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I was cleared dentally in like 3 days after they received my medical stuff... is that fast?
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Oct 28, 2010 06:56
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Iwate posted:I was cleared dentally in like 3 days after they received my medical stuff... is that fast? Nah, if you don't have any immediate obvious problems on your x-rays I think they just check you off. My dentist even recommended I have my wisdom teeth out before going, but PC never brought it up.
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Oct 28, 2010 07:42
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K4 Kampuchea here. I'm a teacher at a somewhat rural high school (except it's on the national highway). I'm a replacement volunteer so unlike K1's and K2's, a few more people are at least familiar with what I'm doing here. And this is the biggest group that Cambodia has had yet. We've lost maybe 4 in training and 1 after swear-in, but so far so good. The main office is really expanding, and so things were in a little bit of disarray for a bit. I really gotta thank and congratulate k1-3 for putting together some great materials and getting the ball rolling. This is also the first year we have people who are purely Health volunteers. They work purely at the health centers and are mostly in pretty rural communities.
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Oct 28, 2010 11:24
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Grimson posted:K4 Kampuchea here. I'm a teacher at a somewhat rural high school (except it's on the national highway). I'm a replacement volunteer so unlike K1's and K2's, a few more people are at least familiar with what I'm doing here. And this is the biggest group that Cambodia has had yet. We've lost maybe 4 in training and 1 after swear-in, but so far so good. The main office is really expanding, and so things were in a little bit of disarray for a bit. I really gotta thank and congratulate k1-3 for putting together some great materials and getting the ball rolling. Chum reap sua! Samnang laaw! The office is expanding? To where? I thought the Ambassador's residence took up the whole area behind the building. Which province are you in?
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Oct 28, 2010 11:39
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Any PCVs in Bulgaria going to the Halloween party? They invited all of us Fulbrighters, so I'll be there.
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Oct 28, 2010 16:23
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CronoGamer posted:Chum reap sua! Samnang laaw! Susidai bong! I'm in Pursat, the South Dakota of Cambodia (as in, people wave out the bus window as they make their way on to other places, hehe), but I feel like I got a pretty good site generally speaking. Eating lots of bai saich j'rook and cafe tuk te goa tuk geurk. My site has decent electricity so I got a fan at least (which after training was basically the only thing I demanded for permanent). By expanding I just mean they're building more office space in the same building and getting more staff to accommodate the increased number of volunteers. Rumor has it there's gonna be 60+ coming in next year. I'm pretty sure it's the same building they've been using for the last three years at least.
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Oct 28, 2010 18:17
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Seeing how other people write Khmer phonetically is hilarious and illustrates how much people hear languages differently. And Pursat always looked like it would be a neat province to be in because it seems like it would be pretty easy to scoot down to Battambang or up to Siem Riep when you want to go someplace that has stuff. Something to look forward to after you get out of lockdown!
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Oct 28, 2010 21:36
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I haven't heard back since I got a few more tests that they wanted after turrning in my medical forms months ago; my medical status is still pending. The application status site says they might not get to me any time soon since they're currently just reviewing people leaving within 4 months, and my date would be in May. Does this match other peoples' experiences?
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Oct 29, 2010 08:06
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Fuschia tude posted:I haven't heard back since I got a few more tests that they wanted after turrning in my medical forms months ago; my medical status is still pending. The application status site says they might not get to me any time soon since they're currently just reviewing people leaving within 4 months, and my date would be in May. Does this match other peoples' experiences? I had to wait 3-4 months to have the PC Med unit accept and clear a form saying that I didn't have asthma from my family practitioner who I had been a patient with for 20+ years. It turns out that having a university clinic doctor prescribing you everything imaginable for a sinus infection = asthmatic in PC's eyes. Just hang in there and keep filling out stuff, that experience only continues throughout your stay in country.
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Oct 29, 2010 12:11
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Rush Limbaugh #1! posted:Nah, if you don't have any immediate obvious problems on your x-rays I think they just check you off. My dentist even recommended I have my wisdom teeth out before going, but PC never brought it up. Son of a bitch seriously? I had A cavity so minor the dentist said don't worry about it and Peace Corps still made me have it filled. The dentist filed off barely anything. He was done in probably 10 minutes. What a waste. Fuschia tude posted:I haven't heard back since I got a few more tests that they wanted after turrning in my medical forms months ago; my medical status is still pending. The application status site says they might not get to me any time soon since they're currently just reviewing people leaving within 4 months, and my date would be in May. Does this match other peoples' experiences? They told me that but got to it pretty quickly. It's probably just the worst estimate so you don't get paranoid if theyre not replying in a week. They'll keep moving forward regardless of your situation so dont worry.
