Sure…I don’t know what you’re interested in exactly, but the basics: I served as an education volunteer in a very small town in central Bulgaria. My regular job was teaching English as a Foreign Language in a public elementary school (my students were ages 8 to 14). It was pretty difficult and frustrating a lot of the time, but I had some really great kids who made it worth it. I also had some side projects, like teaching at a summer camp one summer, doing summer school classes, and teaching an English class for adults in the community.

Let’s see. I think one thing people don’t understand about Peace Corps is that volunteers only do what the host country asks of them, and that in-country, PC is largely run by host country nationals. There’s a rule that each country office has to have 3 Americans, and at least in Bulgaria, there are ONLY 3 Americans. The other 50 or so employees are all Bulgarians. My program managers, the teacher trainers, and my language trainer were all Bulgarian. So they are definitely not interested in passing along US cultural norms or anything like that. 

People ask me a lot if I would recommend Peace Corps, but I can’t answer that. It’s not for everyone. If you’re thinking of applying, I recommend discussing the pros and cons with a recruiter to see if it’s right for you.

Personally, I’m really glad I did it, but I’m also glad it’s over. I have a lot of love for Bulgaria, but living in such a small rural town was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. I would definitely return to Bulgaria if I got a good job offer there, but it’d have to be in Sofia or Plovdiv or Varna. (On the other hand my Bulgarian is way better than it’d be if I’d lived in a big city because NO ONE in my town spoke English. I could go weeks and weeks without speaking English to anyone but my students in class or my cat.)

Um, I don’t know! It’s really hard, so I don’t necessarily feel great about recommending it unreservedly. I don’t think it’s for everyone. I think the basic thing that people who are interested in Peace Corps need to keep in mind is that it is a JOB. Peace Corps sets you up with a job that you then have to go to every day, just like you would back in the US. I think a lot of people have this really idealistic and fuzzy view of what you do in Peace Corps that involves like, children thanking you for helping them. But in reality, it’s more like you have to go to work, only you might be doing a job you’ve never done before, and everyone’s talking to you in a language you can’t understand.

Personally, I found it a really really valuable experience but I spent a lot of the time I was a PCV very frustrated. My job was teaching elementary school English in a rural area. We didn’t have many materials or funding and there were a lot of social problems that interfered with education in general. So like, I went in with all these amazing ideas but a lot of them weren’t feasible because I didn’t have the physical materials necessary. On a personal level it was difficult for me to live in such a small town (pop. 3000) and emotionally it was tough in that I couldn’t communicate very well for a long time. After about a year my Bulgarian was pretty good and I could talk to people easily but that year was really lonely and isolating. I would sit in the teacher’s lounge and listen to everyone talk and it would all just go over my head. So even when I was around other people, I felt lonely. My cat seriously saved my sanity.

BUT despite all those negatives, I’m really glad I did it. I had a lot of great students whom I just adored. They’re all still young but I hope that one day they can look back at me fondly and think of their goofy American teacher who taught them how to play Simon Says. I DID eventually learn to speak Bulgarian and I made some good friends. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I would be on a plane to Bulgaria the next day. I really miss it a lot. The old Peace Corps motto that it’s “the toughest job you’ll ever love” is totally accurate.

So I’m sorry for rambling so much, but I feel like only you can really decide if it’s the right choice. If you have any more specific questions, feel free to ask.