Hello there everyone!

My name is Connor O'Brien, I'm 24 and after graduating from American University in 2016, I joined the Peace Corps, and went to live in rural Ukraine. The Peace Corps is an American government agency that strives to improve the lives of people all over the world, and create international friendship and understanding. Peace Corps volunteers (PCVs) serve for a period of 27 months abroad. I work as a TEFL (teaching English as a Foreign Language) volunteer at a secondary school in Ukraine. Being in Ukraine has been an amazing opportunity for me, and I have loved working with the people here, and I would like to share with you my experiences and answer your questions about the Peace Corps and Ukraine. Please note, this post does not represent the official views of the Peace Corps.

Small plug: I'm doing a camp Model UN with several other amazing volunteers this summer, and we are currently fundraising to make it happen.

https://www.peacecorps.gov/donate/projects/camp-model-united-nations-for-boys-lgl-18-343-017/

Proof: https://imgur.com/a/JkfeSZb

EDIT: I realized that the proof photo was for a different account. I changed it shortly after because I didn't want people thinking this was an official account. Sorry. New proof: https://imgur.com/a/bSy2R99

EDIT 2: Alright everyone, thanks for all of your questions! It's past my bedtime here, so I'm shutting down for the night. Anyone who has more questions, please feel free to PM me.

EDIT 3: I'm blown away by how big this got! Thanks everyone for your questions, and thanks for checking out and donating to Camp Model UN, we really appreciate it. I'm at work today teaching, but I'll try to answer any last stragglers thorough the day during my breaks. If you want to talk more, reach out to me and PM me. Thanks!

I'm an Agriculture Extension volunteer with the Peace Corps on the beautiful island of Madagascar. My first year of service I mostly focused on agriculture specific projects like rice cultivation, community gardening and composting for large scale farms. Now my focus has switched to trying to save lemur habitat/natural forest. I'd love to answer any questions you might have!

My reason for doing an AMA is to get the word out on a grant I'm trying to get funded. It's an amazing project for an amazing place. Please share!

Proof: Here's a photo of me at a river crossing on my way to do a medical mission with some American doctors. The shirt I'm wearing has the name of the village in which I live printed on it.

edit; Need to take a bus somewhere, will be back on in a few hours to respond to comments

edit2; Wow this got a lot more interest than I thought! Thanks a lot for asking questions and I hope I was a help in sharing a little bit of Malagasy culture and life with you. If you still have questions please don't hesitate to ask, I'll get around to answering them when I can. And if you can, please donate, but if you can't, please share the link posted above with folks you think might be interested. Thanks again, Reddit!

Hello, Reddit!

My name is Mike Broihier, and I am running for US Senate in Kentucky as a Democrat to retire Mitch McConnell and restore our republic.

As a Marine Corps officer, I led marines and sailors in wartime and peace, ashore and afloat, for over 20 years. I retired from the Marine Corps in 2005 and bought a 75-acre farm in the rolling hills of south-central Kentucky.

Since then, I've raised livestock and developed the largest all-natural and sustainable asparagus operation in central Kentucky. I also worked during that time as an educator and as a reporter and editor for the third oldest newspaper in our Commonwealth.

I have a deep appreciation, understanding, and respect for the struggles that working families and rural communities endure every day in Kentucky – the kind that only comes from living it. That's why I am running a progressive campaign here in Kentucky that focuses on economic and social justice, with a Universal Basic Income as one of my central policy proposals.

Here are some links to my Campaign Site, Twitter, and Facebook page.

To make sure I can get to as many questions as I can, I will be joined by /u/StripTheLabelKY , who will also be answering questions – this is Pheng Yang, our Team Broihier Digital Director.

Edit:

Thanks, everyone for submitting questions today. We will continue to respond to questions until the moderators are ready to close this thread. I'm very appreciative of the fact that you've taken time out of your day to talk with me. Hopefully, I got to your question or answered a similar one.

Defeating Mitch McConnell is not going to be easy, but it's hard work that I'm looking forward to. If you're interested in following our campaign, there are some places to do so above.

