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CronoGamer posted:With about one week left in our PST, right before swearing-in, one of the members of my training group packed up and left overnight in a huge flurry of tears and goodbyes and a choked out explanation that his sister had been hit by a car and he needed to go home to be with his family and help her recover. Those of us who lived nearby him were able to say goodbye but most of us didn't even get to see him, he was hurried away overnight. We didn't really think much of it until halfway through service, one of my friends was back home for a visit and went to a Khmer holiday celebration of some kind. Talking to other partygoers, one of them women there found out he was in the Peace Corps and happily declared that her nephew had been there, too, until he left because it was too dangerous and he said someone had mugged him and someone else had pointed a gun at him. Both of those were stories that had happened to volunteers, but they were two different people, and were still volunteers... eventually it all came out that this guy who left during training had lied to both his PC friends and to most of his family, and had been kicked out because Peace Corps continued to run background checks on everyone up until swearing-in, and they discovered that maybe two weeks before shipping out to Cambodia, he had been arrested at a house party where some guys were dealing. He ended up not getting in trouble for it, as I understand it (which could be mistaken), but because he didn't report the incident to Peace Corps and kept it hidden, they caught him and sent him home over it. Seems weird that they would go to all the trouble and money of sending someone overseas and training them just to give them the boot right before swearing-in. And it turns out I might have done something wrong, because I had applied for a job in an intelligence field about two months before my invitation! In summary, gently caress my life, here's to hoping for the best.
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Feb 20, 2013 04:45
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Monkey Fury posted:Seems weird that they would go to all the trouble and money of sending someone overseas and training them just to give them the boot right before swearing-in. And it turns out I might have done something wrong, because I had applied for a job in an intelligence field about two months before my invitation! In summary, gently caress my life, here's to hoping for the best. Our program manager told me during service that it was seen as very important to get those cases out of the way before swearing-in because until they swear-in, they're not an actual volunteer, and thus won't count for the country program's overall attrition rates. I imagine they factor in a good number of flakes and freakouts in the first 6 weeks so it's not as big a deal. As far as why they let the guy go out there in the first place-- I imagine it's a matter of not having time to complete thorough background checks on every volunteer before service? I'm not sure. We were the very first group that PC Cambodia had though, so I imagine some of it might have been a matter of ironing out the kinks and getting things in working order. And as for your intelligence field thing... what does it matter? You didn't work for that field, did you? You just applied, but didn't have the job, right?
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Feb 20, 2013 06:52
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CronoGamer posted:Our program manager told me during service that it was seen as very important to get those cases out of the way before swearing-in because until they swear-in, they're not an actual volunteer, and thus won't count for the country program's overall attrition rates. I imagine they factor in a good number of flakes and freakouts in the first 6 weeks so it's not as big a deal. As far as why they let the guy go out there in the first place-- I imagine it's a matter of not having time to complete thorough background checks on every volunteer before service? I'm not sure. We were the very first group that PC Cambodia had though, so I imagine some of it might have been a matter of ironing out the kinks and getting things in working order. Yeah, just applied and never heard back, but for some reason it comes up as a thing I have to go over with legal according to the eligibility verification form. I'm guessing it's just a thing to make sure you don't have an active application open while you're in PST or whatever. My placement person is looking into it. And I should have worded the other thing better -- I understand why they'd do it before swearing-in, but I'd think they'd wash someone for legal reasons like that before flying them out... I'm guessing budget/time/whatever issues like you said make it difficult to run final checks on everyone before PST begins.
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Feb 21, 2013 04:49
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I'm a little confused about applying for a passport. In the welcome packet I got, there is a little blurb that says "Because your personal passport may not be used for official government travel you must obtain a "no fee" passport for Peace Corps service." Every other instruction on the page sees to be about getting a new passport or renewing your old one but my passport is fine until 2017. Can someone please clear this confusion up for me?
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Feb 21, 2013 18:08
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Yeah, it is a bit confusing. You apply for a new passport- everybody does. You keep your old passport but Peace Corps in your nation is sent a new passport with a nifty little sticker that says you are are with the USG and its special. Thats the passport with your visa in it. When you arrive at your pre-flight training they give you the new Passport which you use to enter your country, and then they take it away again.  tl;dr Apply for it. Keep your old. Peace Corps keep a special Peace Corps one.
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Feb 21, 2013 18:47
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And after service you get to keep it as a souvenir! 
