I know that your stipend is dependent on your area but I wanted to get info on the financial side that a lot of PCV don't mention in their YT videos: 1. For this area you served in, what was your monthly stipend? 2. Was housing/utilities provided for free or did you have to pay for it with your stipends? 3. What was the cost of living like, i.e. food cost, toiletries, etc and how readily available were they? 4. When you did have to travel long distance was it on scheduled transportation or hitch a ride with someone going that way? 5. You mentioned having to travel far to find an ATM to get cash. Did you run into problems not having cash to buy things? Was it not wise to keep a lot of cash on you? 6. What was the mail situation like? Was it possible to order something online and have it shipped to you or receive care packages from home? 7. Did you use your vacation time to go back home or stay in country? Sorry for all the question. Thanks for your insight serving as a PCV!
Great questions! Are you considering applying? 1. My monthly stipend was maybe around $150 and each month we would receive that as well as another $100 to keep for necessary travel to the capital and health things. 2. Housing had to be provided by the community. Electricity was sometimes paid by community and sometimes paid by PCVs. My community paid for my electricity. There were no others utilities to be paid. If the PCV pays the electricity it’s affordable and comes from living stipend. 3. I could afford the cost of living, but in my experience, when I had money problems from things out of my control, Peace Corps was not able to help. They suggested I use my personal money. So have your own money set aside for your own comfort. 4. The travel arrangements were left completely up to PCVs. So if you are planning your transportation ahead of time then that’s fine. That wasn’t always an option where I loved being that we didn’t have a typical bus station. So I would just wait in town for someone to show up. 5. I only ran into cash problems when I was pick pocketed. Otherwise it was fine, I just budgeted my money well. 6. As far as I know, you can’t really order online to have things sent to Madagascar. I had family send a package and it came in a few months. That’s expensive to send and you also pay a pickup fee. Very expensive on both ends where I was living. 7. I started in country, but many others went home to visit during service. I hope this helps!!
@@jodimiddendorf Thanks for taking the time out of your day to give in depth answers to my questions. I am a 52 yr old divorced man with no kids and was thinking of finding an occupation that took me outside the US. I was in the Army for the first 12 years of my adulthood and was stationed all over the world. I was in Germany, Hawaii, Colorado, Africa, Korea, then Germany. I have read the PC website, watched lots of Vlogs like yours, and even documentaries some folks have produced. I have quite a bit of savings to offset any miscellaneous expenditures. Questions I think anyone has to ask themselves are: Do I want to live in poverty with very little first world amenities? Do I have the patience to learn a new language? Do I have any real life skill sets that I could bring to the table to help anyone there? Do I want to do this so late in my life (is there an upper age restriction?) Can't think of anything else atm but those are some that come to mind that I have to sort out first.
wow,, i did not know that there was a peace corps volunteer in Tsihombe. i wish i could be there to practice my English. i live not far from Tsihombe hahaha
wow, I just randomly clicked on your video out of hundreds; and in the picture you showed of your friends i recognized my friend curtis from high school!....small world.
I know a lot of time has passed since your video but if you're still logging in and here I want to ask if you got to see other fellow volunteers every day. I'm concerned about the isolation and loneliness
Every country does things differently, and things may have changed since 2017… but when I arrived in Madagascar they actually gave us each a questionnaire to ask how important it was for each of us to be close to other volunteers, near cities, and how near the peace corps headquarters. They gave us what we wanted for the most part. I actually had another volunteer in my same town, which is rare in Madagascar! Every situation is very different…… I spent more time with my Malagasy friends and family than with the other Peace corps volunteer. But was also close with the other volunteers and appreciated having him there.
My transition was smooth thanks to my family. I wasn't stressed about job/place to live right away. THANK GOODNESS for my family. There is also a strong RPCV community in a lot of communities (RPCV refers to anyone who has returned from the Peace Corps) and that community has helped lots of other people. The transition was still tough in some ways though, the culture shock was intense. I was used to a much slower pace of life and much less sugar in my diet. Overall though I didn't struggle a ton. I just really miss Madagascar. Now I am working on a biplane in northern Minnesota. I actually have made a few videos on this channel of my life recently!
Hi Jodi! Thanks for this. I’m planning a surf trip to Anakao near Toliara in a month. Is Malaria/Denge a risk in this area? Any precautions I should prepare for?
There aren’t as many mosquitoes in the area as other parts of Madagascar, but people do sometimes still get Malaria. Denge I don’t think is common at all. For malaria, you can take a prescribed medication from your doctor for the trip. Or at the very least, wear bug repellent, use mosquito net, and long sleeves/pants in morning and evening when mosquitoes are out.
