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To the people whining about their boring, listless lives,

Peace Corps is just a little more than a two year thing, hardly qualifies for a "waste of a life."

Generally they are fairly good about placing volunteers into communities that have a need for the volunteers particular skillset, so you actually can accomplish things as a peace corps officer.

However, they don't provide any funding for projects, and it can be difficult for the officers to raise money themselves (it's hard to raise money remotely, and if you're in a peace corps country it's unlikely you'll find donors locally).

My roommate from Rice is currently a Peace Corps officer in a small villiage in rural panama. When he first got down there he didn't really have a clear project, so he just focused on the road (seasonal, washes out every rainy season. He's working to make it permanent). He's got several advantages here, though. First, he knows basic engineering principals. Second, he's got a ton of experience doing projects like this (he lead an EWB team that built a health clinic in rural nicaragua. They put up a really nice building, convinced groups like Doctors without Borders to staff it periodically, etc.) and last, he's got a bunch of contacts at various rotary clubs and NGOs that love to spend money and like to spend money through people they know (such as my roommate).

Currently he's in the planning stages to provide electric service to the area using small hydroelectric generators.

My girlfriend is also planning to go peace corps, and has similar experience leading an ewb team (and serving on the board for the Rice chapter). Her experience has mostly to do with water projects, and her peace corps recruiter told her that she was being nominated for such a project, departing feb 2010.

Neither of these people are hippy idealists. They both understand what can and can't (more imporant, imo) be accomplished by projects like this. They both know what has to be done to ensure that any improvements built outlast their stay in the area.

Peace Corps can be a good thing, and can actually accomplish stuff as long as you know what you're doing and are realistic about your goals.

Not for everyone, though, not by a long shot. If you're bored and want to reboot your life don't waste everyone's time by joining the peace corps. Join the army or something, they can always use more grunts.
 
LordMorpheus, wtf is a Peace Corps officer? I was a Peace Corps volunteer, but never heard that term used.

Oh, the worst enemy of most PC volunteers is boredom. Many/most are in the middle of nowhere with pretty much nothing to do. Their primary duty is to befriend the locals and show them that Americans aren't evil baby killers, but humans just like them. I spent a considerable amount of my time drinking rum with the local guys.
 
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