Interview with Diane Hemphill, May 30, 2021

Partial Transcript: I wanna start today by having you take me back--um--to the very beginning of your Peace Corps experience. --Um--do you remember when you first heard of Peace Corps?

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill recalls how she first heard about Peace Corps, which was from a public service announcement on TV when she was in elementary school.

Keywords: Elementary school; Fascinating; Interested; Movies; PSA; Public service announcement

Subjects: Advertisements; Mother; Peace Corps (U.S.); Public service announcement; Television; Young

Partial Transcript: . . . What happened between the time that you--um--you know, saw those ads, kind of . . . do you remember in your mind what place Peace Corps had and how you were thinking about and how you got motivated to go?

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill grew up on the inner-city "ghetto" of St. Louis, which she describes as an environment of hopelessness. Her grandfather served in the military and the family lived in Thailand. Hemphill was academically challenged and struggled with reading. The family moved to a suburban neighborhood where her education deteriorated. After high school graduation, Peace Corps seemed very far away for her. At one point, one of Hemphill's teachers told her that she would never graduate from college and that the only job she could ever get was as a hotel maid. Despite this prediction, Hemphill obtained a graduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

Keywords: Academically challenged; Accomplishments; Adaptable; Appeal; Aspirations; Cap and gown; Challenges; Community college; Decision; Different; Family; Field trips; Finances; Forced; Friends; Goals; Graduate degree; Graduation; Grandfather; High school drop-out; IQ; Inner-city; Instruction; Paper; Realization; School; Signature; Situations; Struggle; Suburbs; U.S. Air Force; U.S. Army; Unable; Upbringing

Subjects: Blacks; Boeing Aerospace Company; Culture shock; Drugs; Early life; Elementary and secondary education; Gangs; Military; Mother; Neighborhoods; Peace Corps (U.S.); Perspective; Prostitutes; Race; Reading; Saint Louis (Mo.); Segregation; Special education; Teachers; Thailand; Travel; Washington University (Saint Louis, Mo.); Whites; Work

Partial Transcript: Can you tell me, what . . . what in general, your career path looked like--um--up to the time when you applied for Peace Corps?

Segment Synopsis: Before joining Peace Corps, Hemphill was a substitute teacher and worked part-time in a non-profit organization for school-aged children while attending to her mother's health issues. It was during this time in her life that Hemphill applied to Peace Corps.

Keywords: Application; Improving; Non-profit; Part-time; Substitute teacher; Supportive; Unsure

Subjects: Career; Children; Health; Mother; Peace Corps (U.S.); Saint Louis (Mo.); Washington University (Saint Louis, Mo.); Work

Partial Transcript: How did you decide--um--uh--how did you decide--um--exactly when to join?

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill explains why she felt ready to apply for the Peace Corps at age forty-seven. Hemphill sites her financially stability and her self-confidence as reasons why she decided to apply for the Peace Corps.

Keywords: Adversity; Bachelor's degree; Car; Debt free; Feelings; Ready; Timing; Unknown

Subjects: Age; Confidence; Debt; Learning; Peace Corps (U.S.); Self-esteem; Student loans

Partial Transcript: What was the application process like for you?

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill describes what the Peace Corps application process was like for her. Hemphill explains that she wrote the motivation letter and completed the application on her own without the help of a recruiter. YouTube videos from returned volunteers helped her to complete her application. She was interviewed by the Peace Corps staff in Kosovo, who indicated an interest in placing her as a teacher. About six months later, she was told that she was not medically cleared to depart. After appealing the medical clearance, she was cleared but had to choose another country of service. Ultimately, Hemphill was placed in Macedonia as a community development volunteer, which turned out to be a better fit for her than teaching. When Hemphill was in staging in DC, she began to realize her dream of serving in the Peace Corps.

Keywords: Adversity; Appeal; Boundaries; Community development volunteer; Content; Decision; Departure; Easy; Excited; Failed; Filed; Happy; Helpful; Independent; Information; Interested; Interview; Job; Kosovo; Later; Medical clearance; Motivation letter; North Africa; Passport; Proceed; Quicker; Real; Reapply; Recruiter; Response; Selected; Staging; Struggles; Submitted; Teacher; Waiting; YouTube

Subjects: Africa; Career; Change; Climate; Community development; Countries; North Macedonia; Patience; Peace Corps (U.S.); Reading; Research; South Africa; Time; Trust; Volunteers; Washington (D.C.)

