Serving America overseas - Ask us about the Peace Corps!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Serving America overseas - Ask us about the Peace Corps!

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

Phlairdon posted:

How particular are they about volunteers having certain skills in order to qualify? Is there any role that I may be able to fulfill with my art experience, such as possibly working as an educator, etc..., or would they rather have someone with more specific qualities?

I think art skills are really useful for PCVs. A couple in Nicaragua is really artistic and has done all sorts of really amazing, sustainable art projects (their blog is here and they write about the projects. Other PCVs I know that are good at/like art have done world map mural projects and had art clubs. As far as I know there aren't any projects that have art education as their main focus, but I think secondary projects based on your interests are generally much more fulfilling anyway.

# ¿ Sep 12, 2009 03:27

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 10:00

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

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.

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).

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.

# ¿ Sep 19, 2009 18:01

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

Evil Adam posted:

Despite reading hundreds of books, though... christ is my brain complete mush.

Seconding this. I'm in law school now, and after training myself for two years to go with the flow, it's been awfully tough to get back into the practice of thinking critically and being busy all the time.

But I don't mean to be totally negative about it--Peace Corps did allow me lots of time to study for the LSAT, the experience certainly didn't hurt my application, and I think Peace Corps was valuable in giving me a lot more perspective (as opposed to those that went straight through or worked as waiters or something).

# ¿ Oct 19, 2009 07:07

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

Winna posted:

Yeah, all my paperwork for medical is in, i've cleared dental...and they're saying the only peoples medical they're processing are people leaving in the next 4 months.

Yeah, I know i'd probably have to sacrifice the Pacific islands if I requested a sooner post. For sure i'd be a gamble all over again if I requested something sooner. & I find it hard to give up the pacific islands...haha

Once you get a placement officer, you might let him or her know you'd be open to leaving sooner if there any any last-minute openings, but this might risk losing a Pacific Islands placement (your placement officer will likely be for the IAP region--Inter-America and the Pacific). But it would probably be an opening within that region, so not to Asia, Africa, etc. It probably also depends on what sector you're nominated for; if it's a sector that lots of countries have, there could be a sooner possibility, but if it's something rarer, you're probably stuck.

# ¿ Dec 4, 2009 09:23

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

high hopes posted:

Hey, I'm just wondering for people who lived near lots of other PCVs if you actually hang out with them often or pretty much everyone spends most of their time with HCNs thank you

Like all things Peace Corps, it depends on the person... some volunteers spend every weekend out of their sites visiting with other volunteers or hanging out with the PCVs in their area, while others really don't socialize at all with site mates or other PCVs. Some PCVs need time with other PCVs to keep themselves sane, while others feel they're cheating themselves out of the full experience if they don't form close relationship and friendships with HCNs. I had a site mate that I rarely hung out with and a few volunteers in the area that I maybe saw once a month, but since I was serving as a married couple, we hung out with each other more than we did with HCNs or other volunteers.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2009 01:40

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

Thesaurus posted:

Does anyone have experience with joining the Peace Corps with a spouse?

My husband and I taught English in Nicaragua together. A six month rule was just coming into effect as we were applying, but now I believe the twelve month rule is strict. It can take more time to be placed as the process is different (you might check out the early entries of our blog for details about the application and nomination process), but I think a lot of countries really like married couples because they are often more mature and have an easier time since their partner is there with them. It will definitely help that you are both qualified and skilled, and it is probably easier to both be qualified for the same job--if you were only qualified for different sectors, those sectors would have to train at the same time (in Nicaragua, for example, each sector only gets a new group once a year, and groups come three times a year) and Nicaragua now only allows couples in the same sector because even if you are both in training at the same time, different sectors train in different parts of the country, so you would see your spouse only a couple of times during the 11 weeks of training. Since the sectors do their site placements separately, it would also make it harder to coordinate site placement. For us, we just had to be in a town big enough to have two schools, which wasn't a problem at all. This all probably varies a lot by country, though.

