Are my wife and I really going to be stationed apart during the Peace Corps training?

grover556: Are my wife and I really going to be stationed apart during the Peace Corps training?
I heard that during the 3 month training, that my wife may live with one host family, while I will live with another. I am also told that “we can see each other on the weekends,” and that our “host families will be close enough together that we can reach eachother with a bike ride if we have to.”

I love my wife; we’ve been married for a year, and she’s my best friend. I am worried about moving to this foreign continent, dropping my wife off at some random host family and telling her, “see you in 3 months!” It seems like this would make me an aweful husband.

Since the Peace Corps requires couples to be married, and also that they work in the same community, are they really going to expect us to spend most of our time apart during training? There’s no reason to be married if we’re apart.

Answers and Views:

Answer by All the Best
Maybe its just that she requested those conditions specially?

Answer by Mom
I don’t know where you are getting your information but it is wrong .You will be together.

Answer by B in Peace Corps
No, no, you won’t be living apart, not for training and not for your permanent placement. There’s a possibility (if you are a TEFL volunteer and your wife is a health volunteer, for example) that during training you will spend a few hours apart here and there if you have different classes. And when you get your permanent sites there’s a good chance you’ll work in two different buildings (but in the same town). You’ll always live together, though – don’t worry!

Answer by Ursus
Actually, there are some times these days when married couples are not living together during the training session (it’s a recent development–I’m not really sure why they do it), but of course they are then placed at the same site for the remainder of the two years after training. It’s not totally a guarantee, though, so you still may be together. It’s kind of a crap shoot. It all depends on the situation…whether they can find host families that can accomodate two people instead of just one, etc. Things like that.

I agree, it’s kind of strange, but as is the case with everything in PC, you must be flexible and adaptive. My PC training group was spread out in 10 different smaller towns in smaller groups, but then came together about twice a week in the main city as a large group for various sessions. There was one married couple in my group and they were together during training.

Each country is done differently, but you still may be able to get together more than just once a week if you end up being placed in different host families.

I wouldn’t sweat it too much, you’ll still have an amazing life experience. But you can contact PC just to discuss your concerns with them beforehand if you want…1-800-424-8580.

Answer by bridgerbishop
I suppose that it is possible, but I i can tell that such a situation is highly unlikely. During my time as a Peace Corps volunteer that sort of thing NEVER happened in the country where I was stationed. Spouses always lived together under one roof during training. Another thing to keep in mind is that all trainees will either be living in the same city and thus see each other every day at training sessions, or be living in satellite communities surrounding a larger community. If your country uses the satellite approach to training, all trainees will still be brought together for group training sessions twice a week at least. Peace Corps tells you stuff like that because they want to prepare you for the worst. They want your expectations set so low that you will feel lucky every time something actually turns out right. If they send you in expecting the worst then they think you will be able to avoid a lot of the unpleasant surprises that can come with culture shock.

I doubt that you and your wife will have anything to worry about concerning your accommodations during training. Good Luck in the Peace Corps!!

Returned Volunteer
Peace Corps Romania 2005-2007