Peace Corps


Peace Corps / Saturday, January 30th, 2010

Two weeks ago I posted something a little cryptic:

I also am not sure what I want to do (well I do and I am working on it but something needs to fill that time).

This post is to answer Amy, who asked “So what is it exactly that you want to do?”

Today, I submitted my application for the Peace Corps.

This is something that I have been considering since freshman year of college. For a while I went back and forth between wanting to do it and being not sure if it something for me. My thoughts changed weekly on the subject. That’s part of the reason I haven’t said anything about it on here, or spread the word to too many people that I know. I didn’t want to say that I was going to do something big like that and not follow through.

Now that my application and recommendation letters are submitted, I get to play the waiting game. The website says that they will contact me within two weeks “to discuss the next steps of the application process.” To be honest, I really don’t know what happens next.

To answer a few questions before they are asked: I do not care where I am going. I want to either help a country with computer systems or teach English. The term is 27 months. If I had a choice, I would go some place that speaks French and is in Africa. I will still be working in the meantime until I ship out.

I really can’t express my excitement for what I accomplished today or for what I will accomplish during my service.

I hope that answers some questions. I will keep you updated as I learn more.

5 Replies to “Peace Corps”

  1. Wow, Danny. Peace Corps. That is awesome. I am so happy for you. I have a serious appreciation for people who take a path that is not ordinary and do what they want. I can totally empathize with the statement, “My thoughts change weekly on the subject,” and getting beyond that is a huge leap. So bravo! Yay! Do you feel liberated? Now that you’ve applied and announced it?

    On the downside, I’ve heard that Peace Corps can take a long time to get back to applicants. Are you going to do any sort of English-teaching while in Madison?

  2. Liberated would be a good word. I have only received positive feedback from friends and family so far.

    Post-graduation/pre-Peace Corps is still up in the air. I will most likely moving back home for the duration and working as much as I can.

  3. This process seems quite interesting. What kind of person would be considered a good applicant for the Peace Corps, I wonder?(Besides Danny.) I’m curious about their criteria.

  4. Thanks Lizzi!

    Carolyn, if I knew that, I would have been tailoring my answers from the start. Hopefully the answer is ‘exactly Danny Zawacki’.

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