As someone else said, China does university English teaching, and I know they are looking for very experienced teachers--they asked all the COSing English volunteers in my group if we wanted to do another stint in China--and it sounds like with a Master's you would be qualified.

# ¿ Dec 12, 2009 22:08

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

Omits-Bagels posted:

Do you know if there is a specific amount of time they want you to be "cancer free" before they'll accept you?

Peace Corps' medical clearance manual is online here (via a FOIA request). It looks like you'll want the Section 7 handbook. This is an amazing resource for anyone going through medical clearance; it shows the exact criteria they use to determine if you can be fully cleared, cleared with restrictions, deferred, or disqualified.

As discussed earlier in the thread, qualifications about the amount of time being married before you can leave are getting longer (1 year now I think), so you might want to keep that in mind as you're planning wedding dates and general timelines. If you have any other questions about the process for married couples, my and my husband's blog is listed in the OP and I am happy to answer any other questions. In a nutshell, it's a much bigger hassle to be nominated/placed, but much better to serve as a married couple.

Edit: I just saw I'm not in the OP. My blog is the same as pragan4's.

# ¿ Jan 14, 2010 07:09

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

reddeh posted:

Getting pregnant is a trip home, and medical separation. If she decides to abort, its a 3 week vacation in DC and then she can return to the field. I can't remember if PC pays for the surgery or not. Also, if you as the husband want to return home you have to ET, you don't get medical separation.

This is correct. PC will not pay for the procedure (government funds cannot be used for abortions), but they will give you an advance on your readjustment allowance to pay for it.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2010 18:38

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

For any (R)PCVs that have to file taxes this year, I just found this spreadsheet (.xls) to figure out taxable allowances. Last year it took until the end of February for our admin officer in-country to get this info to us, and then it was in a really confusing booklet. Hope it's helpful to you guys, too.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2010 08:09

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

Rush Limbaugh #1! posted:

Good article by Peter Hessler in the New Yorker about Peace Corps

I failed the doorknob test in Bulgarian and Mandarin

I failed as well, though I probably saw fewer than 10 doorknobs during my service. There was either just a handle or, more likely, the door was just sloppily made too big for the frame so the door would get stuck shut.

# ¿ Mar 18, 2010 05:01

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

T-Rex Money posted:

I got a call later in the day from my PCMO saying that things have changed a little, and they are sending me to D.C. to get tests done for the allergy. Depending on the results, from there they will be able to either a) send me back to my post. b) find a new post for me. or c) send me back home.

Good luck to you! I hope you get a short, luxurious trip to D.C., and then get to go back "home"!

# ¿ Apr 16, 2010 01:31

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

amethystbliss posted:

I'm considering applying for the Peace Corps within the next few months (would like to start in fall 2011) and have a few questions.

I'm married, but my husband is not a U.S. citizen. I know he couldn't serve with me, but could he at least move to whatever country with me? If not, we've discussed the possibility of being apart for 2 years but the online application says I'll have to supply additional documentation if I'm serving without my spouse. Any idea what this could be?

Also, is it possible to apply from outside of the U.S.? For instance, I'm living in England right now and it would be great if I could have all the medical and dental stuff done for free on the NHS as opposed to flying home. Likewise, would they just do a Skype interview in my case?

Thanks in advance!

Officially, no, he couldn't live with you--PCVs aren't allowed to live with significant others unless they are married and serving together. I know some volunteers that had their boyfriends stay with them for a few months at a time, or a volunteer that moved in with her HCN boyfriend, but it was all kept secret. The extra paperwork is about largely about how you would cope with being apart.

Yes, you can apply from abroad (I think a poster earlier applied from Japan).

# ¿ Jul 5, 2010 21:08

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

Iwate posted:

Speaking of which, has anyone ever gone to a VA hospital and done their exam/tests?
I will be home for a few weeks in august and will try to see if I can get an appointment there so i can get it done for free. Will I have to go more than two times to the hospital?