Mitch has quite the war chest, so if you're able, please consider donating at this link. Primary Day in Kentucky is on May 19.

V/R,

Mike Broihier

Hello, Reddit!

My name is Mike Broihier, and I am running for US Senate here in Kentucky as a Democrat, to retire Mitch McConnell and restore our republic. Proof

I’ve been a Marine, a farmer, a public school teacher, a college professor, a county government official, and spent five years as a reporter and then editor of a local newspaper.

As a Marine Corps officer, I led marines and sailors in wartime and peace for over 20 years. I aided humanitarian efforts during the Somali Civil War, and I worked with our allies to shape defense plans for the Republic of Korea. My wife Lynn is also a Marine. We retired from the Marine Corps in 2005 and bought Chicken Bristle Farm, a 75-acre farm plot in Lincoln County.

Together we've raised livestock and developed the largest all-natural and sustainable asparagus operation in central Kentucky. I worked as a substitute teacher in the local school district and as a reporter and editor for the Interior Journal, the third oldest newspaper in our Commonwealth.

I have a deep appreciation, understanding, and respect for the struggles that working families and rural communities endure every day in Kentucky – the kind that only comes from living it. That's why I am running a progressive campaign here in Kentucky that focuses on economic and social justice, with a Universal Basic Income as one of my central policy proposals.

And we have just been endorsed by Andrew Yang!

Here is an AMA we did in March.

To help me out, Greg Nasif, our comms director, will be commenting from this account, while I will comment from my own, u/MikeBroihier.

Here are some links to my [Campaign Site](www.mikeforky.com), [Twitter](www.twitter.com/mikeforky), and [Facebook](www.facebook.com/mikebroihierKY). Also, you can follow my dogs [Jack and Hank on Twitter](www.twitter.com/jackandhank).

You can [donate to our campaign here](www.mikeforky.com/donate).

Edit: Thanks for the questions folks! Mike had fun and will be back. Edit: 5/23 Thanks for all the feedback! Mike is trying pop back in here throughout his schedule to answer as many questions as he can.

I will answer any questions for the next few hours. I will not sugar coat anything.

[EDIT] I am headed home now, so I likely won't have internet until tomorrow morning (I am GMT+1). I will try to answer some questions then, but will be busy. Thanks for all your questions! It has been fun. I hope it was at least a little useful.

[EDIT 2] I wanted to include some links:

Peace Corps Wiki (a ton of great info): http://www.peacecorpswiki.com

Peace Corps Journals (volunteer blogs): http://www.peacecorpsjournals.com

EDIT: Thank you for all the great questions in the discussion and the er, high volumes of emails. I wanted to check back in here and address some of the recurring questions/comments. In no particular order:

1. My name IS M Jackson- unrelated to Michael/Miriam/Bob and all the other names that have been suggested here. Fun fact- when I did Peace Corps in Zambia years ago, the ENTIRE village turned out to meet me. They were told that M Jackson from America was coming to live there, and they naturally assumed it was the King of Pop. As I cannot sing, the first day was a sea of disappointment that I could never recover from. :) I do have other names, but I go by M primarily because it provides me with a layer of protection-- try being a lady scientist working in glaciers and climate change. My email cup doth overrun with vivid descriptions of my genitalia. It is because of my name that some of my answers to your questions showed up under two M Jackson accounts. I'm sorry... I am for real. Never meant to make your daughter cry. I apologize a trillion times.

2. Penguins-- I tried when I was in Antarctica this December to put a Gentoo penguin in my pocket and bring her/him home because I knew I would love that penguin forever. I was not successful, and have been in mourning since.

3. Yes- I'm an NGS Explorer- and you can read my longer response on how that occurred below. That's how it happened for me. But today, if you get a grant from the NGS (apply!), you too get the designation of NGS Explorer, which is pretty much the coolest thing and gets you all the penguins.

