Interview with Erik Waller, August 26, 2020

Partial Transcript: Hello. Today's August 26, 2020. My name is Jay Sztuk. I'm an RPCV that served in the Fiji Islands in, uh, 1974 through '76. And today, I'm interviewing Eric Waller who was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras, uh, from 2008 to 2009 and then again in Georgia in 2016. And he worked in, uh, community economic development.

Segment Synopsis: Waller was born near Lynchburg, Virginia. In grade school, Waller had pen pals in France and Japan and developed an interest in cultural exchange and international relations. As he grew up, Waller heard about the Peace Corps from friends and relatives who said it was a life affirming experience. During his first year at George Mason University, Waller talked with a Peace Corps recruiter on campus which intrigued him more. Meeting international students while at college increased Waller's interest in traveling abroad. Waller left the university in 1999 and moved to Alexandria, Virginia in 2005. The next year, Waller chanced upon a Peace Corps recruiter at Northern Virginia Community College and Waller filled out an application. In 2008, Waller received an email to confirm his interest in joining the Peace Corps. Waller had been working as a fundraiser for nonprofit organizations in Washington, D.C. and was ready to commit to the Peace Corps.

Keywords: Awareness; Cultural exchange; Family; Friends; Funding; Influences; Interests; Jobs; John F. Kennedy; Letters; Lynchburg (Va.); Peace Corps recruiters; Pen pals; Philadelphia (Pa.); Returned Peace Corps Volunteers; Roanoke (Va.); Students; Traveling

Subjects: Finance; International travel; Nonprofit organizations; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--2000-2010; Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Georgia; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Honduras; Universities and colleges; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in community development; Volunteers; Washington (D.C.)

Partial Transcript: OK. So, when--[unintelligible]--them that you were joining, they were in favor of that, huh?

Segment Synopsis: Waller's family was surprised but happy about his joining the Peace Corps. They were supportive of Waller's going abroad, working with a counterpart, making a positive impact, and then sharing his skills back home. But they were a bit concerned about the 2 year commitment.

Keywords: Commitments; Counterparts; First Goal; Impact; Support; Third Goal

Subjects: Emotions; Families; Peace Corps (U.S.); Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: And, why Honduras? Did you pick Honduras?

Segment Synopsis: Waller had studied in Spain for 2 months. After a Peace Corps interview, Waller was offered a posting in Honduras. Waller had friends from Central America and was interested in that area.

Keywords: Friends; Influences; Peace Corps interviews; Peace Corps recruiters; Seville (Spain); Spanish (Language); Study abroad; Traveling

Subjects: Central America; Honduras; International travel; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Honduras; Spain; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Tell me about your, uh, your first experience in the country.

Segment Synopsis: Waller had not been to a developing country before. But he was aware that Honduras had suffered damage from hurricanes and had problems with gang violence and disease. Waller's cohort had a staging in Washington, D.C. There was heightened security in Honduras to get Waller's cohort from the airport to their pre-service training site as recently there had been a lot of threats to Americans.

Keywords: Airports; Americans; Anti-Americanism; Changes; Dangerous; Research; Safety

Subjects: Hurricanes; Natural disasters; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Honduras; Voluntarism; Volunteers; Washington (D.C.)

Partial Transcript: And where did you do your training?

Segment Synopsis: Waller's pre-service training occurred in Tegucigalpa. After an initial period in dormitories, the trainees were placed with host families. Waller was in the 13th cohort sent to Honduras. Earlier trainees had stayed with Waller's host family, who had relatives in Los Angeles.

Keywords: Cultural training; Host families; Language training; Los Angeles (Calif.); Security training; Tegucigalpa (Honduras); Travel; Traveling

Subjects: Emigration and immigration; Honduras; Immigrants; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Honduras; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: W--was your training cohort a pretty diverse group?

Segment Synopsis: Waller's cohort began with 50 trainees, 45 of which were sworn in. At 29, Waller was older than many others in his cohort and he dressed more professionally.

Keywords: Clothes; Differences; Mid-career; Older volunteers; Swearing in

Subjects: Health; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Honduras; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: My host family during training, they were pretty--they had money.

