Any veterans of the Peace Corps here?

[merpk]

Was just wondering about the Peace Corps ... a long time ago in a galaxy far away I had fantasies of joining, but never took it beyond that stage ...

When I worked in the NYS court system, there was a judge who'd spent some time in Africa in the Peace Corps. When she worked the arraignment parts, there would often be a steady stream of Senegalese men who'd been arrested for setting up vending tables on the sidewalk without a license ... you know, "public nuisance" arrests ... anyway, this palepalepale Episcopalian lady would floor them (actually saw some of them get very frightened) when she would start speaking to them in Wolof ...

Anyway, never did talk to her about her experiences, but have always been interested.

Any mamas here spent time in the Peace Corps? And would you care to share some of your experiences?

Assuming that they're inspirational experiences, that is ...

[Hilary Briss]

We wanted to go into the Peace Corps in the late 80s, but then Marg got pregnant, and that was the end of that idea. I have a cousin who just completed a PC assignment in Russia. He was kind of disillusioned by the whole experience, and had doubts about the efficacy of the work that he was doing there. Apparently the Russians felt the same way, as they have terminated their participation in the program. I had a colleague who served in the PC in Thailand in the early 90s. He had rather depressing stories about fellow PCVs that were always patronising the Thai prostitutes. However, I know that there are a lot of PCVs that had good experiences, too. hopefully we can hear a few of their stories.

[merpk]

And I have wondered, too, if the Peace Corps was something to be cynical about ... it is, after all, a governmental organization ... with whatever baggage that concept carries ...

Though guessing that all service agencies and organizations will have jerks passing through their ranks eventually ...

[madrone]

I had all of my applications ready for the Peace Corp as I was finishing college. But then I got sick and was later informally diagnosed with MS. Didn't submit the application because of that. Was formerlly diagnosed a year or so later.

Have had three friends that were in. They had great experiences. One of them got sick and got booted out because of that. She would have liked to have stayed in. She was doing public health in Ghana. The other 2 were a married couple in . . . . I cannot remember the name of the island right now. Just off of Malaysia and has oragutans. They were in for quite a number of years and came back because there family kept nagging them. I think they would have liked to have made a career of it.