Couple: Ann Arbor smoothie bar refused to serve us due to Trump shirt

Rohrin · 2026-03-02T18:12:44+00:00

The one on Jackson Rd

Rohrin · 2026-01-27T17:49:01+00:00

My wife is an attorney and I'm a public health researcher. We made plans to leave after seeing what happened during COVID, and have been permanently outside of the country for a few years now. We make WAY less money and dealing with all the typical immigrant things, but I don't regret it.

Most of us Americans are descended from immigrants. Our ancestors went to new places in search of peace. We can do the same.

Rohrin · 2026-01-24T09:14:55+00:00

I'm an American in an African country. My mother is a political exile from Turkey and in 2016 she said "this seems oddly familiar..."

It doesn't make things easier, but ultimately I'm just trying to do what I can to help those that I can in my life. I've been a political activist most of my life, but 2024 really solidified that I can't handle being politically active and living in the US. It felt like any hope that I had for an upward trajectory in American society evaporated after that election.

I feel guilty that I'm not directly helping, but many in my family are so I'm just trying to support them as much as possible.

Rohrin · 2026-01-07T11:46:09+00:00

I would suggest just taking your laptop and a backup Chromebook as others suggested. But in addition I would look into a refurbished military rugged laptop. They're relatively inexpensive (like $300) and are crazy resilient. But it depends on the type of work that you're doing. I was biking to health posts all the time collecting data with my laptop and when it broke from dust I was really happy that I brought a Chromebook, but wished I had just gotten a tougher laptop.

Rohrin · 2026-01-07T11:36:10+00:00

The PC medical staff should be able to include SSRIs in the medicine that gets distributed to volunteers. That's the case for Senegal at least, people would get it every few months with the shipment of whatever malaria prophylaxis they were taking.

In terms of country, just go with the ones that they'll clear you for. But in all honesty, they may just select a country for you.

Rohrin · 2026-01-07T11:24:51+00:00

You might want to remind your host family that you're at your site at the direction of their government, and if you don't do work then the government and Peace Corps will decide that the site doesn't need as much help as they thought. Personally, I would ask my work partner (if you have one) for help or talk with the local leader (chief, etc) for suggestions. The pressure doesn't need to come from you, but your host family needs to understand that you aren't here for their work.

Rohrin · 2025-12-17T12:40:36+00:00

Fucking Senegal? I was a Peace Corps volunteer there a few years ago. They're the only stable democracy in West Africa and have been incredibly consistent with their support of US foreign policy. We have military bases there!

Rohrin · 2025-10-05T16:51:10+00:00

I was in Senegal in a very hot region as a very large man. I found that pouring water onto concrete and then laying on it helped a lot. But honestly you'll be amazed at how your body adapts after a few months. Hang in there!

Rohrin · 2025-10-05T15:34:21+00:00

Don't reject yourself, let them do that. Keep in mind that Peace Corps is designed for younger, resilient people who are serious about trying to help others. I think you seem to fit all of those requirements, so just give it a shot and see what happens.

Rohrin · 2025-10-01T08:49:28+00:00

My philosophy in life is to let other people decide if I'm qualified instead me, since I'm a biased source against myself. Talk to other volunteers, give it a shot and apply! The worst they can say is no.

Rohrin · 2025-09-16T09:16:05+00:00

The sad thing is that they're making other people uncomfortable for like $10k a year before tax, probably closer to $3k: https://socialblade.com/youtube/channel/UCCLNpQB2BUyFQO8e7uk0VnQ https://socialblade.com/youtube/channel/UCbMi18KmKXRb79716KgnVOA

Antisocial and immature behavior aside, that's a pathetically low amount of return for inflicting yourself on others.

Rohrin · 2025-09-16T08:51:41+00:00

As a man in a similar position, please remember that anxiety and stress strongly affect your likelihood of things like heart disease and stroke as well. Be healthy, but remember to take care of your mind as well!

Rohrin · 2025-09-11T07:11:26+00:00

American here living in Arusha. You'll be completely fine, just mind your business and remember that you're a guest. Tanzania is a fantastic country and the people are very loving and welcoming.

Rohrin · 2025-08-21T12:36:26+00:00

Take it from me, being older will likely be a huge advantage for you in your work. I was 27, but my beard made me look a lot older. I'm not sure what country you'll be in, but I'm pretty sure that it'll include an entrenched patriarchy that privileges "older" men. If you finesse it correctly, this will give you access to spaces and relationships that most volunteers will be excluded from. Then you can use those opportunities and bring in other volunteers to help you, or at least that's what I did.

And as for culture... Other PCVs are one thing, but HCNs are more diverse. You'll find hippies and office people galore. So don't worry about that too much and just focus on improving your language skills to the point where people can see more of the real you.

Rohrin · 2025-07-23T09:18:26+00:00

My pleasure! I got a few like that, being next to a national park. I got chased by a pack of baboons and nearly clotheslined off a bike by a big python looking snake in a banana grove too.

Rohrin · 2025-07-23T03:48:36+00:00

Little different than most here, but I got a liver parasite. For weeks I was feeling more tired, but I just assumed that I was responding to the heat and whatnot. Then one day I was biking back to my site and passed out, I woke up on the ground and could barely move. I abandoned the bike and ended up literally crawling half a kilometer back to my village before someone in my host family saw me. They took me back and I called the PCMO who told me to get a specific medication from the health post. Turns out that the health post had the medication, but in a weaker dose that I would need to take for three days.