If you don't mind personal questions from internet strangers: 1) How did you deal with periods? Are disposable sanitary products readily available, or did you have to launder reusable items? 2) How did you do laundry? 3) Did you ever feel unsafe? 4) Did you have to murder any frightening insects in your living space?
Trey Erin Hey! I don’t mind the personal questions at all. I think you might find this video Helpful: ua-cam.com/video/75RHdVxGbKg/v-deo.html it’s about being a woman in the Peace Corps. I was able to find pads very easily, every once in a while I was able to find tampons even! But every country will be a little different. It can vary by city as well! I brought a diva cup (a reusable period cup) but that was difficult for me to use because clean water to rinse it with was often hard to come by when I wasn’t home. I did my laundry by hand. Peace Corps or your host family (if you get a host family) will help to teach you how to do your laundry by hand. Some volunteers would also pay other people to do their laundry (I did this when I was sick/super busy). There were times when I felt unsafe. Not because Madagascar is inherently unsafe, but because I stuck out as a foreigner. Foreigners are often the victim of theft/burglary because it is assumed that you have money/nice things. I had someone break into my home when I was gone. I was also pick-pocketed and similar things. You need to be aware and mitigate before things happen. But you cannot stop all crime. I had far more experiences where I was shown the love and kindness of people in my Peace Corps experience than when I was scared.
Hey hey are PCV able to pick what job they want to do while volunteering? Also once you came back home, did peace corps have job opportunities available for you
You get to choose a preference of what field you want to work in. You will not choose exactly where or with whom you will work. When you get home it is up to you to find a job. They might give you tools or ideas for jobs back home but they do not set you up with a job.
Wow! Great video!!!
Happy Feet Hoof Care thanks!
Love this. Thank you for sharing ♥️
I know that your stipend is dependent on your area but I wanted to get info on the financial side that a lot of PCV don't mention in their YT videos:
1. For this area you served in, what was your monthly stipend?
2. Was housing/utilities provided for free or did you have to pay for it with your stipends?
3. What was the cost of living like, i.e. food cost, toiletries, etc and how readily available were they?
4. When you did have to travel long distance was it on scheduled transportation or hitch a ride with someone going that way?
5. You mentioned having to travel far to find an ATM to get cash. Did you run into problems not having cash to buy things? Was it not wise to keep a lot of cash on you?
6. What was the mail situation like? Was it possible to order something online and have it shipped to you or receive care packages from home?
7. Did you use your vacation time to go back home or stay in country?
Sorry for all the question. Thanks for your insight serving as a PCV!
Great questions! Are you considering applying?
1. My monthly stipend was maybe around $150 and each month we would receive that as well as another $100 to keep for necessary travel to the capital and health things.
2. Housing had to be provided by the community. Electricity was sometimes paid by community and sometimes paid by PCVs. My community paid for my electricity. There were no others utilities to be paid. If the PCV pays the electricity it’s affordable and comes from living stipend.
3. I could afford the cost of living, but in my experience, when I had money problems from things out of my control, Peace Corps was not able to help. They suggested I use my personal money. So have your own money set aside for your own comfort.
4. The travel arrangements were left completely up to PCVs. So if you are planning your transportation ahead of time then that’s fine. That wasn’t always an option where I loved being that we didn’t have a typical bus station. So I would just wait in town for someone to show up.
5. I only ran into cash problems when I was pick pocketed. Otherwise it was fine, I just budgeted my money well.
6. As far as I know, you can’t really order online to have things sent to Madagascar. I had family send a package and it came in a few months. That’s expensive to send and you also pay a pickup fee. Very expensive on both ends where I was living.
7. I started in country, but many others went home to visit during service.
I hope this helps!!
@@jodimiddendorf Thanks for taking the time out of your day to give in depth answers to my questions. I am a 52 yr old divorced man with no kids and was thinking of finding an occupation that took me outside the US. I was in the Army for the first 12 years of my adulthood and was stationed all over the world. I was in Germany, Hawaii, Colorado, Africa, Korea, then Germany. I have read the PC website, watched lots of Vlogs like yours, and even documentaries some folks have produced. I have quite a bit of savings to offset any miscellaneous expenditures. Questions I think anyone has to ask themselves are:
Do I want to live in poverty with very little first world amenities?
Do I have the patience to learn a new language?
Do I have any real life skill sets that I could bring to the table to help anyone there?
