The Decision
So I've finally decided to chronicle my "adventures" applying for the Peace Corps. I say adventures because that's really the best way to describe them.
So what prompted me to consider and apply to an organization that sends you to a work with a local community in a developing country for 2 years without any sort of monetary compensation? It all began in a land far, far away called the ROK or better known as the Republic of Korea. For several years, I worked (or dare I say slaved) as a high school English teacher at an international school in a concrete jungle called Suwon. Now don't get me wrong. I truly enjoyed my job in the classroom mimicking the likes of the Greek hero Odysseus and the man eating Cyclops as well as the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet (insert balcony scene here) and, of course, teasing the H E double hockey sticks out of my loving, yet over worked and sleep deprived, students; however, all the extra duties that teachers have to deal with (e.g., grading, lesson planning, attending countless nonsensical meetings, etc.) which can add up to 80 hour work weeks really burned me out, and I began to reevaluate the direction of my life.
So again you may ask, how did all of that prompt you to consider and apply to an organization that sends you to a work with a local community in a developing country for 2 years without ANY sort of monetary compensation? Well in January of 2011, I became debt FREE! After nearly 217,728,000 seconds of owing money to the government in the form of student loans, I had finally managed to pay off every single penny. This was a huge relief and played a major role in my decision to apply for the PC. A more important factor in my decision was my exposure to an organization called Not For Sale. In the fall of 2010, the church I was attending in Seoul got heavily involved in this organization and, on a weekly basis, began to publicize the efforts this organization was making to curb and diminish the spread of human trafficking around the world. The plight of the people affected by this epidemic and the work the volunteers were doing to help these people really struck a chord in me, and as cliche as it may seem, I was moved to action. I decided within myself that I would take a career break and focus on volunteering my time and effort to a cause which I was passionate about. Immediately, the Peace Corps and its mission came to mind. I began my research on the organization and knew right away that it was the route I wanted to take to fulfill that goal. And so, my journey began.
Through this blog, I hope to enlighten you about the issues facing our global community. Those issues are real, and they affect countless people on a daily basis. Please note that the ideas and opinions expressed here are mine alone and do not reflect those of the Peace Corps or the US government.
So what prompted me to consider and apply to an organization that sends you to a work with a local community in a developing country for 2 years without any sort of monetary compensation? It all began in a land far, far away called the ROK or better known as the Republic of Korea. For several years, I worked (or dare I say slaved) as a high school English teacher at an international school in a concrete jungle called Suwon. Now don't get me wrong. I truly enjoyed my job in the classroom mimicking the likes of the Greek hero Odysseus and the man eating Cyclops as well as the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet (insert balcony scene here) and, of course, teasing the H E double hockey sticks out of my loving, yet over worked and sleep deprived, students; however, all the extra duties that teachers have to deal with (e.g., grading, lesson planning, attending countless nonsensical meetings, etc.) which can add up to 80 hour work weeks really burned me out, and I began to reevaluate the direction of my life.
So again you may ask, how did all of that prompt you to consider and apply to an organization that sends you to a work with a local community in a developing country for 2 years without ANY sort of monetary compensation? Well in January of 2011, I became debt FREE! After nearly 217,728,000 seconds of owing money to the government in the form of student loans, I had finally managed to pay off every single penny. This was a huge relief and played a major role in my decision to apply for the PC. A more important factor in my decision was my exposure to an organization called Not For Sale. In the fall of 2010, the church I was attending in Seoul got heavily involved in this organization and, on a weekly basis, began to publicize the efforts this organization was making to curb and diminish the spread of human trafficking around the world. The plight of the people affected by this epidemic and the work the volunteers were doing to help these people really struck a chord in me, and as cliche as it may seem, I was moved to action. I decided within myself that I would take a career break and focus on volunteering my time and effort to a cause which I was passionate about. Immediately, the Peace Corps and its mission came to mind. I began my research on the organization and knew right away that it was the route I wanted to take to fulfill that goal. And so, my journey began.
Through this blog, I hope to enlighten you about the issues facing our global community. Those issues are real, and they affect countless people on a daily basis. Please note that the ideas and opinions expressed here are mine alone and do not reflect those of the Peace Corps or the US government.
