Why we want to join the Peace Corps

Several things prompted our decision to apply to the Peace Corps.

We had already decided that we needed to sell our house and down-size.  Getting the house ready to sell seemed like such a massive task that we just kept putting it off.  The basement was full of junk and a mess, and there would be tons of work to do down there.   Then the basement flooded…

  • Sept 2009 a faulty A/C caused some flooding in our basement.  The process of replacing the carpet forced us to clean out the basement and throw a lot of stuff away.  We realized we did not need such a large house.  We decided to go ahead and sell the house with the intention of downsizing.  We had been thinking a condo in the Decatur area would be nice.
  • Around the same time, I learned that my job would be eliminated on July 31, 2010.  I would be without a job at that point.
  • Tish has been a Nurse Practitioner at North Atlanta Endocrinology for over 15 years and came to the realization that she was ready for a change.
  • Our savings for retirement had progressed to the point that we could step back from our careers if we wanted to.
  • Our children were happily and successfully on their own and not in need of us.
  • Our wonderful cat, Ollie, age 17, had just died and so we didn’t even have a pet to worry about.

So this “perfect storm” of circumstances…  being between jobs, between houses, financially secure and with no one dependent on us…  allows us to pursue any dream that we had deferred.

The Peace Corps was my deferred dream and it immediately came to mind.  I started doing research and everything I learned made me more interested.  Tish was interested.  We went to some events put on by the Peace Corps to gain further information.  At these events we met and spoke to returning Peace Corps volunteers.  I read books about the Peace Corps.  Finally we decided to go for it and apply.

Recommended books:

Also a good video to watch is Jimi Sir: An American Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal

Since we made the decision to apply, the desire to join the Peace Corps has grown for me; and for Tish as well, though she is understandably a little anxious about leaving her daughter and mother.

We see this as an opportunity to help people in need, and to give people in developing nations a more favorable idea of Americans.  Also, spending 27 months in another country (3 training months plus 24 volunteer months), learning the language and all about the culture would be an amazing adventure.

We hope everyone will understand why we are pursuing this, and support our efforts.

This entry was posted in Applicant, Peace Corps and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.