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It's better to wear a tie and not have needed to than to not wear a tie and have needed to.
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Jun 28, 2010 03:57
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What The Fucktrain posted:Also, if you have federal student loans and join the PC right after school, do they give you a break while you're serving or do they still expect you to make payments? All federal student loans can be deferred for the full two years you are in Peace Corps.
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Jul 6, 2010 05:48
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Strunk posted:Bottom line, if I'm qualified for the position and it can help further me as a person (even if through my career), who are you to say that I shouldn't apply based on your narrow-minded interpretation about how I should approach my field? There's nothing wrong with joining for these reasons, unless you use those reasons to justify not giving 100% to your in-country job. That makes you kind of a douchebag. Not that I'm saying you will do this: on the contrary you sound like you will know more about what you are doing than 90% of other volunteers. It's just that some will see one as naturally leading to the other. Strunk posted:I have my own issues with the Peace Corps based on a few of their policy issues and their particular development model. That doesn't mean I think that it overall a bad institution, because clearly it is not, but I would prefer to spend my time with an organization which is more in line with my personal beliefs. Out of curiosity, what are your issues? I'm all for having a debate about Peace Corps policy to break up the recruitment questions.
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Jul 9, 2010 14:02
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internetstuff posted:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_power People always give me weird looks when I tell them that the Peace Corps is basically force projection with soft power.
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Jul 10, 2010 21:40
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MothraAttack posted:Rumors are that 4 PCVs died in the Kampala bomb attacks. Any word on this? Hopefully it's just paranoia Various news sites say one American died and he was in no way related to Peace Corps. It's just one of those rumors.
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Jul 12, 2010 13:18
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We don't build stuff. Why do people think we build stuff?
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Jul 13, 2010 02:32
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Peven Stan posted:I heard that getting into the Peace Corps was insanely difficult and reserved mostly for people who've gone to elite universities. I had a degree from a medium-small state university with a < 3.0 GPA and no work experience save for summer jobs and I got in with no problem. Of course, this was in mid 2008 before the economy really tanked, so from everything I heard yes the selection process is a bit stricter now if only because they have a lot more applicants. But don't think you don't have a chance to be a Volunteer if you don't have a 4.0 GPA from Harvard or something.
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Aug 22, 2010 15:46
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CronoGamer posted:A couple of years ago right as I was shipping out, PC was making a big deal about older volunteers and they frequently mentioned this pair of senior citizens who were on like their 9th stint. 9 might be an exaggeration, not sure, but it was definitely at least 7. Hey, did you ever meet that older guy who owned a campground up in Siem Riep? He came into the lounge at HQ a few times. He had done three stints as a PCV, the previous one had been in the Ukraine. He was kinda weird and creepy though. Also we had an older woman (I think in her 50's) come in as a new volunteer for K3, but she fell off her bike and broke her leg a week into PST.
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Sep 7, 2010 04:21
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Saint Celestine posted:Sweet. Im writing my application now, hopefully ill get in. The Foreign Service Officer Test is given at most US Embassies, so it's pretty easy to take while serving in the Peace Corps. Also there is a good chance you will have at least a few opportunities to interact with State Department people in-country, so take the opportunity to pick their brains for information on getting a job.
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Sep 10, 2010 05:03
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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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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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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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Happy holidays to all volunteers overseas right now. I know this can be a pretty difficult time of year to be far, far away from family and friends. Especially when the people around you see today as just another Saturday. Also, my New Year's resolution is to go back through the thread and update the OP with the names, locations, and jobs of all Peace Corps goons.
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Dec 25, 2010 18:22
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Private Label posted:Yay! I found a Peace Corps thread! We had a few Mongolia volunteers come down to Cambodia for vacation while I was there, and they had some crazy stories. To give everyone a sense of the isolation you are talking about, if you wanted to go to the capital, how long would it take you to get there?
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Jan 5, 2011 18:08
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For comparison, I could get from site to Phnom Pehn in about 2 or 3 hours.
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Jan 6, 2011 05:19
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Wow, that's some pretty lovely journalism all around. Some things that jumped out at me: quote:In some cases, victims say, the Peace Corps has ignored safety concerns and later tried to blame the women who were raped for bringing on the attacks. I highly doubt this claim, at least based on my own experience. We had lots of safety and security briefings during training, including one very specifically about sexual assault. And since the video we were shown during that session was from the 90's, I know it's not a recent addition to the curriculum. quote:"Every day we felt unsafe. And we reported everything, we just kept reporting," she said in an interview with five other former volunteers who also were rape or sexual assault victims. quote:She says the Peace Corps immediately began to cover up what happened to her, fearful, she says, of offending officials in Bangladesh. All of this says one of three things to me; it's either not true or exaggerated, there was a breakdown in communication at the country office, or the Safety and Security Coordinator in that country was incompetent or corrupt. Not that there was some organizational conspiracy to cover it up, because those of us who have been volunteers know that's just not how Peace Corps works. Also there's this from the site PopRocks linked: quote:This entry was posted on Friday, January 14th, 2011 at 2:55 am and is filed under Anti-White, Crime, Foreign Aid
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Jan 15, 2011 15:53
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Private Label posted:RIP For all it's ups and downs, he certainly helped create something unique. Was Peace Corps the first volunteer-abroad agency?
