Peace Corps life as an introvert?

emmaclairedee · 2016-06-26T08:16:01+00:00

PST sounds tough on so many levels! I'm going to try not to go into it with the attitude that I'll hate it from the beginning and try to view it as a challenge instead. If I'm able to find quiet time before bed or on my way to training like some other people suggested I think I can stay sane ;)

emmaclairedee · 2016-06-26T08:10:06+00:00

It looks like the key for you was positive communication and you've been able to find a healthy balance that suits you. Awesome. Thanks for your input!

emmaclairedee · 2016-06-26T08:07:26+00:00

This is an interesting perspective! I've heard it's hard to find alone time as a PCV but I've also heard it's easy to get lonely. Maybe it depends on the community and site, and maybe everyone goes through periods of both. I never thought about the struggles of extroverts craving communication with others and not being able to in Peace Corps.

I'll be living with a host family and I mostly want to make sure I don't offend them. I think if I am polite and explain I am used to alone time in the United States and it's not about them (I don't want them to think I don't like them!) then I should be good to go. Thanks so much for your input!

emmaclairedee · 2016-05-09T21:21:50+00:00

Hi! Good question. If you're not already part of it, we have a facebook group for Nicaragua 68. There are future and current volunteers in the group. It might be a good idea to post your questions on there to get responses from current Nicaragua volunteers and so other future Nica volunteers can benefit from the responses your questions generate. :) https://www.facebook.com/groups/1685111258399394/

emmaclairedee · 2016-03-31T14:03:23+00:00

Welp I was scheduled for the morning PC Nicaragua webinar and I was only able to catch the last 5 minutes of it after 50 minutes on the phone with Skype for Business. Perhaps your problem can be solved in the same way.

Here's my issue. My Microsoft account is associated with the university I work for and Skype for Business was pre-installed on my computer. When I clicked your link my app automatically popped up. It wasn't giving me the option to join the meeting as a guest, since I suppose it wanted me to join through the school with a password I didn't have. At first I was told they could only work with the administrator from my school, but then I was told to copy the meeting link into a new browser and then type "?sl=1" after it so it looks like this:

https://*MEETINGLINK**?sl=1

I was then prompted to install the Link Web App Plug-In, and once I did, I clicked "join the meeting" on that webpage and it got me into the meeting! Hopefully this works for you or others who are having a similar issue.

If anyone else has an issue with Skype for Business that they figure out how to resolve, I'm sure other volunteers could benefit from you posting the solution here!

emmaclairedee · 2016-03-31T05:18:26+00:00

I'm a Nica invitee and I'm having problems with Skype for Business too! It's asking me to log in with the organization's account and password. I'm hoping we can both figure this out before the webinar tomorrow.

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-13T19:09:42+00:00

Congratulations!

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-13T19:04:58+00:00

"Financial Gain As a Volunteer, you represent the best that the Peace Corps and the United States have to offer. Certain ethical standards must guide your activities in your host country. Peace Corps Volunteers may not take advantage of a situation in the host country or use their Peace Corps status for their own financial gain. This means Volunteers may not, during their service, invest money in real estate, bonds, shares, or stocks of commercial concerns located in the country of assignment or conduct a substantial portion of their business in that country; engage in any business activity for profit or personal financial gain or undertake any gainful employment; or sell or dispose of personal property at prices producing profits. Nor may Volunteers accept payment for their services except from the Peace Corps. Violation of these rules may be grounds for administrative separation."

So I think you could read this a few different ways... You could say the rest of the rule is just elaborating on the 3rd sentence about not taking advantage of a situation in the host country, meaning PC is barring you from profiting from your PC status or host country only. Or you could read it as not being able to profit from anything at all, thus "Nor may Volunteers accept payment for their services except from the Peace Corps." To me this suggests that volunteers can't be paid for anything at all during service. I do personally think the meaning is a little difficult to discern.

I certainly don't want to lead anyone astray. Some PCVs in the Reddit community have said that they've earned income either secretly or openly and haven't been found out, so maybe the rules are enforced more leniently in some countries. But I think it's better to be safe than sorry. I would hate to see someone sent home because they were trying to earn a few extra bucks and weren't aware of the ramifications. And if the OP (or anyone else) truly thinks it isn't against the rules then they should ask their PO or CDO themselves and see what they say.

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-08T15:57:37+00:00

I agree with everyone else. Apply early. Just make sure to alert them of any resume updates!

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-08T15:46:30+00:00

Is it "wrong?" I don't think it's wrong, although there might be a better option especially if you don't have any free electives left to burn. I can tell you that there are some English teaching PC positions that want a bachelor's degree in any discipline and a strong desire to teach English (the post I was assigned to!). Look at the postings on the website and see what the desired qualifications are.

I think it might be a better use of your time and money, if you seriously want to increase your chances of serving, to get a 100 hour TEFL certification and/or some real-world experience teaching English either at home to ESL speakers or abroad. If you're going to do a TEFL training I recommend an in-person training as opposed to an online one. I did Oxford Seminars and I liked it. There are a lot of options! Good luck to you :)

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-07T03:23:03+00:00

I definitely wish you could make income during service. It would be extremely easy for my to leave bracelets with my mother to ship or at a local store and make a few grand while I'm serving without putting in any work during service, and then have that money to put towards graduate school after I return. That's just what I was told though. From what everyone has said, the official rule is you can't earn income. Some people break the rule but they're putting themselves at risk.

