FAQ
What is the Peace Corps?
That is a great question for the Google. TLDR; you go abroad, you do some servicing, some volunteering, you come home.
Wait... it's 27 months?????
You betcha. The typical Peace Corps service is a little over two years. It occurs in many phases: staging, orientation, PST, Service, and COS.
Say, for instance, you are signing up and it says the estimated departure date is June 10. You are not flying out to your country June 10. Instead, there is staging, which is an orientation like government day and a halfish long event. It is normally held in Philadelphia or DC; mine was in Philly. You meet everyone in your cohort (everyone else in that years' group, including every sector), and several stagings for multiple countries like to happen around the same time. After that, then you fly out to your country. After that, what I can tell you is purely from my experience, but to my understanding most PC countries have an in-country orientation too. Once you finally arrive at your destination, very jet lagged, you have an orientation, somewhere, before settling into PST houses/apartments/host families.
Pre-Service Training (PST) is exactly what is sounds like. I don't think it's the same length everywhere, for me it is 11 weeks. The amount and length and intensity of training depends on a variety of factors, including your language and your country and your sector. It usually involves language learning and technical training which involves sector specific training.
Service is what it sounds like.
COS... I dunno, we'll find out when we get there.
Packing? Medical clearance? Legal? Passports???? GAHHHHH
Bruh... same. Packing can be an absolute nightmare, and varies so much depending on your country and its conditions and access to stores. Some PC sites have no running water or immediate access to toiletries. Some do. The medical clearance is a long and painful process. Well... it can be. Mine wasn't particularly painful, just tedious and long. Other PCVs have told me their experiences were significantly more difficult. Even minor health issues can prevent you from serving in some areas/countries. Yes, you get a second passport, and no it's not a cool diplomatic one.
The Peace Corps website told me a lot but also nothing. What else can you tell me? What is it REALLY like?
Honestly, it's a lot. I haven't even started service yet, and it's a lot. It's hard. It's challenging. It's so much fun and interesting almost every single day.
Anyone who wants to join the Peace Corps wants something different, and every experience will be different. I have the pleasure of having an amazing American PC and local staff. All the local staff have been with the PC for a very long time and have seen basically anything and everything. They know Americans well, have been to America, and are so willing to help you. The American staff are quirky and fun too, if a little more distant. They go out of their way to see you, to talk to you, to get to know you.
Some of it feels suffocating at times, and they know this. There are a lot of rigid rules and policies, all which are based on previous experiences, positive and negative. A lot of it feels intuitive and sometimes overly clinical and stoic. Honestly, just roll with it.
One thing that the Peace Corps is brilliant at is its development of state-of-the-art language immersion and learning. My language teachers work with the PC only during summers and are university/school or private English teachers during the regular work year. Like I said, they've seen it all and have some of the best learning and teaching pedagogy methods at their disposal. As opposed to learning French in high school or practicing Arabic while on a college study abroad, language learning in the Peace Corps is a deeply intensive experience. Your college language class might have been 10-30 people, your Peace Corps one is 4-5. Your host families intentionally are chosen as they speak little to no English, particularly the parents (children often speak a little from school and social media). You WILL learn. Fluently or amazingly? Idk, but it is immersion at its finest. I say that as I type away in English... oh well...
MONEY MONEY MONEY
As the PC website says, you are given money to be the same standard of living as the average person in your area/village. Appearing too poor or rich is bad and makes you a target or makes it difficult to integrate into the community. The stereotype of the rich American is strong (and not untrue compared to a lot of the PC countries), so definitely be cognizant of that while packing and when going out. Like... don't be a tourist.
During my own PST, we receive money every few weeks for discretionary purposes (buy yourself some shampoo, toothpaste, pads, occasional snack) and receive a large sum to give to our host family to make food and pay rent and transportation. My discretionary allowance is usually more than enough, and if you overpacked, you'd be fine. I would recommend buying stuff in country, but be aware that there is usually limited opportunities to travel to big bazaars, big shopping centers, or cities generally during PST for the first few weeks. During PST, I have bought myself peach tea and snacks every or every other day and always still have a lot of money still left over.
What are host families like? How does PC choose host families?