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Feb 21, 2013 18:52
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Slaan posted:
I had to mail my personal passport to DC with my Visa application stuff. I guess that during staging (in a week!!!) we receive BOTH passports back?
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Feb 21, 2013 21:42
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We get to keep it? Oh goody! I like my cute little "this passport is EXTRA-special" sticker.  Yeah, they should give it to you again IIRC.
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Feb 21, 2013 21:44
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I like the little thing in the back which is all 'THE HOLDER IS A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER' printed in. :3 BUT YES. These are the things you learn being on the COS committee. Also, you get to make sure your conference is at the Courtyard Marriott. BOOM.
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Feb 22, 2013 08:11
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You have a Marriot in your country? Posh Corps! The group above me is doing theirs in the local resort town. In a hotel owned by a bunch of Haitian Rastas. 
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Feb 22, 2013 09:50
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I really am in Posh Corps. I am unashamed. We have a different set of hardships! Omg, I have 4 months left. THEN HOME. And grad school!
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Feb 22, 2013 11:04
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Stuntcat posted:I really am in Posh Corps. I am unashamed. We have a different set of hardships! I shouldn't speak before I'm in country, but I just learned that there is an Ikea in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. That kind of puts things in perspective. I'm guessing that PC would probably frown on my decking out my shack with efficient Swedish furniture. The number of friends/family who were iffy about visiting me in the PC suddenly transformed into a tidal wave of interest and enthusiasm when they learned I was going to be in a country with plenty of cheap resorts.
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Feb 22, 2013 19:25
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 New PC Volunteer Portal opens next week. Good thing I got my blue packet last week and the email I just got says "If you have already received your pre-departure materials by mail, please disregard all but the following documents:..."  On the bright side, I get more time to write my essay.
huhu fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Feb 26, 2013 |
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Feb 26, 2013 21:55
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I sent in my application and I just got an email basically saying I'm pretty under qualified but I might be okay for the Business Development Program. They do recommend I bone up on everything though. Does anyone have any idea on what kind of volunteer work would be useful for that? Also they recommend I become proficient at another language, does anyone have a favorite learning program? I've heard Fluenz is pretty useful and the Rosetta Stone stuff is readily available at my library. I am now nervous because the whole thing seems suddenly more like it will actually happen.
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Mar 1, 2013 03:56
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Mollymauk posted:I sent in my application and I just got an email basically saying I'm pretty under qualified but I might be okay for the Business Development Program. They do recommend I bone up on everything though. Does anyone have any idea on what kind of volunteer work would be useful for that? Also they recommend I become proficient at another language, does anyone have a favorite learning program? I've heard Fluenz is pretty useful and the Rosetta Stone stuff is readily available at my library. I am now nervous because the whole thing seems suddenly more like it will actually happen. What experience do you have now? I started looking at videos of living conditions in Panama and three two videos i watched the guys talked about building things. Also, do a lot of people build stuff onto their homes? I've built stuff in the US and they've been pretty expensive. Is the process of say building a deck or a better bed cheap? For reference http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfnqwgcEpp4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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Mar 1, 2013 05:47
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Mollymauk posted:I sent in my application and I just got an email basically saying I'm pretty under qualified but I might be okay for the Business Development Program. They do recommend I bone up on everything though. Does anyone have any idea on what kind of volunteer work would be useful for that? Also they recommend I become proficient at another language, does anyone have a favorite learning program? I've heard Fluenz is pretty useful and the Rosetta Stone stuff is readily available at my library. I am now nervous because the whole thing seems suddenly more like it will actually happen. For Business Development I would try and tutor high school age kids on entrepreneurship or leadership or something through your local YMCA/youth center. Or just tutoring in general, especially if you have a refugee center or large immigrant population nearby. If you do Rosetta Stone remember you need to put in like an hour a day for many months. One of the guys in my cohort came in nearly fluent in French, but he did 3 hours a day for 5 months. I would try to look up what countries have Bus. Dev. programs and pick your preferred language from there. But you really can't go wrong with Spanish, French or Arabic.
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Mar 1, 2013 07:54
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Whoa, PC does business development? I'm going to have to ask our country director for more about that. As an embassy economic officer, one thing that I would absolutely love would be to get support from PCVs with building entrepreneurship programs for at-risk populations (women, youth, etc.) as well as supporting our own business development efforts. I don't have a clue about how PC does business development and such, but we're so heavily understaffed that literally any support we could get would be welcomed.
