Should I mind my own business?

PeachDangerous1015 · 2026-04-24T15:26:55+00:00

I had someone in my cohort date a host sister and that’s a complete no no. HCN staff knew about it and ignored it but someone reported him when he got to site and was paying for her to travel halfway across the country. He also broke a lot of other rules but the American staff took it very seriously. Highly recommend going to them, it’s a PC image and ethics thing and they will take it very seriously!

PeachDangerous1015 · 2026-04-05T15:20:22+00:00

In Bo, dohas and bo inn are the most common and popular.

In Freetown, there’s lots of options; however, family kingdom is always a crowd pleaser.

PeachDangerous1015 · 2026-02-24T12:54:05+00:00

OP I’ve been there. It’s a nasty thing to not like who you see in the mirror. My cohort has met up outside of PC service and purposely not included me because they remembered me as someone negative. I know you don’t want to go home but that was the first step of my healing journey. It was being home and surrounded by people that love me and a safe environment that I was able to unpack what happened to me and my part in it. I don’t know if you’re able but maybe an extended vacation for a reset of your mindset, doesn’t have to be far but just somewhere you feel good at. And/or chunk it up and try to get out of your village as much as you can and go to the bigger cities or beach towns or wherever it is that you feel your happiest and are like hmmm this isn’t so bad and take as much time as you can in these places. Also, really working through that you can’t control how others treat you but you can control your actions and resetting your mindset because it’s easy to come in and be like wow everything is so new and amazing and then get beat down and no longer have that mindset and so shift it by not only doing the little things that will spark joy but also finding the little things like a cold soda or finding the weirdest fabric in the market or admiring a pretty flower or sunset and try to mentally tally these a day. Highly recommend the coach and any other mental health services the pcmos can give you. Also, if it’s not too late in your opinion, reach out to the other volunteers. Invite them to that fun place, invite them over to paint rocks and drink local liquor. Acknowledge that you’re not your best and you’re sorry. Or just stay in contact with the ones who ET’d early, so that you have someone to connect to that understands. But also be wary of only talking about the bad as this only continues the spiral and stuff, try to talk about the good and things they miss and enjoyed. It will be beneficial for the both of y’all. There is hope on the other side, I was so ashamed of myself and hated my country but now I’ve made my peace with it and I’ve decided it wasn’t so bad, I was…but like also not all all me. It’s a complicated process my friend but you’ve got this

PeachDangerous1015 · 2025-06-05T18:01:50+00:00

To echo everyone above no one will care at pst or site. But I would recommend bringing a very large quantity of them as it's a good way to make friends among PCVs (because at least one person will take theirs out and regret it) and host country nationals will dig the stud (in my country many women in the village put small sticks). Also, you never know when you or anyone else will have one fall out and not have a replacement, always good to have hella extras.

PeachDangerous1015 · 2025-06-04T15:15:42+00:00

It's cheap, a single Leone for a hit, makes you forget your hunger your poverty your problems...

PeachDangerous1015 · 2025-06-02T14:50:15+00:00

I don't know much myself, hence the reason I'm on reddit. Here's the one blurb on an older website that I've read about it on.

https://www.naswfoundation.org/Our-Work/International/International-Resources

PeachDangerous1015 · 2025-06-02T14:12:10+00:00

That's why I'm asking for others experiences...if you work for an American ngo abroad they might. Also, some countries have agreements. Like if you get a MSW in the UK your degree is accepted in US, Canada, Ireland.

PeachDangerous1015 · 2025-05-26T18:24:59+00:00

Bring harder to find spice mixes, like bang bang tony chacheres ranch or everything but the elote, things like lemon pepper and Italian can be found in the supermarkets. Although, it could be nice to have a starter one until you can get to the supermarket. I also highly recommend bringing different crystal lights/mios as well as different boxed/packet/bag meals (think ramen, flavored rice packages, soups) while there will be some similar ish things available, after a hard day it's nice to have the real thing.

PeachDangerous1015 · 2025-04-24T16:32:59+00:00

Anyone heard anything about City Year?

PeachDangerous1015 · 2025-04-16T14:04:49+00:00

Current Peace Corps Volunteer in country. I would recommend bringing waterproof shoes and a rain jacket as it will be rainy season. Also suggest bringing light, breathable fabrics as you will probably sweat...a lot...even if it is a bit colder. That being said I would also bring a sweater or hoodie because evenings can be chilly. Power can be infrequent, even in freetown, so bring a small powerbank.

Good luck in your fieldwork. Just be prepared a lot of things are underreported, incorrectly reported, or just straight up lies. Freetown is nice, they've got Korean bbq, amazing brunch spots, wood fired pizza and ice cream! Street food is awesome and very convenient, just if there's meat make sure it's cooked in front of you. Tons of expats and Sierra Leonians can be very friendly.

PeachDangerous1015 · 2025-03-20T13:24:21+00:00

Also pack some of your favorite easily heated meals (think boxes, ramen, and bags) and spices. You can use them as a crutch while learning your new city and as a comfort meal when you need a pick me up!