We did all our medical exams/bloodwork at a DOD hospital on a military base... if you want to get your appointments taken care of at a VA hospital, I would start calling now--the three VA hospitals in our state (Missouri) just refused to help us (and Peace Corps won't do anything to force them to help you), and the DOD hospital that was willing to help couldn't see us for over two months. You should be able to do everything in one trip, though it will depend on what the doctor wants to do about waiting for blood tests (our doctor kept our paperwork until the results came back and then mailed the completed forms to us, but he forgot to sign a couple of places and forgot to fill in a couple of results, so we had to mail the packets back and wait for him to get them and send them back to us a second time before we could send them in to Peace Corps).

Even though we were both healthy (no broken bones, surgeries, illnesses, etc.), it still managed to turn into a huge ordeal.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2010 01:51

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

amethystbliss posted:

Great, thanks for the advice! Do you happen to know if he could live in the same town as me if he can't live in the same house? I read something on the FAQ about how they won't send you anywhere that you have family, though that sounds like a totally different scenario. I emailed my rep to inquire, but thought maybe some of you had first-hand experience.

I'm not sure if they have an official rule about that (probably not, since volunteers are allowed to date people from their towns), but I would be careful about how you bring it up with a recruiter since it might make them question whether you would be ready for the two years apart or whether you'd just break the rules either way.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2010 04:46

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

Pocket DeSade posted:

Read the book "The Unheard" it's a book about serving in the Peace Corp while deaf.

It's a great book, I actually recommended it to everyone here even if you're not deaf.

Thanks for the recommendation! I love Peace Corps memoirs.

Also, my favorite professor (she was not deaf) taught Moroccan sign language during her Peace Corps service and loved it.

# ¿ Jul 9, 2010 01:39

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

melaneyelia posted:

I just wrote the rough draft for my DOS, and my boyfriend read it and his first words were, "It just seems so extremely negative it's not really pleasant to read." Am I doing this wrong?

We got a couple of samples of DOSes from people in our sector... did you get any samples to work from? I wrote mine to be a mostly objective description of what I did as a volunteer--how many students I taught, the projects I did, etc. I don't think it needs to reflect really positively on your experience as a PCV, but I would make it reflect really positively on you, especially since it's signed by your Country Director. If you'd like to see mine as a sample (I was a TEFL volunteer, so it may not be relevant work-wise, but could at least be a sample for tone and stuff to include), PM me.

Peven Stan posted:

Why don't you put it up on google docs so we can take a gander. If it's a story about how you faced and overcame adversity I can imagine it wouldn't be too controversial, as long as you emphasize the overcome part.

I think you might be confused with the application essay... I'm assuming melaneyelia means the Description of Service, which is what you write at the very end of your service and use for non-competitive eligibility and as a recommendation of sorts for stuff after Peace Corps.

# ¿ Aug 25, 2010 04:36

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

Evil Adam posted:

Yes, you can. Some friends of mine from Madagascar just got to their new site in South Africa. Plenty of people go for a second time, though I don't know if I've heard of someone that's done it three or more.

A woman in my group is on her fourth two-year rotation: once in the 60s, two years in Guatemala, two years with me in Nicaragua right after, and is now doing another two years... she's a pretty great volunteer, though.

# ¿ Sep 7, 2010 00:38

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

Pocket DeSade posted:

On the web page, somewhere, I found:

"There is also a monthly newsletter with job listings and networks of people and groups to contact who will be of help."

Any RPCV have any input on what that's like? One of my bigger fears is what to do after the Peace Corps, so I'd love to know how helpful this newsletter actually is.

The newsletter is Hotline and anyone can access it. It's helpful for international development work, I think, but probably not much else. I wouldn't worry, though, about not knowing now what you want to do after Peace Corps--my post-Peace Corps plans changed significantly during my service and I think many others in my group had the same experience.

