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I'm considering applying for the Peace Corps within the next few months (would like to start in fall 2011) and have a few questions. I'm married, but my husband is not a U.S. citizen. I know he couldn't serve with me, but could he at least move to whatever country with me? If not, we've discussed the possibility of being apart for 2 years but the online application says I'll have to supply additional documentation if I'm serving without my spouse. Any idea what this could be? Also, is it possible to apply from outside of the U.S.? For instance, I'm living in England right now and it would be great if I could have all the medical and dental stuff done for free on the NHS as opposed to flying home. Likewise, would they just do a Skype interview in my case? Thanks in advance!
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Jul 5, 2010 10:35
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amethystbliss posted:I'm considering applying for the Peace Corps within the next few months (would like to start in fall 2011) and have a few questions. Yes, you can apply from abroad (I think a poster earlier applied from Japan).
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Jul 5, 2010 21:08
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Grammar Fascist posted:Yes, you can apply from abroad (I think a poster earlier applied from Japan). Yeah, that was me. Everything was 'easy' except for getting my fingerprints. Every police station I went to thought I was a criminal, or died in a car accident, these are the only two reason to finger print in Japan. While I was researching stuff about getting fingerprints taken internationally, I heard they were rather difficult to get done in England, but not impossible. I think you might have to go to Scotland Yard or something. Aside from that (not) little snag, everything is totally doable. The webcam interview will probably break and you will continue the interview by phone.(as it did with me and everyone else I know who interviewed this way), I just called their office using skype. I drank a beer before hand which helped with the nervousness, but I also prepared an answer to all the questions on the peace corps wiki, had them written down next to me. I feel like I sorta cheated, but hey, I will do a good job, so whatever. They send you everything directly. But I think you have to have some address in the states you list as your 'home' or something. They will send you there if you have to leave your post for whatever reason. I am on the medical stuff right now. Speaking of which, has anyone ever gone to a VA hospital and done their exam/tests? I will be home for a few weeks in august and will try to see if I can get an appointment there so i can get it done for free. Will I have to go more than two times to the hospital? Iwate fucked around with this message at 00:58 on Jul 6, 2010 |
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Jul 6, 2010 00:50
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Iwate posted:Speaking of which, has anyone ever gone to a VA hospital and done their exam/tests? Even though we were both healthy (no broken bones, surgeries, illnesses, etc.), it still managed to turn into a huge ordeal.
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Jul 6, 2010 01:51
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What sort of tasks would they assign to someone with an engineering degree (chemical most likely)? Would they tell you to just get some English teaching experience and do that, or do they also do the same with things like chemistry or other sciences? Or is there something else involving the actual skills that I would do? FYI I haven't actually gotten the degree yet, but that's what I'll most likely major in. Also, if you have federal student loans and join the PC right after school, do they give you a break while you're serving or do they still expect you to make payments? Karl Sharks fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Jul 6, 2010 |
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Jul 6, 2010 02:12
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What The Fucktrain posted:Also, if you have federal student loans and join the PC right after school, do they give you a break while you're serving or do they still expect you to make payments? All federal student loans can be deferred for the full two years you are in Peace Corps.
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Jul 6, 2010 05:48
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Grammar Fascist posted:We did all our medical exams/bloodwork at a DOD hospital on a military base... if you want to get your appointments taken care of at a VA hospital, I would start calling now--the three VA hospitals in our state (Missouri) just refused to help us (and Peace Corps won't do anything to force them to help you), and the DOD hospital that was willing to help couldn't see us for over two months. You should be able to do everything in one trip, though it will depend on what the doctor wants to do about waiting for blood tests (our doctor kept our paperwork until the results came back and then mailed the completed forms to us, but he forgot to sign a couple of places and forgot to fill in a couple of results, so we had to mail the packets back and wait for him to get them and send them back to us a second time before we could send them in to Peace Corps). Would ANY military base be able to do this? I.E. There is an airforce base that is located near me. I guess I should just call them, no?
