Peace Corps?

01-08-2008, 12:55 PM

Has anyone here ever been in the Peace Corps or know someone who has? I'm seriously considering applying, for when I get out of grad school. I've thought about it before, but always thought I was too fat to attempt it.

BJean · 01-08-2008, 02:26 PM

laurend, I'm back from my little trip and saw your thread. My niece's MIL joined the Peace Corps about 4 years ago. She did her time in Latin America somewhere. It was very primitive - more than she expected. I haven't had the opportunity to talk with her about her experiences, but I think she was very glad she did it. She was in her 50's. So a pretty big adjustment for someone who's been out of school for so long. She taught while she was there.

If you want, I can ask my niece if Diannah would be willing to email you?

01-08-2008, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BJean

laurend, I'm back from my little trip and saw your thread. My niece's MIL joined the Peace Corps about 4 years ago. She did her time in Latin America somewhere. It was very primitive - more than she expected. I haven't had the opportunity to talk with her about her experiences, but I think she was very glad she did it. She was in her 50's. So a pretty big adjustment for someone who's been out of school for so long. She taught while she was there.

If you want, I can ask my niece if Diannah would be willing to email you?

That would be great! I'll PM you with my email address. Ideally, if I do it, I'd like to be in either Africa or the Pacific Islands, doing wildlife stuff, but who knows where they'd put me.

green · 01-09-2008, 02:54 PM

It could be a chance to have a fabulous adventure, to help people, and to learn much about another culture and, by extension, about your own self and your culture. It will end up being one of those seminal experiences, one of those reference points.
It will also often be quite unpleasant. You will be living in a much more primitive environment than you are accustomed to. Your notions of physical privacy and proper sanitation will be continually challenged. Your fellow Americans may turn out to be annoying idiots but you will be stuck with them. (This means that you will be forced to learn how to be more assertive, grrl.) You will see and feel (the bugs will bite) a lot of wildlife. And you will see a lot of medically icky stuff - oozing sores, etc.
I figure that you will be able to handle all of this. You enjoy wildlife and you are accustomed to seeing icky medical stuff; you have been dealing with sick animals and sick humans are no more repellent or frightening, I suspect. You will soon become used to the lack of privacy about personal activities (I certainly did) and you will be smart enough to bring with you a crate-load of meds designed to deal with diarrhea, nausea, sunburn, bug bites, infected cuts, abrasions, etc. (This is the stuff which Green always takes with her whenever she is travelling.)
Your Peace Corps handlers will train you carefully, I am sure, and they will ensure that you have had all the requisite immunization shots before you leave home. In fact they will undoubtedly train you on the local social needs, the local cultural environment, the local fauna and flora, etc. I am certain that they will have all your practical needs covered, including preparing that crate-load of meds which I was talking about.
What I believe that you will find fascinating, and at times exhilerating, at other times disturbing/depressing is the fact that you will find yourself in an alien environment. Everything will be new to you. Nothing will be all that easy at the outset and you will be able to take nothing for granted. You will be an immigrant. This could be one of the most interesting experiences of your life.

01-09-2008, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by green

It could be a chance to have a fabulous adventure, to help people, and to learn much about another culture and, by extension, about your own self and your culture. It will end up being one of those seminal experiences, one of those reference points.
It will also often be quite unpleasant. You will be living in a much more primitive environment than you are accustomed to. Your notions of physical privacy and proper sanitation will be continually challenged. Your fellow Americans may turn out to be annoying idiots but you will be stuck with them. (This means that you will be forced to learn how to be more assertive, grrl.) You will see and feel (the bugs will bite) a lot of wildlife. And you will see a lot of medically icky stuff - oozing sores, etc.
I figure that you will be able to handle all of this. You enjoy wildlife and you are accustomed to seeing icky medical stuff; you have been dealing with sick animals and sick humans are no more repellent or frightening, I suspect. You will soon become used to the lack of privacy about personal activities (I certainly did) and you will be smart enough to bring with you a crate-load of meds designed to deal with diarrhea, nausea, sunburn, bug bites, infected cuts, abrasions, etc. (This is the stuff which Green always takes with her whenever she is travelling.)
Your Peace Corps handlers will train you carefully, I am sure, and they will ensure that you have had all the requisite immunization shots before you leave home. In fact they will undoubtedly train you on the local social needs, the local cultural environment, the local fauna and flora, etc. I am certain that they will have all your practical needs covered, including preparing that crate-load of meds which I was talking about.
What I believe that you will find fascinating, and at times exhilerating, at other times disturbing/depressing is the fact that you will find yourself in an alien environment. Everything will be new to you. Nothing will be all that easy at the outset and you will be able to take nothing for granted. You will be an immigrant. This could be one of the most interesting experiences of your life.