Partial Transcript: Do you remember just--um--just prior to heading to Washington, D.C. Do you remember kind of--uh--what your preparation was like, how did you decide what you were taking with you, that kind of thing?

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill discuses packing logistics, including what types of clothing and food she took with her to Macedonia. Hemphill recalls saying goodbye to many of her friends in Saint Louis as she prepared to leave for Macedonia. Hemphill remembers that she gained a lot of weight as she approached departure because people took her out to eat often. Hemphill adds that family and friends supported her decision.

Keywords: Amazing; Care packages; Clothing; Colleagues; Discreet; Family; Goodbye; Minimalist; Packing; Preparations

Subjects: Africa; Food; Friend; Health; High school; Home; Macedonia; Meeting; Mother; Peace Corps (U.S.); Regret; Restaurants; Saint Louis (Mo.); Social media; Washington (D.C.); Weather; Weight gain

Partial Transcript: So you mentioned that your--your group gathered in Washington D.C. . . . for staging . . .

Segment Synopsis: During staging, Hemphill says that everyone she met was smart and excited. She felt as if she could collaborate with others. This was Hemphill's first trip outside of the US. Getting her passport brought it home for her that she was actually leaving the country for 27 months. The group flew to Austria with a long layover during which the group learned about one another. Hemphill still has the light blue ribbon of yarn she put on her luggage to identify it as belonging to a Peace Corps Volunteer. Working together in the airport served as the first time they collaborated as a group. The application process lasted a year for Hemphill.

Keywords: Abroad; Airport; Amazing; Arrival; Challenges; Collaboration; College; Connection; Conveyer belt; Customs; Easy; Emotional; Excited; Exit; Familiar; First time; Flight; Group; Instructed; Introductions; Layover; Lineup; Long; Luggage retrieval; Met; Nervous; Nice; No explanation; Overwhelming; Passport; Reason; Ribbon; Skills; Smart; Staging; Together; Waiting; Work together

Subjects: Anticipation; Anxiety; Austria; Cooperation; Education; Experience; Luggage; Macedonia; Peace Corps (U.S.); Sharing; Time; Travel; Trust; Uber & Company; Washington (D.C.)

Partial Transcript: . . . Did it look like what you expected it to look like?

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill recalls her arrival in Macedonia. Hemphill explains that she was told not to have any expectations about the country or her living arrangements. Upon arrival, the group was greeted by officials and current volunteers and were taken to a school with dorms. Hemphill learned about the language and safety and security measures, and participated in team-building activities.

Keywords: Activities; Adjustment; Amazing; Auditorium; Bus; Conference; Done; Dorms; Enjoyed; Expectations; Greeting; Jetlag; Language; Lunch; Nice; Orientation; Perfect; Private school; Safety and security; Tired; Trainers

Subjects: Culture; Health; Language; Learning; Macedonia; Macedonian language; Morning; Night; Opportunity; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; Rooms; Sleep; Staff; Travel; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: What was the training city and how far did you have to go?

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill's pre-service training was held for seven of the group in a small village. She stayed with a host family with whom she still communicates. After service, Hemphill returned to a store that she frequented in the village. The storekeepers spoke to her in English, which they did not do while she was learning Macedonian. During training, a clerk in the store taught Hemphill to count money in Macedonian, which she really appreciated. The seven in her group were diverse, composed of a mixture of ages and races. Group members visited one each other's homes and ate meals together. In her host family's home, Hemphill had an apartment of her own above the other rooms where she slept, eating meals with the family. She suffered from the cold because her floor had no heating, but two rooms downstairs did. Hemphill struggled learning the language despite help from her teacher. For Hemphill, the technical training was not new to her because of her graduate degree in non-profit management. She trained with other volunteers in Tetovo. She also learned about the culture, which turned out to be very helpful.

Keywords: Apartment; Cold; Count money; Eating; Host family; Language training; Meals; No heat; Store clerk; Village

Subjects: Food; Heating; Macedonian; Money; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; Tetovo (North Macedonia)

Partial Transcript: . . . Did you have much free time to experience . . . I mean it's a tiny little village, right?

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill was active all day long, leaving little time for exploration of the village. The mayor of Tetovo and the host families planned departure activities for the group. In language training, when learning vocabulary, the group adopted a dog owned by a family, and named the dog Pumpkin that to Macedonians, meant "empty head."

