Peace Corps, anyone have experience?

[usmccharles]

I may be having a midlife crisis where I'm realizing chasing money in my life hasn't really brought me much happiness, i have done fine for myself but lack something....I'm sure everyone goes through such thoughts.  I have always wanted to join the Peace Corps, for some reason I got the impression that i was too old when i looked it up.  Last night did some digging, sure enough there is no age limit, not sure where i got that idea.  I would love to learn another culture and do some good at the same time, so like the title says, does anyone have experience in this area? I don't know anyone that has done this or a friend of a friend or anything. 

[rmw10]

A girl I used to work with is currently in it, and she said it has it's positives and negatives.  She's out of the country in the Caribbean somewhere so only going off of what she told me in the brief month I worked with her before.  The thing she loves most of course is helping out, learning about new cultures, and just exploring life and its offerings.  The big drawback she said is that you're always "on the clock."  Free time is at a minimum.  With 1-2+ year assignments, it can get tiresome.

[usmccharles]

5 hours ago, rmw10 said:

A girl I used to work with is currently in it, and she said it has it's positives and negatives.  She's out of the country in the Caribbean somewhere so only going off of what she told me in the brief month I worked with her before.  The thing she loves most of course is helping out, learning about new cultures, and just exploring life and its offerings.  The big drawback she said is that you're always "on the clock."  Free time is at a minimum.  With 1-2+ year assignments, it can get tiresome.

Understandable.   As far as the negatives,  I don't see them being any worse than what I dealt with in the Marines. 

[Moderator 3]

Have you considered VISTA?  It's just a one year commitment to start and, believe me, there are plenty of different cultures within our borders.

http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/americorps-vista

 

[usmccharles]

7 hours ago, Moderator 3 said:

Have you considered VISTA?  It's just a one year commitment to start and, believe me, there are plenty of different cultures within our borders.

http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/americorps-vista

 

Never heard of it, but i would rather go out of country. 

[Tank 92]

A coworker of mine served for 2 years in a village in Honduras. While I haven't had detailed discussions with him, he did mention the hardest part was living without the comforts of life. No electricity, indoor plumbing, etc..  Other than that he seemed really positive about the experience. And he became fluent in Spanish!

Edited August 23, 2016 by Tank 92