Interview with Eunice Cho, September 10, 2020

Partial Transcript: Good afternoon. My name is Madeline Kellner.

Segment Synopsis: Cho talks about her interest in the Peace Corps when she was in high school. She talks about how she gained experience working for a nonprofit and as a volunteer firefighter. She talks about going to Uganda with a church group. She talks about how she learned of her acceptance to Peace Corps when she was on a visit to Disney World.

Keywords: Applying; Careers; Family; Friends; Guatemala; High schools; International development; Parents; Spanish (Language); Travel; Uganda

Subjects: Careers; Childhood; Families; Friendship; Language and Languages; Nonprofit organizations; Parents; Travel; Uganda; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: So the--your s--you had s--any Spanish before you--did you have any Spanish before you went to Guatemala?

Segment Synopsis: Cho talks about learning Spanish in high school and continuing to learn Spanish in Peace Corps training. She talks about how her teachers concentrated on communication rather than book knowledge. She says that in Guatemala people accepted her Spanish. She says that her host family helped her by correcting her. Cho talks about a Christmas dinner she attended with Guatemalan friends in the United States before leaving.

Keywords: Acceptance; Communication; Friends; High schools; Host families; Language training; Parties; Pre-service training; Spanish (Language)

Subjects: Communication and culture; Families; Friendship; Guatemala; Language and culture; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Guatemala; Travel

Partial Transcript: Um, tell me a little bit about getting to your site and, you know, what it was like.

Segment Synopsis: Cho talks about arriving to her town in Guatemala. She talks about her feelings, her host family, and her uncertainty about how to act at some times. She talks about help she received from her host sister and host uncle.

Keywords: Anxiety; Culture; Dancing; Dangers; First impressions; Guatemala; Host sisters; Host uncles; Safety

Subjects: Communication and culture; Emotions; Families; Friendship; Guatemala; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Guatemala

Partial Transcript: So tell me a little bit about the work, the, the Youth and Development and what that looked like in your, in your town.

Segment Synopsis: Cho talks about her experience teaching at three schools. She talks about working with host country teachers and supervisors to teach life skills such as self-esteem. She talks about working with her host country colleagues. Cho says she was challenged by the curriculum and communicating with Indigenous children whose second language was Spanish. She talks about balancing work requirements and spending time with the students. Cho talks about taking buses to get to the schools that were outside her town.

Keywords: Buses; Challenges; Communication; Counterparts; Guatemala; Indigenous people; Language barriers; Rural areas; Safety

Subjects: Communication and culture; Guatemala; Language and languages; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Guatemala; Schools; Student activities; Teaching

Partial Transcript: So were there--sometimes people do secondary projects or other projects.

Segment Synopsis: Cho talks about working on projects outside of school. She talks about working on a recycling project and making a nature path. She talks about winning a prize for a picture of herself and a friend of hers, Maria Christina. She describes meeting and visiting Maria Christina, a Mayan girl with a disability who lived in the mountains.

Keywords: Education; Extracurricular activities; Friendships; Guatemala; Health care facilities; Illness; Local people; People with disabilities; Secondary projects

Subjects: Community health services; Friendships; Guatemala; Health; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Guatemala; People with disabilities

Partial Transcript: So, um, what motivated you to stay another year?

Segment Synopsis: Cho describes a series of events that led her to extend her Peace Corps tour for a third year. She talks about doing more teaching but when she was assigned to a third school, commuting by bus and working took a lot of time. She talks about neglecting herself and becoming so ill that she had to medically evacuate. She talks about attending her host sister’s wedding and then deciding to extend her tour.

Keywords: Evacuations; Extensions; Food; Guatemala; Host sisters; Illness; Marriage; Peace Corps - related medical issues; Peace Corps staff; Self-care

Subjects: Community health services; Evacuations; Food habits; Guatemala; Health; Hospitals; Marriage; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Guatemala

Partial Transcript: I guess some people stay in their town and extend...

Segment Synopsis: Cho talks about her third year assignments. She talks about five other members of her group who also decided to extend their tour. Cho talks about working in the Peace Corps Guatemala office and about working with Americans. She talks about staff turnover and political situations that were difficult. Cho talks about working with new volunteers and with staff. She talks about diversity training sessions.

Keywords: Americans; Bureaucracy; Challenges; Diversity in the Peace Corps; Extensions; Friends; Guatemala; On-site training; Peace Corps staff; Politics

Subjects: Friendship; Interpersonal communication and culture; Manners and customs; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Guatemala

Partial Transcript: What do you think would really help them being--be better at that?

Segment Synopsis: Cho talks about how to increase diversity and awareness of diversity among the Peace Corps staff. She also talks about how she was received as an Asian-American in Guatemala.

Keywords: Asian Americans; Discrimination; Diversity; Diversity in the Peace Corps; Ethnicity; Guatemala; Host uncles; Identity; Peace Corps staff; Racial slurs

Subjects: Culture; Emotions; Friendship; Guatemala; Intercultural communication; Interpersonal relations and culture; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Guatemala; Race relations

Partial Transcript: So what are--are there--are some things that, um, from your experience in the Peace Corps that, that you’re carrying forth in your, in your work now?

Segment Synopsis: Cho talks about the influence of her Peace Corps experience on her career. She talks about stress in her third year and needing rest. She talks about applying for manager positions. Cho talks about what it means to be a manager and a good leader.

Keywords: Careers; Challenges; Close of service; Empowerment; Guatemala; Identity; Influences; Jobs; Returning; Self-care

Subjects: Careers; Guatemala; Nonprofit organizations; Occupations; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Guatemala; Small business--Personnel management; Stress (Psychology)