Declining an invitation

[desamischers]

Hey, I'm sure this is repetitive, but there's no tags being used in this comm I guess. :\

Can anyone give me an idea of what it means to decline an invitation? Is it the end of the world? Is there any chance of receiving another assignment? I am hearing conflicting reports on this.

What is the best way to explain to your PO that you want to decline?

Comments

[sunsetscreamer]

There were people in my group who had declined their first invitation. They then got a second invitation, no problem. However, that said, one of those people VERY quickly terminated his service, so I have to wonder if pickiness was really a sign of inflexibility...

I think you don't have to say anything when declining the invitation, just decline it and they will give you another one! That said, honestly, I don't think you being flluent in a second language is going to make them any more likely to assign you to a country where they speak that language. Sorry. There were boatloads of people fluent in French or Spanish in my PC group and where did they get... Turkmenistan... lol

[whenthelight]

That's just so crazy to me! I'm fluent in French and I've heard of people sent to Francophone countries with basically 2 semesters of French, relying on other people who are more fluent to get around the city during training and whatnot. Why not send someone fluent to a country that speaks it? It's such a valuable asset, and if it's in short suppy, it makes no sense.

[meteoricpath]

I get the frustration behind this however, I suspect that some of PC HQ reasoning behind this has to do with the fact that the language spoken at site is often not the official language of the country and so the people you'd be working with locally would be speaking the local language anyway. Just knowing another language, no matter which one, gives an indication that the person has the propensity to learn another one.

[whenthelight]

To me, it still doesn't make sense. If you have the ability to learn other languages, that's just a good pre-requisite to join Peace Corps in general. If you're actually fluent in a useful language, where the language is an official language in a country, it just makes sense that you'd be placed there (if you want to be, and fluent speaker applicants are scarce). It's true not many people may speak the Western language on site, but if you leave your site, you'll be going through many villages that speak other tribal languages (at least this is so in Africa), other than the one you were trained in for your village. In that case, the Western language may be the most useful means of communication. This is especially true if you're going into a big city. I'm just speaking from experience in West Africa of course. I am fluent in French and I got placed in an English-speaking country, when I know that people with 2 semesters of French get sent to French W. Africa all the time.

[namibiacoco]

Flexibility is one of the biggest assets you need to get through peace corps so starting off not being flexible may not bode well. They currently have way more competitive applicants then placements and many people are willing to take a first assignment and go where they are needed. I also agree with sunsetscreamer that learning another language (because you have already proven you can pick up languages) can only help you later on trying to get jobs afterwards

[ekaterinnile]

These are excellent questions to consider!

[ekaterinnile]

My understanding at the time that I received my invitation (in 2008/09) was that if you declined an invitation you were not guaranteed another unless you had a very compelling reason for declining, reason being that with so many applicants they could easily fill the spot with someone else. There was a girl who was supposed to be in my group who chose to decline her invitation for "strong reasons" (she didn't specify to me what those reasons were), and she didn't get another one. If they're saying in your invitation kit that you have to give a reason for declining, though, the situation may have changed

[midoriliem]

Yeah, exactly!

[namibiacoco]

I was in Nam 2005-2007 :) Opuwo!

[ekaterinnile]

So that makes you...Nam25? I'm Nam30, I was in Schlip (outside of Rehoboth) from 2009-2011, and now I'm extending in Mariental.

[poisonhoney]

I know a girl who was invited to serve in Mongolia and she turned it down mainly because of the climate. Now she is serving in Cambodia and I believe she received her second invitation within a few months. I'm not sure if it works like this for everyone because she's the only one I know who declined an invitation, but I'm sure that if you make your reasoning compelling enough you will still be invited.

[anonymous]

Hi... I was hoping you would be willing to tell me what ever happened with your PC situation....

I read your posting and felt EXACTLY the same way when I received my placement. I am fluent in Spanish and had my heart set on Central America. I ended up in Ukraine. I have to decide in a few days... and I know I don't want to go there, but I'm afraid to bring up the Spanish thing (even though that is the reason.)

If you have any advice for me, it would be greatly appreciated! :-)

[desamischers]

hey, I'm so sorry I couldn't respond until now