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OP, can you also add me to the list? I am an RPCV from the Republic of Macedonia (MAK 8!!) 2003 - 2006. This is an awesome catch-all PC thread; thanks for starting it!!
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Sep 17, 2009 01:28
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The money they give you may or may not be ample. For my purposes, in a small rural village, I had enough to go to town every few weeks and spend more in 3 days (pizza, hotel, ice cream, internet, etc.) than my neighbors spent in 6 months. But, at site, I lived on about $1 a day (2000 Ariary), depending. Some of my fellow PCVs however, lived in large tourist towns and often had to supplement their living allowances with money from home. They could have been more frugal and lived within their means, but having other volunteers (PC or otherwise) around tends to make you go out and spend more money, take taxis, etc. Also, the crossover in Madagascar wasn't the same as Cambodia, apparently. As English teachers we're encouraged to do health/environment lessons, and vice versa, but I think most health/environment volunteers didn't teach English at all, and those that did maybe did so for an hour or two a week with a couple of eager students. Evil Adam fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Sep 18, 2009 |
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Sep 17, 2009 23:19
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Yeah, the reason the health volunteers here are English teachers first is only because the program is so young. Peace Corps uses English teaching to get their foot in the door of a country, and then slowly expands into other areas. In a few years Cambodia will have health volunteers who are just that.
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Sep 18, 2009 02:22
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What kind of stuff can you bring with you? I'm big into photography and wouldn't want to leave my gear behind or give it up for two years. Are you able to secure your personal belongings in the places you are sent?
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Sep 18, 2009 03:50
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Haggins posted:What kind of stuff can you bring with you? I'm big into photography and wouldn't want to leave my gear behind or give it up for two years. Are you able to secure your personal belongings in the places you are sent? Lots of people brought fancy cameras, lots brought laptops. If you just always keep it on you while you're getting there, and lock it up and don't flash things around, it'll be pretty safe. Things get stolen all the time, but if you don't screw around with it you won't have any problems. That said, I had a digital camera and a phone stolen out of my bag, some people lost laptops. Also consider what kind of stuff you can just get there. I was going to bring my guitar but ended up not and buying one on the street for 30 bucks that lasted 2 years just fine. But in general, you can bring anything as long as it all fits under the weight limit (80k? 40k? I don't remember)
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Sep 18, 2009 03:57
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How's the culture shock? Do the two months of training help ease you in? This seems like something I'd like to do after I get my English degree, if not for the resume credentials but for the amazing experience, ups and downs and all. And to add: we're all goons here, which is to say the internet is at least a small part of our lives. I see most of you have blogs. Is there actually good internet access in these places? e: Anyone ever form a relationship with a local? How's the sex life? I can image that in Africa, where a gazillion people have AIDS, this might be a huge issue. Tostito fucked around with this message at 05:03 on Sep 18, 2009 |
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Sep 18, 2009 05:01
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In Cambodia you either sleep with a prostitute or get married. There are no alternatives as far as relationships with the locals go.
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Sep 18, 2009 12:30
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Relationships with locals were pretty common in Bulgaria. I can think of at least three in my group who are ending up marrying locals and a couple others extended because they were dating locals. Inter-Volunteer relationships were VERY common. Again, I can think of 4 or 5 Volunteer couples from the B21s alone, and there were a few inter-Group relationships going on as well.
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Sep 18, 2009 17:59
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So in the previous thread I posted that I have not been contacted by a recuiter and lo and behold, I was contacted shortly after posting. She resent the supplemental packet and I just need to get my second set of fingerprints (didn't realize we needed two...). I am so looking forward to this process and I hope I get in.
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Sep 18, 2009 19:02
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OP, another PCV signing on here. Environment Sector, Morocco 08-10. I'd be happy to answer any questions from people interested in serving in the region. Lot's of tea drinking (with sugar) involved. Saalam Allakum!
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Sep 18, 2009 21:54
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Does knowing a foreign language play a large role in determining where you will be sent to? If I'm semi-fluent in Spanish does that make it very likely that I'll end up in a Spanish speaking country? Also, I'm graduating soon with a computer science degree, and have had several IT related jobs - if I apply wanting to do some sort of IT type work, can I be guaranteed that I'll be doing that before I commit? My concern is that I'll sign up hoping to do something related to IT and end up teaching English.
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Sep 18, 2009 23:54
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hakeem posted:Also, I'm graduating soon with a computer science degree, and have had several IT related jobs - if I apply wanting to do some sort of IT type work, can I be guaranteed that I'll be doing that before I commit? My concern is that I'll sign up hoping to do something related to IT and end up teaching English. Wondering ditto for a computer engineering degree with a few years of post college experience - would this be something that is in demand, so to speak?
