Everything You Need To Know About Peace Corps But Were Never Told

I think Peace Corps is one of the greatest things the U.S. Government has ever created. I think, if the time is right, it is something everyone should do at some point in their life. However, there are many things that Peace Corps either neglects to tell, or doesn’t want future volunteers to know. When I was waiting to become a PCV I remember how frustrating it was to know what my future country would be like. Being a PCV takes a lot of flexibility, however, it’s always nice to know what to expect a little. It’s good to at least get a glimpse of what you are in store for. Often what Peace Corps says is not what actually happens. And in their defense, they can't possibly tell you everything. I’m not saying they are not honest or up front, but often things are different from the manual you receive. So I’ve come up with many of the common questions about being a PCV in Bulgaria. Some are obvious and some are specific to Bulgaria. Being a volunteer in another PC country is probably totally different, but even if you will serve somewhere else this will probably help you.

Q. How long do most people wait before becoming a volunteer?

A. I’ve talked with a lot of volunteers and it varies for everyone. For me, I waited almost a year. For others, they had three weeks to get ready. The medical process can be really long and it’s important that you promptly return all forms as fast as you can. One girl I know waited for two years before getting her assignment. And while you’re waiting, don’t worry about not getting in. As long as you didn’t kill anyone or don’t have a serious medical problem, you’ll get in.

Q. What is staging like?

A. It’s really boring. Long meetings, but it gives you a chance to meet some people who you might become lifelong friends with. My staging was in Chicago. We stayed downtown in a nice hotel. Everybody had roommates. People who roomed together in Chicago tended to room together in Bulgaria for the first few days. Everybody gets along at first, but the people slowly form groups after a few days. At staging you fill out some forms, do a lot of ice breakers and meet a lot of people. It’s kind of like showing up for the first day of school. Some people are really nervous. Others are really outgoing. One good thing is that they give you a generous amount of money. Everybody I know in our group (45) went out each night and had a good time. Of course, some people had a really good time and suffered through the next day.

Q. What happens once you get to Bulgaria?

A. We didn’t have a clear idea of what the schedule would be until we got to Bulgaria. Peace Corps kept saying, “You’ll see, you’ll see”. My group flew to Frankfurt, Germany then onto Sofia. Two people lost their luggage between those two cities, but eventually got them back. Another girl lost her coat on the plane. From there we took a bus to Strelcha, a small mountain town. It is really quiet, more so than many of the towns I’ve been in and I live in a town of 4,000! We were put up in a hotel/resort place. It was old, but clean. We were served three meals a day, but it was Bulgarian food. Some times I wasn’t too fond of it. We were in Strelcha for four days. It was four long days. You receive some basic language lessons, but most of your time is spent listening to people talk about security, medical info. and cultural issues. It’s necessary, but long and tedious. You fill out forms for your bank card and litchna carta (Bulgarian I.D.). All the while you’re wondering with whom and where you will live for the next two and half months. You find this out the day before you leave.

A lot of people partied it up in Strelcha because they gave us more money again. It seems like a lot, but you can go through it quick. I forgot the amounts, but it was over 100 leva.

 Q. Is pre-training all that hard? What goes on exactly?

A. Some times it’s hard, and some times it isn’t. Your life does speed up a bit. Each day is filled with a lot of stuff. First, you meet with your language teacher each day. I studied with three other girls. We were the only volunteers in town. This is the case for most groups. They send you off to a small town with a few trainees and every two weeks you meet up with the rest of the group. Anyway, we would have class from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Then we would come back at 2 p.m. and go until 5 p.m. That’s a lot of class time and after awhile it’s mentally draining to always be thinking and speaking in Bulgarian. There were many afternoons where the girls and I just sat at a café in silence. We were too tired to talk a lot. We also had to teach at the local school, so some times that took up our language sessions. At first we taught one class a day, then we moved on to two a day. It wasn’t too hard, but often we would study Bulgarian, rush to class and then return for more. In between all of that you have these cultural assignments that can be interesting or lame. You go meet the police. You talk to young people. You prepare and cook a Bulgarian meal with your group. That was pretty fun, the others were not. Some people don’t like their sites. I was happy with mine. I met a lot of nice people and it was really close to Plovdiv, a major city. We could hop on the bus and spend the evening there. We didn’t do that often, but it was nice to have as an option.