Every host family is different, which I know is not a helpful answer. In Kyrgyzstan, and in many PC countries, houses are multigenerational, but not all. Some can be single windows, and others can be huge with 20 kids in the house. But most families don't speak a ton of English.
So here's how this works: the government of a country invites the Peace Corps to do work in the country. It declares that it wants something specific from PC, in this case, English teachers in Kyrgyzstan- it's a priority to its development. In some Pacific Islands, environmental conservation is more important, in Sub-Saharan Africa, health is more important. Some countries have lots of programs, others have only one. Mine has one: English teaching.
Once that happens, the government or its counties and local government indicate how many volunteers it wants per village/area. Kyrgyzstan said one in every village ever. Peace Corps said... uhhhhh... how's like 50? Regardless, PC has a whole bureacracy that means each village must be approved before a volunteer can be sent there; some villages have had several volunteers, others none. The same applies to host families. This all applies to permanent site stuff.
For PST, it's a little different. PST varies, but generally, because it only lasts a summer, PC likes to reuse the same places, alternating years, changing it up. My village for PST has been used many many times. Jacob's host sister said that everyone in the village knows we're foreigners. A weird quirk, every summer, a bunch of Americans descend into their village and then yeet away at the end of it. Host families apply, their houses having to meet strict standards regarding safety, security, conditions, etc. All PC volunteers (and I think this applies everywhere) must be able to have their own room, with a lockable door, a bed, and a desk. PC staff do checkups on sites, houses, amongst other things. I've also been told host families are trained in the same way we are, being told about cultural differences, instructed to show us unsafe roads, house rules, how to handwash, use banyas/unorthodox showers, giving alone time/space to volunteers.
Living with a host family can be hard. The first day is something I feared for a very long time. It's awkward, particularly if you don't speak the language very well. Sometimes it can be easy to slip into and try, other times you can feel lonely or miss home. If you're like me and get embarrassed when you stumble, when you do something wrong, that's okay. Embrace it and take it as a learning opportunity or you'll never learn.
That is a great question for the Google. TLDR; you go abroad, you do some servicing, some volunteering, you come home.
Wait... it's 27 months?????
You betcha. The typical Peace Corps service is a little over two years. It occurs in many phases: staging, orientation, PST, Service, and COS.
Say, for instance, you are signing up and it says the estimated departure date is June 10. You are not flying out to your country June 10. Instead, there is staging, which is an orientation like government day and a halfish long event. It is normally held in Philadelphia or DC; mine was in Philly. You meet everyone in your cohort (everyone else in that years' group, including every sector), and several stagings for multiple countries like to happen around the same time. After that, then you fly out to your country. After that, what I can tell you is purely from my experience, but to my understanding most PC countries have an in-country orientation too. Once you finally arrive at your destination, very jet lagged, you have an orientation, somewhere, before settling into PST houses/apartments/host families.
Pre-Service Training (PST) is exactly what is sounds like. I don't think it's the same length everywhere, for me it is 11 weeks. The amount and length and intensity of training depends on a variety of factors, including your language and your country and your sector. It usually involves language learning and technical training which involves sector specific training.
Service is what it sounds like.
COS... I dunno, we'll find out when we get there.
Packing? Medical clearance? Legal? Passports???? GAHHHHH
Bruh... same. Packing can be an absolute nightmare, and varies so much depending on your country and its conditions and access to stores. Some PC sites have no running water or immediate access to toiletries. Some do. The medical clearance is a long and painful process. Well... it can be. Mine wasn't particularly painful, just tedious and long. Other PCVs have told me their experiences were significantly more difficult. Even minor health issues can prevent you from serving in some areas/countries. Yes, you get a second passport, and no it's not a cool diplomatic one.
The Peace Corps website told me a lot but also nothing. What else can you tell me? What is it REALLY like?
Honestly, it's a lot. I haven't even started service yet, and it's a lot. It's hard. It's challenging. It's so much fun and interesting almost every single day.
Anyone who wants to join the Peace Corps wants something different, and every experience will be different. I have the pleasure of having an amazing American PC and local staff. All the local staff have been with the PC for a very long time and have seen basically anything and everything. They know Americans well, have been to America, and are so willing to help you. The American staff are quirky and fun too, if a little more distant. They go out of their way to see you, to talk to you, to get to know you.