Keywords: Activities; Breakfast; Busy; Cute; Dinner; Dog; Empty head; Exploration; Family; Funny; Hear; Host family; Language training; Laughing; Lunch; Mayor; Meals; Name; Pumpkin; Return; Routine; School; Study; Translation; Village; Wake-up; Words

Subjects: Learning; Macedonia; Macedonian language; Memories; Morning; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; Planning; Playing; Tetovo (North Macedonia); Time; Training; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: --Uh--your pre-service training, you--um--received your--your volunteer site assignment . . .

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill describes the process by which she was selected to serve in the city of Bitola. The staff created a large floor map of Macedonia and once her name was called, she stood on the map where her site was located. She was posted to Bitola, a modern major city, colorful and traditional yet modern. One amenity of Bitola that Hemphill loved was the movie theater. In Bitola, there was another volunteer from her group as well as volunteers already in service.

Keywords: Access; Amazing; Arrival; Biggest cities; Clothing; Cold; Colorful; Dinner; Dress; Driving; Easy; Excited; Group; Loved; Map; Modern; Movie theater; Nice; Organizations; Placement; Posting process; Schedule; Shocked; Site; Tour; Traditional; Typical; Unable

Subjects: Bitola (North Macedonia); Cities; Climate; Culture; Food; Macedonia; Meeting; Nightlife; North Macedonia; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; People; Research; Shoes; Staff; United States; Volunteers; Winter; Women

Partial Transcript: . . . Can you talk about your integration a little bit and how you kind of learned the community?

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill was placed with two organizations: Red Cross and Together Macedonia. Because of these two groups, she was able to meet new people quickly. Being Black, she had to adjust to being stared at by people. At one point, Hemphill initiated contact with someone who stared at her for over forty minutes in a phone store. She quickly integrated into Bitola, which meant that people looked after her best interests. Because of all the connections Hemphill made in Bitola, she easily found secondary projects outside of the Red Cross and Together Macedonia. Another organization in which she was active was American Corner. Hemphill also gave lectures at a local university. Most people spoke English with her, and that eased her integration into the community.

Keywords: Accepting; Activities; Adjustment period; American Corner; Awkward; Best interest; Black; Communication; Connections; Family; Friendly; Friends; Important; Integration; Introduction; Knew; Meet; Name; Noticed; Organizations; Outgoing; Outside; Placement; Practice; President; Red Cross; Requirements; Secondary projects; Skills; Soft skills; Staring; Stayed; T-Mobile; Together Macedonia; University; Visit; Welfare; Yelling

Subjects: Bitola (North Macedonia); Black; Countries; Culture; English; Experience; Language; Lectures; Macedonia; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; People; Planning; Respect; Social; Time; Volunteers; Walking

Partial Transcript: --Um--what was your housing arrangement there [in Bitola]?

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill lived in a house that was divided into apartments. Her apartment consisted of two bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, and a kitchen equipped with a dishwasher and washing machine. She also had a balcony as an outdoor space for her apartment. Hemphill's host family traveled a lot and had an understanding of the American lifestyle, giving her privacy. Despite this Hemphill and her host family ate dinner together when everyone was home at the same time. Many volunteers stayed with her, especially during American holidays. Hemphill's host family lived on the other floors of the house. Her host mother was a dentist; other family members were also professionals. Some of Hemphill's neighbors were grandmothers who sat outside on the Babba (which means grandma in Macedonian) bench every day. Hemphill often participated in these conversations in order to improve her Macedonian.

Keywords: American lifestyle; Apartment; Appliances; Aware; Balcony; Bench; Building relationships; Challenge; Communication; Community; Dentist; Dining room; Dinner; Dishwasher; Divorced; Doctors; Dog; Fantastic; Floor; Gave up; Guests; Host family; Host mom; House; In contact; Involved; Knew; Layout; Living conditions; Living room; Never married; Nice; Non-traditional; Outside; Second floor; Separate; Sitting; Talking; Today; Together; Top floor; Translation; Typical; Visit; Weekend; Words

Subjects: Adults; Americans; Architects; Bedrooms; Bitola (Macedonia); Cooking; Culture; Education; English; Food; Grandmothers; Holidays; Housing; Learning; Lucky; Macedonia; Macedonian language; Marriage; Men; Neighbors; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; Sister; Skopje (North Macedonia); Space; Time; Travel; Understanding; Vocabulary; Volunteers; Women

Partial Transcript: . . . You know, do a lot of exploring walking around the city and around the surrounding area?

