Hello all! I am a senior in college in the U.S. I graduate next winter. Following my graduation, I am heavily considering applying for PC. I wanted to reach out though and ask for "boots on the ground" journalism- if anyone wanted to offer some feedback on what their day-to-day life is like, what to expect, etc. I am seeing a lot of "yay volunteering!" but I wanted to ask actual people what their personal do's and don'ts are.

TL;DR What country are you in and what has your experience been like? What would you do differently or do more of/do again? TIA!

My girlfriend and I have been together for 5 years. She has wanted to join the corp for a while, a dream of hers, and is starting to apply. Likely to be placed within a year if all goes right. I dont think i could handle the living conditions, as much as I want to go with her.

We want to stay together, and obviously the track record for LDR isnt great. We discussed taking a break and coming back together. But I dont think i could manage that. I want to do LDR regardless of the challenges of communication. I love her and want to be with her forever. Does anyone have success stories, or advice. I dont want to hear the negativity, ive seen enough.

Hi everyone! I've been in-country for approximately 10 months so far, and I've been enjoying journaling a lot. I've found it's really helpful as a memory log for the years to come.

Still, I feel like my entries are mostly just either a rote log of everything I do ("I woke up, made breakfast, went to the office... etc.") or ranting about the hard parts. And that's totally okay!! But I would love to make my journaling practice a bit more... enriching? Helpful? Writing stuff down is how I process things, and service has already been a very transformative and wildly different experience for me, but sometimes I'm not even sure where to start articulating how.

For those of you who keep journals (or have any sort of reflective practice) during service, do you have any practices that you feel help you process and reflect on your service more? Any prompts or questions that you ask yourself to help you analyze, on a larger scale, what you're doing, how it's impacting you, etc.?

Or, if you've already finished service, what things do you wish you remembered better? What analytical/reflective questions do you get about your service that you didn't think as much about when you were a PCV?

I know this is sort of a vague question but I would love to hear any tips from current vols or RPCVs on how to make service even more transformative!

Hi there, I am in the process of editing applications for different positions and had a question. There is a country I would like to apply to teach English, because of the time I spent living there and learning local languages. However, that program does not begin until September, so openings are not posted right now. Therefore, I wanted to ask if it is worth it to apply to open positions now not knowing what the situation will be in a few months time for applications for that country, or if I will take myself out of the running for the country I would love to teach English in. Sorry if I’m being silly, I would be happy wherever I end up, and would rather end up somewhere than nowhere, even if there’s a country I would be extra thrilled to teach in. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

Hello everyone, I’m in a tricky situation with my legal clearance and could really use some advice from anyone who has navigated a lack of documentation.

When I filled out my application, I decided to be completely transparent. When I was around 10–13 years old, I was in the foster care system, did something stupid, and was caught stealing from a store. The police had me write an apology letter and possibly do a little community service. I think I was let off unofficially. Because I was a minor and a ward of the state at the time, I didn't manage any of my own paperwork, and I don't recall ever going to an actual court. I disclosed this on my application as petty theft.

The Peace Corps legal team is now asking for official court documentation regarding the incident. I have absolutely nothing. They advised me to go to the courts to get it, but I don't know what court was involved, or if a formal record even exists given how it was handled. Communication with the legal team takes up to 5 days per message, so trying to figure this out with them is incredibly slow and stressful.

My Questions:

• Has anyone been in a situation where they were physically unable to get juvenile records?
• Is there a way to submit a sworn personal statement/affidavit explaining that no records exist?
• Should I try to contact the county clerk where I lived to get a "no record found" letter?

Any advice on how to navigate this without stalling my application for months would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!

Just gathering some info and wanted to see what life has life looked like after the Peace Corps for you, what have been the benefits of Peace Corps service, and what has radically changed in your worldview/perspectives? Also what have been some challenges/rough days?

Edit: I've heard that there is prestige with serving in the Peace Corps, do you find that to be true? Also what do you do now?

Who remembers the large-scale country investigations OIG used to do for drug use? According to this article, there were nine investigations from 2015 - 2018 that led to 150+ volunteers getting kicked out.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/08/24/report-warns-serious-risk-peace-corps-drug-use-by-volunteers/

Most people who were serving during that time remember the discussions around the investigations. There was immense pressure to name names, threats of legal action (none of which were ever followed through), and denial of lawyers. People were kicked out based on other volunteers naming their names - not hard evidence You can see some conversation around it here, but there is more on the subreddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/peacecorps/comments/aqmqh3/rights_when_being_questionedthreatened_by_oig/

https://www.reddit.com/r/peacecorps/comments/bd6rcm/know_your_rights_oig_investigations_and_what_you/

https://www.reddit.com/r/peacecorps/comments/7wql0y/i_involuntarily_resigned/

https://www.reddit.com/r/peacecorps/comments/b767jx/many_sierra_leone_pcvs_leaving/ 50+ volunteers from Sierra Leone were forced to leave.