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Mar 1, 2013 12:05
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Well, yes and no, and it depends on the country. So here in Benin we have a Business Development program (CED- Community Economic Development). About half of it is teaching high schoolers basic entrepreneurship, accounting, etc. The other half is teaching business owners, especially illiterate ones, new skills like accounting, product diversification, etc. Its mostly aimed at smaller vendors and businesses, but we have some volunteers that train NGOs in the same skills, information tech (big cities), etc. One volunteer is basically revamping the entire restaurant infrastructure near the big Safari park- but she is a 60+ year old former CEO that has started like 10 businesses in the past. But I'm sure Peace Corps might able to help you out. Most likely you could help identify host organizations and regions which PC would then send a volunteer to. And if you are doing any trainings, conferences, etc., the volunteers nearby would probably come help too if you asked.
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Mar 1, 2013 19:22
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Got CoS training on Tuesday here in Indonesia. It's kinda wild and I'm still trying to piece it together, it's amazing how fast 2 years can go.
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Mar 3, 2013 08:27
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Heliotroph if you should happen to view this thread please contact me at driven2rhythm at gmail I'd like to talk to you about Panama.
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Mar 3, 2013 19:00
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huhu posted:What experience do you have now? I'm the assistant manager of a wine/liquor store, so I guess that's what they are going off of. It's been more of me just taking on more responsibilities as time went on rather than getting hired to do it, so I feel that the skill set acquired isn't super useful outside my situation. Slaan posted:For Business Development I would try and tutor high school age kids on entrepreneurship or leadership or something through your local YMCA/youth center. Or just tutoring in general, especially if you have a refugee center or large immigrant population nearby. I'll probably start a Spanish regime even if I'm not selected it will be a good skill to have. Thank you for the advice for the volunteering stuff, I live in Queens so finding a place like that in NYC shouldn't be hard.
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Mar 4, 2013 22:32
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Anyone do the hometown news release or World Wise Schools? What are your thoughts on them?
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Mar 6, 2013 23:49
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Blugh, 8 hour trip turns into 20 hour nightmare. Sometimes, you just got to laugh at your situations as a Shakespearean tragedy turns into a comedy before your eyes...
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Mar 11, 2013 18:29
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For people who are getting ready to head home, keep in mind that reverse culture shock is a very real thing that you will experience to some extent. Not only from your host country's culture, but also from Peace Corps culture. For example, did you know that back home it is actually NOT acceptable to play "who's had the worst diarrhea" over a meal?
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Mar 12, 2013 14:28
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pfffft, says YOU You'll always be able to talk to other RPCVs that you meet about your poop though, regardless of the country where they served. Gastro-intestinal woes may be the single most unifying bond across all of PCVdom.
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Mar 12, 2013 14:58
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Hahaha. From reading the State Department thread, apparently its the same in diplomatic culture.
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Mar 12, 2013 18:12
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So currently I am twenty years old and a sophomore in college, with three years of schooling left (I go to a five year university). It has been my dream since I was a kid to go into the Peace Corps, and I wanted to get a start on it as early as possible, so I met with a recruiter who came to my campus. I am hoping to teach English, and I don't really care at what level. She said I was kind of the perfect candidate: I am an English major, with a double minor in Linguistics and Legal Studies. I have spent six months working at an inner city school in Boston, tutoring and TAing, with multiple opportunities to continue my work through the next years of my schooling (my school has a heavy focus on co-oping, so currently I'm; working as a paralegal, but I hope to take my next co-op teaching again). I have zero chronic health issues and I rarely get sick. I have also spent two years living in Vietnam and Cambodia in my teens. So basically my question is: is there any hidden poo poo that I need to watch out for? Something that will disqualify me or make me less desirable that I didn't consider? I would really like to cover all my bases before I begin the process. Also, since I have time, is there anything else I should do to strengthen my application? Thanks for your input, Peace Goons!
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Mar 12, 2013 18:27
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hate pants posted:So currently I am twenty years old and a sophomore in college, with three years of schooling left (I go to a five year university). It has been my dream since I was a kid to go into the Peace Corps, and I wanted to get a start on it as early as possible, so I met with a recruiter who came to my campus. I am hoping to teach English, and I don't really care at what level. Don't murder anyone or get arrested for selling drugs, I guess? You sound like the perfect candidate.
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Mar 13, 2013 03:00
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Moon Slayer posted:Don't murder anyone or get arrested for selling drugs, I guess? You sound like the perfect candidate. Hah. This is pretty much spot on.
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Mar 13, 2013 04:30
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Well, I guess you could murder someone just before you leave, not to mention spend a month before leaving on buying nothing but hookers and blow. And use the PC to hide out in the third world. But I don't recommend it.
