Can a Married Couple Serve Together in the Peace Corps? A Comprehensive Guide for Couples Considering This Life-Changing Adventure

Embarking on an overseas Peace Corps adventure together as a married couple can be one of the most meaningful, perspective-shifting experiences you‘ll share. While the application process is individual, if you‘re both accepted, the Peace Corps will place you together. You‘ll collaborate on impactful projects, immerse yourselves in a new culture, and likely come home with a relationship stronger than ever.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know as a married couple thinking of serving in the Peace Corps. From application tips to real couples’ experiences, you‘ll gain insights to help decide if you‘re ready for this life-changing journey.

An Overview of Serving Together in the Peace Corps

The Peace Corps has facilitated married couples serving together since 1964. Over 3,500 adventurous couples have embarked on international service, collaborating on sustainable community projects.

Around 50 married couples become Volunteers each year, scattered across the world in Peace Corps‘ 60+ countries. Every continent hosts couples—from the Caribbean Islands to Eastern Europe to Central Asia.

To serve together, both spouses complete the standard individual application process. The Peace Corps then coordinates placements for accepted couples in the same country, city, and site. Married Volunteers receive special allowances and joint training to prepare for excelling in their assignments as a team.

Why Couples Choose to Serve Together

There are profound benefits to undergoing this experience shoulder-to-shoulder with your spouse:

• Strengthened relationships: 92% of returned couples say serving strengthened their communication, appreciation, and problem-solving.

• Shared personal growth: Partners motivate one another to push boundaries and build character through immersive cultural experiences.

• Developing teamwork: Couples must collaborate to complete projects. Dividing duties plays to both partners‘ strengths.

• Building a support system: Going through culture shock together provides built-in emotional support many single Volunteers lack.

• Tax savings: Married couples can exclude reimbursements and living allowances from taxable income, saving thousands.

• Lasting global perspectives: Couples develop valuable cross-cultural understanding and lifelong bonds with host communities.

Married couples have a unique opportunity to grow individually and collectively by committing to the challenge together. Both spouses should thoughtfully reflect on this decision before applying.

The Application and Acceptance Process for Couples

To serve together in the Peace Corps, both you and your spouse must complete the standard application process on your own:

• Applications: Each spouse will apply individually online, including essays, resumes, transcripts, and references. Note your marital status.

• Interviews: You‘ll have separate interviews with recruiters so they can assess each candidate‘s qualifications and motivations.

• Legal forms: All standard Peace Corps background checks, fingerprinting, and other legal documents are required individually.

• Medical exams: You‘ll both have comprehensive health evaluations and dental exams. Disclose all medical history.

If both spouses demonstrate the competencies, commitment, and flexibility required of Volunteers, the Peace Corps will extend an invitation to each candidate individually. Assuming you both accept, the real adventure begins!

Tips for a Successful Couples Application

• Highlight relevant skills and experience you both bring – community development projects, teaching, language abilities, cross-cultural experience, leadership roles, etc.

• Speak passionately in interviews about your motivations for global service and desire to immerse yourselves in a new culture.

• Demonstrate your relationship stability and ability to adapt together to challenging environments.

• Have contingency plans for childcare and dual careers/finances if applicable.

• Research Peace Corps posts together and identify regions of interest that align with your skill sets.

• Practice tolerance, patience, and conflict resolution together during the stressful application process.

Training and Preparing Together for Peace Corps Service

Once accepted, your Peace Corps training together begins. You‘ll attend a pre-departure staging and then travel as a couple to your country of service for intensive training.

Training components include:

Technical training – Develop specialized skills for your sector like agriculture, education, or health.

Language instruction – Attain local language proficiency through lessons and immersion.

Safety – Learn security precautions and emergency protocols.

Cross-cultural – Gain insights on cultural integration and your new community.

Medical – Ongoing health education and care.

This training phase also provides time to bond, strategize, and prepare mentally as a couple. Lean on each other during the initial culture shock and homesickness.

Tips for Preparing Together Before Service

• Learn the language: Start studying the local language via apps and online courses.

• Read up on your post: Research your country‘s history, cultural norms, geography, and customs.

• Set financial affairs: Grant powers of attorney, arrange direct deposits, suspend memberships, etc.

• Strengthen your relationship: Practice patience, compromise, and gratitude together. Seek counseling if needed.

• Get medical checkups: Address any health needs for you and dependents before departing.

• Build your support network: Tell family and friends about your plans to serve.

Thorough preparation together before departing will ease the transition to life as Peace Corps Volunteers.

The Couples Corps Experience: Serving Together Abroad

Once training is complete, your shared journey truly begins. As "Couples Corps" Volunteers, you‘ll integrate yourselves into a new community abroad while supporting each other.

What Couples Corps Service Looks Like

• Joint placements – You‘ll serve in the same country, city, and site with coordinated housing.

• Shared projects – Collaborate as a team on community development projects based on your combined skill sets.

• Couples allowance – Receive an extra monthly stipend beyond your living allowance – $125 in 2022.

• Ongoing training – Additional specialized instruction to help you excel as a couple.

• Support system – Rely on each other through the joys and trials of cultural immersion.

• Recognition – The Peace Corps formally acknowledges your joint service upon completion.

No two days will be the same – you‘ll teach English together one day and help construct a bridge the next. Serving shoulder-to-shoulder will let you witness each other‘s growth.

