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What is the peace corp like?

What's it like in the Peace Corp.?

  • I am thinking of joining, but was curious to see what people had to say that where in it. I am 35 yrs old, male, with 10 years experience in the business world, though 6 yrs. would be in the real estate industry. I enjoy the few times I had volunteered for things like a week down in Bay St. Louis to rebuild, working with the CCFA, & participated in my church youth group while in college. I hope this helps to answer my question better.

  • Answer:

    I'm currently a Peace Corps volunteer in Eastern Europe. Whether you should join is a question that only YOU can answer. If you're simply looking for a continuation of your life at home in the US--just with new scenery, then the Peace Corps probably isn't for you. If, however, you are looking for an opportunity to have an impact on the lives of others by sharing your knowledge and experience with groups and individuals looking to improve their standard of living and those of their fellow citizens, then PC is certainly one option to consider! I feel the need to respond to one of the other totally irresponsible and glib replies given here about poverty and rape. (Notice I said "irresponsible" and "glib" and not "wrong"...) First of all, you will not be living in poverty. While you definitely won't have the same lifestyle as you do at home, you won't be begging on the streets! As a Peace Corps volunteer, you are expected to live at the same standard of living as the people in the community in which you live. For example, this could mean anything from living in a mud hut with few of the modern conveniences that we as Americans take for granted. Or, as it is in my case here, it could mean having internet access at home and McDonald's relatively nearby. (These are both extreme examples. A LOT depends on where in the world you end up serving!) Second, you are not going to be raped the moment you walk out your door! Like anywhere in the world, you have to be aware of your surroundings and the people around you--especially since in some cases you will be the only foreigner in your community. I'm not saying that rape is impossible, but most of the countries to which Peace Corps sends volunteers have crime rates (violent or otherwise!) far below any city in the US! If you use the same "survivor" instincts you would use when visiting a large US city for the first time, you should be fine anyplace you end up with Peace Corps. Now, I don't want to leave you with the impression that serving in the Peace Corps is a bed of roses! There will be days (maybe even weeks!) when you'll ask yourself what the hell you're doing, how many more times you can bang your head against the same wall, and whether you're making any difference at all. Just know that those feelings usually pass. My last piece of advice (I promise!) would be to try to seek out former volunteers who live in your area. The National Peace Corps Association is a group made up of former volunteers who have returned home. Their site is at (www.rpcv.org) and they have lists of returned volunteer groups meeting in all areas of the country. Trust me, there's nothing that a former PC volunteer likes more than to talk about their service! Or, try going to the Peace Corps website (www.peacecorps.gov) and finding the nearest Peace Corps recruiting office to you. They almost always have a list of former volunteers who would be happy to tell you about their experiences--both positive and negative. Good luck with your decision...no matter what it is!

Michael B at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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I agree with one of the above answers and think it is a good one, except for the poverty issue. I suppose considering yourself poor is a very subjective perception: what do you consider being poor? Begging on the streets? Then I guess you're not poor in the Peace Corps, although you may end up having to hitchhike now and then....if living in a hut is not being poor to you, then you are not poor while in the Peace Corps, although you know access to fresh potable water is limited or the water you have access to may give you parasites. If not having enough money to buy the food and the clothes than even the "poor" people in your community are buying or getting somehow, does not bother you, then you're not poor in the Peace Corps, but you know you may end up being underdressed as a general rule while you are expected to blend in and respect the community's culture and way of life. Peace Corps is not perfect, and no one should idealize it. It brings about a set of emotional challenges like few other experiences I have ever known. In my opinion, you'll get to experience poverty, if not first hand, at least you'll stare at it in the face-no telling stories-; and it won't be easy. Being a volunteer is sometimes a life full of contradictions: nothing and all is expected from you at the same time. We have freedom but responsibility, individuality but must attempt to integrate into the surrounding culture, even when that culture around us is not nearly as integrated as it should be to be considered a healthy mature society. You are expected to surf into sometimes a fragmented society that has not begun to solve its basic problems or to heal its wounds, because they are too busy wondering how to solve an even more basic need. But they may present an image of belonging to a good social level and of enjoying a good economical standard, sometimes achieved by less than the most honorable means....I am not trying to discourage you, I am trying to describe what I've seen in my first year of volunteering in Eastern Europe and what I've learned through two acquaintances RPCVs from Central and South America. To be a successful volunteer, you truly must possess and open mind, because you don't go to a country simply to teach, you go to understand. That is the only way you will be mildly successful.

Tontisima

My daughter was a PC volunteer in Ukraine for 2 years. You get all kinds of immunizations and briefings about the environment, weather, political situations. They try not to put you in openly hostile areas or areas like Chernobyl sp??? Anyway, she had to learn to eat totally different food - mostly cabbage and potatos. Everyone was poor. A lot of alcoholism. she enjoyed teaching English and two of her students won a national English contest and are coming to US to study. She meet cool people - other PC volunteers and her students. She now has a PC veterans scholarship and is working on her masters. She can speak several languages and dialects. All in all, it was a great experience.

kathy s

you live in poverty and have the constant possibility of being raped. in the butt.

Jessica B

I wish I knew :( I always wanted to join, but can't because I wasn't able to finish college.

*Some crazy girl*

I have been a PCV two times. It sounds to me like you could really help in some country that needs help in starting small businesses out in the bush. You are encouraged to have a secondary project as well......build a school, a kiosk, a community building.........that sort of thing. You help and teach. You don't do the work. After all you are teaching them new skills, maybe. I worked a lot in the field of agriculture and also nutrition for children in Africa.. In Jamaica I taught Agricultural Science and Biology in high school. If you have questions I can answer contact me. I'm new to this Yahoo site and I dont know how. Maybe you do! Both Stuart and Tontisim's comments ahead of mine are right on the money!

Give Blood

You will experience the gift of love, such as giving, sharing, caring, patience and understanding. You will see new perspective in life and really appreciate what you have and what you can give. Hope to hear from when you get back. Good luck my friend.

Zoivic.com

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