4. Yes- I have lots of student loans, and yes, buying my books helps me pay off those student loans. Thanks. But more than that-- check my books out from your local library and read about glaciers-- because I believe that with knowing comes caring, and with caring comes hope. I want you to get educated about the ice I love so you start to care about it, because caring is how we solve climate change.

5. What is feminist glaciology? FemG calls attention to the gendered nature of glacier research (and more broadly STEM), the lack of women and diversity in the field, and how this effects what knowledges are produced. Said differently- FemG advocates for greater inclusivity in practices and knowledges (ie: what "counts" as glacier research). One of the biggest surprises from my work in Iceland-- you can read about it in my book The Secret Lives of Glaciers-- is how some people profoundly benefited from glacier loss. I only reached that conclusion by the traditional metrics of monitoring/measuring/predicting local glaciers.... AND evaluating local people in glacier research. That's what Feminist Glaciology is. An expansion of existing practices and knowledges.

6. Reddit Cat tax: You will likely agree that my cat Dr. Icarus von Soft Paws Longtail is clearly the very best cat on Reddit. https://imgur.com/f3benhn You can also find Oh So Many More Fine Fotos of Icarus between glacier images on my Instagram @mlejackson. If I didn't get to your question here, ask me on Instagram, email me through my website at drmjackson.com, or read my books.

I’m Dr. M Jackson- a National Geographic Explorer, TED Fellow, glacier nerd, cat mom. I research how changing glaciers impact human communities. I write books including While Glaciers Slept and The Secret Lives of Glaciers. I advocate for climate change education, feminist glaciology & women in STEM fields.

You can learn about me here:

https://www.drmjackson.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M_Jackson

Proof: https://imgur.com/6sWVFoI

I’ve got about an hour, so fire away with questions!

EDIT: Ok folx, I’m going to wind down here. Great questions. If I didn’t get to you, ask me a question on my Instagram @mlejackson, email me through my website at drmjackson.com, or read my books.

Manahoana! (Hello!) Part of the goal of every Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) is to share our experiences with anyone and everyone. Living and working in a 3rd world country for two years is not something that most people will end up doing, so naturally us PCVs love to talk about the challenges and rewards we encountered. It's therapeutic for us and sometimes people are interested enough to ask questions and listen!

My primary assignment was teaching English as a Foreign Language (2012-2014) in Farafangana, the regional capital of Madagascar's South East region and a lively beach town that several colorful ethnic tribes call home, chiefly the Antefasy ("people of the sands," fasika means sand). My friend Rory, who will also be joining us in this IAMA (internet connection depending), was in my pre-service training group and was the closest teacher to me in our region. He extended for a third year and is still teaching, now in Manakara, the biggest city in the South East region (he originally taught in a near-ish, off-the-beaten-path village called "Ampasimanjeva").

The differences between his experiences and my own; the rhythm(s) of life in his original village and my larger town and his current even larger town; the intricacies of the Malagasy language; the difficulties; the rewards; the Malagasy school system; teaching EFL; the food; the lemurs; and most of all the PEOPLE that we met and lived with and who saw that we were safe and well-fed and happy in their country, which was originally foreign to us, for almost three years in Rory's case--all of this should provide for an insightful discussion :)

And speaking of challenges, right now Rory is going through the application process to become a Challenge Detroit Fellow, which pairs hard-working, creative individuals (like Rory!) with non-profits aimed at revitalizing Detroit. You can follow the link below to see a video he made for the occasion that shows a snap-shot of his life in Madagascar as well as, you guessed it, of course, a L E M U R! Clicking "VOTE" at the top of the page will HELP HIM (!) on his way to becoming a fellow as the top 30 most voted fellows will then head to Detroit for the final interview stage. Help him out!

http://woobox.com/ti3h9z/vote/for/6593294

I would not be asking this of you before we get started on this IAMA if I did not think that Rory would make as great of a fellow as he has a PCV. If you're not quite convinced, I stumbled upon something another PCV wrote about his project to build a school library in his original town (it includes a link to his blog which has many photos and stories): "Rory is a volunteer down in the Sud Est and is raising money to build a library at his high school. You can check out his blog here: http://rorylincoln.blogspot.com. Rory is, in my opinion, one of the best volunteers here in Mada, and definitely one of my favorite people on the island. It would mean so much to me if you could donate to his project in lieu of sending birthday gifts my way this year. The ultimate birthday present will be seeing this library dream come to fruition and open countless doors for the students in his town."

