Life Is Calling, But My Cell Phone Is Off

[kitsjay]

I went to a meeting about the Peace Corps tonight! The recruiter was super sweet. She showed us a video with people talking about their experiences (Moldova was mentioned, by the way!), then answered questions and told stories about her experiences.

"The first night, you cry alone in your little hut," she said, "then the next morning, you go to work!"

She lived in a very rural Zambia site that was actually closed as "unsafe" after she served.

There's only so much you can get from the website, and I'm really very excited about it all. The only thing I'm worried about is getting the necessary volunteer experience before I apply, so I'm hoping to talk to the recruiter one-on-one and get some feedback on what types of programs and such that I need to look into. She said she did Americorps, which sounds promising.

It's a bit vexing, trying to figure out how to balance an undergraduate degree, a job, and volunteer enough that I'd be a good candidate, but I'm determined to do this now.

I did ask about my two different degrees, and she told me point blank that I would be sent to somewhere for my biology degree since it's more of a specialist. Also, apparently they are so desperate for French-speaking people that they look at any Romance languages. Hello, Latin!

Anyway, I'm just very excited and really want to do this now. I was kind of wavering, then realized, "The only reason I'm hesitant is because everyone is so blasé about it, but this is something I really want to do."

So now I'm resolved!

Comments

[genibane.livejournal.com]

there are so many opportunities to volunteer, from churches to hospitals, library's, non-for-profits, you don't have to make a one-year commitment to Americorps, unless of course you want to! Personally, if my back wasn't so crappy, I would've liked to volunteer for habitat's for humanity. There's actually quite a few volunteers from my group who were from Texas. Anywho, the only thing I can say from my own experience is that it would have been more beneficial for me to work for a few years and then do the Peace Corps because real work experience really is more useful in those programs. For me, I mean more work experience in a non-for-profit would have been helpful for me. But if you want to teach english, or be a agriculture or health ed volunteer, then work experience in those fields would be helpful. Anywho, I'm blabbing, I hope you stay interested, I did have a really worthwhile experience while I was serving.

[kitsjay.livejournal.com]

I've actually done Habitat for Humanity before, but I'm really interested in something more structured, which is why I mentioned the Americorps. Looking at it, it seems like something I might be really interested in, but I can't find much about it other than the official website. Do you know of anyone who's had experience with them or heard anything about it?

I actually read UT, my university, has the second highest rate of Peace Corps volunteers. I thought that was cool. :))

I really am. I cannot wait. :)) Two more years until I graduate...