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Jan 19, 2011 04:06
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RagnarokAngel posted:I got my invitation packet in the mail. I'm going to Indonesia on April 4th to teach english. Neat, I didn't even know that the Indonesia program was up. I was in Cambodia when Hilary Clinton was in Indonesia talking about bringing in Peace Corps.
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Jan 20, 2011 20:56
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NeekBerm posted:I'm also having some application trouble. Everything was going fine and dandy, until I got a call from the Seattle office saying that I haven't submitted a recommendation from a volunteer supervisor. The problem is that I don't have any volunteer experience. Am I boned? So go out and get some! You need 30 hours of volunteer experience in the field that you are going for, be it English education, health, etc. They should have told you this at some point in your application. If you are going for English education, call up the local schools and see if they have any accelerated English courses for kids of immigrants. That's what I did and I got my 30 hours done in about 5 days.
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Feb 1, 2011 02:26
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NeekBerm posted:While I'm not opposed to volunteering, I was kinda hoping that my year teaching English would be enough. I also tutored ESL students through college. I was paid a $100 stipend for the tutoring, so do you think I could pass this off as volunteering? Call up your recruiter and ask.
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Feb 1, 2011 02:56
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RagnarokAngel posted:Has to be high school or adult. Hmm, I volunteered in a middle school and it was fine with Peace Corps. So I would ask your recruiter again. EDIT: And by "you," I mean Ronald Spiers. Moon Slayer fucked around with this message at 17:59 on Feb 9, 2011 |
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Feb 9, 2011 16:39
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Rush Limbaugh #1! posted:Showing you're flexible is important. And patient! In fact, just start telling yourself "I am patient and flexible" over and over again right now.
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Feb 9, 2011 22:58
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Pieter de Hooch posted:I think don't this has been posted yet: It was posted a page or so ago, but continues to be funny. And hit a little close to home on some things.
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Feb 13, 2011 19:56
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Cool! I didn't know Peace Corps was in Ethiopia. Guess I'm behind the times.
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Feb 17, 2011 04:46
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Added the medical clearance link to the OP, as well as what Iwate said about patience and flexibility being the most important part of the application process. One of these days I'll get around to updating who's serving where, I swear!
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Feb 28, 2011 17:36
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Chade Johnson posted:So my application got rejected. They said they need English teachers with 30 hours or 3 months of experience. Should I try to volunteer at a local school or try to get a TEFL certificate? Did they outright reject you and say "start over" or did they just tell you "get 30 hours of volunteer time before your application can proceed?" Because everyone needs to get 30 hours of volunteer teaching in before they get into Peace Corps.
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Mar 12, 2011 05:02
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Chade Johnson posted:The latter. I will start trying to do that, do you have any tips? Seriously just start calling up local schools, use that serve.gov link, or just google around for volunteer English teaching jobs in your area. For some reason, teachers are really happy when someone offers to come help them in class for no pay! RagnarokAngel posted:And thanks Moon Slayer for putting me on the list No problem, you were easy since I didn't have to go hunting back through the thread. Which I WILL do at some point and get everybody in the OP. The reason I wanted to have that list was because I kind of imagined this thread being a place for people to ask what it was like to live in a specific country or part of the world, either out of curiosity or because they were going to travel there. Instead it's more of a "ask us about applying to Peace Corps" thread, which is perfectly fine too. In related news, being unemployed sucks so much I'm actually considering joining up again for a second Peace Corps tour. If I do I'm going to hold out for Eastern Europe or Central Asia, someplace that actually gets snow in the winter. I was surprised I missed that as much as I did when it was 90 degrees on December 25th in Cambodia.
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Mar 13, 2011 17:23
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I'm not ignoring your questions, guys, just been busy. Give me a little bit and I'll address your concerns. I'll say off the top of my head I don't see anything that would disqualify you, but the whole "here's my resume what are my chances" question is a bit hard for us to guess at.
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Mar 20, 2011 20:08
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You need to have 30 hours of volunteer English teaching to be an English education volunteer. I'm pretty sure that work experience is also accepted, but that would be something you will have to ask your recruiter. I can't speak to what the requirements are for the other kinds of volunteer work, however. Getting the 30 hours is really easy! I did it in a week!
