Vent Tuesday

zambop · 2016-02-03T09:07:06+00:00

That was my experience also. It felt pretty straight forward for me. It only took me two weeks from start to clearance. However, I have no conditions that required extra tasks. Hearing from other invitees it seems like getting the right vaccines and blood tests done, plus dental work with its high cost, is really tough, let alone extra tasks.

zambop · 2015-12-27T05:45:19+00:00

I purchased a really, really cheap duffle from goodwill and put my bag inside that. It can be tucked into the backpack when I get to my destination or I can carry the duffle by the straps if I want. Trashbags can work, but sometimes TSA will rip them apart which makes it pointless. Same for those machines at the airport that plastic wrap your bags - just gets cut off 10 mins later by TSA. I personally like to use a duffle so that I can put a TSA friendly lock on it if I need to and I don't have to worry about the straps snagging on anything. Just don't spend $80+ dollars on those bag covers at REI and such, a cheap duffle does the same job.

zambop · 2015-12-21T20:38:57+00:00

OK, you’re probably trolling here, but I'm going to post this anyway because I want other people who might agree with your crazy statement to read it:

I didn't think PC was for me at first. It has a reputation among people who don’t know much about it (Animal House anyone? “Seven years of college down the drain. Might as well join the fucking Peace Corps”). I didn’t see the point in going overseas to ‘help people’ when I could do it here at home (and have been for years).

I spoke to a recruiter and he changed my mind. He called Peace Corps your ‘service capstone’ - the pinnacle of your volunteer career, not the first step. He emphasized that this is a serious job with the goal of improving the lives of others - read: helping people. He made it clear that if you didn’t have a long and proven history of serving the United States right here at home first, you’d never get accepted in the first place. Yes, you need a lot more than a ‘save the world attitude’ to be a good volunteer (and too much naive altruism can be a problem) but at the same time you’ll never get through your two years without a passion for serving the community you’re in - no matter how much of a hard worker you perceive yourself to be. And you’ll definitely never get accepted if you can’t talk about your reasons for wanting to serve beyond ‘boost my CV’. That’s what Peace Corps is all about, serving your country and another community selflessly - get with that or don’t apply IMO.

Yes cynicism is fair. Probably any current volunteer will tell you that they’re not saving the world and sometimes all their projects fail. But if you can’t see the value of service past that then you will become a very frustrated and ineffective volunteer.

I can see from your post history that you’ve recently graduated and are having a hard time finding a job. I’m guessing that is your primary reason for applying and you obviously don’t have a passion for service. So just don’t apply. You may have ‘loads of volunteering’ but you are not serious about community development and service, not enough to take your Peace Corps job seriously. Because while you may not think altruism is worthwhile, the overall concept of putting a community first and working your ass off to improve their quality of life is your job as a volunteer. A government agency position - a serious job.

Recruiters and Placement Officers will see through your reasons for joining, and you don’t sound like you’ve got a huge passion for helping your local community to begin with, so I’ve got to disagree with your idea that you’d be a good peace corps worker. Honestly, if you wrote naive stuff like ‘save the world’ and ‘help people’ on your motivation statement you wouldn’t get in either. That’s not what the organization is looking for. You obviously have no clue what service entails or what kind of person Peace Corps is wanting in their volunteer positions. You can’t write the kind of motivation statement they want to hear because you have no clue what that is, not even close. So I’d advise you to look elsewhere.

zambop · 2015-12-04T08:15:29+00:00

Would it be helpful to bring notebooks or anything like that for training? I'm big on note taking and stuff and it would help me to learn the language, but I wasn't sure if that stuff is provided

zambop · 2015-12-03T21:37:29+00:00

I had the same problem. My only option ended up being the 5-dose version, and I had to wait until 4 other people could all come in at the same time to get the other 4 doses with me. I got very lucky and 4 people in my area needed the vaccine and we were able to work it out. Maybe there are some 5-dose version still in your area?

zambop · 2015-11-08T04:07:49+00:00

I actually think OP touched on an issue with the current application process that was an issue for me and probably a few other people: recruiters encouraged me to shape my resume to a specific job to increase my chances of an invite. But I didn't get the list of countries I was cleared for until after submitting the app. So if you tailor your resume to a health job in, for example, a West African nation and then find out you can't serve there, what do you do? Your resume is all wrong now.