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Sep 19, 2009 01:11
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hakeem posted:Does knowing a foreign language play a large role in determining where you will be sent to? If I'm semi-fluent in Spanish does that make it very likely that I'll end up in a Spanish speaking country? 1) No. We had some fluent spanish speakers in our group sent to Cambodia. In order to go to Latin America, I've been told that you have to be fluent in Spanish. However, being fluent in spanish doesn't mean you have to be sent to Latin America. Our group in Cambodia had Chinese speakers, Spanish speakers, Russian speakers (i think), and French speakers, but they were all sent to a country where they weren't using that language. 2) Sure. You'll be told the project you'll be assigned to when you're given the country assignment, at which point you can just say 'thanks but no thanks' and walk away. Moon Slayer posted:In Cambodia you either sleep with a prostitute or get married. There are no alternatives as far as relationships with the locals go. For straight men, sure. But that's not necessarily true for women, or for gay men. Aren't there one or two girls in your group who have boyfriends from cambo? CronoGamer fucked around with this message at 04:32 on Sep 19, 2009 |
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Sep 19, 2009 04:27
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So I have some anal drama. I got my physical done yesterday and my doctor was perplexed why he needed to do an anal/rectal exam on a 25 year old male. He said it really wasn't necessary so I though he would just mark that all was fine. Well, it turns out that he just marked a line through both normal and abnormal boxes (indicating that he didn't check it). He also marked through the Prostate and Pelvic exam questions the same way. I didn't notice it until I got out to my car and the doctor had already left. And he didn't fill out his physicians license number. Ugg. I assume turning this stuff into the PC office will just result in them sending it back to me. On the bright side my physical, lab work and urinalysis only cost $66 (without insurance).
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Sep 19, 2009 17:39
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Omits-Bagels posted:So I have some anal drama. I got my physical done yesterday and my doctor was perplexed why he needed to do an anal/rectal exam on a 25 year old male. He said it really wasn't necessary so I though he would just mark that all was fine. Well, it turns out that he just marked a line through both normal and abnormal boxes (indicating that he didn't check it). He also marked through the Prostate and Pelvic exam questions the same way. Yeah, Peace Corps will definitely just return it to you if you submit it without the boxes checked properly and the license number. I made this mistake, and it added a couple of months to the medical clearance time, so I would definitely go back Monday to have him fix it.
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Sep 19, 2009 18:01
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What kinds of food did you cook? What cooking tools/appliances did you have available and what was the market like?
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Sep 20, 2009 00:03
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calhoun posted:What kinds of food did you cook? What cooking tools/appliances did you have available and what was the market like? The food that the locals ate was rice, rice, and more rice. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They eat more rice than any other culture in the world. However, it's bland, has no nutritional value, and is full of small rocks that crack your teeth. So, I made other food. I went through phases, though, and a lot depends on what you can bring back from larger cities. Some main staples were peanut butter and jelly, chicken noodle soup (boiled pasta + boullion cube), couscous + raisins/peppers/curry powder, pasta + sauce, potato pancakes, regular pancakes, eggs (omelettes). I also became a baker in my peace corps oven (iron pot filled with sand and tin cans) and made bread, sweet breads, cookies, cakes, etc. So I ate a lot of that stuff too. My market sucked. Mostly rice (with rocks), beans (have to soak for a day before you can eat them), and peppers. Sometimes potatoes, onions, pasta (not in a bag). In the stores you had more options: tomato paste, bagged pasta, snacks, eggs (duck or goose), french bread (stale usually), alcohol, cooking oil, and so on. Cooking tools/appliances can be bought in the big cities. I only had what I needed: silverware/dishware, can opener, spatula, strainer, some pots, frying pan, mixing bowls/plastic ware.
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Sep 20, 2009 09:03
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PCV from the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan) checking in. I'm TEFL (English teacher) in a village outside Jalalabad in the south of Kyrgyzstan. I came to country in March of this year so I'll be here 09-11 (K-17). My blog is here. I've been updating it about every three weeks or so.
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Sep 25, 2009 09:53
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Looks like I'm going in on Friday to get a finger up me bum. Two thumbs up!
