Interview with Kristina Cassiday, August 17, 2020

Interview Summary

Kristina Cassiday served as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English at a small teaching college in Bijie, China (Guizhou province) from 2008-2010. She discusses her experience teaching large classes, her relationships with her host family and fellow Peace Corps volunteers, as well as her relationships with her students. She discusses challenges to her identity and self-confidence as a tall, Indian (Asian)-American woman. Some Chinese people urged her to use whitening masks to lighten her skin, some questioned her gender, and some asked whether she was African because she didn’t look stereotypically American. She overcame these challenges and became more resilient and adaptable to change. She believes by just being there, Peace Corps volunteers help the Chinese better understand Americans. Readjusting to different concepts of time and large portion sizes was hard upon her return to the U.S. Subsequently she married a Peace Corps volunteer she befriended while in China.

Interview Keyword

China (Country of service) Chinese culture Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Education Education 2008-2010 (Date of service) Diversity in the Peace Corps

Interview LC Subject

Peace Corps (U.S.) Peace Corps (U.S.)--China Acculturation Communication and culture Culture shock Culture Intercultural communication Interpersonal communication and culture Interpersonal relations and culture Language and culture Language and languages Volunteer workers in education Volunteers Travel Voluntarism

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