peace corps. what's it about?

[Barinthus]

Your love is lucky. Mine went ahead with her goals for Peace Corps which I naturally supported (didn't have much choice anyway )

[Dinner]

Dr. S: You brother just feel for the wrong girl. It could have happened any where; it just happened to occur in India. I've always felt that to many people enter into marriage without really knowing the other person well enough. Thus our high divorce rate.

[Barinthus]

Agreed, Oerdin. I've seen way too many friends of mine making rash decisions in those matters.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

i just requested that book from the library. i also talked to a recruiter, who gave a more positive side than the castration. Im very interested, and since im fluent in french, its another plus. However, I wouldnt want to go to west africa because i cant handle heat above 110F. morocco seems very interesting. madagascar also, but thats very remote. same with vanuatu.

[Ted Striker]

Dig for water, hit it with tribal hoes, etc.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

get AIDS

[Az]

[Ted Striker]

oops

[Ted Striker]

Doc S,

Sorry to hear about that!

That woman sounds crazy!

[child of Thor]

wow - some of these stories are really sad - my sympathies for those involved

[Barinthus]

Originally posted by Lawrence of Arabia
However, I wouldnt want to go to west africa because i cant handle heat above 110F. morocco seems very interesting. madagascar also, but thats very remote. same with vanuatu.

Are you absolutely sure about that? I spent 3 months in Kenya few kilometers away from the equator. Nairobi can be very cold even if it's not that far from the equator. There are many factors involved that affect the temperature.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

Are you absolutely sure about that? I spent 3 months in Kenya few kilometers away from the equator. Nairobi can be very cold even if it's not that far from the equator. There are many factors involved that affect the temperature.

well west africa is right there slightly south of the sahara.easternafrica is cooler because its more open and gets more rain. the mean in west africa temperature is above 20C and the total rainfall is about 1 meter. If they send you north of the Sahel, you are pretty much in the sahara desert.

you can check daily mean temperatures here

http://www.worldweather.org/africa.htm

obviously when the daily high mean is 35+, it gets really really hot.

EDIT: really tho, contact the recruiter on campus. They can give you books, pamphlets, and information. Ask if they can give you "The Great Adventure" its 200 page mini book (small size) with stories from volonteers, plus information at the back about who should join, why, what they will be doing, and the application process. as soon as i get the book by Dillon, ill review it here.

(note: you must have very good spanish skills before they send you to Latin America. they do not teach you spanish in the same way that they teach you french or the local native language)

EDIT 2:

Americorps is safer

sure, but its for wussies. people in america arnt poor in the same way those in the developing world are. people dont wanna live in real poverty. plus peacecorps is relatively safe. you can find stats here

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=Learn.safety.safetyreport

for the lazy ones, heres a summary. V/T-Years is Volonteer/Trainee years. V/T-years is the measure of volunteer time spent in country andn the number of volunteers who have gone abroad. its on a per 100 basis. (the year is 2002, there are about 7700 volunteers abroad at this time, slightly less in 02) they break it down also in regions: IAP = interamerica and the pacific, EMA = europe, mediterranean, and asis, and Africa Region

1. rape.
32 reported, 31 reported by female, 0.8 per 100 females (1% chance)
Africa: 0.7
EMA: 0.6
IAP: 1.1

2. Physical Assault
107 reported, 1.7 per 100 (2% chance)
Africa: 1.6
EMA: 1.4
IAP: 2.0

91% of these were started by a stranger

3. Homidices
0 reported, 0 per 100 (0% chance)
Africa: 0.0
EMA: 0.0
IAP: 0.0

In 2001, there was 1 homicide. In 1998, there were 4 homicides. Between 1992 and 2002 there were 6 homicides. Since the beginning, there have been 20 homicides (and 170,000 volunteers)

4. Petty Crimes (Robbery, burglary, theft, vandalism)
195 burgleries reported
470 thefts
16 vandalism
overall petty crime rate at 12.4 per 100 (12%)
Africa: 10.1 (r,b,t)
EMA: 3.0 (r,v)
IAP: 10 (t)

5. Total
Overall: 14.9 per 100 (15%)
Africa: 12.4
EMA: 5.0
IAP: 13.1

[Barinthus]

Looks like you did your homework. Most people (especially Americans) tend to just assume about what they know regarding Africa.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

Well that's certainly something to do if you don't know what to do in your life.

those who wander are not always lost -Anon.