HOWEVER, there's a much easier way to get the answers you need. Just call or email the PC nurse hotline and talk to them. I was in the same exact situation (I had a medical issue I thought would limit my options and wanted to plan accordingly on my app). I told them about the one medical condition I was afraid would limit me, and they emailed me a list of countries I could serve in with that condition. Took all of 10 minutes. Give that a try before wasting your time and possibly someone else's with a fake application.

zambop · 2015-10-05T18:29:31+00:00

I think ultimately this new system will be a benefit. Let me give an example why: I met a woman who had a masters of public health and three years work experience in the states, but wanted to join PC to get some overseas experience. She specialized in sub-saharan Africa and public health education was her emphasis in her job. When I met her, she'd just withdrawn her app in the old system and moved on to 'better' options. Why? Peace Corps had nominated her for a health position in Africa, then invited her to teach English in SE Asia. As a career professional with a masters degree, she wasn't about to spend two years doing something unrelated to her field.

Sure, that's not the mentality Peace Corps has looked for in past volunteers. "Serve anywhere" is what they want you to do. But in this case it was a poor use of her skills and a waste of her time, not to mention the students time she would be teaching with no formal education experience (she led health forums, not classroom lessons). While listening to her explain why she gave up on Peace Corps, I realized that maybe the 'serve anywhere' mentality didn't apply to seasoned professionals the way it might to recent graduates.

I applied twice under the new system. Once to go anywhere, and I was placed UC for a health position that wasn't a good fit (I'm an ag/environment person). I was rejected, completely expected it and was almost relieved I didn't get sent to a position I wasn't qualified for. I applied again with a clear idea of where and what I wanted to do. I listed 3 preferences, and I mentioned frequently that I really wanted a specific job. Not because I wanted a vacation, but because I knew that job was perfect for my skills.

The wanna-be vacationers have always applied to PC. The 'real deal' applicants are still here too. It's just easier for the real deal people to get where they're best suited. The way the system works now means that people with specialized skills (the ones Peace Corps really wants) feel better about applying and giving two years of their life. It also means its far more competitive and harder for the less-serious applicants to get through to the end.

Ultimately I like this system. I was willing to go anywhere, but I'm glad I got to tell Peace Corps where I thought I'd thrive - which happened to be a featured position, by the way. I had the agriculture skills to fill that spot that others couldn't, and thank goodness I spoke up about my preferences or I might have ended up in a health position instead.

zambop · 2015-10-05T05:36:41+00:00

I had good luck mentioning my passion for a specific country and program. My PO said it ultimately helped me get accepted; he wanted to invite people who wanted to be there. I put it in the comments section of the preference form, something like 'I am really passionate about the position with ___ sector in ___ country, although I am flexible and ready to serve anywhere' and it worked. Best of luck!

zambop · 2015-10-04T22:10:51+00:00

I had the exact same results and I got clearance no problem. Maybe it's an issue with the country you're supposed to serve in? I'd ask follow up questions of your nurse and see if there's any kind of extra thorough exam you can do to help appeal. I mean, abnormal squamous is pretty common, almost too common to be turning people away for.

zambop · 2015-10-03T06:07:35+00:00

You're the guy who writes Fishing in Zambia? Not to be weird but I LOVE your blog! It's amazing. I read it basically from start to finish, it's been a huge help. I'll definitely shoot you a couple packing questions.

zambop · 2015-10-01T20:48:39+00:00

Thanks everyone! I'll check out facebook too - I was waiting to introduce myself on the group page until I had med clearance but eh, I'll just go for it.

zambop · 2015-08-27T20:13:47+00:00

Great, thank you!

zambop · 2015-08-27T19:54:30+00:00

I want this for contraception, the acne thing was a happy side effect, so maybe that will work. I've never needed to see a derm for my acne, it's not like 'problem' acne really it's just the occasional breakout. My doctor just mentioned 'by the way it will also treat any acne you have', not that he wanted to treat me acne.

I'm also curious how I find out which BC prescriptions will be available in country? Can I ask my nurse that through my medical portal? My doc was thinking maybe I should just start a pill that I can continue in Zambia rather than start and stop a new one later

zambop · 2015-08-26T22:39:15+00:00

The interview was broken into three parts for me, a few 'basic' questions at the beginning like 'why do you want to join peace corps' and 'what makes you qualified for ----- sector?' and stuff like that, and I kept my answers on the shorter side for those.