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Sep 29, 2009 00:10
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^^^^^ Brilliant avatar-post combo right here. Also, sup Kyrgyzstan PCV. I served right next door to you guys in glorious nation of Kazakhstan. Eat any sheep heads yet? Brief, unsolicited reflection on Kazakhstan: I think that my fascination with Kazakhstan is anchored in two main things. The first is nerdy excitement about the Russian language, Russian culture, and the former USSR. (The train engines all have a red star on the front. AWESOME. It's like I'm in that one Goldeneye level.) The second and deeper thing, though, was feeling deeply affected by people's sense of loss after the breakup of the USSR. It sounds like hyperbole, but I really don't think I met anyone there who, if they were old enough to remember it, didn't miss the USSR.* (People in their early 20s or younger didn't seem to have much of an opinion, presumably because they were small children, if they were even born at all, when the USSR collapsed.) One of Peace Corps' doctors there told us on several occasions that we should never take it for granted that we have a home country, because his didn't exist anymore. gently caress, it's making me tear up just remembering that, because god drat if the dude didn't love the Soviet Union. I think we've all internalized to some degree the idea that living in the USSR was an abject hell, but nobody I talked to in Kazakhstan thought that way. People miss free apartments and the ease of finding employment, for example. My first host mom (I had one host family during training and one at site) and I were talking about Yuri Gagarin, and she said to me, "During the Soviet era, we were great, but now, no one even knows who we are."** I asked another friend, who was about 29, to describe her childhood in the Soviet Union, and she had only positive things to say. Finally (comedy option), my second host mom said that the Soviet Union made better chocolate butter and that Soviet toilets flushed better. But she also said that there was a much stronger sense of community in the Soviet era, and that people knew and trusted their neighbors more than they do now. (Some of this is surely a rose-colored vision of the past, but still, people wouldn't view the past that way if there weren't positive things to base it on.) I'm sure that this "We miss the USSR" sentiment isn't the same everywhere (I'd assume the Baltic countries and Ukraine, for example, have different attitudes), but I definitely encountered it in Kazakhstan. Anyway, my service was difficult, especially the merciless, brutal, monochrome winter, but I'm still so, so glad that I went. Absolutely no regrets. I'd say it was unquestionably the most formative experience of my life so far. Perhaps most significantly, when I think about the huge difference in quality of life between the US and Kazakhstan, it doesn't feel abstract - it feels how it would feel if those circumstances were affecting my own family. That sounds really loving cliché, but it's the best way I can think of to express what the country means to me after my service. *This could be partly because I was in a heavily russified area. My impression is that people in the less Russian-influenced and more ethnically Kazakh south of the country place a higher value on reconnecting with their Kazakh cultural identity. **It's true. My grandmother alternated between thinking I was in Russia or Pakistan. Another volunteer's grandparents mailed him a card with this hilarious address written on the envelope: Volunteer name Peace Corps office address Almaty Kazakhstan RUSSIA P.S. Photos.  Compare the above picture of gray, bitter Siberian winter to my host family's warm, comfortable living room:  Probably much nicer than the living standards in most Peace Corps countries. We had electricity, running hot and cold water, effective heating, and even DSL (averaging about 250 kbps down). Zombie Kohlhaas fucked around with this message at 04:58 on Oct 16, 2009 |
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Oct 16, 2009 04:52
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I loving hate you.
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Oct 16, 2009 23:13
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Hey, we also had rice with rocks in it, so it wasn't complete Posh Corps. 
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Oct 17, 2009 01:14
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Zombie Kohlhaas posted:Hey, we also had rice with rocks in it, so it wasn't complete Posh Corps. Jesus christ, the rocks in the rice, how I despised those. Those + the bones in Cambodian chicken (they smash up the bone and make sure to include a piece of bone in every chunk of meat because they think it adds flavor) have made me such a wary eater... COS was 7 months ago and I still get nervous.
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Oct 17, 2009 02:00
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I can't believe I missed this thread. Does anyone have any experience/know anyone who worked as a business adviser within the Peace Corps? I'd love to hear more about what they did and what kind of work experience they had before joining the Corps. I have done a lot of non-profit consulting in the past, but I'm still in school (3rd year accounting major), so I haven't had a full time position yet. Hopefully that doesn't hurt me too much. Also, how important is building a relationship with your recruiter before going through the application/interview process? Is it essential or recommended, or would it not make any difference at all?
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Oct 17, 2009 03:17
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Zombie Kohlhaas posted:Probably much nicer than the living standards in most Peace Corps countries. We had electricity, running hot and cold water, effective heating, and even DSL (averaging about 250 kbps down). God drat you to hell. Although, there's a new phone/sim card combo on the market here in Cambodia where you can pay $.70 a day for unlimited internet and hook your laptop up to the phone and use it as a modem. I'm probably going to buy it after I get paid on the first. Stop posted:Also, how important is building a relationship with your recruiter before going through the application/interview process? Is it essential or recommended, or would it not make any difference at all? Can't speak to the other stuff, but you will build a relationship with the recruiter by going through the process. At least that's how it worked in my experience. If you already know a local recruiter though, go for it.