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Oct 29, 2010 15:58
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I plan on applying to the peace corps after I graduate, but I just realized that most deaf education placements (I'm deaf so that's the only assignment that I can do I think) are in countries with malaria risk and I'm allergic to doxycycline and the only anti-malarial I can take is Malarone and maybe chloroquine unless there's another medicine that I can take long-term that I don't know about. I also have an allergy to another relatively common drug (but alternatives are common too), both allergies aren't life threatening and I didn't see anything about medical allergies on the wiki, just life-threatening ones. Would this affect my chances of getting accepted? 
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Oct 31, 2010 17:22
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Tomato Soup posted:Would this affect my chances of getting accepted? You should send an e-mail to a recruiter. They would have the most accurate answer. But, I would guess, so long as you are a qualified applicant, they will accommodated to your medical necessities. I don't think they consider medical stuff in the application process (except for finding you a proper placement), unless it is in that long list of stuff they outright say 'no' to. Here is a pdf with that very list: http://multimedia.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/library/peacecorpsmedinfo.pdf
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Nov 1, 2010 01:01
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Tomato Soup posted:most deaf education placements that I can do I think) are in countries with malaria risk Is this really true?
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Nov 2, 2010 08:11
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Thanks! I'll contact someone when I'm back home  Currently backpacking around South America now which is how I found out about my doxycycline allergy  Pocket DeSade posted:Is this really true? Most people I knew went to Kenya (I go to Gallaudet, a university for the deaf and all of graduates who joined Peace Corps that I know of went to Kenya), but after some googling I found deaf education placements in other countries but I barely can find anybody who went to the other countries for deaf education. According to the wiki, Kenya has the only program that specifically focuses on the deaf so that would make sense on why most people doing deaf education go there. And I only can communicate via sign language so it's unlikely that I'll get a different assignment. But if a deaf person has good oral skills and can hear with hearing aids, they could get a different assignment like Josh Swiller did in The Unheard (great book about his service in Zambia).
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Nov 2, 2010 15:29
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Tomato Soup posted:I plan on applying to the peace corps after I graduate, but I just realized that most deaf education placements (I'm deaf so that's the only assignment that I can do I think) are in countries with malaria risk and I'm allergic to doxycycline and the only anti-malarial I can take is Malarone and maybe chloroquine unless there's another medicine that I can take long-term that I don't know about. I don't want to sound pessimistic, but this will almost certainly be an issue. When I was nominated for Central/South America, I was told I'll be leaving in August of 2009. My medical came back and said I have a slight G6PD deficiency. My doctor said I could manage myself in malaria risk countries if I was careful, but Peace Corps just said they can't place me anywhere with a risk. Eight months later they called and said Jamaica wasn't a malaria risk, and that basically it is the only country I could do engineering work in, so I took it. Good luck. Talk to your recruiter and be honest about the medical, and they might be able to work with you. Maybe they're developing deaf education assignments in Eastern Europe, or they might be willing to work with you on the malaria medication if they know far enough in advance.
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Nov 2, 2010 16:29
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Hey Grimson, ask some of the K3's if they remember when I taught them how to use the squat toilet in their PST. Also, where did you guys do your PST?
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Nov 3, 2010 03:48
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Moon Slayer posted:Hey Grimson, ask some of the K3's if they remember when I taught them how to use the squat toilet in their PST. Kampong Cham. I liked it a lot, it had a good mix of some luxuries but was quiet enough to not be hectic. Btw, are you mitchel by any chance? Grimson fucked around with this message at 07:41 on Nov 3, 2010 |
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Nov 3, 2010 07:30
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Grimson posted:Btw, are you mitchel by any chance? Yep, which just goes to show: you will always remember the person who taught you how to poop in a squat toilet.
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Nov 3, 2010 15:14
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So I had my interview today, Apparently I qualify for community development, is that like the "you dont fit into anything else, here do this" field? Also I think I messed up a part when she asked what major issues I would have being away from home for 27 months and I responded with "as long as I have phone or email contact" every few months, I dont see any problems. She seemed rather surprised and said it would raise flags if she forwarded my application. Other then that, whats my chances of getting selected? 26 with a BS degree, speak two languages, been overseas, etc.