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Mar 24, 2011 18:02
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RagnarokAngel posted:Just got into Surabaya. Peace Corps accommodations for hotels in San Francisco and Hong Kong were both surprisingly classy. Ready to start training tomorrow. Good luck. Keep us up to date as much as possible, it's always neat to see where people who join end up. EDIT: Got off my lazy rear end and added some stuff to the OP. As always, if you want something added just say so. I also see several people in the OP who look like they are now RPCV's. Let me know if that's the case. Moon Slayer fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Apr 7, 2011 |
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Apr 7, 2011 16:51
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NeekBerm posted:Anything I should know about? Hope you enjoy being hot every day for the next two years! Seriously though, congratz.
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Apr 29, 2011 23:51
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yatzik posted:You can actually try your butt without going to a doctor, just try holding a stick of any kind with yout buttocks. Make sure you realize that sucking it in is a normal reaction of your rear end and you will have made it going okay. Or just hold it so you don't feel like a homosexual sexualist. Wibder stuff is holding it (the dirk) with your hands and not feeling like a homosexual. However thare's rumored plenty of excitement with stucking stuff up your rear end. Just don't think it's by default with girls and it should be okay. This is the best post in this thread.
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May 11, 2011 12:16
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RagnarokAngel posted:Yeah, the upside of being in southeast asia is that pocari sweat is in easy supply so that's an option too. Not in Cambodia! When I first got there our PCMO had this orange-flavored stuff that she gave to us, I think it was similar to powdered Gatorade. But after about six months we got a new PCMO who switched us all over to the WHO-approved rear end-flavored oral rehydration salts. The orange powder soon became a form of currency between the volunteers.
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May 29, 2011 12:47
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Private Label posted:No, it's only supposed to be used when you have diarrhea/vomiting, so it keeps your electrolytes in balance. You tend to get insane stomach/intestine issues when you're in a place different from what you've been used to, and usually the host country usually doesn't have the same standards of cleaning their food so you can get food poisoning pretty easily if you're not careful. Diarrhea definitely the most common PCV symptom. Ironically, the only time I got food poisoning in Cambodia was when I was eating at a western-style restaurant in Phnom Pehn. I never got food poisoning when eating the food my host family prepared. Tamgerine posted:That's great news that married couples can stay together. But what is it actually like? Does every volunteer live in a giant house where we'd get no privacy together? What do you mean by "every volunteer?" Every volunteer in the country? Because Peace Corps sends the volunteers all over the host country; chances are very good you will be the only two volunteers in your village. Maybe if you are in a larger city there will be another volunteer but chances are they won't do the same work or work at the same place you do. Especially not since they will be placing a married couple in that site, since then there will be two volunteers instead of just the one. As for actual housing, it varies from country to country. In Cambodia we lived with a host family for the entire time. Other countries help you find your own place after training. I don't remember for sure but I think the married couple in my group had their own little house. Moon Slayer fucked around with this message at 01:56 on May 30, 2011 |
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May 30, 2011 01:53
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Royal D! That was the name. That stuff was worth it's weight in
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May 31, 2011 00:37
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Ronald Spiers posted:Hmm, he doesn't seem like the nicest of guys... Given the non-political nature of Peace Corps and the countries it operates in, you should get used to not only meeting but working with people who aren't the nicest.
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Jun 26, 2011 02:54
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Pocket DeSade posted:It's official, Turkmenistan in October! Congrats! How long has Peace Corps Turkmenistan been around? I thought it was a pretty new program.
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Jul 1, 2011 09:02
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Ronald Spiers posted:Man, I just got a letter that said I am medically deferred unless I gain 9 pounds to reach the threshold of 108 pounds within 2 months... Holy poo poo you weigh 99 pounds? But yes I can see that this would be a serious thing, because most people lose weight during their time in the Peace Corps and they are legitimately worried about people dropping below a healthy weight. I lost 12 pounds in my first three months due to a combination of bad food and illness, and like you I don't have a lot to spare.
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Aug 23, 2011 02:59
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xcdude24 posted:I'm in the midst of completing the initial application, and noticed that library work is listed on the "practical experience" tab. I worked at a library for two years during school, but I don't see library work as a sufficient qualification on any of the employment pages. Does anyone know if anything listed under the practical experience tab suffices to qualify, or am I going to need something different? I'm hoping to get into an English teaching position, but I wouldn't turn down a different line of work if they had something else in mind for me. I don't know if library work will qualify you to do anything other than English teaching, but it wouldn't hurt to call up your local office and ask. Building libraries in rural schools is a pretty common project in Peace Corps countries; there are NGO's that do nothing else.
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Sep 6, 2011 04:28
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Well no matter what, if you want to do Peace Corps you are going to have to get those 30 hours, so if you are serious about this taking care of it now will save you a lot of headache later. Good luck!
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Sep 14, 2011 02:05
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