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill describes some of the most popular tourist activities in Bitola, including trams, museums and ancient ruins. Hemphill recalls finding two American-style donut shops and a barbecue restaurant. Bitola enjoyed watching tour groups with people from other countries during the summer.

Keywords: Aviation museum; Barbeque restaurant; Beautiful; Community; Donut shops; Fascinating; Heraclea Lyncestis (Extinct city); Interesting; Mountain top; Tour groups; Tourist activities; Trams; Visiting

Subjects: Bitola (North Macedonia); Discovery & exploration; Donuts; Japan; Kimonos; Macedonia; Museums; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; Ruins; Sightseers; Summer; Volunteers; Walking; War; Women

Partial Transcript: Peace Corp's mission is to make friendships so you did that in spades.

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill still FaceTimes with her host family and friends, as well as the people she met through the Red Cross and Together Macedonia. Hemphill continues to envision herself in Bitola. Hemphill also made friends with local business people, especially at the bazaar.

Keywords: Amazing; Bazaar; Communication; Energetic; Engaging; Face Time; Family; Friends; Funny; Host family; Insistent; Local business people; Market; Office; Organizations; Questions; Red Cross; Sad; Talking; Time difference; Together Macedonia; Training family; Weekends; Work sites

Subjects: Age; American; Bitola (North Macedonia); Friendship; Macedonians; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; People; Pictures; Staff; Time; Volunteers; Young

Partial Transcript: What was the physical office like? Was it similar to an American office or different?

Segment Synopsis: At the Red Cross, Hemphill shared a space with her counterpart. She allowed the staff to lead her to create trust. In her second year, Hemphill initiated new projects. Both of her counterparts were young; the first one moved away and she requested that a 19-year old volunteer be assigned to her. The clients at the Red Cross were both adults and children. For children, there was a food drive and a clothing drive. Many of the kids were Roma, people treated as second-class citizens without much education, many of whom live in poverty. Young children beg on the street for money. Many Red Cross services go to the Roma families. Hemphill was proud to be a part of Red Cross and its work with the Roma community. Together Macedonia wrote applications for short-term (weeklong) grants with EU countries. For instance, there was a grant for street art and street artists. Together Macedonia sponsored volunteers from other countries to stay in Macedonia to work in the country to learn a specific skill. One of Hemphill's responsibilities in this grant program was to teach English to the volunteers.

Keywords: Applications; Clients; Clothing drive; Counterparts; EU countries; Food drive; Grants; Lead others; Red Cross; Short-term grants; Together Macedonia

Subjects: Adults; Begging; Bitola (North Macedonia); Children; Discrimination; English; European Union; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; Poverty; Proud; Roma; Roma clients; Staff; Street art; Trust; Volunteers; Young

Partial Transcript: What--um--what challenges did you experience at the work sites? Any particular tough ones that you dealt with?

Segment Synopsis: At work, Hemphill found that people did not always adhere strictly to workplace rules. For instance, when grant writing, Hemphill's desire to stick to the instructions sometimes conflicted with others. Hemphill found this to be a cultural difference between Americans and Macedonians. Hemphill explains that the money obtained from grants had to be spent according to the specifications contained in the grant rules.

Keywords: Challenging; Cultural differences; Different; Execute; Funding; Grant writing; Grants; Ideas; Instructions; Policies; Policy-oriented; Project; Red Cross; Relaxed; Rules; Specifications; Together Macedonia; Tough

Subjects: Americans; Bitola (North Macedonia); Culture shock; European Union; Explanation; Macedonians; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; Work

Partial Transcript: Are there--um--any of the projects or events or programs that you're most proud of?

Segment Synopsis: For Hemphill, the "blood days" sponsored by the Red Cross were what makes her proud. High school kids participated in simulated disaster situations. There was an array of activities including health checks and concerts around the city.

Keywords: "Blood days"; Activities; CPR; Concerts; Driver's license; Health checks; Help; Participants; Red Cross; Simulated disaster situations; Situation; Skills; Translation

Subjects: Awards; Blood donors; Certification; Children; Concerts; Diagnosis; English; First aid; Health; High school; Honor; Macedonians; North Macedonia; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; Students

Partial Transcript: Did you have--um--a working relationship with--uh--Peace Corps staff--um--during your service?

