In this interview, you’ll hear from Hunter Casazza, a Peace Corps Education volunteer in St. Lucia in the Eastern Caribbean. Hunter shares what daily life looks like, the work being done, and how service has shaped their personal and professional growth. You’ll learn about housing, cultural differences, project work, language learning, and what it’s like to live and work in a new country. This interview offers a real look into Peace Corps service and what future volunteers can expect.
Table of Contents
- Volunteer Experience and Motivation
- Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
- Surprises and Challenges
- Advice and Support
- Practical Tips and Language Learning
- Social Identity
- Final Thoughts
Volunteer Experience and Motivation
1. What do you do as a Peace Corps Education volunteer in St. Lucia?
As a Peace Corps English Literacy Volunteer, the main part of my work is to provide in-class support with teachers, small group work with students, and aid in any other community-centered activities.
Typically, I will work with my counterpart and fellow teacher to collaborate on different resources to use to engage students on their literacy skills. I tend to create activities using visual aids like sound and letter hats, Kahoot and Jeopardy games, reading passages and quizzes, among other things. With this, if there are students who are falling behind in the curriculum, I will work with them one-on-one to reintroduce the information and complete a student-centered activity based on their current needs.
I have also helped out with community activities, including the choir and chess club, with my primary focus being on supporting the school in starting a rolling and long-term library.
2. Why did you decide to join the Peace Corps and serve in St. Lucia?
Prior to the Peace Corps, I worked in Children, Youth, and Families as a Child Welfare Aide and Caseworker for two years. Throughout that time, I have always been centered on helping people and wanting to find new and innovative solutions to support them. The Peace Corps caught my attention because of this, and for the opportunity to get to go to another country and learn about another people’s community and culture was irresistible to me.
When I applied, I did put that I would go anyway, and I am beyond thrilled to have been sent to the Eastern Caribbean (EC), and being able to serve in Saint Lucia has been a dream come true.
Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
3. What is your housing like in St. Lucia?
Housing in Saint Lucia has been a great experience for me. When you first come to the EC/Saint Lucia, you are placed with a host family for the duration of Pre-Service Training (PST), which is roughly 2-3 months. Throughout this time, I was very fortunate to have a nice living space and a host family to look after and support me.
Following PST, I then moved to my host community and moved into my own apartment. Granted, while this is my own space, it is connected to my landlord’s house, so I have tended to see them as my second host family.
Apartment utilities
Between both these spaces, I have had electricity, running water, a shower, a washer, and a stove. Electricity has been consistently good with very few issues; sometimes there will be blackouts, but more so during the day for maintenance. While water is accessible for most houses, the water pressure is not the same as what I have experienced back home. It is very common for the water to run out, and many houses have water tanks in storage in case this happens. It is in cases like this, where I have to hand-wash my clothes and take a shower using a jug of water.
For drying clothes, I use a clothes rack/line to let them dry while I am out at work during the day; it is not very common for someone to have a dryer. For my stove, there is no direct gas line, so you have to go and get a gas tank to connect to your stove. In my experience, I have found that the tanks last roughly a month, though I do tend to cook a lot.
My community and foods
For my community, I live in a small somewhat rural town of roughly 1,000 people. While you are able to get some necessities in the area, you will usually need to go into town for most meats, fruits, vegetables, and ground provisions.
Many of the most popular food items are breadfruit, plantains, green figs (green bananas), avocado pears, dasheen, coconut, tomato, cucumber, and potatoes, among other things, with the national dish being green fig and saltfish. I will say my favorite of the options has been breadfruit and plantains, with breadfruit surprising me the most, but will be something you have to try if you ever come to Saint Lucia.
4. What moments or interactions stand out during your service?
As cheesy as it is, there is nothing greater than getting to work with your students and being able to witness the progress and growth they make throughout the year. Teaching is a wonderful thing as well, where, whether you like it or not, you are going to build a rapport with your students and be excited to see your students every day. I’m not someone who likes a lot of attention, but I can’t help but smile when I see my Grade 2 students running up, trying to give me a hug and shouting, “Mr. Casazza!!!”
Surprises and Challenges
5. What has surprised you most about living or working in St. Lucia?
I think one of the most surprising things about living in Saint Lucia has been the kindness and support from my host and local community. When I first arrived, people were trying their best to be friendly with me. I had several instances of someone coming over to give me some fruits or vegetables that just came in season, or having parents and bus drivers recognizing me walking to school and giving me a ride, or others showing me around town. These things may not seem like a lot, but for someone just coming into a community, it was a wonderful feeling that quickly made me feel safe in my new home and that I would always have people looking out for me.