At the moment, that sounds both wonderful and terrifying. I keep getting flashes of, "That would be an amazing experience." Then I get flashes of, "What the HELL am I thinking? I'd be going into what is quite likely a male-dominated culture, with few to no other Americans around, a language that I don't speak, and incredibly primitive surroundings." :phanvan I keep thinking no, yes, no, yes. Sigh. It's a good thing that I have a while to think about it. There'll be an information session held at my university in late February, so I'm probably going to go to that. Hopefully, I can make up my mind by then.

BJean · 01-09-2008, 05:37 PM

From everything I've heard, green is spot on.

I have emailed my niece and she'll contact her MIL for us.

My niece seriously considered the Corps for the year directly after she finished her Master's in Nutrition and became a Registered Dietician. They definitely scared her too much during the intitial orientation meetings because during her "cooling off" (my term) period but before signing on the dotted line, she abandoned the idea. It was something she had planned on, mentally, for years.

green · 01-10-2008, 07:31 PM

Keep us in the loop, will ya. I would be inclined to try this peace corps thing out if I were you. It will be difficult at times but it will also be extraordinarily interesting. You sure will feel very alive, very alert, and very engaged in the here and now. It won't always be easy or fun but it will be interesting.

**Wheetsin** · 01-11-2008, 01:46 PM

I came close to joining the Peace Corps one upon a time. I wanted to teach, and had this imaginary, ideal remote African village in mind. I spoke with them, and completed my app, but never submitted it. I would have, if either of two things hadn't happened:

1) I took a biology class that offered the chance to spend the semester studying rainforest & marine ecology.

2) I spoke with someone who had done Peace Corps service teaching in Africa, and his stories were more than enough to change my mind.

I too, as suual, think Green is spot-on. It could easily be the most amazing, or horrible, thing you'll ever experience. Perhaps it's both. Do try to find someone who has been through it, from whom you can gain mentorship and anecdotal experience.

BJean · 01-11-2008, 02:42 PM

Ok laurend, I sent you Diannah's email address today. Let me know if you don't get it or if it doesn't work.

Texgirly · 01-13-2008, 09:10 PM

I did what is essentially the state side version of the Peace Corps - AmeriCorps. I worked with Habitat for Humanity for 1 year for a living allowance and an education award for completing my service. I loved the Habitat stuff so much I am now on staff as the fund raising manager.

All of that said, AmeriCorps (they serve more than Habitat if that is not your thing - I have friends who worked with the American Red Cross) would be a very gentle way to see if that kind of service life is what you are looking for. I had a blast with my service and I learned a ton. In addition to our work at our assignment, we marched in the San Antonio Martin Luther King, Jr match, and a week long blitz build where 300 AmeriCorps Service members built 10 houses in 7 days. There were also a few state trips for different things.