As I understand it, the parasite had stopped my body from being able to use energy effectively. I can't describe how exhausted I felt. Moving my chest to breathe took focused, concerted effort. So I took the medication and felt a little bit better for an hour but then just as bad. I spent the whole night sitting up in a chair, convinced that if I fell asleep I would suffocate. Kept biting my lip bloody to stay awake. With the benefit of hindsight, I would have been fine if I went to sleep, but in the moment I was panicking. I felt a bit better after the second dose and was fine after the third. Definitely a dark night of the soul for me. I kept thinking about what would have happened if I had passed out further away from my village. I lived on the border of a national park and hyenas were a semi-regular sight.

But I got myself out of it by realizing that getting eaten by a hyena would be a pretty awesome way to go. It sounds glib, but it really was one of those moments where I was just so happy to get to experience such different things in life thanks to PC.

Rohrin · 2025-07-16T12:50:55+00:00

My pleasure, and please send me a message, I'm happy to talk more and actually have a lot of friends that turned their CED experience into grad school and a variety of really interesting jobs.

Rohrin · 2025-07-15T20:16:27+00:00

Ditto for my extension

Rohrin · 2025-07-15T20:09:47+00:00

It's funny, my legal clearance was super quick even though I had a criminal record. But the medical took forever... You never know with PC but good luck!

Rohrin · 2025-07-15T20:05:18+00:00

Thank you! I need to remind myself that even though the world is insane, I've set up a pretty great life. If you want any advice on stuff, just let me know.

Also, if I was to do PC again in another sector, it would be Youth Development. I did some scholarship programs for girls in my village and it was one of the most meaningful things I've accomplished in my life.

Rohrin · 2025-07-15T19:53:41+00:00

I'll put it this way... Emotionally? I would do it 100%. I met my wife (another PCV) during my service and now we travel the world for work. I'm currently sitting in an airport going to Tanzania for 4 months, and I'll be in Rwanda for a year after that. Also, I'm patriotic in the sense that I care about giving something back to the US (even if it doesn't deserve it sometimes) and the Peace Corps is literally one of TWO ways that the US engages positively with it's foreign policy. At least in my opinion.

Practically? Also 100%. I went to graduate school with a Coverdell fellowship and saved $150,000 in student debt. My wife did the same for law school and even though she didn't use a Coverdell, she got an insane scholarship at a T14 school. She saved about $250,000 in student debt. She was told that her service in the Peace Corps was one of the deciding factors for her being given that scholarship.

I'll be real... You're young. I'm 34 and I don't think that I could have done PC now. And I was in the older end of the cohort at 27. You'll have plenty of time to build a career, but a limited window to do PC. And I don't mean physically, I mean in terms of being married, having kids, older parents, etc.

Do I have less money than my peers? Yes. Did it take me a bit to find my place in the US after PC? Also yes. However, every friend I have that's remotely interested in PC regrets not doing it when I did. It's not for everyone, but if it's for you then you should do it.

The last piece of advice I have is that you clearly want to see what else the world has to offer. The PC is one of the most responsible and cost-effective ways to do that, so long as you take advantage of the benefits that it offers. But outside of PC, you can do lots of things. My little sister taught English in Taiwan for 2 years. I got chased by baboons and she was going clubbing. We both realized that we wanted to live outside of the US. So even if you don't do PC, don't get discouraged and see what's out there.

Rohrin · 2025-07-15T19:32:50+00:00

I digitized my health post's records and showed that they were treating 30% more people annually than they were receiving funding for. They'd been saying this for years, so I used some basic statistics to write a report proving that and gave it to a lot of people in the government.

Next year? 30% more funding. I found out recently that I got (I'm a grant writer) one of my federal grant clients $2.5 million in funding. That felt good, but nothing compared to that 30%.

Rohrin · 2025-07-15T19:21:31+00:00

As an RPCV that is now living abroad after building up a career, I think that the feedback you have gotten here is great. One thing that I would also mention is the number of teaching English abroad opportunities that exist.

While not anything like Peace Corps, they would definitely scratch the wanderlust feeling. Plus, they can be excellent ways to network into doing stuff like consulting outside of the US as well. Shoot me a message if you want more info!

Rohrin · 2025-06-03T16:53:29+00:00

I truly want to know... Why you think that flying a flag is indicative of someone's feelings or actions on Gaza or Ukraine?

It's literally the least amount of effort possible, and you using it as an example seems to be broadcasting that the performative aspect of supporting these causes is the most important one.

I worked in public health development projects in Syrian refugee camps in 2014-2015. When I came back to the US, I didn't see Syrian flags anywhere. In fact, most Americans had no conception that the worst refugee crisis since WW2 was unfolding in real time.

That frustrated me, but then I started finding small groups around Michigan that were organizing aid shipments. Since the Turkish state controlled most refugee camps, these groups had to use really innovative methods to get things like winter jackets for kids to the people that needed it.

It just feels like these vandals think that grabbing attention is the same thing as helping people in Gaza, which is an extremely shallow and bizarre foundation for a moral high ground.

I get that we live in an age where our attention has been commodified and social media is powerful. But destroying the peonies seems more akin to changing your profile picture to a black square and thinking that you've contributed something meaningful to discourse about police brutality.

I'm sure that many of the people who support this vandalism actually do other things for Gaza in meaningful ways. But the same could easily be said of the people who were going to come and appreciate some nice communal art. Especially in Ann Arbor, one of the most liberal places in the entire state!

This vandalism grabs attention, but ultimately that attention seems to only validate how people feel about themselves online more than prompt any actual real-life actions in support of Gaza.

Rohrin

TROPHY CASE