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laxbro posted:...and E. Europe but probably only in the big cities.... I don't know about that, sad as it is: Georgia, less than a week ago. And a lot of the more developed EE countries are being shut down. I agree with maybe some of the Asian countries, but I can see a lot of countries being upset. Good for the PC for making this decision though, even if they can only manage it in a few countries.
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May 22, 2013 08:14
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Thanks everyone for the help thus far. Just had a long chat with a RPCV the other day and all of my worries are pretty much non existent at this point... except for a few more questions about my packing list. I'm in need of some business casual pants I've been looking around but am generally not sure what to get. Any suggestions for hot weather pants that worked out for guys?
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May 26, 2013 21:05
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I grabbed some khaki-colored hiking pants from REI before I left, and they work decently well. Though I also brought a pair of light khakis to staging which I haven't worn since. If you are going to wear them decently often (TEFL/IMS) spring for the khakis- you can probably change at your school or business. If not, 'nice' outdoor clothes probably work fine; and if not, just have some local dress clothes made at post; second goal!
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May 27, 2013 18:19
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Any other Micronesia M79 goons around here? Staging is next week and I'm pretty excited. Terrified I'll forget to bring some important form or something, though.
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May 27, 2013 22:11
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Hey guys! So glad I found this thread. It's good to hear about actual people's experiences. I graduated with a BA in Anthropology in December and was accepted into the Peace Corps and offered a nomination doing environmental public health stuff in either Africa or South America, but I told them I'd like to hear whether I got accepted into grad school for Public Health before making a decision. I was told that if I did decide to go to graduate school first, I could make my PC application inactive. After I finish my grad degree I could reactivate it and join. I would love some insight on other peoples' experiences regarding graduation school and PC service. Do you think it's better to do PC and then grad school or the other way around? Has anyone made their application inactive and then served, and did it affect the process at all? I'm not super thrilled with the environmental health position I was offered and I'm hoping that a graduate degree would open up opportunities for "better" positions within PC for me. Also, then when I finish volunteering I'll be ready to take advantage of the year of preferential hiring or whatever they call it. What do you guys think? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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May 29, 2013 16:18
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I would tell you 100% do PC first if you want to do it. I'm a Masters International guy and doing both at the same time currently, and its honestly causing some problems. For several reasons PC should probably come first. 1. PC has a lot of fellowship programs and scholarships for graduate students, particularly in health, environment or other 'public sector' fields. And your application is generally stronger to graduate schools so you may get other bonuses as well. 2. You will be doing nothing similar at all to your graduate classwork. I took city planning, advanced statistics, program/survey design, etc during my first year at grad school before coming to Benin. I have used all of Nada during my work here. You are going to be based in a developing country, so you not only won't use that information, you literally can't. You will forget everything you learned in your 2 years of service. 3. Graduate school doesn't open up 'better' positions within Peace Corps. Everyone does the same general work on the same general level, and you all get the same basic training. Your projects are what you and your partners decide, not what Peace Corps does. PC Benin thinks that biogas generating latrine systems are not within our primary environmental action focus, but I am in the process of designing such a system for my local mayor's office. Another guy is doing a giant egg producing chicken coop for his village- as a health volunteer. And my TEFL close mate has a ton of malaria projects on the side. You make your own position. 4. Your work and stories from working in the field are great fodder for writing papers, not to mention the whole language-learning deal; the language can let you take some outside classes such as African studies to extend your degree a bit. And you will be a bit older and certainly more patient. Your writing and research skills will be far better after Peace Corps. Slaan fucked around with this message at 17:16 on May 29, 2013 |
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May 29, 2013 17:14
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Manatee Astronaut posted:Also, then when I finish volunteering I'll be ready to take advantage of the year of preferential hiring or whatever they call it. What do you guys think? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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May 29, 2013 22:07
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Just received all our staging info for China. poo poo's getting real!
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May 30, 2013 08:08
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And then you see real poo poo. Because a child just pooped in the street in front of you 
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May 30, 2013 08:13
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Slaan posted:And then you see real poo poo. Because a Corrected for Ethiopia.
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May 30, 2013 08:15
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(Most) Grown-rear end men here at least hide somewhat in the bushes. But they'll just whip it out to pee.
