Peace Corps Survival Guide

An acquaintance of mine is preparing a farewell package for a Peace Corps-bound friend of hers.  She asked me to write a survival guide type of thing to include in the package.  Here's what I came up with.  (Fellow PCVs and RPCVs, you are welcome to post additional recommendations in the comments section.)

A Brief Survival Guide to
Living and Serving in a Foreign Country for 2 Years
This guide is by no means complete, but it could save your life in a pinch. Therefore you might want to sew it into the lining of your jeans or something so you always have it with you.

1)      Pack a two years’ supply of whatever toiletries you can’t live without.  Most of what’s on the Peace Corps packing list can wait; clothes, especially, you can buy once you’re in country; but your St. Ives Fresh Skin Invigorating Apricot Scrub?  Even if they have that wherever you end up serving, it’ll probably be expensive.

2)      Get ready to laugh at yourself.  Like, a lot.  Get ready to add to your list of Most Embarrassing Moments.  Get ready to be exhausted all the time – acclimating to a new culture, a plethora of training activities, generally feeling like you’re drinking from a fire hose – and still be the center of attention because you’re a foreigner.  PC will bring you to the lowest of the lows (but also, thankfully, to the highest of the highs).

3)      Remember this: sharing a meal is one of the most universal ways to demonstrate acceptance and friendship.  Think hard before refusing food from someone.

4)      Practice your stink face.  In many places outside the US, it is okay for men to catcall, whistle, and generally display a sexist attitude toward women.  Here in Latin America, we call it machismo.  In other places, it’s probably called something else.  But wherever you are, as a foreigner, you will attract more of this unwanted attention than usual.  Figure out now how you’re going to respond to it.

5)      Even if you know what part of the world or what country you’ll be going to, you most likely won’t know your site until the end of training (urban/rural; close to other PCVs/farther away; with constant access to internet/no; etc.).  Make a list BEFORE YOU LEAVE of things you want to accomplish during your service and/or of things you can do when you’re feeling down.  Mine included things like learning guitar, visiting a neighbor’s house, and journaling.  Yours might include learning to walk on a bed of live coals, practicing the splits, and eating ice cream.  To each his own.

6)      Speaking of journaling, I highly recommend it.  At least writing down one mundane thing and one funny thing that happens every day, because those are the kinds of things you forget most easily once you leave.

7)      Peace Corps security guidelines are there for a reason.  Follow them during training, and give yourself a few months in site, too, before you decide which ones – if any – you want to break.

8)      Take a trip every once in a while.  It’ll keep you sane.  (Well, mostly sane.)

9)      If you feel like things just aren’t going your way, you’re having trouble working with your counterpart and organizing projects, don’t panic.  Lots of volunteers say the first year is all about acclimating, and year two is really where the rubber meets the road.  Maintaining open communication with the PC office is generally a good idea, because it keeps them in the loop so that if things don’t progress well, they understand why.  Plus, it’s their job to support you.

10)  “Value this time in your life” – I refer you to Billy Crystal’s monologue in the movie City Slickers.  Though it may not seem like it now, the two years are really going to fly by.  Live it up!  Say yes unless you’ve got a valid reason for saying no!!  Best of luck!!!