 Peace Corps |
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| Peace Corps |
 May 18 2008, 08:59 PM
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#1
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Group: Members Posts: 556 Joined: 22-February 06 Member No.: 16  |
Any of ya'll have any experience in or with the Peace Corps? Seriously thinking about applying.
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May 18 2008, 09:24 PM
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#2
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 Group: Admin Posts: 3,403 Joined: 23-February 06 From: PDX/TXL Member No.: 35 |
QUOTE (Aaron @ May 18 2008, 09:59 PM)  Any of ya'll have any experience in or with the Peace Corps? Seriously thinking about applying. I have a friend currently serving in rural Ecuador and one in Albania / Serbia. Both enjoy it and love the experience of being somewhat cut off from the rest of the world focusing on helping a specific set of people. -------------------- "There is a level of cowardice lower than that of the conformist: that of the fashionable non-conformist." |
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May 18 2008, 09:38 PM
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#3
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 New son Donovan Charles Mummert born July 17, 2008 Group: Members Posts: 8,635 Joined: 22-February 06 From: Port Wentworth, GA Member No.: 15 |
I've always heard about the peace corps stuff but I really know nothing at all about it. Everything I think I know about it are just assumptions. What are the benefits? Are they simply humanitarian?
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May 18 2008, 10:59 PM
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#4
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Group: Members Posts: 556 Joined: 22-February 06 Member No.: 16 |
QUOTE (Jessica @ May 18 2008, 10:38 PM) I've always heard about the peace corps stuff but I really know nothing at all about it. Everything I think I know about it are just assumptions. What are the benefits? Are they simply humanitarian? Nothing Earth shattering, certainly. You get the opportunity to defer your Federal student loans (Stafford, etc.), receive some type of weekly or monthly stipend commensurate with the average person in your assigned area (i.e. whatever the locals make, you make) and $6,000 upon completion of your tour. I would suspect that for most people who end up doing this sort of thing, the intangible benefits greatly outweigh the tangible... though I'm sure those vary widely from person to person. What initially attracts me to the possibility of joining the Peace Corps: immersing myself in another culture, learning another language and seeing more of the world. I mean, I'd lose two years of income and career development (which is not something that I'm too terribly concerned about), not to mention two years away from family, etc... but if I end up going through with it (big if at this point, obviously) I can't imagine I would look back on it 20 years later and regret joining up. |
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May 19 2008, 01:26 AM
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#5
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 Oh baby bring me down  Group: Agents Posts: 4,115 Joined: 23-February 06 From: Way out yonder Member No.: 68 |
I get to meet other cultures and sell them weapons.
But seriously, if you want to do it, go for it. Personally its like military service for myself, I wouldn't get to use my full knowledge to help out. -------------------- Southern Rock, beer and bears!
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May 19 2008, 01:30 AM
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#6
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 Group: Moderators Posts: 2,558 Joined: 22-February 06 From: Seoul, South Korea Member No.: 28 |
i almost did it Aaron.
ultimately i decided to teach English in Korea because it's very similar to the experience you want: immersing yourself in another culture, learning another language, and plus..the money is WAY better. --------------------  |
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May 19 2008, 07:33 AM
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#7
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Group: Members Posts: 756 Joined: 22-February 06 From: san marcos, tx Member No.: 27 |
i have many friends who have served, or are serving in the peace corp
and most of the ones who are a few years displaced said it was such an amazing experience, but they mainly did it to "find themselves" and want to go back so that it would be more about the service and self exploration. when i was considering it, they told me to take into consideration my motivations and whether or not that would be enough for me to be away for 27 months. |
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May 19 2008, 08:55 AM
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#8
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 Group: Members Posts: 2,329 Joined: 20-June 07 Member No.: 1,243 |
Aaron, what do you do for a living?
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May 19 2008, 09:13 AM
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#9
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Group: Members Posts: 556 Joined: 22-February 06 Member No.: 16 |
QUOTE (Oasis @ May 19 2008, 09:55 AM) Aaron, what do you do for a living? I work in IT. I'm part of the development team for a law firm here in Houston, but the only thing they have us developing are reports and the like. Pretty meh. |
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May 19 2008, 11:01 AM
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#10
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Group: Moderators Posts: 2,558 Joined: 22-February 06 From: Seoul, South Korea Member No.: 28 |
i taught with this one chick at my last school who did the peace corps for the full 2 years or whatever, but liked teaching in asia much more.
anyway, you could teach english just about anywhere....latin america, middle east, korea, japan, china, thailand...eastern europe. western europe is the only difficult place (unless you're british). -------------------- |
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May 19 2008, 11:48 AM
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#11
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 Group: Moderators Posts: 2,499 Joined: 23-February 06 From: El Paso Texas Member No.: 32 |
my friend is currently in Africa, he digs it so far. he's been there since Oct.
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May 19 2008, 03:55 PM
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#12
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Group: Members Posts: 556 Joined: 22-February 06 Member No.: 16 |
Jonathan, what program did you roll with when you taught in South Korea?
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May 19 2008, 05:04 PM
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#13
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Group: Moderators Posts: 2,558 Joined: 22-February 06 From: Seoul, South Korea Member No.: 28 |
not any program really. you can just look for jobs online really easily. the jobs are just with private schools over here, but you can find them through websites and private online recruiters. actually i'm still here, i'm on my 2nd year.
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May 19 2008, 06:09 PM
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#14
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Group: Members Posts: 531 Joined: 26-June 06 From: San Marcos and San Antonio Member No.: 221 |
I have a friend that worked in Uruguay and loved it. She built schools and stuff. She actually met her husband there.
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May 19 2008, 07:03 PM
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#15
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Group: Members Posts: 2,329 Joined: 20-June 07 Member No.: 1,243 |
QUOTE (Aaron @ May 19 2008, 10:13 AM) I work in IT. I'm part of the development team for a law firm here in Houston, but the only thing they have us developing are reports and the like. Pretty meh. For some reason I thought you followed Dean's career path and ended up writing for Rivals or Scout -------------------- |
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