# ¿ Feb 28, 2011 06:55

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

newberstein posted:

Thank you very much for the insight. I am just at the beginning of the process so I am a little intimidated by it all. Does anyone have any further information about accommodation for allergies that result in anaphalactic shock?

You should check out the Peace Corps medical clearance manual, which is available here. It looks like you'll want Section 3 (PDF). My experience is that they're quite strict and see things in black and white, but you never know.

Moon Slayer, perhaps you could update the OP section about medical clearance to include this link? All the information was requested through FOIA. It's a few years old now (most looks like it's 2006 or 2007), but I don't know how often it would change, and it's a good starting point either way.

# ¿ Feb 28, 2011 08:48

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

Evil Adam posted:

I said whatever I wanted to on my blog and I'm fairly sure the higher ups saw it. Peace Corps can blow me if they think they were gonna pressure me to censor myself.

We had a list of Peace Corps interview questions posted on our blog (some that we remembered, mostly a reposted list from some other Peace Corps listserv) and D.C. contacted our country director and asked him to ask us to remove it (apparently too many people were well-rehearsed for the interview, and our blog was a high result on Google). Our country director was really old and doesn't really understand blogs, but he was cool and told us he didn't care. I would be worried about blogging things that would be offensive to your host country or counterparts, but otherwise I felt free to post complaints and criticisms.

# ¿ Apr 21, 2011 01:23

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

Iwate posted:

What do those of you who have written it think? I feel I have answered everything, but I only have about a page. Does the aspiration statement really matter all that much?

I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter. They read a portion of one person's aspiration statement at our swearing in or something like that, and they also quote from your aspiration statement if you die while serving in Peace Corps (

), but those are the uses I know of. As long as your took it seriously, you'll be fine.

# ¿ May 4, 2011 01:47

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

Thesaurus posted:

Any clues on what Spanish speaking country they'd send two experienced English teachers to? I know that English teaching isn't necessarily a common peace corps occupation in Latin America compared to other regions. A possible clue is that she said that this post only requires two semesters of Spanish instead of four... could it be because we'd be learning some native language, like Guarani or something?

My husband and I were English teachers in Nicaragua, and they seem to like married couples. I believe the TEFL program arrives every August. I think a second TEFL program started in another Latin American country after we COSed (in 2009), but I don't remember where. Our blog that we updated fairly regularly from Nicaragua is here.

# ¿ Mar 24, 2012 05:51

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

Borscht posted:

I got my nomination today!!! I'll be teaching English in a non-Spanish speaking post in Central/South America, departing in mid-April 2013. Apparently the health packet wont be sent until mid-August and the entire process is in the middle of being re-vamped.

So what does it mean that I will be teaching English at a non-Spanish speaking post in Central/South America? Does That mean that the entire country doesn't speak Spanish or just the people at the site?

A TEFL PCV from my group (in Nicaragua) had to leave the country, and she got sent to teach English in Belize... it was a non-Spanish speaking post, so maybe you're going to Belize?

# ¿ Jun 13, 2012 06:27

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

huhu posted:

Just got picked for Panama doing environmental work ad they are only allowing me 7 days to decide. But it's the exact position and location I wanted... going to be a fun week of deciding if this will be my first job after college.

If you think it's going to take you the full week to decide if you want your dream country and assignment, I'd be quite concerned... If you already have doubts, I'd take that as your answer.

# ¿ Feb 9, 2013 01:20

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 10:00

Grammar Fascist: May 29, 2004; Y-O-U-R, Y-O-U-Apostrophe-R-E... They're as different as night and day. Don't you think that night and day are different? What's wrong with you?

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.

I agree that you should do Peace Corps first. You can also extend your non-competitive eligibility for up to two years if you're a full-time student.

# ¿ May 29, 2013 22:07

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Serving America overseas - Ask us about the Peace Corps!