I think one of the more challenging things has been the perspective between the role of parents versus teachers. While this is something I think comes up in question a lot back in the USA, I feel it comes up just as much here. From conversations I have had between some parents and teachers, there are a mixture of feelings about whether it is a teacher’s and/or parents’ job to educate their students/children, what needs to be done at home to reaffirm information, best practices for certain behaviors, etc.
It is a complicated situation, and because I am a foreigner, I do not feel it is best to speak on my community’s beliefs or go around trying to change their perspectives. It is an important thing to do your best not to overstep and be respectful of our cultural differences and/or similarities.
6. What challenges have you faced in your Education work, and how did you respond?
For anyone who has worked in education or been in a school setting, I think it is very easy for us to remember some of the constant struggles we experienced as a teacher and/or student. For some of the things I have so far experienced is working with some students who can be overstimulated and unable to focus.
There are times I will have students who are defiant to do their work; sometimes because they really don’t want to do it and other times because they really don’t understand what is being taught. There are times students will have something come up in their personal or family lives and be out for a string of days, sometimes weeks.
With all this in mind, I try to focus on the things that I can personally control and do to support the students. This includes being able to reexplain material and trying to present it in new ways for them to understand; letting the students have a choice on the way they want to learn; having a willingness to be compassionate and understanding to their experience
7. What secondary projects have you worked on during your service?
My main secondary project has been working with my school on starting a long-term school library. When I first came into my community, one of the first stories I heard about was the work the school had done in years past to start a school library. They had been initially successful in getting a library space together, but then, because the room was an open air space, termite and water damage became prevalent. Then, with the impact of the pandemic and increased class size, they were forced to turn the library into a classroom.
After hearing this from my counterpart and principal, we made it our objective for the secondary project to be on restarting the library. We were successful last school year in starting a rolling library during May for reading month and carrying it through the rest of the year. We are now in the midst of applying/trying to receive a PCPP grant to be able to reestablish the library in the former computer lab space.
With this, we are trying to expand into creating a school culture around library engagement, where, in the coming months, we are hoping to start an after-school reading club, junior librarian program, and community story nights.
Advice and Support
8. What advice would you give to future Education volunteers in St. Lucia?
Try your best to learn the local dialect or Kweyol! It does not need to reach a point where you are the most fluent speaker, but being able to have some things in your back pocket, like “Bonjou tout moun!” (Good morning everybody!), “Sa ke fete?” (How are you?), “Non mwen se Hunter ek mwen se an volonte epi Peace Corps.” (My name is Hunter and I am a volunteer with the Peace Corps). That may seem like a lot initially, but it is a great way to break the ice with your community members and staff as a foreigner trying to integrate using the local language.
I will also use a classic saying in my family for as long as I can remember: “Use your resources!” Build a rapport and relationships with your different community liaisons to better help integrate you; go to the different religious centers in your community; join locals in a game of football (soccer) or cricket; try out the local favorite of “black pudding”. There are so many ways this can be done, and I think as long as you show your new community your willingness to be open to new experiences, you will have a much easier transition.
9. How did Peace Corps training prepare you for service?
Peace Corps training has played an impactful role throughout my service. Throughout the different stages of training, they have tried to share a variety of resources/skills we would need to pick up on throughout our service.
Some things included were, proper way of using a bucket/washing basket for cleaning your clothes, how to meal prep with the local cuisine, practicing with Kweyol/Patwa, trips to the market to work on our local interactions, lesson planning, behavior management, intercultural relationships, and using ECBLA; the list goes on and on. I think without this work, I would have been in a much tougher position and not been able to integrate into my community.
Practical Tips and Language Learning
10. What would you tell future volunteers to pack—or leave behind?
As silly as this may sound, I think the clothes you bring and wear in your community and in town will have a drastic impact on how people will interact with you. Traditionally with service, we are recommended to be in business casual (dress shirts, khaki pants), and while these clothes can be very hot, it does bring a different level of respect and consideration, compared to if you are walking around in a gym shirt and shorts. While other volunteers have had some flexibility in attire, I think it is best to dress to impress.
Other things I feel are important to pack are a good rain umbrella and a sun umbrella (yes, there is a difference). A large thermos for water; it is over 80 degrees year round and will rarely be in an a/c space; do your best to stay hydrated.
There isn’t anything in particular that I would say you definitely shouldn’t bring, but know that after swearing into service, the Peace Corps will take you for a moving-in shopping day to get all your necessities from cooking ware, groceries, sheets, towels, etc, for your living space. I think it would be better to pack lightly and potentially bring additional necessities during the holiday season when you know what you really need and don’t need.