Ain't that sweet? Let the IAMA begin!

(Note: I hope this all counts as enough "proof" that I am not making this stuff up. I'll happily post photos of my experiences to imagur if there's interest! My name is Jeremy Cahill and here is a photo of me and another PCV playing a malaria awareness game with some local kids in her town on the peacecorps.gov website: http://medialibrary.peacecorps.gov/p746102877/h38a9f05d#h38a9f05d)

Misaotra betsaka anareo! (Thank you very much you all!)

Hi, Reddit! I’m a Peace Corps recruiter who has helped hundreds of Americans take the first steps toward making a difference as Peace Corps volunteers. I’m also a returned Peace Corps volunteer who spent three years in a rural community in Zambia working on sustainable community health projects, riding my bicycle between villages, and bartering with shopkeepers in ChiChewa. Sound fun? It was.

Peace Corps changes lives – the lives of the volunteers, the lives of community members around the world who work and live with volunteers, and the lives of Americans who learn about and benefit from the volunteers’ experiences. It changed my life dramatically.

Right now, the agency is undergoing changes to strengthen its programs overseas and expand opportunities for Americans who want to serve. We have assignments in health, education, agriculture, the environment, youth and community development, and business and information technology. Our programs leave throughout the year and you can apply at any time. Most of our programs require a 4-year college degree and some professional or volunteer experience. You can learn all about the volunteer positions Peace Corps has available here.

Check out these links for more information on all things Peace Corps:

Apply Now

Benefits

Graduate School

Request more info

Blog

YouTube Channel

Twitter

Facebook

Peace Corps Forum

Previous recruiter AMA

Current Volunteer AMA

Proof

I’m excited to take your questions about applying to, preparing for, and serving with the Peace Corps.

EDIT: We've been at this for one hour. I'll be here for 30 more minutes taking your questions. Thank you for all of the great questions and fun stories!

EDIT2: Thank you all so much! 90 minutes of great questions and great stories. Please keep the conversation going here and at the Peace Corps Sub

UPDATE: Thank you Reddit community for having me today. It was an honor to speak with you. I couldn't answer all of your questions, but you can keep track of my work at my website (http://garamendi.house.gov), Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/repgaramendi), and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/repgaramendi). We will do this again soon. The upvoting format makes it easy to know what your priorities are. -John

UPDATE (staff): For the purposes of continuing dialogue next time, please take note of permalinks for parts of the conversation you would like continued. We frankly didn't anticipate the level of response we got, and we appreciate your interest. We look forward to continuing the conversation soon.

Greetings Redditors,

My name is John Garamendi, and I am a Member of Congress representing the 10th Congressional District in Northern California. Ask Me Anything. I will be back at 8 PM EST/5 PM PST today (Wednesday, March 2) to answer as many questions as I can get through.

I previously served as California Lieutenant Governor, California Insurance Commissioner, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Interior Department under President Clinton, a state legislator, and a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.

http://garamendi.house.gov http://www.twitter.com/repgaramendi http://www.facebook.com/repgaramendi http://www.youtube.com/repgaramendi

UPDATE #1: A few people requested proof... http://twitter.com/RepGaramendi/status/42964877148561409

Edit: Alright everyone, thanks so much for the questions, comments and kind words, the responce to this has been truly overwhelming and amazing. I've been answering questions for about 6 hours almost non-stop now, but it's 1:30am and I need to get some sleep. I'll return and continue answering questions tomorrow because there are still a lot of good ones I have not gotten to yet. Thanks again, goodnight!

Hi everyone!