Navigating Life as a Married Couple Abroad

You‘ll need open communication, teamwork, and honesty to thrive as a couple overseas. Here are some tips:

• Split duties based on your individual strengths. One spouse may handle finances while the other plans social engagements, for example.

• Set aside dedicated couple time without distractions to nurture intimacy and friendship.

• Participate together in immersive cultural experiences like homestays, festivals, or religious ceremonies.

• When conflicts inevitably arise, compromise and actively listen without judgment.

• Learn phrases in the local language to express affection, gratitude, and encouragement.

View the challenges as team-building experiences that will bring you closer together.

Frequently Asked Questions About Couples Corps

Many couples considering the Peace Corps have common questions. Here are answers to some frequently asked topics:

Can we bring children or other dependents?

You may bring up to two dependents, excluding spouses. Consider their health, safety, and education needs. Childcare options abroad may be limited.

What if we become pregnant during service?

Alert the Peace Corps immediately if you become pregnant. They‘ll ensure proper healthcare. You may need to return home or defer service depending on circumstances.

How long is the service commitment?

Standard tours are 27 months. Shorter options of 18-24 months are possible. You must serve the same duration.

Will this add stress to our marriage?

Yes, expect relationship stress from close quarters, cultural adjustment, homesickness, and work pressures. Approach challenges together with patience.

Can we request the same assignment?

The Peace Corps will try to match you with complementary assignments at the same post utilizing both of your skill sets. But you may receive different assignments if needed by the community.

How much contact can we have with home?

Limited electricity and internet access are common. Phone calls, emails, and mail packages from home are rare but incredibly meaningful.

What are housing accommodations like?

Housing conditions vary dramatically but typically align with the local standard of living. Amenities are usually basic, including squat toilets, bucket showers, and limited electricity and water access.

Stories and Insights from Real Couples Corps Volunteers

Hearing firsthand experiences from married couples who have served provides helpful perspective. Here are a few of their stories:

"Our relationships with each other and with our community continue to grow…"

My wife Leigh and I served together in a small village on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. We taught English and helped expand the town‘s nascent ecotourism industry. The Peace Corps training gave us the technical, language, and cultural skills we needed to integrate ourselves seamlessly into the community. Teaching together allowed us to learn from each other‘s strengths, and we split other duties like grant writing and planning community improvement projects based on our own abilities. Days were busy but immensely rewarding. We did experience loneliness and homesickness at times, but having a built-in support system in each other made all the difference. Our relationships with each other and with our community continue to grow, even though we‘ve been back in the U.S. for years now. – Chase and Leigh, Dominican Republic

"This experience taught us we could tackle anything together."

Serving in Morocco was the most challenging – and rewarding – experience of our lives. Adjusting to the arid climate and a completely foreign culture tested our patience and understanding daily. But we found that humor and taking time to appreciate little joys kept us positive when tasks seemed overwhelming. Our village was very welcoming, inviting us to weddings and births. We worked on projects like building community gardens and teaching conversational English that utilized both of our different talents, though we struggled at times to communicate during stressful periods. Looking back, this experience taught us we could tackle anything together – just like renovating an old home! The insights we gained into a culture so different from our own were absolutely invaluable. We encourage any stable, committed couple up for the challenge to apply. – Mark and Alice, Morocco

"Our family of four bonded in ways we never expected…"

My husband Tom and I served with our two children, ages 6 and 8, in Fiji. The Peace Corps aims to keep families together so it was the perfect opportunity for us to spend quality time together as a family while giving back. The experience built our children‘s independence and adaptability while exposing them to a new culture. They even picked up the local language faster than we did! Though it was harder than we imagined being so far from family and friends, we made lifelong bonds in our community. Simple pleasures like swimming in the sea and picnics on the beach made for treasured family moments. Tom helped local entrepreneurs market handicrafts while I assisted teachers at the village school. On weekends we would explore the lush jungles and waterfalls together. Our family of four bonded in ways we never expected, and we all gained a deeper appreciation of all we have. Our time abroad changed our family for the better. – Chris and Becky, Fiji Islands

Is Serving Together in the Peace Corps Right for You?

Only you and your spouse can decide if applying to the Peace Corps together is the best choice right now. Consider:

• Are you both committed to serving communities in need for the full duration?
• Can you tolerate ambiguity and tackle challenges as a united front?
• Are you eager to immerse yourselves in a new culture and community?
• Are you flexible, adaptable, and able to cope with stress constructively?
• Do you share a spirit of curiosity, empathy, and desire for growth?

If you answered yes to these questions and feel ready for a life-changing adventure, the Peace Corps may be an excellent fit for you as a couple.

Planning an Exciting Chapter Together

Making the commitment to serve shoulder-to-shoulder in the Peace Corps is a monumental decision. While intensely challenging, couples often reflect that it was the most profound experience of their lives.

You‘ll learn each other‘s strengths and weaknesses, all while making an impact on a deserving global community. The months will fly by in a haze of hard work, cultural discovery, and time spent connecting through shared experiences. You‘ll return home with an unbreakable bond, eager for the next adventure life brings your way.

Wherever you are in your journey, if the Peace Corps is calling to you as a couple, take time to reflect. Have candid discussions with your spouse about your motivations. Then, if you‘re ready, take the leap – your shared story is waiting!