Interview with Karin Muller





Buy Along the Inca Road at Amazon.com Read Ted Hall’s REVIEW of *Along the Inca Road* Buy Japanland at Amazon.com Read Richard Wiley’s REVIEW of *Japanland*

	FOR SEVERAL YEARS I have been trying to find Karin Muller. I had heard about her first book Hitchkiking Vietnam; I knew her editor at National Geographic, and even had an email address, but still I couldn’t find Karin. The problem, of course, is that Karin is always on the go and seldom in the United States. Filmmaker, author, and photographer, Karin Muller has moved far beyond most RPCVs when it comes to living the adventurous life. She spent seven months along the Inca Road (Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile), and not only wrote about it, she filmed **Lost Road of the Inca*, a National Geographic adventure-travel documentary series. Before that, she hitchhiked around Vietnam, another seven-month journey, and produced a 400-page book, as well as a PBS documentary. And most recently, Karin has written and produced Japanland*, a four-hour documentary series, and a companion book, published by Rodale Press in October 2005. Karin carries Swiss-American dual citizenship, is fluent in German, Spanish, Tagalog, Illongo, and Japanese. She is also a licensed hang glider, paraglider, and ultralight pilot. Karin scuba dives, sails, and is an instructor in judo (blackbelt) and jujitsu martial arts. And for a year, she carried a briefcase, wore heels, and had what our parents would call “a real job.” Then she started to travel and write about it as well as make films. Luckily for us, she found our Peace Corps site and she found me, and before she could disappear for another seven months of travel, I suggested an interview. Karin was all for the interview, but first she had to go on a book tour. So, what you are reading is the result of lots of emails.

	*Where are you from, Karin?*
		I was born in Switzerland (to Swiss parents) and was naturalized at 16. I grew up in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Australia. I went to Williams College and got a degree in — of all things — economics.

	*Where were you in the Peace Corps?*
		I was in the Philippines from 1987 to 1989, ostensibly as a marine fisheries Volunteer. Unfortunately the fishermen all thought that women were bad luck on boats, so I ended up digging 60 wells, building a school, and trying to launch about 80 other projects, almost all of them monumental flops.

	*Why did you join the Peace Corps?*
		To change the world, of course. I remember marching into my village and rolling up my sleeves, thinking we’ll put a school here and a medical clinic over there and would someone please tie up those pigs? I was 21 and righteous. I don’t know how my village survived me. Also I wanted to have a grand adventure before I settled down to a regular job and family. I still haven’t quite gotten around to the settling-down part.

	*Besides the Peace Corps — and before you started writing — where did you work and live?*
		Once I got back from the Philippines I decided — to my parents’ enormous joy — to join a management consulting firm — and I got engaged. I was miserable. Two years later — to my parents’ great disappointment — I quit that job to start my own company. Two years after that I sold the company and got disengaged. At that point I realized I was at a crossroads, and if I didn’t take the plunge and follow my dreams, I was never going to do it. So I packed my bags and headed for Vietnam to become a travel writer.

	*What was your first published piece based on your Peace Corps experience?*
		The first thing I ever published was a short story based on the opening chapter of a manuscript (still unpublished) that I had written about my time in the Peace Corps. It appeared in an anthology and I think the payment was three copies of the book.


	Home \| Back Issues \| Resources \| Archives \| Site Index \| Search \| About us \| To contact us Bibliography of Peace Corps Writers \| PC writers by country of service E-mail the webmaster@peacecorpswriters.org with comments or to be added to the new-issue notice list. Copyright © 2008 PeaceCorpsWriters.org, (formerly RPCV Writers & Readers) All rights reserved.