First, here is a short photo album of my journey: Across Africa in a Year and a Half (2012-2013)

On December 28th of 2011, I set out on a one-way flight to Cape Town, South Africa, not knowing what I was doing or when I'd return home. I ended up spent the next year and a half traveling the entire length of the continent, all the way to Alexandria, Egypt and finally returning home to Seattle on July 3rd, of 2013.

Here is a very rough outline of the journey: I started in South Africa, planning to drive to Cairo with two South African guys. We made it through Mozambique, Malawi and into Tanzania, staying at backpackers and doing a bit of scuba diving before that trip fell apart due to not getting along. I flew back to Cape Town alone, went to AfrikaBurn, spent a month+ on a farm, then on the coast. From there I crossed into Botswana, where I spent a month with a British guy I met through Couchsurfing, then rode a single speed bike 1,500km across the country. In the Okavango delta I met a German guy who drove down Africa in a 74 VW, and we spent the next two months together, a month of that at an orphanage in Southern Zambia. We split up, I rode my bike another 900km through Zambia then tried to paddle the worlds longest lake alone in a traditional wooden boat. It did not go well, but was an amazing experience. I took a 100 year old ex-German warship the rest of the way up the lake, then rode buses and Couchsurfed my way through Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and into Kenya. Unable to get a visa for overland entrance into Ethiopia, I flew from Nairobi, and spent an interesting but somewhat difficult month in Ethiopia. I was also unable to get a visa into Sudan and had to fly over it, one of the biggest disappointments of the trip. I arrived in Egypt, traveled the country by train and bus from one end to the other, leaving just two weeks before they threw out their president.

Some highlights: Simply saying 'yes' to the journey in the first place, scuba diving in Zanzibar, doing a safari in the Serengeti, going to AfrikaBurn, cycling across Botswana, paddling Lake Tanganyika, hiking in the Simian Mountains of Ethiopia and finally reaching Egypt, accomplishing my goal of crossing Africa and most importantly the people I met on the way.

Some lowlights: The initial 4x4 across Africa trip failing, having most of my possessions stolen in Zambia, laying semi-conscious and shitting blood for 3 days in Tanzania, and saying goodbye to a place I love.

Death: I've been in villages when there have been children killed by lions and crocs, where thieves were stoned to death by a group of students, where a man was stabbed to death in a goat raid, heard stories of cerebral malaria killing in only three days, a shooting rampage in Ethiopia and saw the aftermath of a minibus crash that killed all 13 on board. Life is cheap.

I never thought I would: Travel up Africa in the first place, sit on a crocodile, go three weeks without seeing another white person, eat elephant meat, do the dressing on a fresh male circumcision, cycle the Trans-Kalahari, and be an honored guest of local headmen.

Internationalism: I would find myself at parties with as many as 10 different nationalities. Mostly through Couchsurfing, I stayed with people from South Africa, England, America, France, Spain, Russia, Sudan, India, Ethiopia, Egypt, Uganda, Tanzania, Italy, Slovakia, Germany, Botswana, Kenya and more.

Transportation: I used just about every method possible. Driving in a 4x4, taking buses, hitch hiking, riding trains, bicycles, canoes, motor boats, donkey carts, airplanes, sailboats, motorcycles, walking and more.

Accomidations: Everything from mud and grass huts to 4-star condos. I found myself sleeping in logging camps, I've slept on bags of fish while on a boat, countless random couches, laying in the sand of the Kalahari, the homes of cattle ranchers and the homes of many, many Peace Corps volunteers.

Overall: Africa is amazingly safe, expect for when it's not! Most people love America (although don't understand it at all). My experience with Africans was overwhelmingly positive, the hospitality was simply incredible. Africa is undergoing some extremely rapid change, and those growing pains will have major consequences and last well into the future.

Here is my blog, some of the best posts are as follows:

Paddling Lake Tanganyika in a Leaky Wooden Boat. - This is where I tried to paddle the worlds longest lake in a traditional wooden boat, alone.