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Jul 6, 2010 08:02
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Ok, I found out that I can volunteer for English teaching in my area, to get my 30 hours, however I can't do it until October (which is a while from now, and will delay me even further) My interviewer suggested I look into getting TESL/TEFL certification instead of volunteering, as she claims it can be done online and probably faster than my current choice. Does anyone know anything about getting TESL/TEFL certification online? I googled it, and I have no idea which is legitimate, what's a scam, or what the best way to even go about this is. Anyone have any suggestions? Update: Yay! I got nominated! To "Teach English" in "Eastern Europe"! Pocket DeSade fucked around with this message at 20:54 on Jul 6, 2010 |
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Jul 6, 2010 15:31
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Grammar Fascist posted:Officially, no, he couldn't live with you--PCVs aren't allowed to live with significant others unless they are married and serving together. I know some volunteers that had their boyfriends stay with them for a few months at a time, or a volunteer that moved in with her HCN boyfriend, but it was all kept secret. The extra paperwork is about largely about how you would cope with being apart. Iwate posted:While I was researching stuff about getting fingerprints taken internationally, I heard they were rather difficult to get done in England, but not impossible. I think you might have to go to Scotland Yard or something. Aside from that (not) little snag, everything is totally doable. Great, thanks for the advice! Do you happen to know if he could live in the same town as me if he can't live in the same house? I read something on the FAQ about how they won't send you anywhere that you have family, though that sounds like a totally different scenario. I emailed my rep to inquire, but thought maybe some of you had first-hand experience.
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Jul 6, 2010 22:15
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amethystbliss posted:Great, thanks for the advice! Do you happen to know if he could live in the same town as me if he can't live in the same house? I read something on the FAQ about how they won't send you anywhere that you have family, though that sounds like a totally different scenario. I emailed my rep to inquire, but thought maybe some of you had first-hand experience.
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Jul 7, 2010 04:46
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Although I've desperately been trying to avoid it, the Peace Corp may be a necessity to jump-start my career at this point. I'm interested in non-profit management coordination and I have degrees in Sustainable Development and Spanish. You might think this would make me a shoo-in for a number of positions, but this is proving not to be the case. In terms of medical, how much of a red flag would it raise that I've broken my hand on three different occasions in fist fights?
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Jul 7, 2010 07:57
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I have no experience as I'm just an applicant, but I would imagine that the fistfights will be the biggest yellow light.
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Jul 7, 2010 19:42
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amethystbliss posted:Great, thanks for the advice! Do you happen to know if he could live in the same town as me if he can't live in the same house? I read something on the FAQ about how they won't send you anywhere that you have family, though that sounds like a totally different scenario. I emailed my rep to inquire, but thought maybe some of you had first-hand experience. When you get a reply please share it! I'm very curious about this too.
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Jul 8, 2010 04:07
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Miss Fats posted:I have no experience as I'm just an applicant, but I would imagine that the fistfights will be the biggest yellow light. Would the cause of my injuries even come up, or could I just say that I fractured my fifth metacarpal 3 times and be down with it.?
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Jul 8, 2010 04:09
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Strunk posted:Would the cause of my injuries even come up, or could I just say that I fractured my fifth metacarpal 3 times and be down with it.? I doubt they'd ask about it so long as your doctor says you're physically able to serve. Even if it did come up, so long as you don't have a rap sheet you can always say it happened while sparring or whatever.
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Jul 8, 2010 05:26
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Strunk posted:Although I've desperately been trying to avoid it, the Peace Corp may be a necessity to jump-start my career at this point. I'm interested in non-profit management coordination and I have degrees in Sustainable Development and Spanish. You might think this would make me a shoo-in for a number of positions, but this is proving not to be the case. You might think about the fact that you described it as "unable to avoid", while others view it as "unable to miss".
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Jul 8, 2010 08:03
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My friend's sort of lady friend is going on a Peace Corps mission soon, and while he isn't too committed to her, he is still jealous. Do Peace Corps people live the usual kinky life of expatriates?
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Jul 8, 2010 09:28
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Unmistakeable Fire posted:My friend's sort of lady friend is going on a Peace Corps mission soon, and while he isn't too committed to her, he is still jealous. Do Peace Corps people live the usual kinky life of expatriates? Im still an applicant so I don't know, but I read a stat somewhere that claims '90%' of people bone whilst serving in the peace corps. Whether that was with other PCV, local natives, goats and/or Mr. Lefty, maybe someone can clarify. But I hope to god there is something...
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Jul 8, 2010 10:45
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Unmistakeable Fire posted:My friend's sort of lady friend is going on a Peace Corps mission soon, and while he isn't too committed to her, he is still jealous. Do Peace Corps people live the usual kinky life of expatriates? In my experience, very few couples made it through the 2 years or even tried. Most went on a sort of break (I don't know if they got back together though). I think I only know one girl who made it all two years and went back and lives with her boyfriend now. As for me, I broke up with my girlfriend at the airport (it was short term anyway and she knew I was leaving soon) and then started dating another volunteer shortly after we arrived. It would've worked out better if she wasn't batshit crazy.
