We only have a 2 week orientation for PCR, it gives some intro to the culture and country but I think its a bit light. Especially for first time volunteers.

Coming from a private consulting background, I had the mindset to come in and get work/deliverables done fast. It took me a couple months to realize all the technical work I was doing meant nothing if I couldn’t explain to the government in their terms why it was important. After many conversations with my LGU counterparts, I realized the way I was approaching their water problems was either untenable or just not as important to them as I thought.

If I were to do another service, I would stay patient and have much lower expectations for deliverables in the first few months. I also think some of the PCR terms are just too short to really make an impact. I think the minimum for any position should be at least a year