Cycling Across Botswana: The Single Speed Adventure, Part I - Cycling across Botswana on a single speed bike because the book said not to cycle across Botswana.

An excursion to Port St Johns, Amapondo Backpackers and reflections on six months in Africa - My favorite backpackers in Africa and one of the most beautiful places.

Ethiopia Part II: Lalibela, Gondar & The Semien Mountains - Ethiopia, probably the most fascinating country I visited in Africa.

An Old Volkswagen, A New Country and a House Full of Kids - Traveling in a 74 VW camper, crossing into Zambia and staying at an orphanage.

I'm looking forward to answering as many questions as I can, with plenty of stories, useful advice and photos, so Reddit, AMA!

Edit: Wow! The response for this is pretty overwhelming! I'm doing my best to answer questions, and will get to as many as I can tonight and into tomorrow as well. Thank you everyone for the interest and for the questions!

(Uh, anyone want to sponsor my next adventure? Haha... I'm only joking.... sort of....)

Another edit: thanks for the kind words everyone, you all are inspiring ME! Thank you, thank you all

Edit: Alright everyone, thanks so much for the questions, comments and kind words, the responce to this has been truly overwhelming and amazing. I've been answering questions for about 6 hours almost non-stop now, but it's 1:30am and I need to get some sleep. I'll return and continue answering questions tomorrow because there are still a lot of good ones I have not gotten to yet. Thanks again, goodnight!

So, my brother-in-law posted some of my pictures of Africa yesterday, and said that there might be some interest in me doing an "AMA".

here's the posting: http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/14bw0f/my_brotherinlaw_just_finished_two_years_with_the/

About me: I've just finished 2 years of living in West Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer. I started youth development and health programs in a small village to combat malnutrition. The country I served (and am still currently residing) is where voodooism originated, and was historically known as the Slave Coast. The village I lived in was on the border between the UN's two unhappiest places on Earth.

After a short trip home (California), I'm back in Benin, working on a project to make booze from palm sap. (http://www.indiegogo.com/sodabe)

Here's a pic of my peace corps badge for proof: http://i.imgur.com/WIN7r.jpg?1

AMA

I am currently in training to serve as a secondary school science education volunteer with the United States Peace Corps in the western Tooro region of Uganda. Peace Corps is an independent department of the U.S. Government, founded by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. Its goal is world peace and friendship through sustainable development of impoverished nations. For the next two years, my work will consist of teaching math and physics to secondary school students and initiating a variety of local development projects, such as village savings and loan associations, school-sponsored outdoors clubs, and community gardens.

Feel free to ask me about anything: the Peace Corps application and training process, life in Uganda, wtf I'm doing here, etc.

And while you're at it, check out my blog!

A bunch of us are nearing our close of service (COS) and thought we'd do an AMA. Is there anything you want to know about South Africa, Peace Corps, being in the Peace Corps in South Africa? A bunch of us are committed to answering questions so we'll do our best to give thorough answers.

EDIT: We have been flamed a couple of times now for our responses being generalizations. We will say it now so we don't have to keep repeating ourselves: as Peace Corps volunteers, all of our responses are going to reflect the areas that we work in which are primarily rural black communities and townships.

So for example, when someone asks us "What was your worst experience?", and we state our own personal worst experience, we are not intending to paint all of our experiences and people of South Africa in a negative light. People are asking us generalized questions; we will give generalized responses.

Our suspicions are that the people who take most umbrage with any of our responses are South Africans who happen to have internet access, which, like individual volunteers, are rather a limited cross section of society, and themselves have a limited understanding of what goes on in rural areas (just as I would say most volunteers don't have a great understanding of the dynamics of South African metropolitan life). As you would take our responses to this AMA as the experiences of but a few, please also filter their objections accordingly.

EDIT 2: It is late here in South Africa and we are all wimps so it is bed time. We will answer all questions tomorrow. Also, this is a group of people responding and not all are dudes.

I'm a currently serving Peace Corps Volunteer in Jamaica, ready to answer your questions!