 Q. What is the host family situation like for most people?

A. Peace Corps does a decent job in matching up PCVs with people who they will get along with. However, it doesn’t work all the time. For me, everything was great. I lived with a retired couple who was very nice and generous. They are paid a decent amount for your expenses. They feed you three times a day. (This is the biggest challenge because many Bulgarians insist on making you fatter!) You have your own room and bathroom too. I had no problems but I know others that had horror stories. Living with new people in a new culture takes some flexibility and some time to get used to. I think if you are open, then you will become great friends with your host family. I just returned to their home after two months and it was much better than before because I could understand them so much better. They are like family now and I hope to keep in touch with them for a long time. Like I said, my only complaint was how much they fed me. Some times I didn’t want to eat anymore.

 Q. What should I bring? What is available and what is not?

A. You can buy almost everything here. Every person is different, but I would have only brought my very favorite clothes, the ones that are really comfortable and like wearing. Everything else you can buy here, and it’s relatively cheap. Bring some books and some DVDs if you’re into that. DVD’s are different here. If you have a lap top, bring it! You will regret it if you don’t. The other things I brought were school supplies for the kids. They love stickers, picture books, posters and little gadgets. I am definitely glad I brought those. But I brought too many clothes. It is a real pain lugging around two huge suitcases. The less you have, the better. And if you forget something, a package from the U.S. takes about two weeks.

 Q. What are the living conditions like in most places?

A. Actually, they’re pretty good. I only know a few people who are not happy with their apartments and many times they are first-time volunteers in their towns. A few prerequisites: The apartment must be on the second floor or above. It must have two locks. It must have a bed with sheets, pots and pans, a toilet, etc. Most of the time, the apartments are nice. You can take a look at some pictures of mine on this site. I took over another volunteer’s flat and she kept it nice. I have very few bugs (although ants have appeared three times). It’s fairly cool in the summer. I’ll tell you about the winter later. Each apartment has to have a small heater. You also get a distiller for your water. PC advises not drinking the tap water. You probably won’t get sick, but there is a lot of metal in the water. It doesn’t taste all that great, either. I have a smoke detector. Other things you probably will need, but PC doesn’t always provide: washing machine, vacuum cleaner, table, freezer, lots of plates and silverware. PC gives you money when you first move in to buy all this stuff. I already had it, so I spent it on a guitar and a cell phone. For most TEFL PCVs the school pays for your apartment and pays your bills. This is very convenient. For the CODs the municipality pays or PC gives the volunteer money to pay. I have no problems other than my toilet doesn't flush, therefore I have to pour a big bucket of water down it  every  time.

 Q. Do PCVs really have cell phones?

A. Yes, it’s a much better way to go. In the long run, it is cheaper than a regular line, and if you want to talk to people in the States, you have to have a cell phone. The regular phones are old and often don’t work. Also, they don’t itemize your bill in some towns, so you never how you are being charged. The volunteer before had big problems with this and finally got rid of her house phone. Talking on cell phones (GSMs) is expensive, but everybody sends text messages. It’s around .15 to .18 stotinki per message. Plus, PC can always get a hold of you when they want. They can pretty uptight about PCVs roaming around the country without them knowing.

Q. What has been the biggest challenge so far?

A. Language, language, language. Although I did well on my language test at the end of training and I'm learning Bulgarian at a decent rate I still run into language barriers for work and especially social settings. It can be lonely and frustrating always having to rely on someone to translate what you are saying. PC does a great job of preparing you to survive in Bulgaria. You can take a bus or train, order food, greet people, etc. But that's all you can do at first! Some times you can't tell a story or joke or really express how you feel. That is a big hurdle to get over. But after about six months it gets better. It's amazing how much you can learn in so little time. Sometimes Bulgarians will give you a hard time about your language. You must ignore this and try o keep learning. Some times they don't understand that it's not possible to master a difficult language like Bulgarian in six months.

 Q. How and when do you know where you will serve?

A. We found out after about a month and a half of training. Then we went to visit that town for three or four days. The COD group (B16) found out after a month, I think, but they visited another volunteer to get an idea what PCV life is like. We didn’t do this. Before you find out PC has you fill out a survey on what kind of site you prefer. For example, what is your experience like, do you want to live in a small town, what grades might you want to teach, etc. Some people got what they wanted, others didn’t. I don’t know anyone who is really displeased with their site so far.

 Q. How much do you live on?

A. You know, that’s a question that many PCVs get every day from Bulgarians. It’s better to keep quiet about that, and so I will do the same. But I can tell you that it is enough. In fact, if you live in a small town, I doubt you will be able to spend your monthly allowance unless you travel every weekend. As of this year (2004) all PCVs (small or big cities) get paid the same. It was different before, but they figured that it costs more for the PCVs in small towns to travel to meetings or to get supplies, etc. Included in your stipend is money for vacation travel and travel to meetings. I haven’t heard any complaints about how much we are paid, but I supposed it could be a little tougher for PCVs in Sofia, Plovdiv or Varna. You also learn to live on less here, which I think is good.