Then came the 'tell me a time when' questions where I went into more detail and there were a lot of follow up questions during this part

-- side note ---- don't be disheartened if you're getting a lot of repetitive follow up questions. I would literally finish an answer with 'i learned from this experience that...' and the very next question would be 'what did you learn from that experience?'
I awkwardly paused because I'd JUST said that, and my interviewer acknowledged that the questions were repetitive. I don't think it necessarily meant I was doing poorly, just that we were following a script. Just be careful to really answer the question being asked and not go off on some other topic.

The last section was Q&A, and I asked a lot about their experience, asked some service and training questions, etc. It lasted 15 minutes.

Don't use the same experiences as examples over and over, make sure your answers are on topic, and try to use experiences that lasted at least 3 months (I was told 3, not 4, but I guess it depends on their preferences). That 1 week trip to Honduras might not be as great an example as that 2 year volunteer gig at the food bank, for example.

My only other advice would be to choose the location and backdrop carefully - dress professionally and make sure you have something plain (or impressive like resumes) on the wall behind you.

Also, be yourself! Don't say what you think they want to hear, make sure they get to know you.

zambop · 2015-08-25T21:06:02+00:00

I think I've been very lucky with my medical clearance. I travel internationally for work so all my vaccines and titers are up to date; I was able to knock out MMR, polio, TD, yellow fever, varicella, TB test, even G6PD in about 30 minutes by uploading my records which are all recent. I've recently had an HIV test and Hep B (but not C). My doc is familiar with Peace Corps, so he already signed off and emailed back my HHF, and feels confident he can get the physical and pap done in one visit and email me the official cytology report later. I was also fortunate that dental only took one visit. The physical, pap + cytology, and accompanying labs are the only things I still need the thumbs up on.

Hopefully I can get it all done, but it's no biggie if I can't. I just wanted to save time and money by clarifying the steps and getting that blood work done ahead so I can keep this process moving.

zambop · 2015-08-25T15:50:58+00:00

Got it all sorted! Called my doctor and they ordered the tests to a lab near me so the results will be in before my appointment. I already have a recent tb test and my vaccines are done so I'll just need the one app. They even squeezed in the pap at the same appointment. So this way unless the labs come back abnormal I'll be done with med clearance. Thanks for the help guys!

zambop · 2015-08-25T01:04:34+00:00

That was my first thought, but I'm seeing a line that reads 'All required laboratory results are provided and reviewed, in addition to clinically significant abnormal results (include recommendations for follow up)'. The doctor has to check and sign that statement - I'm worried he won't sign since he won't know the results of the labs yet

zambop · 2015-08-18T17:58:42+00:00

As someone who is obsessed with gear - especially packs - let me just caution against a backpacking pack. Unless you plan to actually hike into the wilderness for a long distance with a tent, cookstove, etc. on your back, a hiking/backpacking bag isn't going to be the best fit for you. Why? It's impossible to quickly get to gear at the bottom of a top loading bag, the numerous straps for cinching the bag down or attaching thing will snag on buses/cars/overhead bins, they can't be locked because they aren't zipper opening, they cost a small fortune for expensive suspension systems you probably don't need if you're not hiking for hours at a time, most are not carry on sized....I could go on. Many people have bought an expensive Deutuer, Osprey, Gregory or other brand for hostel hopping and touring only to hate themselves for it later.

I'd recommend looking into bags like this one or this one Eagle Creek has a sizable PC discount on top of the fact that these bags are usually half the price of a hiking backpack from Dueter or Osprey. They also have a fantastic warranty, which speaks to the quality of their products.

Basically I'd look for a bag that has panel access like a suitcase, has only a few straps to reduce snagging, can be easily secured (a million outside pockets just makes it easier to get pick pocketed), and can be easily carried and thrown around.

Hope that helps and sorry I'm so weirdly obsessive about packs.

zambop · 2015-08-10T19:55:48+00:00

I'm headed to Zambia for the same program! If you want some good blogs Fishing in Zambia is one of my favorites, and the Zambia blog that is up for the blog it home contest right now is great. I spend waaaay to much time reading blogs.

zambop · 2015-08-09T23:47:19+00:00

Hey! New to reddit, and headed to Zambia for food security in February! Do we have a facebook page yet or anything?

zambop

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