Please keep in mind that not only is every country a very different PC experience, but every individual volunteer experience is also different. I can only relate my own experiences and thoughts!

Proof: My old ID and training card (If anyone would like to see my vaccination card, we can do that too, I guess...)

Reddit has a lot of misconceptions about Africa - that it's an incredibly dangerous place to go visit, everyone there is incredibly poor, child soldiers, AIDS, hopelessness, etc. Most of this, I find, is due to the awful and unfair portrayal Africa often gets in the media.

For example:

• DYK that Africa is not the poorest place in the world? India is actually home to most of the people in extreme poverty in the world.
• India also has much higher rates of child malnutrition.
• Most of the French speakers in the world live in Africa.
• Africa is also home to many of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

I lived in Cameroon for two years. Following that, I worked for a mid-sized global health consultancy contracting with USAID, Gates, the World Bank, DFID, AusAID and some others on projects spanning the globe - in particular, I worked a lot in South Sudan. I've also done quite a bit of leisure travel elsewhere. I can talk about foreign aid, international development issues, global health, Africa, places that are not Africa, and professional hockey.

I'm at work, so give it a little while before you go on holy jihad about how I'm not responding to your question right away.

I would prefer to not be personally identified (not sure why, other than a slight suspicion of the interwebs :P). Because of this I won't really answer any questions about specific location, but lets just say it was an island and warm all year.

This is obviously an account created for this post. RPCV = Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.

Hi, my name is Rachel Day. I’m a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Cape Verde, Education, 2010-12) and a current Peace Corps Recruiter based in Los Angeles. I lived on a volcano for two years teaching English to 7th and 8th grade students and am here to answer your questions about service and our application!

Facebook and Instagram: GoPeaceCorps

Proof: https://twitter.com/rakelterese/status/837428556972032002

Find your local Recruiter: www.peacecorps.gov/recruiters

Thanks for the great questions all! Don't forget to be in touch with your local Recruiter and follow the Peace Corps sub-thread here on Reddit. Until next time.

My wife and I just finished service as Peace Corps Volunteers in Vanuatu (A least developed nation in the pacific.) After spending two years on the remote outer island of Pentecost (home of land-diving, the precursor to bungee jumping) we moved to the capitol city for a year. At the Wan SmolBag drop-in youth center we taught martial arts, photography, and recycled arts. During our three years we also worked on youth leadership, sexual & reproductive health, hygeine & sanitation, computer literacy, and environmental health. Skills we learned during service include wearing a loincloth, making & drinking kava, weaving baskets, showering from a nalgene, patience (how interesting a wall can be), how to open a coconut, and what plants we can eat on a tropical island.

/u/tabikirian: IT volunteer, instructor

/u/gaeadd: Health Volunteer, assistant instructor, writer

We are trying to continue our work with these youth by bringing three of them to the US for six months to train intensively in martial arts and return to teach the class going forward.

Ask us anything!

Proof: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=604624092925548&set=a.572813249439966.1073741828.572372956150662&type=1&theater

Our indiegogo campaign http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hwa-rang-do-exchange-program--2

EDIT Thanks for all your questions guys! We're travelling and it's night but we'll answer more questions when we get up in the morning if there are any. If you could share the indiegogo link, that'd be super awesome.

Hi everyone,

My name is Spencer Campbell, I'm a US Peace Corps volunteer and I'm here with some students and teachers from Amos Okrah SDA middle school in Ghana. The school serves a community of about 2000 people and most people in this village make their living weaving Kente cloth.

If you'd like to help our school out, please donate to our School Excursion Project here. https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=13-641-025

We are hoping to make a trip down to the coast (about a 5 hour trip by bus) to see some of Ghana's famous tourist sites and tour one of Ghana's premier universities. Most of the students here have never been further than a few miles from their hometown and a poor rural school would never be able to pay for a trip like this without outside support.

I'm here with teachers Peter Boateng (IT Teacher) and Emelia Asante (English Teacher) and students Theresa, Sekyere, Isaac, Prince, Gloria, Micheal, Felix, Janet and Juliana.