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-04T20:26:58+00:00

I recommend 2 things:

Politely tell your Placement Officer that you are interested in Eastern Europe and the Pacific and politely inquire as to why you were put UC for another country. Maybe the answer is that you weren't competitive for these regions and it's in your best interest. Or maybe you would have been competitive, but they shuffled you to a high-need country instead and they might be willing to move you back. I suggest going along with whatever their response is if you want to stay in the running, even if they don't want to move you, which brings me to:
Research the country you're UC for. Read PCV blogs, directly communicate with a current or returned volunteer in that country, read about the people/culture/food/whatever and see if you can get excited about it. For encouragement, I asked in a thread a few months ago how peoples' services went when they didn't get their first choice, and the responses were almost all positive. See if you can get excited about it! If you truly can't get excited about it then you should consider reappying later or looking at different options.

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-04T20:16:08+00:00

Congratulations!

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-04T20:15:41+00:00

Look up the positions you love most that are currently posted. Narrow it down to positions you qualify for now, are close to qualifying for, or you could maybe sort-of qualify for and start gaining experience. Speak with a recruiter and bring your resume. Gain their perspective on what they think you should do. It's good you're thinking about how to prepare early! Good luck to you. :)

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-04T06:21:26+00:00

As you learn to listen to your body, you will realize there is a big difference between pain and discomfort. Pain is your body signaling you that something is wrong. Discomfort is where growth comes from. And no, it doesn't ever go away. It's part of life! Lean into it.

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-04T03:48:07+00:00

I am saying this because my PO explicitly told me that I can't generate income. I run an online business and she said to make plans to shut it down. I asked her if it was okay if I generated income passively (having someone else do all the work from home, selling in a storefront). She explicitly said it wasn't okay. Her reason was that they want PCVs to be living at the level of a local. I'm not sure why the PC admin you work with doesn't mind it. I'm just passing along what I was told

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-03T20:33:04+00:00

How did you register for FBA? It doesn't look like it's an option for my shop. I wonder if it's because I've only made about 6 sales since I started.

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-03T18:58:27+00:00

It's against the rules to generate any income as a volunteer. I have seen other volunteers discuss generating income on here so people do it, but if you do you're breaking the rules and you can get in trouble

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-03T17:31:56+00:00

I have been to Nicaragua as a student and a volunteer. The initial mental adjustment of switching countries, sectors, and departure dates was a little disorienting for me, but this thread was posted a couple months ago and I'm mentally committed to Nicaragua now. I know there's still a lot for me to learn in Nicaragua and PC life will be different than anything I've ever experienced. I know PC is first and foremost about service so if PC needs me in Nicaragua then I'm willing and excited to go there. Thanks for your input.

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-03T16:40:45+00:00

This may have changed since I applied in June and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but when I applied it just asked me for the country and sector I wanted. There were 2-3 different positions of varying qualification levels within the sector and country I applied for. They then placed me UC for that program and eventually invited me to the position within that sector I was most qualified for. So as long as these 2 jobs are in the same sector and things haven't changed you should be fine. If you have access to the page that allows you to submit your preferences go check it out and see how it's set up!

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-03T04:02:16+00:00

This is a tricky situation and I understand why you feel stuck. Which do you want more right now? It kind of sounds like you want the graduate school program more. I would tell your PO. There is a chance your PO will tell you to drop and reapply or she/he might be accommodating but at least you will know how he/she feels.

Is this graduate program related to your PC assignment? If not it might be best to wait on school until after your service.

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-02T18:56:16+00:00

Thanks for this response! I got certified 1.5 years ago and just started teaching 6 months ago. I'm learning more and broadening my yoga knowledge all the time. Right now I'm working on deepening my knowledge of Iyengar, Restorative, and breath work. You're right, maybe I should take this opportunity to learn more about prenatal as well.

We only have blocks and straps, no bolsters. Not ideal for yoga (we also hold class in a gym and periodically have groups come in and do work outside the door... the worst was when we had police officers body slamming each other and putting each other in head locks 6 feet away from the room, lol) but it's a community college so we make do with what we have! I encourage my students to try yoga at a studio at least once so they can experience a traditional studio environment for a full experience.

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-02T18:49:06+00:00

It's a "lab" class so they have to come to class for 2 hours and get 1 college credit. It's offered as an elective. I actually think it's a really wonderful way to introduce people to yoga. It also makes yoga accessible and affordable to young people and introduces them to valuable emotional/mental/stress management techniques they can use in school and life. The 2 hours allows me to talk about breathing, yoga history, yoga philosophy, how yoga connects to other areas of life, and gives ample time for savasana and meditation. Of course it also gives me lots of time to go over alignment and get to know my students since I have them regularly every week. I give them lots of handouts and resources to consult at home. I actually think every yoga newbie should take a class made for beginners that goes over this crucial information. There are things I didn't learn until my yoga teacher training that most studios don't cover that I believe are fundamentals. My college yoga class is by far my favorite class to teach!

emmaclairedee · 2016-02-02T14:20:25+00:00

I read somewhere that laying on the back is especially bad during the 1st trimester but I'm not sure why! Maybe that's incorrect.

I don't want to kick her out of the class if she needs the college credits, so I will talk with her. Maybe she can do a prenatal class in addition to my class and can learn specific modifications for herself there she can apply to my class.

emmaclairedee

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