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Jul 8, 2010 13:15
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Evil Adam posted:In my experience, very few couples made it through the 2 years or even tried. Most went on a sort of break (I don't know if they got back together though). I think I only know one girl who made it all two years and went back and lives with her boyfriend now. As for me, I broke up with my girlfriend at the airport (it was short term anyway and she knew I was leaving soon) and then started dating another volunteer shortly after we arrived. It would've worked out better if she wasn't batshit crazy. The volunteer or your original ex?
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Jul 8, 2010 19:21
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How likely am I going to be able to get into this program if I'm deaf? My English is impeccable, my spoken English is another matter though.
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Jul 8, 2010 22:12
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Brannock posted:How likely am I going to be able to get into this program if I'm deaf? My English is impeccable, my spoken English is another matter though. Read the book "The Unheard" it's a book about serving in the Peace Corp while deaf. It's a great book, I actually recommended it to everyone here even if you're not deaf.
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Jul 9, 2010 01:31
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Pocket DeSade posted:Read the book "The Unheard" it's a book about serving in the Peace Corp while deaf. Thanks for the recommendation! I love Peace Corps memoirs. Also, my favorite professor (she was not deaf) taught Moroccan sign language during her Peace Corps service and loved it.
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Jul 9, 2010 01:39
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Strunk posted:Although I've desperately been trying to avoid it, the Peace Corp may be a necessity to jump-start my career at this point. I'm interested in non-profit management coordination and I have degrees in Sustainable Development and Spanish. You might think this would make me a shoo-in for a number of positions, but this is proving not to be the case. Don't apply if this is your attitude. There are people who would give everything to become a PCV, don't take up their slots.
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Jul 9, 2010 02:50
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I think you need to step back and check yourself for a second. You may or may not understand the situation with international non-profit management right now, but it is an awful market for non-governmental development organizations right now. Many of them are going under, and a vast majority are unable to make any new hires, even for the most junior positions. It is drat near impossible to find any paid position with an international NGO right now. That said, I have also already put in a great deal of my time working in unpaid internships domestically and overseas, an experience which I believe to be largely transitive to the Peace Corps experience, in terms of 'paying one's due,' something that is basically a necessity in most international development fields. Obviously, my preference would be to move on to a salaried position, seeing as how international development lies within my general career path, but the situation as it is, the Peace Corps could be a useful stepping stone for me which could open some doors in the future and provide me with more relevant experience. Understand that this is not a two-year diversion for me, and don't tell me that I shouldn't apply because there is someone more enthusiastic about the program than I am. I have my own issues with the Peace Corps based on a few of their policy issues and their particular development model. That doesn't mean I think that it overall a bad institution, because clearly it is not, but I would prefer to spend my time with an organization which is more in line with my personal beliefs. As I understand it, the Peace Corps has a lot of different kinds of value for its various volunteers. Even though the general field is career path for me, I'm not going to pass judgement on someone because they decided to join the Peace Corps, even if they don't plan to continue working international development after the end of their tour. They still derive a lot of value from the experience, so I'm not going to sit back and say that they shouldn't apply so that they don't "take up [my] slot." Bottom line, if I'm qualified for the position and it can help further me as a person (even if through my career), who are you to say that I shouldn't apply based on your narrow-minded interpretation about how I should approach my field?
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Jul 9, 2010 07:02
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Strunk posted:Bottom line, if I'm qualified for the position and it can help further me as a person (even if through my career), who are you to say that I shouldn't apply based on your narrow-minded interpretation about how I should approach my field? There's nothing wrong with joining for these reasons, unless you use those reasons to justify not giving 100% to your in-country job. That makes you kind of a douchebag. Not that I'm saying you will do this: on the contrary you sound like you will know more about what you are doing than 90% of other volunteers. It's just that some will see one as naturally leading to the other. Strunk posted:I have my own issues with the Peace Corps based on a few of their policy issues and their particular development model. That doesn't mean I think that it overall a bad institution, because clearly it is not, but I would prefer to spend my time with an organization which is more in line with my personal beliefs. Out of curiosity, what are your issues? I'm all for having a debate about Peace Corps policy to break up the recruitment questions.
