Downtime…
Those precious moments in between community projects where you have no gardens to build, no families with which to have lunch, no sex-ed seminars to lead, and no class to teach.
As we prepare for the Peace Corps, we so often focus only on the projects we hope to lead and fail to recognize how much downtime we will actually have.
There is something you should know…you will have a lot of downtime.
The classic move with handling downtime is to grab a good book or put on your favorite show. Assuming that most Peace Corps Volunteers don’t maintain a Netflix subscription (as if there was enough internet to justify it) and are not lugging around a suitcase of hardcover books - we’ve created a short cheatsheet to help you prepare beforehand.
*A quick disclaimer* - We here at Pathway to Peace Corps are utterly indifferent to the means in which you acquire your media content. While we share tips on how to obtain books and movies with and without purchasing them, we do not condone nor judge what you ultimately do.
No judgements over here. And with that…let’s get started.
A good book:
Local and City Libraries deserve a crisp high-five for their efforts in staying relevant in the digital age. With nothing more than a library card and the Libby App by Overdrive, you can locate your city library and download e-books at your leisure. Whether you like to read on your phone or a Kindle, you can choose to stockpile on books before you come or strategically siphon internet here and there to update your bookshelf during your Peace Corps service.
Another wonderful (but perhaps controversial) option is z-library.
Honestly, we have no idea how to explain this. All we know is that the website boasts having just shy of 5 million books available for free download and that it actually works. You have the option to download as an ePub or to send a version to your Kindle. The website is simple and clean. There are no aggravating popups that you have to fight off, and if you’re looking for a way to contribute to the site, they have a place for donations.
Movies, Music, TV, oh my:
There are two popular avenues to take when shipping off for your Peace Corps service. One option is to pack your external hard drive with as many movies and shows that you possibly can. The second option is to bring an empty external hard drive with you and simply copy all of the movies and shows that the option one people brought with them.
Both sound choices. Choose your own adventure.
If you choose to go with option one, find yourself a nice BitTorrent application (uTorrent is a popular choice) and download away. Websites like Reddit and Quora can help you find active and reputable peer-to-peer platforms.
If you are new to the P2P world and don’t know how to get started, this video is helpful.
Final Thoughts:
It is almost a guarantee that someone in your PCT group will have a loaded external hard-drive and be happy to share their files. So to this end, try not to worry too much about hoarding media content before you depart.
Don’t forget, with the inescapable downtime that you will experience during your 27 months as a Peace Corps Volunteer, you can always do more constructive activities that will help you grow as a person. We’ll offer some tips on that in a future article!
Congratulations on making it through this article and preparing yourself for your Peace Corps experience. You can find more information about Preparing for the Peace Corps, Peace Corps Discounts and Concerned Parents in our other articles.
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Hope to hear from you!
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