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May 30, 2013 08:27
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Slaan posted:(Most) Grown-rear end men here at least hide somewhat in the bushes. But they'll just whip it out to pee. Happens in Shanghai too! Watched a mother holding her kid while he peed on a bush in probably the most expensive shopping district there. Can't wait to see what surprises Panama holds.
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May 30, 2013 17:54
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I've already lived in Tianjin, so street pooping and peeing and everything on the side is nothing new!
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May 30, 2013 20:10
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Ignore.
huhu fucked around with this message at 21:06 on Jun 6, 2013 |
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Jun 6, 2013 18:02
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Graduating with a B.A. in August. Departing for Peru (is this considered Posh Corps?) in September as a community health volunteer. It's going to be a quick turnaround but certainly not a boring one.
a distorted reality fucked around with this message at 05:21 on Jun 16, 2013 |
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Jun 16, 2013 05:06
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a distorted reality posted:Graduating with a B.A. in August. Departing for Peru (is this considered Posh Corps?) in September as a community health volunteer. It's going to be a quick turnaround but certainly not a boring one. Not sure if it's posh or not, but I loved the food in Peru.
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Jun 16, 2013 16:44
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Throw me on the list for current PC volunteers in Panama (2013-2015). 
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Jun 16, 2013 17:28
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a distorted reality posted:Graduating with a B.A. in August. Departing for Peru (is this considered Posh Corps?) in September as a community health volunteer. It's going to be a quick turnaround but certainly not a boring one. As with almost all posts.. depends on if you get an urban, suburban or rural placement. The capital and other cities/towns will be ''posh''. However, I know a girl that lived in a mud hut with a host family during her PC service in Peru.
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Jun 16, 2013 18:20
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Well, I'm about a week away from staging, and just a couple days from coming back from my vacation in Thailand... And I come down with Dengue fever. The nurse in the medical office said she has to talk to her boss, but it's possible I'm put on a medical hold. Super frustrating, but aside from maybe doing more to prevent mosquito bites, not really something I could have stopped from happening. Has anyone been put on medical hold? Dengue is endemic to the country I'm supposed to go to (a second infection is much more serious than the first), so I'm thinking they might have relocated me to a country without dengue.
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Jun 22, 2013 02:47
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EDIT: Made a double post on accident; sorry about that.
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Jun 22, 2013 02:51
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Unlikely they'll relocate you. It's possible but they dont push you out of the country once you get it. It's endemic in Indonesia, we had quite a few people get their second pass and even then they stayed.
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Jun 25, 2013 02:26
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6 days. Less than a week left in country! I feel really bad for my host family, they really don't want me to go/are upset, but I can't make myself be unhappy about leaving. I have goodbye gifts that'll hopefully help the sting of me being so drat excited (family! new job! apartment locked in! fooood!).
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Jun 25, 2013 08:50
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RagnarokAngel posted:Unlikely they'll relocate you. It's possible but they dont push you out of the country once you get it. It's endemic in Indonesia, we had quite a few people get their second pass and even then they stayed. Looks like they're going to have to relocate me. The doctors here want me to stay past my staging date, and the nurse says it's likely I won't go to a dengue-endemic country. Looking at the staging calendar, looks like Ukraine might be my only shot for this year (not sure how they're going to fit me in, though).
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Jun 26, 2013 05:03
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So what is the health direction like?
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Jul 4, 2013 03:27
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Site assignments are coming in less than two weeks  I'm impressed by PST's time-warping ability, in which it goes by really fast and yet seems to drag on forever and ever.
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Jul 25, 2013 17:21
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Ahhhhh, mid-service vacation. Its almost over but the food and air conditioning and toilets are great. Now, to go on a Beer Crawl throughout all of London tomorrow so that my flight back Sunday can go swimmingly. 75 pounds remaining for beer and fish&chips. 
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Jul 25, 2013 18:49
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Come to the fun Peace Corps, my host family has a western toilet and my bedroom is air conditioned It makes up for feeling like I was going to pass out while teaching model school in ~100 degree heat and 100% humidity on the third floor of a classroom building edit: and don't forget the ~150ish AQI. Although the last few days in Chengdu have been gorgeous outside of the heat.