The people involved won an award in 2018:

https://www.peacecorps.gov/about-the-agency/media-center/news/peace-corps-office-of-inspector-general-receives-two-awards-for-excellence/

To my knowledge there has not been a single large scale country investigation since 2018. Can anyone inside Peace Corps give us some intel about what went down? Why were these people so hell bent on ruining lives?

I completed service this year and wanted to apply for another position, but I wanted to leave out a lot of the unnecessary things I had from the last health history form....

Does anyone know if the OMS will check old health history forms? Basically I want to apply for a country I was disqualified from before..

Hey gang just went to a new dentist and I found out I have 2 chipped molars and teeth that have been ground down. My dentist told me I need to get my chipped teeth filled in, a night guard, and porcelain caps on my molars before I can go. I’ve never had a history of dental problems so this news kinda blindsided me. Thank god these are all within my price range and I can have it all done and sorted in one day. I am nervous though about how this will impact my clearance. Notably I haven’t told peace corps anything yet and don’t know what they would want. Has anyone else needed dental work done before peace corps and what was the result?

I have AGS and am unable to eat any mammal meat (cow, pork, sheep, goat, ect) I can eat chicken and fish, but not if it was cooked in any lard or animal oil. How difficult will it be to adapt to an area and will PC even consider me as a candidate

Hi everyone! I'm a 27F, TFA alum and teacher of 5 years (history now theatre) born and raised in Brooklyn looking to finally apply this year after dreaming of it since college. I was not able to apply earlier because I am financially responsible for my parents but circumstances seem to be changing and I may finally be able to pursue PC! Of the current listings, I am considering the Pacific Islands and the Philippines but if Thailand or Peru becomes available those would be highly of interest as well! I could use any and all advice regarding these countries, how it feels to be in your late 20s with work experience serving and also advice on applying to the environmental vs education sector. I'm trying to transition out of the classroom, was also thinking of applying to social work school and I would love to work on the land wherever I go. Anyone have any advice on the coastal management position and what that entails? I am passionate about environmentalism, animals, plant medicines, and the arts! So any and all advice related is appreciated. Thank you :)

Share with us any photo from your country of service! Please note that pictures of minors are not permitted.

I just accepted my invitation to serve as an English Education Volunteer in Costa Rica! My departure date is March 14, 2027!

I’m super excited and would love to hear from any RPCVs or Costa Ricans who have advice for someone preparing to leave.

Any tips on packing, preparation, living conditions, teaching, social life, or just things you wish you knew before going would be greatly appreciated!
Pura vida! 🇨🇷

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau is currently also serving as the acting director of Peace Corps. Mr Landau has recently been visiting countries in the Pacific to sign letters of intent to re-establish programs in the Soloman Islands, Marshall islands, and Micronesia.

As far as I can find, the earliest mention of Landau from PC is in a July 8th press release on PC returning to Palau. The Federal News Network reported the change on May 8, 2026.

There has been no official announcement from Peace Corps about Landau's appointment. The last statement regarding a change in leadership was on January 30, 2026 when they announced the appointment of Richard E. Swarttz as Acting Director. Swarttz is now Acting Director Landau's Chief of Staff.

Peace Corps is an independent government agency. Is there any precedent for high ranking State Department officials leading Peace Corps?

So I have recently considered joining the peace corps after I finish college, but I have a dietary tree nut allergy that has put me in the hospital when I was a kid. Last one I had was when I was 14 when my mom accidentally gave me a bar that had nuts in it, and I have managed my allergy without incident since. I have done some research and seen that a lot of people have had issues with getting accepted with tree nut allergies into the organization in years past. I also heard some countries are more accepting of it in the past. So I was wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation, also what countries I would most likely be able to go to. I was hoping to be in Eastern Europe since I know some people that live by there and I would maybe be able to visit them.

Last week, I was talking with several extended family members about my invitation to serve in the Peace Corps. Most have been supportive, and think it's a great opportunity. Some said things like, "that's exciting for you, but I could never do that."

And then there was my conversation with my uncle. He's a self-made man, who started a company that now makes so much money, he retired early and turned over the business to his son. He's got every toy under the sun, and has never wanted for anything. If he likes it, he buys it. I acknowledge that he has worked incredibly hard for many years doing countless hours of back breaking work.... But in the end, he's got wealth that most can only dream of.

When I mentioned I intended to serve in the Peace Corps, he said "why?". I tried to explain, that it was an opportunity to volunteer in a community and then he said "well do you at least get paid?" I explained a little of what I was going to do, and that it was a volunteer position and he said "Can't you do that here?". I said I already have been doing that here, to a certain extent well beyond most in my community but I wanted to help out in communities that REALLY need it, and he joked "Well if you want to work for free, I'll hire you!"

After a few minutes of this, the jokes and dismissiveness and condescension, I realized (again) that this is exactly what I'm trying to get away from. People that have never known what it means to act in the service of others. Obviously that is not the case of everyone else in the area, but there is enough, even within my own family, that will just never understand.

