Interview with Victoria Kaytlan Filimoehala-Egan, September 19, 2020

Partial Transcript: Hello. Today is September 19, 2020. My name is Jay Sztuk.

Segment Synopsis: Victoria Kaytlan Filimoehala-Egan served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Fiji from 2019 to 2020 in the Youth in Development Program. She was evacuated in March 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. Filimoehala-Egan is a Pacific Islander of Tongan descent, with close ties to the Pacific Islander/Tongan community in San Francisco. Her aunt served in Peace Corps Fiji from 2000 to 2003, which was partly inspiration for Filimoehala-Egan’s decision to join. She spoke about the influence of her aunt, who had also served in Fiji in the Peace Corps, and her father's community activities that influenced her awareness of difference cultures in her home town of San Francisco, California. She talks about how her Tongan and Pacific Islander heritage attracted her to serving in Fiji.

Keywords: 2019-2020 (Date of service); Costa Rica; Diversity; Fiji (Country of service); International travel; Pacific Islanders; Recruitment; Returned Peace Corps Volunteers; San Francisco, California; Tongan culture

Subjects: Costa Rica; Families; Islands--Fiji; Minorities; Pacific Islanders; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Fiji; Sea turtles.; Tongan Americans; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: That's why I specifically picked Fiji and I wouldn't, I wouldn't have changed it for the world.

Segment Synopsis: Filimoehala-Egan describes how her relationships in her village were very important and related to her heritage as a Pacific Islander.

Keywords: 2019-2020 (Date of service); Cautata (Training site); Diversity in the Peace Corps; Fiji (Country of service); Fijian (Language); Integration; Pacific Islanders; Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Youth in Development; Tonga Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Tongan Americans; Vunidogoloa (Volunteer site)

Subjects: Cultural pluralism; Families; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Islands--Fiji; Minorities; Pacific Islanders; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Fiji; Race relations; Tongan Americans; Vanua Levu (Fiji); Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: I wonder, uh, back to your, your recruitment, did--you being an Islander, did, uh, did Peace Corps--did the Peace Corps recruiters or the, uh, the training staff ever kind of brief you on how, how you might be accepted there differently than other Peace Corps volunteers or anything?

Segment Synopsis: Filimoehala-Egan talks about her place in Peace Corps as a Pacific Islander. She describes her training site and how being a Methodist was important in understanding the culture. She reviews the diversity of her cohort.

Keywords: 2019-2020 (Date of service); African Americans; Cautata (Training site); Diversity in the Peace Corps; Fiji (Country of service); Methodist; Pacific Islanders; Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Youth in Development; Tonga Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Tongan Americans; Vunidogoloa (Volunteer site)

Subjects: Intercultural communication; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Islands--Fiji; Methodism; Minorities; Pacific Islanders; Peace Corps (U.S.); Race relations; Religion; Tongan Americans; Tongan Americans--United States; Vanua Levu (Fiji); Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So, um--okay, so you, you apply and you get accepted to go to Fiji.

Segment Synopsis: Filimoehala-Egan talks about her family, especially her grandmother, being sad she was leaving. She tells about how she would be going to an island near where her grandmother is from.

Keywords: Community centers; Family; Hawaii; Youth clubs

Subjects: Families; Interpersonal relations; Islands--Fiji; Minorities; Pacific Islanders; Peace Corps (U.S.); Tongan Americans; Tongan Americans--United States; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Tell me about your, your training when you, uh, you landed in Fiji.

Segment Synopsis: Filimoehala-Egan describes her host family experience, especially during the first few weeks, and how they felt she should not venture out alone. Language was difficult for her as it was similar to the Tongan language, which she knows from her family. She relates training stories that were memorable to her. She says that homesickness was difficult during training.

Keywords: 2019-2020 (Date of service); Acculturation; Cautata (Training site); Cell phones; Cohort; Culture shock; Fiji (Country of service); Fijian (Language); Homesickness; Host family; Pre-service training; Social interactions; Tongan (Language); Training; Transportation

Subjects: Intercultural communication; Interpersonal relations; Islands--Fiji; Language and culture; Language and languages; Minorities; Pacific Islanders; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Fiji; Tonga--Languages; Tongan Americans; Tongan Americans--United States; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So after training, um, you, uh, you got assigned to this place in Vanua Levu, which is a different Island right?

Segment Synopsis: Filimoehala-Egan describes her first experiences at her site, how she became close to one of the community leaders, and how her house became a center for students to come and study and hang out. She tells about what the village looks like and talks about the old village before it had to be moved to a new site because of climate change and rising waters. She describes her teaching assignment as a co-teacher and youth development, and projects planned and interrupted due to COVID evacuation.

Keywords: Climate change; Comfort zones; Culture; Evacuation; Flooding; Girl Scouts; Health training; Host fathers; Infrastructure projects; Methodists; Students; Tutors; Vanua Levu, Fiji; Villages; Vunidogoloa (Volunteer site); Young people; Youth centers; Youth development

Subjects: Culture; Interpersonal relations; Islands--Fiji; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Fiji; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Going back to your, your Tongan background, when you, when you went to live in this village, and they hear an American was coming and then they see you...

Segment Synopsis: Filimoehala-Egan tells what it was like to be a Pacific Islander and how her Tongan family heritage helped her integrate into her Peace Corps life in Fiji. She describes how being female in the Fiji culture limited her freedom of movement when she first was at her site.

Keywords: Culture; Diversity; Fiji (Country of service); Gender roles; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Misogyny; Pacific Islanders; Sexism; Socializing; Stereotypes; Tongan Americans

Subjects: Cultural pluralism; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Islands--Fiji; Minorities; Pacific Islanders; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Fiji; Race relations; Sex role; Tongan Americans; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So, um, unfortunately your time there was, was cut short.

Segment Synopsis: Filimoehala-Egan talks about what she did in her short time in Fiji and where she traveled in-country to participate in cultural activities such as weddings, funerals, and birthday parties.

Keywords: 2019-2020 (Date of service); Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Culture; Customs; Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteer (EPCV); Fiji (Country of service); Pacific Islanders; Tonga Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Tongan Americans; Traveling; Vunidogoloa (Volunteer site)

Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Islands--Fiji; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Pandemics; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Fiji; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: And so it had to be really hard to leave.

Segment Synopsis: Filimoehala-Egan recalls the devastating moment when she had to evacuate from her service and her new home in Fiji.

Keywords: 2019-2020 (Date of service); Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteer (EPCV); Evacuations; Fiji (Country of service); Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Youth in Development; Tonga Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020; Unfinished projects; Young people

Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); Evacuation of civilians; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Islands--Fiji; Pandemics; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Fiji; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So was, um, was Peace Corps, uh, much help to you once you got back as far as, uh, resettling and?

Segment Synopsis: When talking about being evacuated, Filimoehala-Egan relates how upset she was after only 5 months in Fiji and was not very interested in any of the resettlement suggestions. The devastation she felt was very difficult emotionally and she wanted some emotional support, which she has received from her cohort support group. Her plans for the future did not include all the complications of COVID and so soon after leaving for Peace Corps she had not planned on being back in the USA. She closes her story with advice for future volunteers.

Keywords: 2019-2020 (Date of service); Advice; Close of Service; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteer (EPCV); Evacuation; Fiji (Country of service); Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Youth in Development; Re-entry; Readjustment; Regrets; Tonga Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020

Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); Evacuation of civilians; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonal relations and culture; Islands--Fiji; Pandemics; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.) Returned Volunteer Services; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Fiji; Voluntarism; Volunteers