Segment Synopsis: For the first six months, Hemphill was quiet; however, during the summer, she reached out to staff about specific cultural questions or concerns she had about projects. She also joined committees established by staff, which became an important part of her life in Bitola. American Corner is a program of the American Embassy in Macedonia staffed by Macedonians. The program had a library and activities including English hour and lectures Hemphill gave on Black History Month and Columbus Day. During the summer, Hemphill would read to kids and work through an activity with the younger children. Hemphill also led a travel group focused on geographical regions in the US. Hemphill also created a guide for other volunteers to follow when they presented their own regions or cities to young audiences.

Keywords: American Corner; American Embassy in Macedonia; Black History Month; English hour; Guide for Volunteers; Library; Peace Corps Committees; Regions; Travel Group

Subjects: Bitola (North Macedonia); Children; Cities; Columbus Day; Culture; Education; English; Geography; Lifestyles; Macedonians; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; Staff; Summer; United States

Partial Transcript: Did you collaborate with other--um--Peace Corps volunteers, and, if so, what did you work on?

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill worked with another Volunteer on workshops related to resume building and interviewing through American Corner. The program was designed to help university students gain experience in navigating job interviews.

Keywords: American Corner; Assistance; Collaboration; Interviewing; Nice; Process; Project; Resume building; U.S. Embassy in Macedonia; Universities

Subjects: Bitola (North Macedonia); Businesses; Cooperation; Experience; Macedonians; Meetings; Participation; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; Students; Volunteers; Work

Partial Transcript: In kind of reflecting on the overall Peace Corps experience . . .

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill recalls that many Macedonians would stare at her out of curiosity. Eventually, Hemphill got used to these instances and they became a non-issue for her. Fortunately, Hemphill did not experience any other issues because of her race. She felt supported by other volunteers and it was easy for her to contact others if uncomfortable situations arose. Hemphill explains that she had a different perspective than volunteers who were younger. Hemphill states that it is easy to misinterpret situations when in a foreign country with a different culture. When a man stared at Hemphill for about forty minutes straight, she waved at him. That embarrassed him and he then turned away. Young people respected her because of her age; being Black was sort of "cool" because of the novelty of it all. Some people took her picture without her permission, which angered Hemphill. Hemphill allowed people to ask her questions about her race once she became more acquainted with them.

Keywords: Different; Misinterpret; Negative experiences; Questions; Staring; Support from Volunteers; Waving; Young people

Subjects: Acculturation; African Americans; Age; Bitola (North Macedonia); Blacks; Culture; Culture shock; Embarrassment; Friendship; Macedonians; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; Perspective; Pictures; Privacy; Race; Respect; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Were there other--um--challenges . . . kind of big challenges--um--that . . . that you--uh--experienced during your service?

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill states that she did not take things personally. In Macedonia, there is a sun-tan oil called "Black-Up," which startled her at first. Hemphill's host sister explained that it was called that because "we're getting black." Before she became offended, Hemphill explains that she tried to understand the situation and its cultural context.

Keywords: "Black-Up"; Context; Curious; Host sister; Inexpensive; Mindset; Name; Not offended; Sun-tan oil

Subjects: African Americans; Age; Bitola (North Macedonia); Blacks; Culture shock; Discrimination; Macedonians; North Macedonia; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; Racism; Skin; Summer; Tanning; Travel; Understanding

Partial Transcript: You had a lot of professional career experience before you went.

Segment Synopsis: Before departing for Macedonia, Hemphill decided that she wanted to serve with integrity and not to compromise her own ethics. Another skill that Hemphill wanted to obtain was to speak Macedonian well enough to order food and buy a bus ticket. Additionally, not offending any Macedonians by mistake was another high priority for Hemphill.

Keywords: Bus tickets; Considerate; Departure; Non-compromising; Non-offensive; Purchase

Subjects: Bitola (North Macedonia); Culture; Ethics; Food; Integrity; Listening; Macedonian; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; Values; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: Out of the whole--um--experience, as you kind of reflect back on it is . . . what is it about having accomplished--um--Peace Corps service that has given you the most satisfaction?

Segment Synopsis: Being in Peace Corps allowed Hemphill time for self-reflection. Hemphill considers her biggest accomplishment the realization that when talking about diversity in America; it begins with race and religion. In Peace Corps, she realized that culture is based on core beliefs not race or religion, which results in a better understanding of people for who they are. She deepened her understanding through interacting with people from different cultures. Her projects were less important than her connections with others. Hemphill also learned to embrace change more through her Peace Corps service. Hemphill is now more comfortable taking risks, "jumping into the unknown," and she appreciates Peace Corps for teaching her that. Hemphill now dives into uncertain situations with the idea that it is okay not to know what will happen next.

