Leaving the comforts of the US to live in a developing
country that has a different language, different values, and different customs
has its set of challenges. It’s even
more challenging when you don’t conform to what the stereotypical image of what
an American is. Diversity comes in
various forms. It can be your ethnicity,
your religion, your age, your socioeconomic status, your diet, your gender,
your sexual orientation, etc… Sometimes
it’s a bit more challenging when your diverse characteristic is obvious and
can’t be hidden. In my case, my
ethnicity is an instantly recognizable.
Originally, I was born in Saigon, Vietnam and my family and
I immigrated to the US when I was 11 months old. I am an Asian man and with that came a
certain set of expectations while in the Peace Corps. This is my second time being a Peace Corps
Volunteer. I did my first tour in
Romania between 2002-2005. Like Armenia,
it was part of the Soviet Union and slowly transitioning to democracy and a
market economy. Romania was a closed
society during their Communist era and it was extremely rare to have foreigners
and tourists. The only type of diversity
Romania had was with the Roma population aka Gypsies.
The challenges I faced over there was that when I told
people I was an American they didn’t believe me. They called me “kee-nezul” or the China man
in Romanian. It was especially funny
because I worked mostly with the youth there and even though I told them I was
from America they would keep correcting
me
by saying I was from China! One
of the more amusing memories I had was when I was walking through a small
village one day. I’m just walking by
someone’s house when I hear a woman yelling at the top of her voice “kee-nezul!
kee-nezul!” through her kitchen window and pointing at me. She eventually stepped out of her house and
on to her front yard to get a closer look at me. In Romanian, I explained to her that even
though I was born in Vietnam I was an American citizen and that as an American
citizen we come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Her jaw dropped when I was able to speak
Romanian to her and I was most likely the first Asian person she’d seen in
person.
Not all my experiences with diversity were good in
Romania. A lot of the youth (mainly
young males) would make kung-fu howls at me.
I remember during my Pre Service Training I was walking along a busy street when all of a
sudden a younger man jumped out in front of me in a fighting stance and
sounding like Bruce Lee in fighting mode.
The only time things became a concern for me was dealing with younger
men aged 17-25. Usually when there was a
group of them and one would see me and attempt to look tough in front of the
others by trying to start a fight with me to see if I knew martial arts.
Luckily, the 5 months that I’ve been in Armenia has not had
the same type of experience from Romania.
I still get stared at intensely when I walk into a store, enter public
transportation, or just by walking through my city. They call me “kee-natsy” over here and even
if I respond by saying I’m an American, they still keep asking me where I’m really
from. Most of the time I take it in stride but I do
have days where I just get fed up with getting stared at and the repeated
questions. I understand that most people
get their impressions of America through movies, TV shows, and music videos and
usually expect someone who is blonde with blue eyes to be American.
My only advice with someone dealing with diversity issues is
to remember that you are in a different culture that most likely does not have
the same history of diversity like America.
They don’t have the same benefit of living in a melting pot like we did
so just try to empathize. Talk to other
PCVs who are going through the same circumstances and get it off your
chest. Share the funny stories because
laughing is the only thing you can do.
Living in Romania and Armenia give me a better appreciation for what the
American experience is. As I have done
extensive traveling around the globe I learned not cultures are open and
diverse. Make the most of your
experience here and try to use your diversity to start a conversation about
your background.
Thong Do
Community Youth and Development Sector
Gyumri, Armenia
Peace Corps Volunteer Armenia 2016-present
Peace Corps Volunteer Romania 2002-2005
