); Setswana (Language); Troubled youth; Youth--Sexual behavior--Africa.

Subjects: AIDS (Disease); After school programs.; Alcoholism.; Botswana.; Community health services.; Congregate housing; Deviant behavior.; Educational counseling .; Educational counseling--Administration; Educational counseling.; Gaborone (Botswana); HIV (Viruses); Health surveys.; Health.; Hospitals.; Housing and health.; Individualized instruction.; Kanye (Botswana); Non-governmental organizations.; Nonprofit organizations.; Occupations.; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Botswana.; Peace Corps (U.S.). Africa Region; Problem youth.; Public health.; Ramotswa (Botswana); Research.; School management and organization.; Schools; Sexual health.; Social surveys.; Student activities; Surveys; Teachers.; Tswana language; Tutors and tutoring; Work.; Youth--Sexual behavior

Partial Transcript: Um, two questions about your relationships with, um, one, Peace Corps staff and then, uh, the Botswanan friendships, um, or relationships outside of your work environment. Let's start with Peace Corps staff.

Segment Synopsis: Hallsmith discusses his social interactions with Peace Corps staff in a variety of occupations who helped with culture shock and other problems. He also discusses his social interactions in the context of friendships, mentioning that the people in Botswana did not understand why he chose not to drink. He states that people were always willing to help them.

Keywords: Alcohol; Drinking; Friendships; Relationships; Social life; Socializing

Subjects: Botswana.; Friendship.; Interpersonal relations; Lifestyles.; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Botswana.; Peace Corps (U.S.). Africa Region

Partial Transcript: I know you were only, um, on site for six months or so as volunteers before you were evacuated--

Segment Synopsis: Hallsmith states that the main function of Peace Corps is capacity building. He appreciated that all the planning he did was documented and well received. He's proud of the fact that the teachers have learned what to implement from him. He states that he tries to not have expectations about anything, but that he was still blown away by the experience. He discusses how Peace Corps and Covid-19 has impacted his current and future plans. He discusses their experience as a mixed race couple in Botswana. He contrasts his experience with his wife's, such that she experienced racism as a black woman even in Botswana despite him being the minority. He states that he received more leniency, whereas his wife faced more scrutiny and had higher expectations placed on her despite having more fluency in the language than he did.

Keywords: Extracurricular activities; PACT clubs; Peer assisted counseling by teens (PACT); Racism--Africa.

Subjects: After school programs.; Botswana.; CDC Foundation; COVID-19 (Disease); Couples.; Culture shock; Education.; Intercultural communication.; International negotiation and development; Minorities.; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Botswana.; Peace Corps (U.S.). Africa Region; Planning.; Race relations.; Racially mixed families; Racism.; School management and organization.; Schools; Sexism.; Student activities; Teachers.; Teaching.; Tutors and tutoring; United Nations.; United States. Agency for International Development.; United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Partial Transcript: Let's move on to the evacuation.

Segment Synopsis: Hallsmith discusses how he heard about Covid-19 as well as the evacuation process and his conversation with his wife about whether to stay in Botswana or leave. He states that there were only about 5 suspected cases in Botswana when they were being evacuated and they were worried about returning to the U.S. because of the way the U.S. government was handling the pandemic. He describes the route they used to return to the U.S., how he dealt with his belongings, and what he did for quarantine in the U.S. He discusses who he has stayed in contact with from Peace Corps. He thinks Peace Corps is valuable for its diplomatic approach to helping versus economic intrusion and militarization.

Keywords: COVID-19 (Disease)--Government policy--United States.; COVID-19 (Disease)--United States.; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Evacuations; Government--United States.; Medical evacuations

Subjects: Airplanes.; Boston (Mass.); Botswana.; COVID-19 (Disease); Couples.; Cultural diplomacy.; Diplomacy.; Friendship.; Gaborone (Botswana); International negotiation and development; Interpersonal relations; Johannesburg (South Africa); Lifestyles.; Manners and customs; Militarization; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Botswana.; Peace Corps (U.S.). Africa Region; Qatar.; Travel; Vermont; Virginia.