Segment Synopsis: Waller's host family was relatively well off. The host father worked for the government and they received money from relatives in Los Angeles.

Keywords: Amenities; Host fathers; Los Angeles (Calif.); Running water; Social media

Subjects: Finance; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Honduras; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: How well do you think the training prepared you for your job?

Segment Synopsis: Waller has a high opinion of the training staff and the training he received. Waller's training included excursions to other urban and rural areas. Waller feels that his relative maturity was reflected in his commitment to his assignment. There were some senior citizens in Waller's cohort in Georgia but none in his cohort in Honduras.

Keywords: Challenging; Cohorts; Commitments; Counterparts; Dialects; Differences; Mid-career; Older volunteers; Peace Corps staff; Rural areas; Safety; Spanish (Language); Sustainability

Subjects: Acculturation; Georgia; Honduras; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Honduras; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So, any memorable, uh, experiences during your training period?

Segment Synopsis: Waller recounts working with another trainee on a project proposal to address the issue of unemployment. Waller also cherishes the excursions made around Honduras to become better assimilated.

Keywords: Acclimation; Food; History; Pre-service training; Travel; Traveling

Subjects: Acculturation; Honduras; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Honduras; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So after training, then, um, where was your assignment?

Segment Synopsis: Waller was assigned to Aramencina on the border with El Salvador and Nicaragua. Waller's town had 6600 residents and a large indigenous population. Waller stayed with a host family and integrated well with the community. Waller's host parents were professional photographers with many local ties which were useful to Waller. Many of the local people had not met a black American before. It took several months for the local people to accept Waller, especially the younger people. Gangs and drugs were more prevalent among the youth. Waller's counterparts included the mayor and school teachers. Waller's projects included teaching English and about financial literacy. Waller worked with the local health clinic to offer workshops on leadership and HIV. Waller's original project was to raise money locally to build a library but it was canceled by the sponsoring foundation because of economic woes in the U.S.

Keywords: Acceptance; African Americans; Age ranges; Aramencina (Honduras); Black Americans; Challenges; Changes; Community economic development; Counterparts; Education programs; Empowerment; Grants; Host family; Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS); Local people; Locals; Non-stereotypical Americans; Problems; Rural areas; Second Goal; Secondary projects; Skin color; Teaching English as a foreign language; Young people

Subjects: El Salvador; Health; Minorities; Nicaragua; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Honduras; Voluntarism; Volunteers; Washington (D.C.)

Partial Transcript: And were you the only Volunteer in, in that area?

Segment Synopsis: Waller was the only Volunteer in his town, although other Volunteers had worked there before him. There were also other Volunteers with nearby work sites. Waller discusses the guidelines for assisting with the writing of grants.

Keywords: Cohorts

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Honduras; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in community development; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So, walk me through your typical day at work there.

Segment Synopsis: Waller ate all his meals with his host family. After breakfast, Waller would meet with one of his counterparts, the mayor. They had access to the internet. Waller would discuss how he could help with various municipal projects. Waller feels that he was able to have a positive impact on his community.

Keywords: Behavior; Counterparts; Food; Grants; Host family; Impact; Travel; Traveling

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Honduras; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: And what did you do--[unintelligible]--your work time?

Segment Synopsis: Waller spent a lot of spare time with his host family - playing cards, listening to music, and watching soap operas on TV. Every couple months, Waller's counterpart, the mayor, organized a community fair which raised money and Waller got involved with that activity.

Keywords: Counterparts; Extracurricular activities; Host family; Socializing

Subjects: Finance; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Honduras; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Did you get to travel much in Honduras or did the security concerns prevent that?

Segment Synopsis: Waller spent most of his first year at his work site. Later, Waller traveled around Honduras to collaborate with other Volunteers. Living in Waller's region was more challenging as it was hot and arid.

Keywords: Challenging; Differences; Site visits; Weather

Subjects: Honduras; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Honduras; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: You left in 2009. So, you didn't complete the entire tour, right? What, what happened?