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Mar 13, 2013 13:00
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Moon Slayer posted:Don't murder anyone or get arrested for selling drugs, I guess? You sound like the perfect candidate. Yeah, this. Graduate with decent grades, keep doing what you're doing, and on the application just write some bullshit about how adaptable and flexible you are and they'll snatch you right up.
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Mar 13, 2013 14:29
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Slaan posted:Blugh, 8 hour trip turns into 20 hour nightmare. Sometimes, you just got to laugh at your situations as a Shakespearean tragedy turns into a comedy before your eyes... I took a three day trip to go across the country which included a 5 hour bus ride the first day, a 16 hour bus ride the second day and then a 12 hour car ride the third day. The 16 hour bus trip I did was actually pretty terrifying but that was considered "good time." A volunteer I ran into going the opposite way the day after me took 23 hours and they got in around midnight. The best part was going over flimsy looking wooden bridges with no guard rails and looking down into the riverbed to see a smashed semi truck at the bottom. During the rainy season there were a couple sections on my main road that were graveyards for semis. Oh Africa. 
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Mar 13, 2013 16:34
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My wife and I just got our invitation to serve. Hooray!
El Mero Mero fucked around with this message at 17:25 on Sep 3, 2017 |
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Mar 25, 2013 20:59
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Congratulations! What field will you be working in? Hug your 
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Mar 25, 2013 21:34
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Slaan posted:Congratulations! What field will you be working in? We're both going in as Master's International candidates and we'll be working in the Community Economic Development sector. Also, yeah. Just the thought of that makes me appreciate my poops here a little more.
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Mar 28, 2013 04:17
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I'm from the Foreign Service megathread getting processed to start soon. Do PCV ever mingle with or hang out with US Embassy/Consulate staff besides the initial swearing-in and the 'let's evacuate this joint' type affairs? Officially, are there cooperative aid or development type project/iniatives - any interaction really? I'm also a younger single guy, seems like PCV would be a good source of expats to hang out and commiserate with in-country on unofficial 'lets hang out and drink a case(s) of beer' type events.
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Mar 28, 2013 05:30
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problematique posted:I'm from the Foreign Service megathread getting processed to start soon. Do PCV ever mingle with or hang out with US Embassy/Consulate staff besides the initial swearing-in and the 'let's evacuate this joint' type affairs? Officially, are there cooperative aid or development type project/iniatives - any interaction really? I'm also a younger single guy, seems like PCV would be a good source of expats to hang out and commiserate with in-country on unofficial 'lets hang out and drink a case(s) of beer' type events. I think it depends on the country... PCV in China here. Our director deliberately barred us from getting contact info with any of the FS staff. If we were to set up any project with the US government, it would be through RELO professionals, and they are not part of the Foreign Service.
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Mar 28, 2013 12:12
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I have my first interview coming up next Wednesday. Does anyone have advice for it? I assume it's just the standard eye contact, smile, don't dress like or have a neck beard type of strategies?
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Mar 28, 2013 23:23
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There's a list of the questions they will probably ask. Study those and be cool bro. [url]http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:WXqoA7lAgo8J:https://www.peacecorpswiki.org/Interview_Questions%3Ftitle%3DInterview_Questions%26oldid%3D27284+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us[/url]
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Mar 29, 2013 04:07
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problematique posted:I'm from the Foreign Service megathread getting processed to start soon. Do PCV ever mingle with or hang out with US Embassy/Consulate staff besides the initial swearing-in and the 'let's evacuate this joint' type affairs? Officially, are there cooperative aid or development type project/iniatives - any interaction really? I'm also a younger single guy, seems like PCV would be a good source of expats to hang out and commiserate with in-country on unofficial 'lets hang out and drink a case(s) of beer' type events. In Cambodia we did a few things with the Embassy - a meet n' greet during a training thing and we were all invited to the Ambassador's house during pre-service training for a dinner (and a swim in the pool, despite whatever unspeakable thing K1 had done the previous year). But like someone said, it varies from country to country. Keep in mind that the majority of volunteers are going to be out in the countryside, not in the capital. Also, the Embassy 4th of July party gave me my favorite overheard quote from my time in Peace Corps: "Better get a piece of that cake before the Peace Corps people see it." -US Embassy staffer, unwittingly alerting several half-starved Volunteers fresh in from the provinces to the existence of cake.
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Mar 29, 2013 04:26
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