Interview with Maryum Saifee, October 6, 2020

Interview Summary

Maryum Saifee served as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) in Jordan from 2000-2002. As an Indian-American, she was one of a few people of color in her largely white female cohort. She discusses issues related to the recruitment and retention of non-majority volunteers. Her cohort had a very high attrition rate, especially among non-majority volunteers. She says that Peace Corps can’t control the environment, but training could have better prepared volunteers for the political context, cultural issues, and biases she encountered. She faults Peace Corps staff for negligence in placing her with a family in which the son had committed an honor-killing and their casual reaction to volunteer safety after 9/11. She was thought of as a run-way Sri Lankan maid because of her looks and a CIA spy because she wasn’t a well-trained teacher. She became more resilient, learned a lot about Jordan, changed perceptions about American diversity, and joined the Foreign Service.

Interview Keyword

Jordan (Country of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Education 2000-2002 (Date of service) Minority recruitment and training 9/11/2001 Inter-cultural communication Madaba (Jordan) Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) Diversity in the Peace Corps Peace Corps (U.S.)--2000-2010 September 11, 2001

Interview LC Subject

Peace Corps (U.S.) Peace Corps (U.S.)--Jordan Jordan Acculturation Communication and culture Culture Culture shock Intercultural communication Interpersonal communication and culture Interpersonal relations Interpersonal relations and culture Language and culture Language and languages Lifestyles Manners and customs Voluntarism Volunteers September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001

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