Change Yourself…Change The World.

Welcome to the Peace Corps, where you will learn more acronyms than you have ever heard in your life. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, there are times that I tend to forget that not everyone knows the ‘Peace Corps lingo.’ Therefore, I decided to dedicate an ongoing list to some of the acronyms we use as Peace Corps Volunteers in Paraguay (and also because I may tend to accidentally slip these into my blog posts!)

Peace Corps Lingo:

PC– Peace Corps
PCV– Peace Corps Volunteer
PCT– Peace Corps Trainee – A person who is in training to become a Peace Corps Volunteer.
G-36– My training group in Paraguay. We are the 36th group to be trained at the Guarambaré training center in Paraguay, hence we are called ‘G-36.’ Typically, every country Peace Corps-wide will have such a name, such as ‘A-21’ (Armenia’s 21st group to be trained), etc.
My G- Also known as G-36, the group that I trained with.
My G-mate– Someone that trained with me in G-36, typically considered a close Peace Corps friend.
Sister G- My sister G is G-33, and my next sister G will be G-39. They are the training groups that work in our sector, Community Economic Development. Typically our G is closest to our Sister G, as we collaborate on projects with them.
CED– Community Economic Development – This is the sector that I work in as a Peace Corps Volunteer (there are many sectors worldwide, such as Health, Agriculture, and Education. Our sector works with Civic Leadership, Family Finances, Entrepreneurship, and IT services).
VAC- I’m still not sure what the acronym for this stands for, but a VAC is comprised of a group of Peace Corps Volunteers in the same area. Typically a VAC in Paraguay meets once a month to discuss Peace Corps-related things, and acts as a support group for Volunteers in the same area of the country.
VAC-mate- Someone that is a part of my VAC is known as my VAC-mate. Also typically considered a close Peace Corps friend.
PCPY– Peace Corps Paraguay
RPCV– Returned Peace Corps Volunteer – A Peace Corps Volunteer that has successfully completed two years of service is considered an RPCV
CD– Country Director – This person is the head of the Peace Corps in-country. Our CD for Paraguay is Don Clark.
DPT– Director of Programming and Training – This person is sort of a ‘second-in-command’ to the CD. Our DPT for Paraguay is Dee Hertzberg.
APCD– Associate Peace Corps Director – Each sector of Paraguay has an APCD (sort of the head of the program). The head of our CED sector is Elisa Echague.
PCMO– Peace Corps Medical Officer – Every country that the Peace Corps operates in has a PCMO (as well as other health staff) to take care of volunteers.
TD– Training Director – This person is in charge of Peace Corps training.
Staging- An event that takes place in the U.S. for a period of 1-2 days before Peace Corps trainees depart together to travel to their country. It is a pre-orientation to the Peace Corps.
Site Placement– An event that takes place during training that notifies Peace Corps Trainees where they will be living in-country for the next two years.
Swear-In– An event that graduates Peace Corps Trainees to Peace Corps Volunteers.
COS– Close of Service – An event that graduates Peace Corps Volunteers who have completed two years of service to Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.

[…] Peace Corps Lingo […]

Pingback by Send Me Your Letters and Learn PC Lingo « Change Yourself…Change The World. July 3, 2011 @ 10:08 pm

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My shecdule has once again flipped so that I can take the timer position tomorrow. Doug Smith

Comment by Alexandre February 9, 2012 @ 12:11 am

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Comment by kpozceoatt February 9, 2012 @ 7:57 am

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Brittany:

I was just invited to join the CED in Paraguay. I have been inspired by your blog.

And i know that you are working thru the challenges but i think looking to the future is good advice there and in life.

I will be making my journey in May, next year and I hope that I will get to be your VAC-mate.

Keep up the good work. Patience is a virtue, we all need to take the time to smell the roses while your community sees the good in you.

I hope this makes sense. God Bless.

Virginia

Comment by Virginia November 10, 2011 @ 1:16 am

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