Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-091
Christeen Pusch served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras from 2005 to 2007 in a municipal development program. She was stationed in Colomoncagua and assigned to work with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to provide support to nearby residents and farmers. In the second half of her service, she focused more on basic student education with a USAID program called Educatodos (Education for All). Pusch formed friendships with her neighbors, including one neighborhood girl that she tutored named Karin. Karin later went on to become the first person in her family to earn her high school diploma and inspired her younger siblings to do the same. Some of Pusch's favorite things about Honduras were the natural beauty, the walkability of the neighborhoods and towns, and the openness of the culture, which allowed her to visit neighbors at any moment. She credits her Peace Corps service with altering her perspective on her life by making her more appreciative and, as a child of German immigrants, helping her find her own cultural identity back at home in the States. Interviewed and recorded by Sally Waley, June 13, 2019. 1 digital audio file.