Some of it feels suffocating at times, and they know this. There are a lot of rigid rules and policies, all which are based on previous experiences, positive and negative. A lot of it feels intuitive and sometimes overly clinical and stoic. Honestly, just roll with it.
One thing that the Peace Corps is brilliant at is its development of state-of-the-art language immersion and learning. My language teachers work with the PC only during summers and are university/school or private English teachers during the regular work year. Like I said, they've seen it all and have some of the best learning and teaching pedagogy methods at their disposal. As opposed to learning French in high school or practicing Arabic while on a college study abroad, language learning in the Peace Corps is a deeply intensive experience. Your college language class might have been 10-30 people, your Peace Corps one is 4-5. Your host families intentionally are chosen as they speak little to no English, particularly the parents (children often speak a little from school and social media). You WILL learn. Fluently or amazingly? Idk, but it is immersion at its finest. I say that as I type away in English... oh well...
MONEY MONEY MONEY
As the PC website says, you are given money to be the same standard of living as the average person in your area/village. Appearing too poor or rich is bad and makes you a target or makes it difficult to integrate into the community. The stereotype of the rich American is strong (and not untrue compared to a lot of the PC countries), so definitely be cognizant of that while packing and when going out. Like... don't be a tourist.
During my own PST, we receive money every few weeks for discretionary purposes (buy yourself some shampoo, toothpaste, pads, occasional snack) and receive a large sum to give to our host family to make food and pay rent and transportation. My discretionary allowance is usually more than enough, and if you overpacked, you'd be fine. I would recommend buying stuff in country, but be aware that there is usually limited opportunities to travel to big bazaars, big shopping centers, or cities generally during PST for the first few weeks. During PST, I have bought myself peach tea and snacks every or every other day and always still have a lot of money still left over.
What are host families like? How does PC choose host families?
Every host family is different, which I know is not a helpful answer. In Kyrgyzstan, and in many PC countries, houses are multigenerational, but not all. Some can be single windows, and others can be huge with 20 kids in the house. But most families don't speak a ton of English.
So here's how this works: the government of a country invites the Peace Corps to do work in the country. It declares that it wants something specific from PC, in this case, English teachers in Kyrgyzstan- it's a priority to its development. In some Pacific Islands, environmental conservation is more important, in Sub-Saharan Africa, health is more important. Some countries have lots of programs, others have only one. Mine has one: English teaching.
Once that happens, the government or its counties and local government indicate how many volunteers it wants per village/area. Kyrgyzstan said one in every village ever. Peace Corps said... uhhhhh... how's like 50? Regardless, PC has a whole bureacracy that means each village must be approved before a volunteer can be sent there; some villages have had several volunteers, others none. The same applies to host families. This all applies to permanent site stuff.
For PST, it's a little different. PST varies, but generally, because it only lasts a summer, PC likes to reuse the same places, alternating years, changing it up. My village for PST has been used many many times. Jacob's host sister said that everyone in the village knows we're foreigners. A weird quirk, every summer, a bunch of Americans descend into their village and then yeet away at the end of it. Host families apply, their houses having to meet strict standards regarding safety, security, conditions, etc. All PC volunteers (and I think this applies everywhere) must be able to have their own room, with a lockable door, a bed, and a desk. PC staff do checkups on sites, houses, amongst other things. I've also been told host families are trained in the same way we are, being told about cultural differences, instructed to show us unsafe roads, house rules, how to handwash, use banyas/unorthodox showers, giving alone time/space to volunteers.
Living with a host family can be hard. The first day is something I feared for a very long time. It's awkward, particularly if you don't speak the language very well. Sometimes it can be easy to slip into and try, other times you can feel lonely or miss home. If you're like me and get embarrassed when you stumble, when you do something wrong, that's okay. Embrace it and take it as a learning opportunity or you'll never learn.
What is teaching like? Holidays?