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Nov 3, 2010 22:42
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Saint Celestine posted:So I had my interview today, Apparently I qualify for community development, is that like the "you dont fit into anything else, here do this" field? You didn't mess up man, i'm in one of the most remote countries on earth and peace corps gave us cell phones and it's free to call other volunteers on the "team talk" network. We also get decent coverage. I'm living on a remote side of an island named Malekula, it's a two and a half hour ride on a rugged road through the jungle in the back of a pick up truck to get there from the airport. Yet I can still get on my email from time to time when I either fly into the Capitol city or say in the provincial center, this usually happens every 2-3 months. I'm 23 with a BS degree, speak only English (well now a little pidgin), and had never left North America before I came here and I was good enough ... I think you're golden.
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Nov 4, 2010 00:05
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Moon Slayer posted:Yep, which just goes to show: you will always remember the person who taught you how to poop in a squat toilet. well to be honest, your name came up for reasons entirely separate from that, but I probably shouldn't discuss them here.
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Nov 4, 2010 00:14
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Saint Celestine posted:So I had my interview today, Apparently I qualify for community development, is that like the "you dont fit into anything else, here do this" field? That's usually english teaching surprisingly.
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Nov 4, 2010 02:35
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Well that was fast, my recruiter called the next day and said she was moving my application forward. Looks like ill be doing youth development somewhere in Asia and asked if I could start getting relevant skills. What exactly is that? just volunteering at youth centers or some poo poo?
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Nov 4, 2010 23:49
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Saint Celestine posted:Well that was fast, my recruiter called the next day and said she was moving my application forward. Looks like ill be doing youth development somewhere in Asia and asked if I could start getting relevant skills. Pretty much, just ask around and see even if they can't really help you out, ask if you can at least observe for a little bit so you can get familiar with what youth development does. also wouldn't hurt to try to get some tutor or esl experience or even health experience since many programs do double duty with both health and education. There are currently 6 countries in the Asia region which Peace Corps operates in, so it would be good to familiarize yourself with what programs are focused on there. But as always, don't be too surprised if your assignment gets changed during your nomination period. Good luck!
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Nov 5, 2010 00:53
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Grimson posted:Pretty much, just ask around and see even if they can't really help you out, ask if you can at least observe for a little bit so you can get familiar with what youth development does. also wouldn't hurt to try to get some tutor or esl experience or even health experience since many programs do double duty with both health and education. Will peace corps post you to a country where you have family? I made a note of that on my application process.
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Nov 5, 2010 02:26
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Saint Celestine posted:Will peace corps post you to a country where you have family? I made a note of that on my application process. My guess is they probably would not.
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Nov 5, 2010 02:54
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I'm confirming, they will not - I asked, I have family in Indonesia.
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Nov 5, 2010 02:56
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Saint Celestine posted:Well that was fast, my recruiter called the next day and said she was moving my application forward. Looks like ill be doing youth development somewhere in Asia and asked if I could start getting relevant skills. In college I tutored math at a community center, and they seemed to love this. In practical terms just directing youths of different ages really helped me build confidence so I was less nervous when I got to my site. Just ask around for volunteer opportunities, http://www.serve.gov may be a good option but I haven't had that much time to play around with it yet.
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Nov 5, 2010 04:54
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Well, finally got a nomination. My wife and I are nominated for Asia in August. Her for primary teacher training, and me for secondary school english teaching. That's the only part I'm disappointed about. I have a Master's in Special Education, all my experience is at the primary and middle grades level, and in middle school I specialize in math. If I had to pick an area of education I feel not qualified for or interested in, it's high school English. I may even have to get 30 hours of volunteer experience at this level just to qualify, which is just frustrating applying with a nM.Ed. But, it's literally the only placement they could find for us in 2011. So for those of you curious about the couples application process, that's one drawback. Placement is apparently much more difficult thanIi even thought it would be. We got nominated outside of our preferred geographic areas, and one of us in a field only somewhat related to our areas of specialization, even with us both having advanced degrees in those areas. Anyways, I'd rather go and teach high school English than not go, and I'll just have to create my own opportunities to do stuff I really enjoy. Any advice for me at this stage of the process?
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Nov 9, 2010 01:21
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Riven posted:Well, finally got a nomination. My wife and I are nominated for Asia in August. Her for primary teacher training, and me for secondary school english teaching. Don't give up hope, countries that only do English education still sometimes work with schools that have other needs. I knew a guy in Bulgaria whose degree was in Special Education and worked at a school for the disabled, but he fell under the administrative umbrella of primary English education. I think once you know your country and can talk to the program managers you might have a clearer idea of what you could wind up doing.