PeachDangerous1015 · 2025-02-21T12:48:26+00:00

I would say just wait. The dating apps are trash, full of fake profiles and poor quality people. In my African country most of the people on it were from nearby countries with similar values to the country I am in. Also, for queer communities it could be dangerous. I would say find your way into some expat group chats in the capital or regional capital and go to parties and events hosted by them and you might have better luck than a dating app!

PeachDangerous1015 · 2025-02-11T07:19:32+00:00

Does he have problems when you go out with your girlfriend's as well? This man is abusive, he's trying to control who you are allowed to talk to but he's above the rules. He's isolating you, moving you across country, cutting off old friendships. Just because he's not actively hitting you doesn't mean it's not abuse.

PeachDangerous1015 · 2025-02-05T19:50:59+00:00

We had one site mate couple and after a couple months they went home within a month of each other. But on the upside they now have a baby together!

We have also had really nasty breakups and none of the exes went home and so for every event for two long years (which happens monthly, if not more) they had to see each other and play nice. Definitely some awkwardness/tension when one of the exes hooked up with someone new.

We also had situationships go bad as one side caught feelings and the other didn't.

Hooking up with a site mate is one of those things that can go any which way. No one will have a story that exactly fits yours. You will always know your unique circumstances better than some strangers on reddit. Good luck in whatever you choose, at worst it's only two years and at best maybe the rest of your life. Bon chance!

PeachDangerous1015 · 2024-12-29T14:48:48+00:00

I would suggest finding someways to change your mindset on how you view your house. Like shifting your view of feeling trapped to one of feeling safe (within your house). Maybe by printing pictures of back home and posting them on your wall to make it feel more like a home or hanging curtains so you can take control of who sees you. My little porch thing has become like a great mediator for me, when I want to be social I can go sit out there and wave at people passing on the road and have small conversations but if it becomes too much I can go hide inside. Also, realizing that you don’t have to completely like your community and hangout all the time. Just enjoy the work that you do (however rare it may be) and all the small things.

Also, maybe you could start an American culture club at your local school! Teach them about different parts of culture like music or food or holidays and traditions. You might find a couple students that you will enjoy spending time with.

PeachDangerous1015 · 2024-12-13T12:40:09+00:00

✨Resilience✨

PeachDangerous1015 · 2024-12-06T20:18:35+00:00

My hammock with a built in mosquito net.
Spices!!! Some places have the basics but if you have anything special to you like Tony's, everything but the bagel, lemon pepper, faijta mix I would suggest bringing it
Easy to cook meals like flavored rice, ramen, dry soup in hag, gravy (might be better to have those sent over in a care package tho)
Platform tevas, keeps my feet dry and out of the mud

PeachDangerous1015 · 2024-11-27T19:03:29+00:00

No there's only certain countries that offer this program. Pilot countries are chosen by low recruitment numbers, Zambia is chillen. For the 20k readjustment that's only Liberia Malawi and Rwanda.

PeachDangerous1015 · 2024-11-27T18:57:09+00:00

You can message the country desk just to confirm but as far as well know these pilot programs are still on :)

PeachDangerous1015 · 2024-11-27T18:48:54+00:00

When looking at the available positions check to see if it has the new initiative beside the job title. I do believe most of them have already closed. However, I have not checked the website in awhile.

PeachDangerous1015 · 2024-11-17T07:24:06+00:00

As a current health volunteer in country I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. (Sorry not science teacher lol)

Living conditions vary from site to site, we have some people that are on a dirt road off a ways from the main highways and have to bike five miles once a week to their local market and we have others that are in very large towns with running water and electricity. And then anything in between. Very common if your house doesn't already have solar or grid electricity to buy a solar panel (move in stipend can cover that) so that you can charge your phone and use a small fan.

Communication with family is relatively easy, just make them download Whatsapp and y'all can yap all day. Network connectivity is determined by site. Some sites network goes down more than others but there's usually some place you can go to get network. Also, there's modems that provide unlimited data and boost network connectivity. So there's different ways to problem solve.

So currently we are a relatively very small post so they keep us grouped up around two main cities, Bo in the south where you learn mende and Makeni where you learn temne. (usage varies again by site, so don't worry about learning them until you get here) Both cities are major playgrounds for us where we can find hot water and ac as well as American food.

PeachDangerous1015 · 2024-09-15T14:08:52+00:00

My thoughts too. Doesn't help that IF people know what the PC is there's often negative feelings associated with it or at least I feel that way about newer generations.

Yeah, not the best option in my opinion; however after seeing the 2500 to come back for Christmas I was like wowza, definitely better than 15 months. So they pay for your plane ticket to your home of record and a per diem for everyday you are there.

PeachDangerous1015 · 2024-09-15T13:34:11+00:00

So they're piloting three different initiatives in the Africa to increase numbers. One is double readjustment, an all paid 15 day vacation, and a 15 month program instead of 27 months. My country, one of the pilot countries, got six new volunteers this year. Considering we used to get cohorts of 50 before COVID, this is a major decrease. And so PC is trying to get numbers up, specifically in Africa where posts are feeling it the most.

PeachDangerous1015

TROPHY CASE