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Oct 17, 2009 04:24
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Moon Slayer posted:God drat you to hell. Oh, you mother fuckers.  How's Kandal working out anyhow? Any better than Svay Rieng? quote:Also, how important is building a relationship with your recruiter before going through the application/interview process? Is it essential or recommended, or would it not make any difference at all? I met my recruiter exactly once before my interview, at a recruiting fair where she roped me in to the whole thing. I would have loved to have built a relationship with her, because she was absolutely beautiful and that probably had a lot to do with how she
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Oct 17, 2009 05:04
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Same. Talked to my recruiter at an info session, then he was transferred and I had someone new for my interview, heard about my invitation from her, and that was all the contact I ever had with her.
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Oct 17, 2009 05:37
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Of course I've had sheep head and lots of other sheep meals. The sentiments toward the USSR seem to quite similar here as in Kazahkstan, though I haven't had as indepth conversations with people about it as you have. My village is much less posh than your situation however. My first winter is coming up. We'll see how that goes. I chipped my tooth during PST with rocks in food. No fun.
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Oct 18, 2009 05:05
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Missed the new thread. You can add me to the OP, I'm RPCV Bulgaria '06-08 / PCV China '08-10. I also really disagree with the "DON’T JOIN PEACE CORPS IF YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE OR SAVE THE WORLD. YOU WILL NOT." bit in the OP. Obviously you're not going to directly affect world politics, but if you don't think about or aren't trying to improve the situation of people at your site then you're a waste of resources and shouldn't be in PC in the first place. It's great that PCVs get a lot of benefits as far as applying to grad school and health insurance go, but if that's all you want and don't really care about helping people beyond doing the bare minimum of your assignment then that's pretty selfish. To anyone reading this that is thinking about joining Peace Corps to do something useful with your life, then don't let bitter and negative accounts scare you off. It is absolutely possible for a person to 'make a difference' so long as they have perspective on what is possible at their site - just be aware that it often requires a LOT of work on your part.
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Oct 18, 2009 07:23
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I've done a lot of IT work, but have no such degree. Do I automatically get the shaft? Also, what exactly do people in that area do?
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Oct 18, 2009 15:45
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apekillape posted:I've done a lot of IT work, but have no such degree. Do I automatically get the shaft? I'm in the same boat, between IT and having some experience working with small businesses, I have no degree. That's not to say I wouldn't by the time I finally get around to applying (read: once my dental gets squared away,) do they still consider people without degrees, it just takes longer or something?
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Oct 18, 2009 15:56
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Rush Limbaugh #1! posted:Missed the new thread. You can add me to the OP, I'm RPCV Bulgaria '06-08 / PCV China '08-10. I think the most important thing to get across to people considering joining isn't whether you can or can't affect change. Instead, they should understand that it's a total game of chance. Maybe you'll be put in a position where you can help, and maybe you'll have the most frustrating two years of your life for nothing, banging your head against a wall. The most important thing we heard during our training was "IT DEPENDS ON YOUR SITE." This was used to answer almost every question we asked. "What are the people like? Are they friendly? Do they work with you? Are the authorities on your side? Are people generally receptive to help?"IT DEPENDS ON YOUR SITE. And this, mind you, was in a country where the people all speak the same language (barring dialects), all consider themselves part of the same ethnic group, and largely have the same culture. Basically, it isn't fair to tell someone they will or won't help people. There are a ton of factors involved, and a ton of them you have no control over.
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Oct 18, 2009 18:09
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Rush Limbaugh #1! posted:Missed the new thread. You can add me to the OP, I'm RPCV Bulgaria '06-08 / PCV China '08-10. 'Sup there, Bulgaria-buddy? Whereabouts were you stationed? B18, B19 or B20?
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Oct 18, 2009 18:09
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Evil Adam posted:
I agree with this entirely. But in the first post and first few replies it really seemed like you guys were saying that they won't help people. I'm certainly not saying you're guaranteed to be given the chance to change people's lives, some sites are just unfortunate like that, but you very often do get the chance- at least on a smaller scale.
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Oct 18, 2009 21:17
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CronoGamer posted:I agree with this entirely. But in the first post and first few replies it really seemed like you guys were saying that they won't help people. I'm certainly not saying you're guaranteed to be given the chance to change people's lives, some sites are just unfortunate like that, but you very often do get the chance- at least on a smaller scale. I don't think there's any real disagreement here, but for clarification: Maybe I was over the top in some posts, but I meant that you shouldn't expect to help people. It's best to have low expectations and work against those than to go into your site expecting to change everything and become totally disillusioned after you start to hit walls. I helped a few people here and there, and one student quite a bit, but if my goal were to make all 500 kids in my class fluent in English I would have had an aneurysm when I got there.