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Nov 9, 2010 04:57
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Rush Limbaugh #1! posted:Don't give up hope, countries that only do English education still sometimes work with schools that have other needs. I knew a guy in Bulgaria whose degree was in Special Education and worked at a school for the disabled, but he fell under the administrative umbrella of primary English education. I think once you know your country and can talk to the program managers you might have a clearer idea of what you could wind up doing. Just want to echo this; I was placed under "Water and sanitation", and the program said I would be mainly doing things like teaching hand washing and safe drinking habits, but after talking with my APCD before I left she worked out something for me more engineering related.
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Nov 10, 2010 02:16
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Health RPCV from Burkina Faso checking in here. I've been back for a year now, and I've found that if there's one thing that can makes you miss West Africa, it's the craziness of grad school. Oh yeah, and the highlight of the medical process for me was learning that I have a very minor genetic disorder. Thanks Peace Corps!
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Nov 10, 2010 21:36
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KillingPablo posted:Health RPCV from Burkina Faso checking in here. I've been back for a year now, and I've found that if there's one thing that can makes you miss West Africa, it's the craziness of grad school. I found out I have a heart defect when I went through the process. I'll need heart surgery in 15-20 years or so. Thumbs up.
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Nov 11, 2010 05:06
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Evil Adam posted:I found out I have a heart defect when I went through the process. I'll need heart surgery in 15-20 years or so. Thumbs up. This is making me think my paperwork will be sent back to me, when mine is finally looked at. I don't remember getting anything this through, just a minor physical, and my doctor asking me if he wanted me to lie about anything. lol
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Nov 11, 2010 22:15
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It probably will. Don't worry about it, I got it fixed up in like 2 weeks.
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Nov 11, 2010 22:50
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RagnarokAngel posted:They told me that but got to it pretty quickly. It's probably just the worst estimate so you don't get paranoid if theyre not replying in a week. Yeah, no, that was 4 months ago. 4 months before I would leave isn't until January, so they seem to be doing exactly what they said. RagnarokAngel posted:It probably will. Don't worry about it, I got it fixed up in like 2 weeks. Me too. It's just precisely this followup information I sent in that I never heard back about, and my medical status is still unresolved.
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Nov 11, 2010 23:00
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The Peace Core offers a master program for International Relations; if I got my BA in it, would I use that during my time in it or would I just be teaching english?
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Nov 11, 2010 23:52
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Fuschia tude posted:Yeah, no, that was 4 months ago. 4 months before I would leave isn't until January, so they seem to be doing exactly what they said. So did you call your recruiter? My followup info took a bit but I got it done.
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Nov 12, 2010 09:15
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Pocket DeSade posted:This is making me think my paperwork will be sent back to me, when mine is finally looked at. I don't remember getting anything this through, just a minor physical, and my doctor asking me if he wanted me to lie about anything. lol In my case they saw something odd with the blood work I gave them, which resulted in them asking that I go back to the doctor to get a few more tests done. I don't recall anyone else in my stage having a similar issue; my application was put on hold for a few months because of that, while others began the application process and were assigned to a country in half the time. It was just a case of real bad luck on my part, although nothing as serious as Evil Adam's, thank God (sorry about that man). Oh, and one more joy to the application process I just remembered. I was driving to Nebraska for my cousin's wedding and got a call from the PC en route. I had been on the teaching track at the time, but they decided I didn't have enough ESL experience, so they told me that my application was to be put on hold indefinetly until I either got more experience or they found somewhere else to send me. Of course by this point I had been in the application process for close to a year, so that was basically the straw that broke the camel's back: as soon as I got home I knew I was going to start looking at grad schools or finding a job. Well, I returned home to Colorado three days later, and in the mail was a letter proudly announcing that I had been placed and my country packet would be arriving in a week. Of course I was in the health track, obstiently because of my background as an EMT, but mainly because all you need to know in the health track is how to teach from the many books the PC gives you. And thats how I learned to love PC bureacracy.
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Nov 12, 2010 20:55
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So this is probably unlikely given this thread is already pretty small but guess I'll give it a shot. Any Boston nominees/invitees/returning volunteers coming the information meeting in Cambridge Dec 3rd?
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Nov 16, 2010 04:51
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