2008.02.14: February 14, 2008: Headlines: Application Process: Interview Process: Arkansas State University Herald: Can I carry on without iTunes? Without Starbucks coffee? Without CNN? Last Friday I was asked all of these questions at my Peace Corps interview.
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2008.02.14: February 14, 2008: Headlines: Application Process: Interview Process: Arkansas State University Herald: Can I carry on without iTunes? Without Starbucks coffee? Without CNN? Last Friday I was asked all of these questions at my Peace Corps interview.
Can I carry on without iTunes? Without Starbucks coffee? Without CNN? Last Friday I was asked all of these questions at my Peace Corps interview.
We've convinced ourselves that the rest of the world lives like us. We're convinced that everyone spends an ungodly amount of time on Facebook. And surely everyone caught the season premiere of Lost. But it's simply not true. In Malawi, it takes a month for the mail to arrive from the United States. My Peace Corps recruiter said she rode a bus five hours one-way just to use the Internet in a small city in Africa. She didn't talk to her family for weeks. She took bucket baths. And she didn't have electricity. But she also said it was the greatest thing she'd ever done. She lived a simple life. She survived on friendships created in Africa. She learned the language. She made it. And she was in her fifties. I ran across this quote that reminds me of her experience and captures the Peace Corps' message: "Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag." - Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Can I carry on without iTunes? Without Starbucks coffee? Without CNN? Last Friday I was asked all of these questions at my Peace Corps interview.
Life beyond ourselves, what we know
Catherine Bahn
Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: Opinion
What if?
What if you didn't have access to TV? Or the Internet? What if you lived by yourself without a car? Without friends? Without knowledge of the language? What if you lived without running water and electricity?
Could you survive?
Last Friday I was asked all of these questions at my Peace Corps interview. Naturally, I said, "Yes, I could survive." What else could I say? If I had said no, I'd certainly be tossed aside, scratched off the list of applicants.
But do I really think I can survive without all these things? For two years?
Honestly, I have my doubts. Can I carry on without iTunes? Without Starbucks coffee? Without CNN?
We've convinced ourselves that the rest of the world lives like us. We're convinced that everyone spends an ungodly amount of time on Facebook. And surely everyone caught the season premiere of Lost.
But it's simply not true.
In Malawi, it takes a month for the mail to arrive from the United States. My Peace Corps recruiter said she rode a bus five hours one-way just to use the Internet in a small city in Africa. She didn't talk to her family for weeks. She took bucket baths. And she didn't have electricity.
But she also said it was the greatest thing she'd ever done. She lived a simple life. She survived on friendships created in Africa. She learned the language. She made it. And she was in her fifties.
I ran across this quote that reminds me of her experience and captures the Peace Corps' message:
"Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag." - Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Sure, I'm scared. I have a lot here. Actually, I have a lot I could do without. By shedding the weight of technology and modern convenience, I will have the opportunity to know people, live simply and, I hope, have one of the greatest experiences of my life.
If you're interested in a life outside of the ordinary (or don't want a nine-to-five job after graduation), go to www.peacecorps.gov for more information.
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Headlines: February, 2008; Application Process
When this story was posted in February 2008, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Dodd vows to filibuster Surveillance Act Senator Chris Dodd vowed to filibuster the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that would grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that helped this administration violate the civil liberties of Americans. "It is time to say: No more. No more trampling on our Constitution. No more excusing those who violate the rule of law. These are fundamental, basic, eternal principles. They have been around, some of them, for as long as the Magna Carta. They are enduring. What they are not is temporary. And what we do not do in a time where our country is at risk is abandon them." |
| What is the greatest threat facing us now? "People will say it's terrorism. But are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So what is the great threat we are facing? I would approach this differently, in almost Marshall-like terms. What are the great opportunities out there - ones that we can take advantage of?" Read more. |
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Story Source: Arkansas State University Herald
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Application Process; Interview Process
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