Interview with Katherine Spalt "Kathie" Miller, January 29, 2021

Partial Transcript: Today is January 29, 2021.

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about becoming a teacher. She talks about graduating from college with a major in English. She talks about jobs in publishing. Miller talks about making an application to the Peace Corps. She talks about acceptance to the Peace Corps program in Ghana. She talks about the reaction of her family and friends.

Keywords: Acceptance; Applications; College majors; Decisions; English (Language); Family; Friends; Ghana; Joining; Parents

Subjects: Careers; Education, Higher; Families; Ghana; Occupations; Parents; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ghana; Social service; Teachers; Teaching; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in education; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So, once you g--once you found out you were accepted, which was pretty close to graduation, you said?

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about leaving in June, after graduation, for two months of training in San Francisco. She describes training as a mini-college course run by experts. She talks about training in language and culture. Miller talks about being accepted with a group of 63 applicants.

Keywords: Background checks; Culture; Education volunteers; Ghana; History; Language training; Life changing events; Pre-service training; Staging; Travel

Subjects: Culture; Ghana; Language and culture; Language and languages; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ghana; Teachers; Teaching; Travel; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in education; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: What was the transition like when you got there?

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about arriving in Ghana. She talks about political upheaval and going to the school outside Kumasi where she taught. Miller talks about the school faculty and her roommate. Miller talks about making lifelong friends in Ghana.

Keywords: Education volunteers; Friends; Ghana; Kumasi (Ghana); Transition periods

Subjects: Culture; Friendship; Ghana; Interpersonal relations and culture; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ghana; Schools; Teachers; Teaching; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in education; Volunteers; World politics

Partial Transcript: What was teaching like at the school?

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about teaching at her school in Ghana. She talks about having few books and teaching many subjects she had not studied since high school. She talks about a headmistress who often changed her assignments. Miller talks about her own problems with classroom management.

Keywords: Counterparts; Downsides; English teachers; Friends; Ghana; Job stress; Languages; School management and organization; Students; Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL)

Subjects: Culture; Ghana; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ghana; Schools; Teachers; Teaching; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in education; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: What did you do for food there?

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about shopping at Western style stores. She talks about having a servant who went to market and washed clothes. Miller talks about Ghanaian expectations for teachers. She talks about traveling on school breaks. She talks about helping a Canadian doctor who did dental work. Miller talks about the difference between Peace Corps expectations for volunteers and her own preferred activities.

Keywords: Activities; Attitudes; Culture; Differences; Expectations; Food habits; Friendships; Ghana; Healthcare infrastructure; Living conditions; Travel

Subjects: Conflict management; Culture; Dental care; Ghana; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ghana; Schools; Social norms; Teachers; Teaching; Travel; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in education; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Did you have any health problems while you were there?

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about her health in Ghana and after returning home. She talks about relating to the Peace Corps administration. She talks about achieving a good relationship with her students and starting a newspaper. Miller talks about the influence of political conditions on her work.

Keywords: Attitudes; English teachers; Expectations; Ghana; Illness; Newspapers; Peace Corps staff; Politics and government; Students

Subjects: Communication and culture; Conflict management; Culture; Ghana; Health; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ghana; Schools; Teachers; Teaching; Travel; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in education; Volunteers; World politics

Partial Transcript: And what was it like getting home?

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about coming home to the United States. She talks about finding work and going to school. She talks about meeting her future husband at Columbia University. She talks about their decision to apply for the Peace Corps in Afghanistan. Miller talks about Peace Corps training at the University of Texas.

Keywords: Applying; Counterparts; English teachers; Marriage; Pre-service training; Relationships; Texas; Training; Transition periods

Subjects: Afghanistan; Life change events; Marriage; Occupations; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Afghanistan; Teaching; Universities and colleges; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So, what was it like this time when you arrived?

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about going to Afghanistan with her husband, Dave. She talks about their jobs teaching English language in Kabul. She talks about her lack of contact with Afghans and about socializing with other Americans. She talks about her students and other Afghan people she met. Miller talks about volunteering for the AFS. She talks about her Afghan servant, Said. Miller talks about the diseases she encountered. She talks about the house where she and her husband lived.

Keywords: Assignments; Christmas trees; English teachers; Family; Friends; Healthcare infrastructure; Holidays; Houses; Interpersonal relations; Kabul (Afghanistan); Living conditions; Relationships; Students

Subjects: Afghanistan; Communication and culture; Education, Higher; Families; Friendship; Health; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Afghanistan; Teaching; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Did you travel while you were in Afghanistan?

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about foreign travel, medical care, and health issues.

Keywords: Cambodia; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); Culture; Dust; Health issues; Hong Kong; Illness; India; Kabul (Afghanistan); Medical care; Thailand; Travel; Well-being

Subjects: Afghanistan; Health; International travel; Lifestyles; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Afghanistan; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: And were there any times that you were frightened there?

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about the difficulties of being a woman in Afghanistan. She talks about Afghan women.

Keywords: Bicycles; Burqas; Chadarees; Clothes; Clothing; Culture; Gender roles; Kabul (Afghanistan); Sexism; Skirts; Towns; Western culture

Subjects: Afghanistan; Communication and culture; Intercultural communication; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Misogyny; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Afghanistan; Sexism; Voluntarism; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: That was a good teaching situation.

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about her teaching experiences in Afghanistan.

Keywords: Classroom management; Flights; International travel; Languages; Men; New York; School management and organization; Students; Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL); Tehran (Iran); Women

Subjects: Afghanistan; Communication and culture; Intercultural communication; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Afghanistan; Schools; Teachers; Teaching; Voluntarism; Volunteer workers in education; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So what impact do you think that Peace Corps has had on your life?

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about how Peace Corps service affected her life and attitudes.

Keywords: Advice; Cross-cultural experiences; Cultural exchange; Culture; Impact; Influences; Married; Purpose; Relationships; Skills; Weather; Women

Subjects: Afghanistan; Communication and culture; Ghana; Intercultural communication; International travel; Lifestyles; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Afghanistan; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ghana; Voluntarism; Volunteers