Interview with William "Will" Arrington, August 3, 2020

Interview Summary

William "Will" Arrington served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Armenia from March 2019 to March 2020 when he was evacuated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He taught grades 3-9 English in a primary school in Hrazdan. He joined the Peace Corps to help however he could and selected Armenia because of his fascination with post-USSR society. Although he doesn’t think the school to which he was assigned needed him as a teacher, he does think that he helped students and faculty get a better understanding of the U.S. He says the experience made him more confident in his ability to build friendships no matter what the barriers. He feels that as someone on the autism spectrum, he had an advantage in getting along in another culture because he is used to being the ‘other.’ He talks about the surreal experience of returning to the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has reapplied to serve in Ukraine when Peace Corps returns to the field.

Interview Keyword

Armenia (Country of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Education 2019-2020 (Date of service) Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Peace Corps goals Autism spectrum Peace Corps (U.S.)--2020--Evacuation Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteer (EPCV) Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020 #covid19 Diversity in the Peace Corps

Interview LC Subject

Peace Corps (U.S.) Peace Corps (U.S.)--Armenia COVID-19 (Disease) Armenia Hrazdan (Armenia) Acculturation. Communication and culture. Culture shock Culture. Intercultural communication. Interpersonal communication and culture Interpersonal relations and culture Language and culture. Language and languages. Travel Voluntarism. Volunteer workers in education Volunteers Teachers Teaching

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Interview Usage

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