Keywords: Accomplishments; Adjustment period; Comfortable; Connections; Core beliefs; Dive into things; Interactions; Projects; Reflection; Slow

Subjects: Anxiety; Change; Culture; Diversity; Learning; Macedonians; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; People; Race; Religion; Risk; Self; Time; Uncertainty; Understanding; United States

Partial Transcript: Did you have an opportunity to travel around the country at all, did you visit other Peace Corps volunteers or see any of the--the sites--uh--around the country?

Segment Synopsis: For the most part, Hemphill stayed at her site, but she occasionally visited other volunteers to help with projects. Hemphill did not use all of her vacation days as she felt that everything she needed was there in Bitola. Hemphill traveled to Kosovo, and to Italy, Croatia and Montenegro. The Balkan countries were very accessible from Bitola. None of her family visited her while in service, partly because traveling to Macedonia was expensive. Despite this, Hemphill spoke with her mother often.

Keywords: Accustomed; Balkans; Bill Clinton statue; Communication; FaceTime; Family; Friends; Glad; Help; Infrequent; Kosovo; Later; Nice; Projects; Similar; Stayed; Unused; Vacation days; Visit; Weekends

Subjects: Bitola (North Macedonia); Cities; Cost; Countries; Croatia; Greece; Italy; Macedonian; Montenegro; Mother; Opportunity; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; Slavic languages; Travel; Villages; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: I wanna jump to . . . . like the last 3-6 months . . . before you're getting ready to leave.

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill recalls preparing to return to the U.S. Hemphill considered extending her service but her mother wanted her to return. Other family issues also influenced her decision to return to the U.S. While in service, Hemphill began applying for jobs, as she craved stability. Her former employer offered her a position three days after she got back. In retrospect, she wished that she had taken a month off before looking for a job.

Keywords: Departure; Employment; Extending service; Family issues; Former employer; Realization; Unable

Subjects: Bitola (North Macedonia); Home; Mother; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Macedonia; Travel; Work

Partial Transcript: Is there anything that still kind of seems different to you about the US that didn't . . . that you didn't think before you went into Peace Corps?

Segment Synopsis: What still seems different today is the overwhelming friendliness, support and honesty that she experienced in her Peace Corps service. Hemphill still compares her Peace Corps experiences with situations she faces now. She did not have a hard time with the isolation due to COVID-19 because she was isolated in Peace Corps. Hemphill misses walking down the street greeting complete strangers, stating that Peace Corps "pulled the best out of us." The skills that she had were enhanced by her work and Hemphill developed new skills through her work at the same time.

Keywords: Friendliness; Isolation; Reflection; SARS-CoV-2 disease; Skills

Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); Honesty; Peace Corps (U.S.); Quarantine

Partial Transcript: Did your experience---um--match what you expected? You'd been thinking about Peace Corps all those years and had imagined in your mind what it would be like and you were motivated to do it. Did . . . did your experience match what you were expecting?

Segment Synopsis: For Hemphill, her Peace Corps experience exceeded her expectations. Hemphill feels that she got out of Peace Corps more than she gave. The experiences were transformational for Hemphill because they changed how she looks at the world and how she allowed constant self-reflection to keep herself aware of who she is, how she projects herself to the world and her impact on the world. Most of all, Hemphill has learned to try not to damage the people that she interacts with.

Keywords: Aware; Expectations; Impact; Important; Interactions; No damage; Projection; Reflection; Transformational

Subjects: Change; Identity; Kindness; Peace Corps (U.S.); Perspective; World

Partial Transcript: If someone who's watching this is thinking about--um--volunteering for . . . . Peace Corps, is there one valuable piece of advice that you would want them to know?

Segment Synopsis: Hemphill recommends that prospective volunteers focus on serving others instead of your own personal goals. Hemphill explains that your resume will be built but it is important to think about what the community needs. Hemphill states that Peace Corps is "the toughest job you'll ever love."

Keywords: Community needs; Difficult; Important; Personal benefits; Prospective Volunteers; Resume; Service; Tough

Subjects: Peace Corps (U.S.); Perspective; Volunteers