My immediate connotations with the Peace Corps are definitely that icky feeling of white people saving the world and all of that. & I get that, and it is a valid and a very real mindset/occurence that doesn’t do any good for anybody.

I’ve looked into the projects that PCVs engage in, and whether they seem sustainable. Most do. Some folks teach English abroad, and I think that is a valid form of volunteerism as well.

Things like “service” and “volunteering” have a lot of negative connotations to me, and as an activist, I really want to challenge myself to consider the communities where the PC exists/”helps,” as well as what a recent college grad can really do to benefit others in a foreign country (and not just themselves/have a fun/life changing experience).

I’ve spent the better part of my work shift reading a lot of blogs by current PCVs, and still am just not sure. The work seems sustainable, and the PCVs undergo some pretty intense training before they are even sent out to the community they are assigned to serve (including intense language training - I would want to be placed in a Latin American country so I could keep working on Spanish, plus having a background in it I think would be helpful).

Aside from the moral question of whether or not Peace Corps really DOES help through sustainable projects, and whether or not I am overstepping via all of my western privileges by participating in it, there’s also the question of whether I can put my life on hold for two years. The appeal obviously lies in living in a foreign country and the cultural exchange that would go along with it, as well as potentially making some positive change in the community I would serve. But it would mean postponing law school, something I am 100% sure my parents would disapprove of.

I would have to apply relatively soon in order to serve around when I will be graduating. I think I’m going to apply, see what happens and keep thinking on it.

In the meantime, if anyone has any advice/thoughts on this, feel free to drop them in my ask or whatever.