what is the peace corp like?

Question

how long can you stay
do you stay in a barracks
what do you do
how do you join
how long can you stay
and finally
if you go can you keep your S.S.I

Answer 1

Do you stay in a barracks? No; in lower-middle class housing.

What do you do? Teachers, Nurses, farm advisors and Engineers practice their craft. Your job depend son the skills you have.

How do you join? You apply, listing skills. If your application is approved and a host country needs someone with those skills, you get an invitation.

How long can you stay? The standard term is 2 - 4 months of training and two years of service.

If you go can you keep your S.S.I ?
You've got me stumped on that one. Are you getting a disability check?

Answer 2

First, I'm not certain what you "S.S.I" is... Please translate.

I came back from my 27 months in Peace Corps this past December. I was very much welcomed for my teaching, and I made friends that I will never forget -- both among my fellow volunteers, and among the people of Tanzania.

What Peace Corps requires is that you have a skill you can use in volunteering. What have you done with your life so far? Do you know anything about health? Anything about agriculture, carpentry, or another skill with your hands? Do you have experience in teaching, or a degree in science or math?

You must be 18 to apply, and most of the volunteers have a bachelor's degree. When you arrive in the country, they pair you with a "homestay family" which is a family native to the country you will serve. This is to help you learn the culture and language more quickly. For about 2 months, you will live with this family and go every day to the training center.

It is most definitely an experience worth having! It gave me two years' experience in teaching, with ESL experience that helped me to get a job teaching at a good private school. Beyond the gain back at home, I was able to show some of my family the country (a visit from home) and I was able to make a difference in the lives of many students and a large number of friends from every country in the world. If you have the freedom to spend two years away from the States, you should definitely volunteer!

The Peace Corps is for US citizens only and is therefore more careful with its volunteers than many organizations. As a fellow volunteer stated, the organization is perfect for someone who has never left the country before. There are many weeks of training, and the volunteers are assigned "homestay families" who are also coached in the safety and teaching of their volunteer. Some of our volunteers who had experience outside the country found their extra care tiresome, but it does mean that the volunteers are safe.

Peace Corps does not have an active program in any country that is volitile, and if an area becomes volitile they will evacuate the volunteers. There are drills and plans to follow for each volunteer so that they know their role in such a situation.

That said, you may also want to check in the VSO or Volunteer Services Organization. If you join Peace Corps, you may choose a region of the world -- such as South America or Sub-Saharan Africa.

With the Peace Corps, there are contacts in every town and the people in your village have all necessary contact information with headquarters should they be needed. They also provide free medical care at the headquarters. If there is any danger by terrorists or civil unrest, they will bring you to headquarters and, if necessary, help you all to evacuate.

The "food allowance" is about the same as your "Host Country National" counterparts, housing is provided, and they give you language training and a "counterpart" or helpful local resident to help orient you. The "food allowance" depends on the country you are assigned to, but it is usually about $150 - $300 a month -- more than enough to buy your food in a country where basic groceries cost about $50 a month!

You really should look into it and see if you would like to join; it is most definitely an experience worth having. You can contact me also, if you have questions. You have plenty of time to research it.

And yes, the volunteers made a tangible difference in their communities and the ones nearby. There are environmental volunteers (digging wells, teaching agriculture, teaching sanitation), health volunteers (teaching both in schools and in communities, including HIV/AIDS education), and education volunteers (teaching primarily in schools, science and math subjects).

There are also NGO's (Non-Governmental Organizations) in many countries, which can give you a long-term or even a permanent position. They work with more specific issues, such as AIDS education, literacy in general, or religious education.

Try looking into things! You have Americorps, Peace Corps, VSO, Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Caretakers of the Environment, and NGO's. Most of these will give a (small) food allowance for your help.

If you have other questions, let me know! If you have experience with the Spanish language, there is a very good chance that they would accept you for the Western Hemisphere assignments, and there are many more environmental needs there. Depending on what your abilities are with other areas, fluency in Spanish alone can be a useful qualification. Fluency in French can be a benefit in gaining an assignment in Western Africa. Just FYI!

Answer 3

I feel the Peace corps's would be a great way to show you care about people less fortunate, it seems in today's world people only care about them self's !!

Answer 4

the army

Answer 5

peaceful.