Interview with Joshua Mayer, April 25, 2021

Interview Summary

Joshua Mayer served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a sustainable agriculture program in Ecuador from 2011-2013. He talks about reading "Tails from Service" during high school and then joining the Peace Corps after becoming unemployed. He was first assigned to Bahia de Caraquez and then moved to an agricultural village where he taught cacao pruning and organic farming techniques, encouraged consumption of vegetables and the development of small gardens, taught environmental education in the school, worked with youth groups, and taught people in the microbank to use excel spreadsheets. He talks fondly about the family with whom he lived and with whom he is still in contact. He also talks about backpacking in the Sierra mountains and his extended travel throughout the region visiting Peace Corps Volunteers and small communities. He reflects on the values and skills he learned in the Peace Corps and the importance of working on issues about which he cares passionately.

Interview Keyword

Ecuador (Country of service) 2011-2013 (Date of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Agriculture Peru Colombia Sustainable agriculture

Interview LC Subject

Peace Corps (U.S.) Peace Corps (U.S.)--Ecuador Ecuador Acculturation Communication and culture Culture Culture shock Intercultural communication Interpersonal communication and culture Interpersonal relations Interpersonal relations and culture Language and culture Language and languages Lifestyles Manners and customs Voluntarism Volunteers

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