Do I want to do this so late in my life (is there an upper age restriction?)
Can't think of anything else atm but those are some that come to mind that I have to sort out first.
I really enjoyed this video!
wow,,
i did not know that there was a peace corps volunteer in Tsihombe.
i wish i could be there to practice my English.
i live not far from Tsihombe
hahaha
wow, I just randomly clicked on your video out of hundreds; and in the picture you showed of your friends i recognized my friend curtis from high school!....small world.
brianna Seay wow that is so crazy! Curtis is awesome! I miss him. Are you thinking of doing the Peace Corps?
@@jodimiddendorf I know, he's awesome. And I'm considering it right now, but I'm still really on the fence about it.
I know a lot of time has passed since your video but if you're still logging in and here I want to ask if you got to see other fellow volunteers every day. I'm concerned about the isolation and loneliness
Every country does things differently, and things may have changed since 2017… but when I arrived in Madagascar they actually gave us each a questionnaire to ask how important it was for each of us to be close to other volunteers, near cities, and how near the peace corps headquarters. They gave us what we wanted for the most part. I actually had another volunteer in my same town, which is rare in Madagascar! Every situation is very different…… I spent more time with my Malagasy friends and family than with the other Peace corps volunteer. But was also close with the other volunteers and appreciated having him there.
Hi Jodi, my question for you is how was your transitioning once you arrived home, and what’s new in your life now that your svc is over? Thx
My transition was smooth thanks to my family. I wasn't stressed about job/place to live right away. THANK GOODNESS for my family. There is also a strong RPCV community in a lot of communities (RPCV refers to anyone who has returned from the Peace Corps) and that community has helped lots of other people. The transition was still tough in some ways though, the culture shock was intense. I was used to a much slower pace of life and much less sugar in my diet. Overall though I didn't struggle a ton. I just really miss Madagascar. Now I am working on a biplane in northern Minnesota. I actually have made a few videos on this channel of my life recently!
Hi Jodi! Thanks for this. I’m planning a surf trip to Anakao near Toliara in a month. Is Malaria/Denge a risk in this area? Any precautions I should prepare for?
There aren’t as many mosquitoes in the area as other parts of Madagascar, but people do sometimes still get Malaria. Denge I don’t think is common at all. For malaria, you can take a prescribed medication from your doctor for the trip. Or at the very least, wear bug repellent, use mosquito net, and long sleeves/pants in morning and evening when mosquitoes are out.
Also if you want more tips, email me: Jodi.midd.create@gmail.com I love Toliara and I have advice.
If you don't mind personal questions from internet strangers:
1) How did you deal with periods? Are disposable sanitary products readily available, or did you have to launder reusable items?
2) How did you do laundry?
3) Did you ever feel unsafe?
4) Did you have to murder any frightening insects in your living space?
Trey Erin Hey! I don’t mind the personal questions at all. I think you might find this video Helpful: ua-cam.com/video/75RHdVxGbKg/v-deo.html it’s about being a woman in the Peace Corps.
I was able to find pads very easily, every once in a while I was able to find tampons even! But every country will be a little different. It can vary by city as well! I brought a diva cup (a reusable period cup) but that was difficult for me to use because clean water to rinse it with was often hard to come by when I wasn’t home.
I did my laundry by hand. Peace Corps or your host family (if you get a host family) will help to teach you how to do your laundry by hand. Some volunteers would also pay other people to do their laundry (I did this when I was sick/super busy).
There were times when I felt unsafe. Not because Madagascar is inherently unsafe, but because I stuck out as a foreigner. Foreigners are often the victim of theft/burglary because it is assumed that you have money/nice things. I had someone break into my home when I was gone. I was also pick-pocketed and similar things. You need to be aware and mitigate before things happen. But you cannot stop all crime. I had far more experiences where I was shown the love and kindness of people in my Peace Corps experience than when I was scared.
I killed many, many, MANY (so many) cockroaches 😂😂😂. But once I got a few cats my life changed. No more creepie crawlies.
Is it to learn the southern Malagasy dialect tho? How long did take for you?
It isn’t too hard. It’s just so different from English.
Hey hey are PCV able to pick what job they want to do while volunteering? Also once you came back home, did peace corps have job opportunities available for you
You get to choose a preference of what field you want to work in. You will not choose exactly where or with whom you will work. When you get home it is up to you to find a job. They might give you tools or ideas for jobs back home but they do not set you up with a job.
Class size just seems especially insane 😢 I mean, geeze, is it 1 teacher teaching while the others are off? Come on, break up that silliness.