11. How has language learning been for you in St. Lucia?
For Saint Lucia, Patwa/Kweyol is the main local language, though English is the primary language on the island and in school. Patwa is derived from the French language with its own flair and style. While some French words and patterns carry over, knowing French will not make it that much easier.
With this in mind, I did try to do a couple of things to help with learning Patwa. Again, while either is exactly similar, I did go on Duolingo and begin practicing French and Haitian Creole. When I first got to Saint Lucia, they recommended using the Kweyol Dictionary of Saint Lucia for language study. I used this relentlessly and would try to practice speaking Patwa with my host family each day.
While I am still not the most proficient in it, I know enough to be able to understand some parts of the conversation and communicate on a very basic level with my community members or the local Peace Corps staff.
On top of this, though, after swearing in, an option does arise where you can attempt to get a language tutor on your island who the Peace Corps will reimburse you for the sessions you do with them. If you want to become fluent in the local language, this is what I would recommend most.
Social Identity
12. How has your personal identity shaped your service experience?
I identify as a white man, which is an important thing to keep in mind, going into a community and country where one of the prominent phrases about their history is “Seven times British and Seven times French.” I think it has made more of an emphasis during my service to be open and willing to hear about the local community and national experience, that while I am not going to personally understand what their experience has been like, I am still receptive and eager to learn about it.
13. Did your identity lead to specific challenges or situations?
Overall, during my service, I have had many positive interactions throughout my community and the island as a whole. While the moments I am about to bring up aren’t necessarily bad, there have been some interesting events that I feel have expanded my thinking and experience so far.
Long hair and a beard
As mentioned before, I identify as a white male, and going into my service, I decided to let my hair and beard grow out. Because of this, through much of my service and still to this day, even after I have cut my hair and trimmed my beard, one of the most common sayings for me to get when I am in town is, “Es ou Jezi?” or “Jezi!”, which is the local Patwa/Kweyol way of saying, “Are you Jesus?” and “Jesus!”
Not always possible to remain unnoticed
Personality wise, I tend to be someone who likes to keep to myself and remain unnoticed at times, but this caused a lot of instances where that wasn’t necessarily possible. For this, I would tend to walk on without trying to say anything back or would try to use some Patwa and say, “Souple pa di sa. Now mwen se Hunter.”, which means “Please don’t say that. My name is Hunter.”
Being seen as a tourist
With that, there are many times that I will then be seen as a tourist or foreigner, and this causes a different range of experiences. One of the most consistent things with this is having people constantly trying to ask me if I need a taxi.
There are also a lot of interactions as well with homeless individuals who will try to come up to me as someone to talk to and ask for money. I have had several occasions where some are being very insistent and trying to walk with me to plead their case, who then proceed to get angry with me for not giving them any money.
There are other times where I have had some community members yell at me to get out of Saint Lucia. With the majority of this, I tend to focus on walking away and not speaking to those who are trying to call out to me. I think it also helps a lot if you are walking with another person; I have found that when I have been in town with another volunteer or local that I am less likely to get called at.
14. What advice do you have for volunteers who share your identity?
Be considerate to the community as a whole and be willing to listen to the impact other countries have had on Saint Lucia and the rest of the Eastern Caribbean. Set your boundaries with locals, especially those within your community.
For example, the situations I’ve had with people calling me “Jezi,” when I am in town and there are a variety of different people saying that, it is harder to stop, but in my community, it is not the same. In my community, I know these are people I will be seeing on a daily basis, and to avoid that unwanted attention, I tell them very quickly to please not say that to me, and the majority of the time, that has worked out for me.
Alongside this, if there are interactions you are uncomfortable having with locals or going into certain environments, connect with your local school staff or your community liaison about providing support for you.
Final Thoughts
15. What final advice would you share with future volunteers?
The Peace Corps has been a truly wonderful experience for me. While it is an amazing thing to get to go to another country and try to support other people, DO NOT forget to take care of yourself. Stay connected to family and friends back in the states and still use them as a resource.
Lean on your fellow volunteers for help with the different day-to-day hurdles for people who understand exactly what you are going through. Use your community liaisons, go to the different religious services, go to the local cricket or football match, try the local cuisine; be brave and put yourself out there. The initial transition to the Peace Corps can be very hard, but know you can do this and that you won’t regret this incredible opportunity.
Are you thinking about joining the Peace Corps? If you’re curious about service and ready for something new, apply today. Like Hunter, you can live abroad, work with communities, and grow in ways you didn’t expect. Apply to the Peace Corps and take the next step.
The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or St. Lucia Government.