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Oct 18, 2009 23:45
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MadcapViking posted:'Sup there, Bulgaria-buddy? Whereabouts were you stationed? B18, B19 or B20? Yo dude, B19 in Targovishte, we actually met during our MST outside the Rila Hotel. I was the resource volunteer for Kyustendil. Evil Adam posted:I think the most important thing to get across to people considering joining isn't whether you can or can't affect change. Instead, they should understand that it's a total game of chance. Maybe you'll be put in a position where you can help, and maybe you'll have the most frustrating two years of your life for nothing, banging your head against a wall. I disagree with this idea that there are some sites where absolutely nothing productive can be done. Yes, some people get very rough assignments and they will likely deal with lots of failed projects due to one thing or another, but any volunteer who works at it will be able to do something. The most important thing for new volunteers is to go into it without any expectations for the kind of work they'll be doing, because sticking to pre-conceived expectations about what PCVs do is what leads to banging your head on a wall for 2 years. A PCV's goals should be set at their site once they actually know what resources are available and what is and isn't possible. The amount of what you're able to do depends on your site, but whether or not you make any difference at all entirely depends on you. Evil Adam posted:I don't think there's any real disagreement here, but for clarification: Maybe I was over the top in some posts, but I meant that you shouldn't expect to help people. It's best to have low expectations and work against those than to go into your site expecting to change everything and become totally disillusioned after you start to hit walls. I helped a few people here and there, and one student quite a bit, but if my goal were to make all 500 kids in my class fluent in English I would have had an aneurysm when I got there. I think our views are actually pretty similar, it's just that the way the thread starts seems to overemphasize bitterness and frustration - which are of course a big part of Peace Corps, but I think the positive things volunteers can do far outweigh those. Any teacher will tell you that personally ensuring all 500 of those students become fluent English speakers in 2 years is impossible - but did you honestly expect that that was what you were going to do? Would anyone joining the Peace Corps expect that? I think expecting to help as many kids as you could would be reasonable, and if you were able to really help a few motivated students then it was worth it.
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Oct 19, 2009 03:05
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Rush Limbaugh #1! posted:I think our views are actually pretty similar, it's just that the way the thread starts seems to overemphasize bitterness and frustration - which are of course a big part of Peace Corps, but I think the positive things volunteers can do far outweigh those. This was my concern too, and why I tried to hop in so early with a counterpoint. Frustration definitely has its place in any frank discussion about the Peace Corps, and it's always fun to bash on the negative aspects because that's what PCVs do together, but I think it's inappropriate for a thread where potential PCVs are reading to try and find things out about the program. They should definitely be made aware of the possibility for extreme frustration, but it shouldn't be hammered into them from the get-go with little to no discussion of the other, incredibly rewarding aspects of service.
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Oct 19, 2009 03:32
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This is not nearly as exciting as being in the Peace Corps in an exotic country, but I am an AmeriCorps member in Texas. We also don't make much money, just a "living stipend" of $1036 a month (before taxes, after is only $805) and a $4500 educational award at the end of the 12 month contract. AmeriCorps is a good way to provide service to your community while not going too far or having to commit to two years. I decided to go into AmeriCorps because I have travelled all my life and really like this area of Texas. There happened to be an AmeriCorps position open in the agency I did my social work internship with this summer so I took it! Also, I am planning on going back to grad school in a year and wanted social work experience. Although I have to admit it, I am kind of jealous of you guys living in countries like Madagascar, Nicaragua, and Cambodia! epilepticMinnie fucked around with this message at 06:00 on Oct 19, 2009 |
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Oct 19, 2009 05:43
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Several of the people in my group had either just finished a stint in Americorps or went on to take a position with Americorps after finishing. I think there's a decent amount of overlap between the two.
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Oct 19, 2009 05:44
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CronoGamer posted:Several of the people in my group had either just finished a stint in Americorps or went on to take a position with Americorps after finishing. I think there's a decent amount of overlap between the two. I'm in the Americorps right now and I'm in the process of applying for the Peace Corps (I sent in all my medical stuff a week ago). A girl I did Americorps with just finished her year and she is going into the Peace Corps in like 3 months. I have a question: What did you all go into after your PC service? If you're still in/applying, what do you plan on doing?
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Oct 19, 2009 06:21
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