Teaching will vary wildly depending on what country you go to, and even then, each school is different from others. Student size, staff size, number of classrooms, amount of space, equipment and technology access, all will affect your service. Anyone who has ever taught knows how hard it is. I currently teach 5th-11th grade students, and I specifically teach TEFL/ESL classes. Some Peace Corps programs have math or science teaching programs. I teach 45 minute lessons, and most of my classes are around 15-25 students. My school has one projector and two printers, in addition to a computer lab, but technological competency is low. I often only use blackboards to teach, in addition to resources and materials I make and buy myself.
The school calendar for Kyrgyzstan runs from September 1 to May 25 or so. I teach at a public school, so it abides by the national calendar and national Kyrgyz holidays. I do not have American holidays off, though Peace Corps staff and the embassy both do (this is annoying).
School culture is something I discuss a LOT about in my blogposts as it is most of my job. I attended very affluent schools growing up, which had endless resources and was ranked around the top 1000 schools in the entirety of the United States. The disparity between an affluent suburban Texas school of 4000+ students for 9-12th grade and a remote rural school in Kyrgyzstan with 400 students grades 0-11 is huge. A variety of complicated socio-economic factors result in high rates of truancy, low rates of homework completion, and difficulty with post-graduation employment for students, and most of this is beyond students' control. Much of these are systemic problems, and not ones a volunteer like me can begin to address in any meaningful way. I remain optimistic with my work regardless.
What is traveling like?
After being in Kyrgyzstan for as long as I have, I already know I will miss its public transportation system. In Kyrgyz culture, being late or tardy is the norm, and schedules don't really exist. Transportation is possibly the lone exception, as marshrutkas, the public buses/vans are pretty consistent. It is very easy to get around Kyrgyzstan and cheaply. If you are visiting more obscure spots, it is best to go with a tour group or with a local person. Regardless, marshrutkas travel between basically all cities, and online you can find the marshrutka national schedule. Marshrutkas often stop numerous times for anyone on the road. A brilliance of Kyrgyzstan is that locals can flag down any marshrutka heading in your desired direction, and assuming the marshrutka isn't full, you can get on and pay when you get off. Within larger cities like Bishkek, Jalal-Abad, Osh, and Karakol, there are more traditional buses you can take around the city, which you can also usually flag down anywhere. Within small cities like Talas, Naryn City, Kochkor, etc. it is more common to take taxis around. Marshrutkas are by and large cheaper than a taxi, but taxis are also very convenient, particularly between cities. Both can be found at the local bus station, though in some cities taxis can be found around the main bazaar. Shared taxis are the most common, and within business hours are easy to find. Taxis I have taken drive straight to my house, and they will leave when they are full (this is usually the same with marshrutkas).
QUESTIONS ABOUT PST
Who are the Rakhats?
Rakhat ejeler (the ler indicates that the word is plural) are two LCF (language and culture facilitator- basically teacher) are the two Peace Corps teachers I got during my training. The two of them differentiate themselves using adjectives "Rich" and "Responsible". Both are English teachers/tutors and have been working with the PC for well over a decade.
The termssss... baike? eje???????????????
Baike means older brother or uncle. It is also an honorific used to refer to men and follows the first name (so you might say, for example, Ethan baike). Eje refers to an older sister, or an aunt, and follows the same rule. Jenge means a sister-in-law. Ata and apa mean father and mother respectively. A bazaar for those of you who have never had the privilege, is a large market and shopping area where people bargain for stuff, and it is usually cheaper than a mainstream store. An oblast is synonymous for a region or state and is a Russian or Soviet term so much of Central Asia uses it. A marshrutka is a small van that is used as public transit, and the rules are very informal, as you catch one the same way you catch a taxi as there are stops but locals will flag them wherever. There are rates but no general rate as you pay for however far you're going, so you ask a local or hop on and quickly ask the driver (in the north, a 30 min marshrutka ride, outside the city, is 30ish som).
WHATS UP WITH ACRONYMSSSS
So I too hated acronyms when I entered PST. Unfortunately it's consumed my life, and now I use acronyms.
PST- pre service training
LCF - language and culture facilitator
DPT- Director of Program and Training
PCMO- Peace Corps Medical Officer
CD- Country Director (the boss of the PC in Kyrgyzstan)
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