Interview with Katherine K. Sohn, April 18, 1996

Interview Summary

Kathy Sohn discusses her time in the Peace Corps, working in the medical division in Mahalastra, India. She goes over some of the medical training she received, and clarifies she did not have any medical degree prior to joining the Corps and working in health in the country. Sohn discusses some of the norms she experienced whilst living in India. She talks about her food habits and what she ate, the living conditions of her temporary home while there, and the isolation she felt while living there and how she coped with it. Sohn discusses her experience with Indian men and how, due to cultural differences, some of them had a habit of sexually harassing women. She also discusses being a minority within India and the cultural values she learned from this experience. Sohn discusses some of the relationships she built with people in her time in the Peace Corps, detailing some of the kind people she met. She also talks about sharing culture with some of the locals, and the things they did together.

Interview Keyword

Work in India Mahalastra, India Community health services Public health Volunteer workers in medical care Food habits Cultural norms Sexual harassment Misogyny

Interview LC Subject

Peace Corps (U.S.) Peace Corps (U.S.)--India India 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

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Interview Usage

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