Interview with Cyrus Sethna, October 7, 2020

Interview Summary

Cyrus Sethna served in the Peace Corps in Guatemala from 2013-2015. He is a first generation Indian/Taiwanese American who parents couldn’t understand at first why he would choose to return to a poor country to work. As a fluent Spanish speaker, training was less focused on the basics, and he was given more practical lessons, e.g., go to the market and find the price of this fruit. While he was trained in teaching sexual and reproductive health for young people, when he got to his site he was attached to the mayor’s office where his counterpart was the mayor’s son. Not much actually was happening, and Cyrus went through a difficult time. The year was useful in establishing contacts though, and he connected with a woman who was active in the community, knew everyone, and helped him make needed contacts. She became his host mother as well. He taught a small martial arts class, and because of that people in the community began asking him how to set up a business. His two favorite projects were helping develop a successful English school and a restaurant. The restaurant spurred others to open other restaurants that now offer a more diverse cuisine in his community. By his second year, Cyrus was so integrated into his community that he was often mistaken for being Guatemalan, and he ended up counseling his white colleagues when they were discriminated against for being white. After the stabbing of a volunteer, he COS’ed a couple of months early in a moving ceremony. He then traveled around Central America, through Mexico, and worked as an interpreter for a pro bono legal aid non-profit operating within an ICE detention camp.

Interview Keyword

Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020 Guatemala (Country of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Youth Development Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Economic Development Asian-Americans Diversity in the Peace Corps Discrimination Business development Completion of Service (COS) ceremony Danger Parents First generation Americans

Interview LC Subject

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

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Interview Usage

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