<p>Hi! I have been researching possible options I have after HS/College, and the Peace Corps sound perfect for me, especially as a prospective International Affairs major. On the website, it says that the trips are 27 months. I know I want to do this sometime in my life, so when is the best time? After HS, college? In my later adulthood?</p>
<p>My daughter is in Peace Corps in West Africa. She has graduated from college. I think it's pretty hard to get into PC these days after high school. They screen carefully to find people who have the maturity to be away from home and in gruelling circumstances. More important, they're looking for certain skills or experience that a high schooler usually hasn't. My daughter works as an agriculture extension agent after spending two summers working on farms and developing food co-ops. Another reason to do it after college is that it is a boost for graduate programs or some jobs. Good luck!</p>
<p>My younger brother did a Peace Corps stint in Thailand. He went after he graduated from college. He was there for 2 1/2 years...then got a job working for the U.N. in Cambodia. He loved it. Now lives and works in Indonesia (after spending time in the U.S. getting a Masters and Doctorate degrees). It opened many doors for him.</p>
<p>I think they call it Freedom corp now
A friend is doing it who is 21 but has already graduated from college, she is in Azerbajain ( very rustic) I think it is better to have college, you will have more skills and be more mature. It is quite a while before you are allowed to have a break.</p>
<p>I just am scared of leaving for that long. I mean, I don't want to completely abandon my friends and family for 2.5 years. It would be SUCH an incredible experience, though. I want to go undergrad to GW and get a degree in IA, then hopefully get my masters from Hopkins. I think the peace corps is perfect for letting me open my eyes to global problems, and a way to use my knowledge to benefit others. I just wish it was for a year or year and a half, not 2.5! Farawayplaces: could you tell me if your d is away for just the summer, or for a very long time. Thanks! I just want to help people, and this is the best way I know how. I know French, I just can't do agr. or medicine. I want to be useful.</p>
<p>Hoo--</p>
<p>I just don't think that anybody goes into Peace Corps after high school--it's just too much to be away from home that long. At 22, though, and after being away from home for college, our daughter was ready. </p>
<p>It's actually 27 months--three months in-country training, then two years. Our daughter left in September '03, and will be back by Christmas in '05. The good parts of the Peace Corps seem to be that she does get away regularly, at least once a month, from her village for training or to get her check and supplies. And the Peace Corps is really good about providing vitamins and health checkups. Bad--the uncomfortable health problems--stomach upsets, parasites, biting insects. It seems like an amazing experience, though. She gripes, but hasn't regretted her decision. </p>
<p>Probably if you don't acquire any practical experience, you might teach English. </p>
<p>My advice is to go to college, do a semester overseas, and by the time you graduate you may be ripe and ready for PC! Sounds like you've got a great life plan; great that you're giving such thought to your future. </p>
<p>Remember, too--you probably won't be away from your parents for 27 months--we're going to visit our daughter in January! Good luck!</p>
<p>Cool! You should be so proud of your daughter.</p>
<p>I can't tell you the ideal time to do the Peace Corps but agree with the others that waiting until after college is likely better than after high school. The skills and maturity and readiness to take this extended overseas time is more suited to someone who has been away to college already. While two years seems like a long time to be away, it may not feel quite like that after four years of college. </p>
<p>My brother did the Peace Corps many years ago but it was AFTER law school. He served in Jamaica. He now lives in Alaska....how is that for quite the contrast?</p>
<p>you could however do a gapyear or two after high school. Not necessarily as intense as Peace Corps . A friend took EMT wilderness training and then worked as a high school teacher in Micronesia for several years, raising money for food by selling native handicrafts to his hometown when a hurricane destroyed their total food supply.
( know someone whose brother worked in Jamaica during peace corps- he had a little pot problem
before
he went to Jamaica)
This high school website has links to gap programs for interested
<a href="http://www.maldencatholic.org/malden.aspx?pgID=1053%5B/url%5D">http://www.maldencatholic.org/malden.aspx?pgID=1053</a></p>
<p>emeraldkitty....my brother was doing Legal Aid in Kingston (had a law degree) and he lived at Bob Marley's estate!
Susan</p>