Has anybody done peace corps???

Question

im interested in doin something like this and i just want to knw if you would recomend this ?? wht did you like n didnt like ? would you do it again? can you just give me your opinion about it please? ooh n was it hard to get into???

Answer 1

I think you might have to be American to be able to volunteer for Peace Corps.

Answer 2

I was a PCV 1971-1972. My daughter is one today.

I worked harder and learned more about myself and the world than at any other time in my life. It was the best experience of my life, all told.

In talking with other returned PCVs, the people who have the best experiences get specific assignments (as opposed to "community development") and go to countries with reasonably honest governments. If you get stuck in West Africa working for a government whose main purpose is to pile money into the President-for-Life's Swiss bank account, you are going to have a bad experience.

92 percent of all PCVs have a Bachelor's at least; 28 percent have a Master's. The 8 percent who don't have a degree have 10 - 50 years of expereince in a field a host country has asked for, like farming or small engine repair.

It sounds harsh, but good intentions are not enough. In one sense the Peace Corps is like an employment service, in that they match people with skills who want to volunteer with requests from developing countries for people with those skills. Developing countries want college graduates, for the most part.

The official web site is graphics-heavy but comprehensive:

http://www.peacecorps.gov

If you are interested, you can read about my time as a PCV in Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, 1971 - 1972:

http://www.tedpack.org/pchead.html

There is much more there than I can paste here. It isn't all about my experiences. I search Y!A for the phrase "Peace Corps" every week. I have a page devoted to the questions that come up the most frequently. The page "Peace Corps Links" has a link to the Returned PCV web ring, which has 40+ other RPCV sites.

You can Google "Peace Corps Volunteer Blog" to find sites about more current experiences.

Answer 3

no, I want to though.

Answer 4

My friend spent 2 years in the Peace Corps in Africa. He said it was the best time of his life. /