Departure Date

STAGING

Tomorrow morning I fly to Miami for the "staging event." Staging will be the first official opportunity for me to meet my fellow trainees and to submit the final paperwork before leaving the U.S.  On May 3rd, my training group (Sur17) will depart for Suriname and begin our Pre-Service Training (PST), which includes eleven weeks of center-based and community-based learning.  PST activities aim educate the trainees in several competencies and include language training, based on a targeted language group (i.e. Aucan, Saramaccan or Sranan Tongo), technical sessions, cultural experiences and health and safety classes. 

Needless to say, I'm extremely excited. Please follow the blog for updates and feel free to add any comments/questions as they arise. I will do my best to respond quickly (given my limited access to internet) look forward to sharing my adventures!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Why did you join the Peace Corps?

A: I joined Peace Corps for three main reasons: 

1. For the last two and a half years I've worked for a large, multinational corporation. In addition to financing my graduate education, this opportunity provided me with invaluable exposure to a fast-pace business environment in which I observed the continuously evolving relationship between the private, public and non-profit sectors. Additionally, it offered me first-hand insight into the challenges of branding and public relations and the efficiencies that can be gained through process management. 

Yet despite all that I learned, I did not feel that I was making any sort of substantial difference.  In effect, my private sector experience helped me realize that I want to do something service-oriented.  As a volunteer organization, Peace Corps affords its volunteers experience at the grassroots level working in coordination with local partners projects whose outcomes have direct, positive impacts on a specific community.  

2. Anyone who knows me is familiar with my affinity for travel. Having moved often as a child and later studied abroad, I am enamored with all things foreign (i.e. food, languages, music, architecture) and feel compelled to discover all that the world has to offer.  Living abroad is, I think, one of the best ways to learn about oneself and others. It provides perspective informing us about why individuals and collectives think and behave as they do. Peace Corps service entails 27 months of complete immersion in a foreign culture. 

3.  In the Master of Public Administration program at the George Washington University, students are allowed to select a "field," or area of academic concentration, within their program. I chose to study International Development with a particular focus on the relationship between security and development. Unfortunately, as I began to explore job prospects within the field, it became apparent that at least two years of development field experience are required in order to be considered for most entry-level positions in the top NGOs and multilaterals.  Much to my dismay, business experience in Washington, D.C. does not qualify.  While many NGOs and service organizations offer short-term volunteer programs abroad, few do so at no cost to the participants. In addition to being well known and well respected, another key advantage of the Peace Corps is that it pays the cost of living of its volunteers.

Q: Where will you be living in Suriname?

A: Short answer: I don't know. Long answer: Volunteers are interviewed to determine their community. Site assignment is dependent on several factors to be assessed throughout the course of PST. Although there are some sites in the capital and coastal regions, which are significantly more developed, most Peace Corps sites are in the country's rural interior. 

Q: Will you have access to the internet?

A: Access to amenities like electricity, running water and the internet vary widely by site.  Stay tuned.