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Jul 26, 2013 18:37
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Have a quick question. Did a search and I don't think it's been asked, but I'm still catching on this thread. For the resumé/CV portion of the application, do they have a preference for what you submit? My resumé is less impressive as I've been in school for the last two years. My CV, however, is actually pretty snazzy. Also, will they contact the references you list on a resumé/CV? I.e., should I let the folks I have listed know in advance that they may be contacted by a Peace Corps recruiter?
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Jul 28, 2013 00:55
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For the first resume/CV I don't think they really care so long as you show that you can handle one of the various kinds of work we routinely do in Peace Corps, show flexibility and show a decent grasp of intercultural affairs. And I do not think that it has a standard format either, though I know eventually they will ask you for a standard format one they give you directions for. It wouldn't hurt to contact your contacts about this even if they will not get contacted. Worst case scenario, nothing happens but your contacts still know that you trusted them with getting you a job into PC via references.
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Jul 28, 2013 07:15
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Do you guys know of any entity that exists that takes entry level medical professionals and puts them over seas? I'm a Medical Assistant and I'd love to go.. anywhere outside of the US and help people.
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Jul 28, 2013 09:11
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You might want to call up your local nursing school, physician's program, etc. They would know such a thing better. The only one I can think of is Doctors without Borders.
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Jul 28, 2013 09:31
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What does the job search look like after end of service? Can you job search while in service?
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Jul 29, 2013 23:21
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Here is what it looks like in Benin.  This probably changes a lot between nations. Ask your administration for the most accurate info!:It is easy to job search while in service. We have several workstations where we have semi-fast internet (and toilets!). So a lot of people start job searching around mid-service and apply near the 3/4 mark. Several people have bought personally tailored suits for like $75 from local tailors and done skype interviews. The downside is that you are not technically an RPCV if you early terminate just a month or so before your actual CoS date. Its not that important because the only thing that really affects is non-competitive eligibility, which doesn't matter if you don't want to get a government job. At least here, people are able to early CoS for graduate school attendance. Again, this probably changes based on site!
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Jul 30, 2013 10:47
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Packstand posted:Do you guys know of any entity that exists that takes entry level medical professionals and puts them over seas? I'm a Medical Assistant and I'd love to go.. anywhere outside of the US and help people. Peace Corps is going to start taking medical professionals to send abroad. http://www.peacecorps.gov/resources/media/press/2257/ I don't know how available it'd be to you, it seems like it's limited in scope for now, but could be right up your alley, too.
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Aug 3, 2013 03:42
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Woah, forgot about this thread. Well I Cos'd in June and so far it's been... alright. Man I need a job. Also, can someone edit the OP? I actually served 3 years, not 1 (2010-2013).
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Aug 6, 2013 05:21
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Packstand posted:Do you guys know of any entity that exists that takes entry level medical professionals and puts them over seas? I'm a Medical Assistant and I'd love to go.. anywhere outside of the US and help people. The US Foreign Service. But you need a little experience. http://careers.state.gov/specialist/vacancy-announcements/hp http://careers.state.gov/specialist/vacancy-announcements/rmt-mls http://careers.state.gov/specialist/vacancy-announcements/rmo
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Aug 13, 2013 19:00
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12 days left of service... where did the 3 years go?? I'm actually a little afraid of readjusting, but once I start stuffing my face with cheap sushi and mexican food, I think it'll be all good.
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Aug 18, 2013 10:50
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I'm officially starting my path to obtain an associate's in sustainable agriculture from my local community college, which is a goal of mine for many reasons, one of which is to join Peace Corps. I know lately the application process has been having a lot of bachelor's degrees thrown at it, so I guess my question to y'all is, does the type of degree matter as long as I have practical skills from it (as well as plenty of volunteer hours which I'll be accruing)?
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Aug 19, 2013 12:29
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Email a recruiter!! Agriculture is one of the fields where actual job experience can replace a bachelors so I imagine that you would be fine with associates degree plus farm work experience. But.. email a recruiter!!
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Aug 19, 2013 14:10
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Peace Corps likes to take people of many different backgrounds, so long as they have the skills to work in one of our areas. So I don't see you having a problem so long as you have your high school diploma and are in fact experienced in agriculture, especially sustainable agriculture. That is one of our biggest fields. So yeah, go email your local recruiter and ask them if you should try for anything else to make your application look even better. It can't hurt.
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Aug 19, 2013 15:15
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