What is International Studies?

I want to join the peace corps, I plan to get my degree in International/Global studies.What would I do there?

• I plan to get my degree in International/Global studies. I have a fascination with the middle east, so while getting my degree in college I'll most likely chose Arabic as the second language to pursue, and study abroad as much as I can afford. So, what would the peace corps have a girl with a degree in this do? Im not a nurse, so I can't heal. I'm not an architect or engineer. I'm not a scientist. What in the would would they use me for? I want to make a difference, live within difficult conditions and experience life on a whole new level.

• Answer:

  Well, you're in luck, because Peace Corps doesn't heal anyone, and they don't design or engineer much. What you should do is read about Peace Corps. Check out the official site, the Wiki and the Yahoo discussion group. You'll read about the sectors involved and you can think about what interests you. Don't go into a recruiter's office acting like "oh,I'm not sure what you want me for." Study it and know what you want -- it's your service, and you can impact people in more ways than you think. Basically, you bring your own skill set and use it how you want. If you're interested in health, for example, you can teach nutrition. If saving the environment is your thing, you can establish clubs with kids to try to recycle, reduce, plant trees, etc. If you're a theater lover, you can teach that. (This was BIG in Morocco; we had SIDA theater competitions.) Don't get your hopes up, though. Peace Corps isn't easy, but I personally didn't know anyone who lived "within difficult conditions" like you're probably thinking. These days, PCVs have washing machines, cable, satellite, big screens, Internet, cell phones, etc. There are difficulties, but not in the expected areas. "Life on a whole new level" is also sort of a red flag, to tell you the truth. There are highs and there are lows. You need to go into it with as few expectations as possible, which is tough to do. Don't expect to change the world, because you won't. You will make great relationships in individual lives, but honestly it's rare to do a lot more than that. Think small and you'll be fine. Arabic is a good language to pursue, but remember there are a slew of different dialects, and just knowing it doesn't mean you'll be placed in an Arabic-speaking country. The few people I served with who had some knowledge of Arabic coming in actually had a harder time learning the local language, Darija, which has a lot of French mixed in.