I wish you luck in your quest. Working a the service side of this world makes every day special. Of course like with all things, there are moments or tasks you won't care for, but there is never a day I don't want to go to work. The families & especially the kids make it worth it.

lindata · 01-19-2008, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by green

It could be a chance to have a fabulous adventure, to help people, and to learn much about another culture and, by extension, about your own self and your culture. It will end up being one of those seminal experiences, one of those reference points.
It will also often be quite unpleasant. You will be living in a much more primitive environment than you are accustomed to. Your notions of physical privacy and proper sanitation will be continually challenged. Your fellow Americans may turn out to be annoying idiots but you will be stuck with them. (This means that you will be forced to learn how to be more assertive, grrl.) You will see and feel (the bugs will bite) a lot of wildlife. And you will see a lot of medically icky stuff - oozing sores, etc.
I figure that you will be able to handle all of this. You enjoy wildlife and you are accustomed to seeing icky medical stuff; you have been dealing with sick animals and sick humans are no more repellent or frightening, I suspect. You will soon become used to the lack of privacy about personal activities (I certainly did) and you will be smart enough to bring with you a crate-load of meds designed to deal with diarrhea, nausea, sunburn, bug bites, infected cuts, abrasions, etc. (This is the stuff which Green always takes with her whenever she is travelling.)
Your Peace Corps handlers will train you carefully, I am sure, and they will ensure that you have had all the requisite immunization shots before you leave home. In fact they will undoubtedly train you on the local social needs, the local cultural environment, the local fauna and flora, etc. I am certain that they will have all your practical needs covered, including preparing that crate-load of meds which I was talking about.
What I believe that you will find fascinating, and at times exhilerating, at other times disturbing/depressing is the fact that you will find yourself in an alien environment. Everything will be new to you. Nothing will be all that easy at the outset and you will be able to take nothing for granted. You will be an immigrant. This could be one of the most interesting experiences of your life.

Ditto this. I went to Africa when I was in university for a 'save the wildlife' kind of a trip. I was there a month (supposed to be 3), but I just could not STAND the people I was with, so cut it short. It would have been the most amazing thing if not for the people. Anyway, we stayed in "tents" made up of two pieces of tarp, our toilet was a hole dug in the earth, our oven was also a hole dug in the earth covered with stones, our utensil drying board someone made up with twigs and tied together with rope, our shower was a bucket of water from the stream, our water was also supplied from the stream with iodine to purify it. Just to give you an idea of what I went through.

I say do it. You're young, get in all the adventures you can, because when you're married with kids there's no way to do something like this and you'll always look back saying "what if." If you actually do it, you can always look back and say, "Look what I did in my life." I have never regretted doing any of my 'wild girl' things, but instead thought wow, I did a lot of cool stuff!
Linda

PennyLane · 04-08-2008, 02:43 PM

Hey, I know I'm a little late joining this thread but I say go for it! I did my junior year of undergrad studying in Botswana and loved every minute of it and in my adult live have had the opportunity to work/volunteer in developing countries. It's great, as long as you're fine with the living conditions but I never personally had any trouble because I adjust quickly and am pretty easygoing.

I DO wonder if you know anything about the medical clearance part of applying to the Peace Corps? I am looking to become employed by USAID or the State Department to work abroad and they have very stringent medical clearance requirements. State in particular has a "worldwide availability" requirement--meaning that you must be medically cleared to serve in ANY US embassy or consulate abroad and some have severely limited access to standard medical services, medicines, and emergency services. Basically, if you have a medical condition that they think needs to have access to an emergency room, or if you need to take certain medications daily, or have medicines that need access to refrigeration then they turn you down. So I guess if they see a slip or erosion as an emergency or something that needs constant medical supervision then I'd get turned down.

I'm just wondering if you know anything about this or if anyone has had any experience with it.

**Kat817** · 04-08-2008, 04:46 PM

I was wondering the same thing. I attended a seminar type of presentation when in college, and one of the things they mentioned were with certain drug allergies you were not considered a candidate. My allergy to pennicillen knocked me out without ever looking any further. The guy I went to it with was allergic to the tetanus vaccine---knocked him out as well.

I think it would be an awesome learning experience, life experience! I know in my heart of hearts now looking back, it would have been hell for me! I am spoiled! And I kinda like it that way!!! LOL

Your band and possible issues with it is something to consider. An unfill wouldn't just be around the corner. Be worse than me living in NM!!!!

Keep us posted Lauren!
Kat