Important Considerations Before Entering the Peace Corps

I've read a lot of content on the Peace Corps experience, what it's like to be a volunteer and what it feels like to return to the States. This hindsight information is helpful, but also disconnected from the original feelings felt before departure. I am preparing over the next six months to serve in Africa for twenty-seven months (exact country yet to be determined). The responses I get from other people are both encouraging and discouraging. I'd like to offer advice to anyone interested in joining the Peace Corps from the perspective of someone who has been accepted, but has not yet departed.

Getting accepted to the Peace Corps is no easy feat. Anyone thinking of applying should brace themselves for months of paperwork, interviews and expensive medical exams (especially if you are one of the many in this country with no healthcare). But those are tangible achievements. You can assess the result of these tasks. When your medical forms are done, you can check to see that they are done. When you are scheduled for an interview, you go to your interview. But, what about all the non-tangibles? By this I mean the mental preparation and the "everybody knows better than you" attitude you'll get from everyone who hears you utter the words, "Peace Corps."

Let's start with the naysayers. When deciding to join the Peace Corps, you are going to get a wealth of criticism. In some cases it will be from close friends and family, and in other cases it will be from more vague acquaintances and even strangers. The Peace Corps is a government-funded organization; so many people who are anti-the current administration may equate the two. Although the Peace Corps gets government money, it is not politically aligned with the administration in office at the time of your service. You are not expected to serve abroad as a spokesperson for your current administration. You are expected, however, to act as an ambassador to your country. This means that you control the image of America that your host country will receive.