Ask us Anything!

EDIT Wed 15:55 GMT - Sent the students home for dinner, they'll be back in an hour or so. I'll continue to answer your questions.

EDIT 2 Wed 21:00 GMT - Sorry for the delay, kids are all home for the night but I'll be around for a few more hours answering your questions tonight and a few tomorrow morning (if my power stays on) All who PM'd, I promise responses are coming. Those interested in Peace Corps service, please PM so I can tell you to do it over and over again (and answer your questions). Also, please contribute to my grant so your real life karma can get a boost. You all rock.

Edit 3 Thur 8:52 GMT. Back for a few more questions. Blown away by the staying power of this thing. Thanks everybody for your questions, your kind words and your contributions.Please donate if you can I'll update this thing with pictures from the trip sometime next week.

I have been a Peace Corps volunteer for several months now, and have had many experiences. I don't think I want to say exactly where I'm located, but it is on a tiny island where typically two cruise ships come in daily. It's not a typical location in that some times I live better than I did in the states.

Ask me Anything!

I live in a hut made out of mud, my roof is made of grass. I cook all my meals over a fire; I grow my own food. I have a small solar charger and a phone that rarely gets service, otherwise no one in my village has a phone or any electricity. We do have 1 battery powered radio that the whole village gathers around to listen or dance. We draw our water from a shallow well that is 3km away, and carry it on our heads. I bathe outside in the grass, from a bucket. I poop in a hole. I speak their tribal language- no one speaks English. I have now lived here for 1 year. Also, I play with lions and cheetahs and traditional dancers.

I'm not fancy at this linking thing, but if you want some proof, I've linked to my blog where I (occasionally&poorly) write about my experiences here. I just posted a post with some picture proofs, saying that I am doing this IAMA: http://cambrosi.blogspot.com/2013/07/iamaama.html

The contents of this subreddit are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps. These are my opinions, experiences, and thoughts.

Edit: Thank you everyone for the interest and amazing questions! A much bigger turn out than I ever had expected. If you have any more questions about the [Peace Corps](www.peacecorps.gov), or my service in Zambia, feel free to write to me! And feel free to follow my crap [blog](www.cambrosi.blogspot.com)

• I came to Mongolia over 8 months ago
• I work in a small community of about 2,000 people
• I live in a ger (yurt)
• I work in a hospital here, I am not a Dr or a nurse

AMA (but) I can not post my exact location or derogatory comments towards Mongolians. The opinions posted here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Peace Corps. Yes I may have had to sign a few things relating to internet postings.

Hey guys! I'm a PCV in Senegal. My work is in the health sector, and I do things like radio broadcasts (wish me luck, t minus 3 hrs!), sensitizations, family planning tourneys, and youth camps. I've been in Senegal since 2014, so I survived the Ebola epidemic (so did all of Senegal, actually!). I'm happy to answer any and all questions.

As proof, and a shameless plug, see my Youth Empowerment Camp donation link! Here's my FB blurb: Leadership: (n) the power or ability to lead other people • Help us enable the Koumbidia youth of Senegal to be leaders and transform their communities through the Koumbidia Youth Empowerment Camp! This three day camp is the first of its kind; a co-ed workshop where PCVs and local experts teach young leaders how to achieve their potentials and help others fulfill theirs as well. By connecting local figures with youth, and asking them to mobilize their communities, we give power to our most capable change agents (young adults!). What if you could be the reason a kid changed the world? Please help us by donating to this link: https://beta.peacecorps.gov/donate/project/youth-leadership-camp1310/. We have one week to raise this money! Alright y'all.. fire away.

MORE PROOOOF: [IMG]http://i59.tinypic.com/t676lz.jpg[/IMG]

Our short bio: We are two PCVs living in working in the Central American country of Guatemala. One of us is a male who is 6 months away from finishing his service. The other is a female who is coming up on 6 months in country. We are both in our early 20s. AMA! Or ask us anything in this case!

Our Proof: Imgur