Segment Synopsis: As election day approached in June 2009, the military in Honduras overthrew the president who wanted to change the constitution and remain in office. This led to a national lockdown. The Peace Corps country director put the Volunteers on standby. After several months with no improvement in the political or security situation, Waller decided to leave as he felt his work site was too isolated and he was too vulnerable. The lockdown was finally lifted and Waller was offered the chance to change work sites but he declined given the continuing anti-American related security problems.

Keywords: Anti-Americanism; Changes; Coming home; Conflicts; Dangers; Decisions; Lockdowns; Peace Corps directors; Politics and government; Returning; Safety; Standby

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Honduras; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So then, what did you do when you came back?

Segment Synopsis: Waller was able to find a job in Washington, D.C. upon his return.

Keywords: Family; Jobs; Noncompetitive Eligibility

Subjects: Washington (D.C.)

Partial Transcript: And then in 2015-'16, you decided you missed Peace Corps and...

Segment Synopsis: Waller had been a graduate student at American University. While there, during the summer of 2005, Waller was a tour guide for a multitude of students from the former Soviet Union who were coming to study in the U.S. Subsequently, in 2015, when applicants could designate where they wanted to serve, Waller applied to be a Peace Volunteer in Georgia.

Keywords: Acclimation; American University; Applications; Applying; Changes; Former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR); Georgian (Language); Graduate schools; Influences; Jobs; Study abroad

Subjects: College students--Employment; Emotions; Georgia; Non-governmental organizations; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Georgia; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Where I did my training, though, was a, a rough post, Jay.

Segment Synopsis: Waller's cohort of 55 trainees had a staging in Philadelphia before leaving via JFK Airport and Turkey for Tibilisi. During the training sessions, Waller's cohort often remained together in a single group. The cohort included trainees in different programs. Training included doing projects with the local kids. Waller says that the local people were curious about his race but did not discriminate against him.

Keywords: Adaptability; African Americans; Alcohol; Ankara (Turkey); Black Americans; Cohorts; Cultural differences; Cultural training; Differences; Food culture; John F. Kennedy International Airport; Kids; Language training; Local people; Locals; Philadelphia (Pa.); Ruisi (Georgia); Second Goal; Staging; Tibilisi (Georgia); Traveling

Subjects: Georgia; Honduras; International travel; Lifestyles; Minorities; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Georgia; Race relations; Turkey; Voluntarism; Volunteers

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

Segment Synopsis: Waller's work site was Orzugeti, a town of about 10,000 people. Waller worked with a small group, the Scientists of Orzugeti. They would go into underserved communities and try to raise awareness of different ways to improve the quality of life there.

Keywords: Funding; Grants; Orzugeti (Georgia); Plans; Regional conflict; Ruisi (Georgia); Swearing in; Tourism; Tourists; Translation

Subjects: Georgia; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Georgia; Turkey; Voluntarism; Volunteers; World politics

Partial Transcript: You know, after you moved to your job, did you stay on your own? Did you have your own place or did you stay with a host family there also?

Segment Synopsis: Waller describes his host family during training and at his work site. Waller had positive experiences with both.

Keywords: Activities; Conversations; Host family; Language skills; Orzugeti (Georgia); Pre-service training; Ruisi (Georgia); Second Goal; Travel; Traveling

Subjects: Finance; Georgia; Interpersonal relations; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Georgia; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So, you were there for, for about 6 months and then you had to leave, huh?

Segment Synopsis: After Waller had been at his work site for 6 months, his elderly father became ill. Waller's siblings all had other family obligations whereas Waller was single. So, Waller decided to return home.

Keywords: Coming home; Decisions; Family; Illness; Readjustment; Returning; Siblings; Sickness

Subjects: Families; Parents; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Georgia; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Well, do you think you made some impact in your short time there as, uh, representative of, uh, the United States?

Segment Synopsis: Because of his greater personal and professional experience, Waller feels it was easy for him to adapt to life in Georgia compared to his earlier time overseas. Waller recommends Georgia as a place to serve. Waller is willing to join the Peace Corps again.

Keywords: Adaptation; Advantages; Advice; Counterparts; Differences; Friends

Subjects: Georgia; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Georgia; Voluntarism; Volunteers