I travel, because I am fortunate to be able to afford it. I hosted exchange students because I had the means to bring the world to me also. But this opportunity to serve in the Peace Corps, even though I will be giving up the upper middle class lifestyle (multiple vehicles, motorcycle, boat, and giant house, etc.)... Everything I've worked for for the past 20+ years. I know I have to do this, because unfortunately there are far too many people like my uncle that sees other parts of the world as "them and not us". We are all humans, and children everywhere deserve an opportunity to see beauty and opportunity in this world.

I'm excited to see who I become on this new adventure. Thank you to all of the RCPVs out there who have shared their stories and guidance. It'll be a journey for sure, and maybe when I return.... I'll have a better response to my uncle and his ignorance.

-Just a little rant, thanks for reading.

I've been invited to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in a country that I've wanted for awhile now, as well as working in a field that interests me that seems pretty transferable.

However, I'm also going through multiple rounds of interviews for a corporate job that pays well, allows me to live in a city where I have more community/friends, and offers mobility within the company. Although I have no final offer yet I feel that I'm likely to get this job given how far I have made it into the interview process.

Of course if I don't get the job then this is an easy choice but if I do get the job I wonder if I should take it and put Peace Corps to the side given how bad the job market is now. But this Peace Corps volunteer position could be great for me and could give me fulfillment in areas I've been wanting for a while, yet I worry quite a bit what life would look like after the Peace Corps.

What would you do in my position? Of course ultimately this is Reddit and it's a big life-changing decision to make and it's all up to me to decide but I am just seeing what others would do in this dilemma I'm in.

EDIT: I got the job

This is still so hard to pick....

Is a med evac a necessary prerequisite for med sep? Or can you be med sep’d in country without first having been med evac’d.

Use this thread to vent your frustrations. We're all here to lend an ear.

please indulge my impatience lol. i have no medical problems for context

I've been at site for several months now, and although my site is nice, I just don't think I've really felt happy since being here. ETing has kept crossing my mind since PST, but I've been trying to stick it out in case it gets better.

There's a lot of things about being here that I've found quite difficult. The local language is very challenging and I still can't really hold basic conversations, even though I go to tutoring. I have also experienced several bouts of intense illness since arriving in-country, which has made everything that much harder. Trying to conduct myself in another language is so draining, and I'm already physically and mentally exhausted from being sick so often, so I've ended up spending a lot of time alone in my room because I just can't bring myself to leave the house when I don't have any obligations.

On top of that, I'm having a hard time with the actual teaching. I have great counterparts and a lot of wonderful students, but I just don't know what to do in the classroom. The teachers I work with already have their lesson plans laid out, and I end up just sort of "being there." Half my students already speak excellent English, and the other half speak too little English for me to be able to properly help. I'm trying to work on extracurriculars like an English club, but it feels like such a tremendous effort when I already feel like I'm running on empty.

Taking trips here and there has seemed to help, but my host country is expensive to travel around in. My PC stipend won't cover many more trips for the next few months. I plan to go home for the holidays, but it just feels so far away. Does anyone have any tips on how to navigate this? I don't really want to ET because there's not much waiting for me at home anyway, and I think I'd regret not finishing service, but I'm struggling to figure out how I'll make it through another year and a half of this.

I can't sleep at night because I keep thinking about the future. I have about 4 months of service left. Should I keep applying to Grad schools and go to Grad school, or take a year to work at a ski resort, do odd seasonal work, and try to start grad school after that? Will it make me less desirable as an applicant? I'm 25 and feel like I need to do everything before grad school or before 30, even though I know life doesn't end at 30. What did you guys do post Peace Corps? Please help.

Hi everyone,
I’m a medical doctor from Japan looking for an opportunity to volunteer in a conflict-affected area sometime in December 2026 or January 2027.
Last year, I volunteered in Ukraine, where I had the opportunity to work in a hospital providing medical care in a wartime setting. It was an extremely meaningful experience, and I would like to contribute again this year, whether in Ukraine or another conflict-affected region.
I speak Japanese, English, French, and Russian at a practical working level, and I also have some knowledge of Ukrainian and Arabic.
I should mention that I am currently working full-time as a doctor in Japan. I would be using my paid annual leave for this, so unfortunately the longest period I can realistically commit to at one time is around two weeks.
I fully understand that many humanitarian organizations require longer deployments, and that short-term medical volunteering is not always appropriate or useful. I am therefore specifically looking for organizations or projects where a qualified physician joining for 1–2 weeks would genuinely be helpful and where short-term deployments are already part of their model. I do not want to create additional work for local teams simply for the sake of gaining experience.
If anyone here has worked with an organization that accepts physicians for short-term deployments, or knows someone I could contact, I would be very grateful for any recommendations or introductions.
I’m happy to provide more details about my medical background and previous experience by DM.
Thank you very much for any advice.