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Jul 9, 2010 14:02
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Well, most of what I'm referring to are macro-level policy issues, not so much day-to-day stuff. As I understand it, the Peace Corps is still pretty deep-seated in the structural adjustment mentality. I understand that the Peace Corps is not directly linked to the IMF or World Bank, but the general trend has been to support these policies through the Peace Corps' actions. I'm not going to rewrite my thesis here, but one example would be the Competitive Enterprise Development Program within the Peace Corp, which basically wants to move rural small-holders to export-based agriculture. The idea behind this is theoretically to help these farmers by encouraging them to focus less on their subsistence growing and more on growing for export, which does hold the possibility of profit. Unfortunately, since these farmers have significantly less capital, this system is incredibly unstable for them, given market fluctuations. A common result is for the bottom to drop out of a specific market for a year or two, and these farmers are put into debt, which is compounded by the reduction of subsistence growing. These policies are the source of a vast majority of all of third world debt. I'm not anti-market by any means, but this is just bad business. It's like putting your life-savings in pets.com, basically. If it doesn't bore the dammit out of everyone, we can go into more detail.
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Jul 9, 2010 17:58
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I'm interested in reading more.Pocket DeSade posted:Read the book "The Unheard" it's a book about serving in the Peace Corp while deaf. Thanks, put it on my reading list.
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Jul 9, 2010 18:32
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Strunk posted:
I'm interested! Please don't misinterpret this as somehow snarky, but: I think a lot of people who are interested in Peace Corps ARE interested in international development. I am leaving for Kazakhstan on August 18 and I am very interested in development economics. I'd love to hear more of your thoughts.
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Jul 9, 2010 22:41
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Strunk posted:Well, most of what I'm referring to are macro-level policy issues, not so much day-to-day stuff. As I understand it, the Peace Corps is still pretty deep-seated in the structural adjustment mentality. I understand that the Peace Corps is not directly linked to the IMF or World Bank, but the general trend has been to support these policies through the Peace Corps' actions. I wasn't a business volunteer, but my impression was that there is a lot more flexibility given to volunteers than is implied in that Reagan-era policy. Here's a article about enterprise development in Africa that I think shows this: http://www.epluribusmedia.org/columns/2007/20070827_parallax.html Also, the second and third goals of Peace Corps (improving cross-cultural understanding) are an important part of service that is hard to quantify, and for that reason is often overlooked in criticism of PC policy - I'm not disagreeing with you regarding your criticism of competitive enterprise development, I'm just saying that what volunteers actually do and are focused on is often different than what it is sometimes portrayed as.
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Jul 10, 2010 05:21
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Rush Limbaugh #1! posted:Also, the second and third goals of Peace Corps (improving cross-cultural understanding) are an important part of service that is hard to quantify, and for that reason is often overlooked in criticism of PC policy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_power This is a big part of what drew me to PC in the first place. I really dig this Nye stuff.
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Jul 10, 2010 21:25
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internetstuff posted:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_power People always give me weird looks when I tell them that the Peace Corps is basically force projection with soft power.
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Jul 10, 2010 21:40
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Pocket DeSade posted:Update: Yay! I got nominated! To "Teach English" in "Eastern Europe"! Looks like we're rivals till this shits over...
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Jul 11, 2010 00:09
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Moon Slayer posted:People always give me weird looks when I tell them that the Peace Corps is basically force projection with soft power. Sometimes I get real poli sci with it and say "Hopefully the more people develop positive, constructive memories from direct contact with Americans, the less they will be prone to buy into terrorist rhetoric" I mean, it's possible, right?
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Jul 11, 2010 06:45
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internetstuff posted:Sometimes I get real poli sci with it and say "Hopefully the more people develop positive, constructive memories from direct contact with Americans, the less they will be prone to buy into terrorist rhetoric" Sure, I know lots of people who have had a large, positive change of perspective on Americans based on their relationship with a PCV. It's hard to measure nuances like that but I think humanizing foreigners is one of the most important things Peace Corps does in places like China.
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Jul 11, 2010 07:08
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Rush Limbaugh #1! posted:Sure, I know lots of people who have had a large, positive change of perspective on Americans based on their relationship with a PCV. It's hard to measure nuances like that but I think humanizing foreigners is one of the most important things Peace Corps does in places like China. It's actually one of their chief goals. Maybe not dissuade terrorism exactly but to extend relationships by showing charitable, down to earth Americans right into their lives.
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Jul 11, 2010 08:33
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NOTAVIRUS.jpg.exe posted:When you get a reply please share it! I'm very curious about this too.
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Jul 11, 2010 10:23
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I need to hear back from my placement officer by the last week in July for an invite... highly stressful wait. The moment of truth, been waiting for over a year now for this countdown D:
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Jul 11, 2010 19:11
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Rumors are that 4 PCVs died in the Kampala bomb attacks. Any word on this? Hopefully it's just paranoia  .
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Jul 12, 2010 01:08
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News sources are only confirming one American casualty as of now, fuuuuuuuck
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Jul 12, 2010 03:15
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