Thinking Peace Corps: Running in Ethiopia/Kenya for Women

Just find a husband and settle down. Stop with all of this "adventure" thinking, it is making you tired. Take a nap, make some tea (add a thimble of scotch) and practice making biscuits. A good home-made biscuit will win a man's heart in no time. Why would you think you could go to Africa?

Not sure about Ethiopia but while in Kenya I always wore long pants or long skirt while running. This was back in the 90s though. T-shirt was ok. You do not want to stand out, but you will anyway.

I dont think you get to chose where you go in the Peace Corps.

Stop being a pansy! Join the US Army!

BudBundy wrote:

I dont think you get to chose where you go in the Peace Corps.

This

whether you get to choose or at least to know where you're going in advance of the end of training depends on whether you're involved in technical work or teaching or other sorts of things like aids counseling. I was a teacher and asked in the application process for Nepal or other high mountain places and then was put in a pool for either the Caribbean or Africa. They then put me in Malawi. In training, I requested one of the mountainous regions of Malawi (Dedza or Thyolo or Chiringa or Phalombe) and got another region at 4k, not terrible. But I couldn't run anyway because of injury. Kenya and Ethiopia may not be as conservative as Malawi, but in Malawi you had an exception for the dress code for women (always dresses or skirts below the knee) for sports, but no way on the jog bra only for the top. Just dress like the Kenyan women runners do and run with someone you can trust.

a) You don't get to choose where you go. You can get a continent preference, but you may or may not be placed on that continent.

b) Running attire really depends on if there are many tourists where you life. As a PCV you will likely be in a remote area, where covering your knees will be necessary (assume we're talking Ethiopia and Tanzania here). I ran in loose capri pants and a short-sleeved shirt. No tight capris or shorts, and pants would have been better, but they forgave the ankle showing because I was obviously not from the area. It's always better to err on the side of dressing conservatively because in general, they think that American women are really easy and accepting of all sorts of sex with strangers. Unfortunately, many tourists in these countries confirm those preconceptions with their dress as well as their behavior.

Interestingly, the "facts of life" stuff isn't really hidden -- women go around topless breastfeeding their infants and nobody bats an eye while if the bottom of my knee peeked out of my capris it would have been a huge scandal about how I was one of those easy American women.

Everybody's thinking peace corps these days--very hard to get accepted. Plus, it's becoming more and more sham like. It's really not garnering the respect it used to, particularly with employers. Just be forewarned.

I ran in Kenya during the summer 2 years ago. Definitely plan to wear conservative attire, but it's not like you should have to alter your everyday wardrobe. For example: Never run in just a sportsbra (I never saw anyone in a tank top either, so I avoided those as well)...but it's not really a burden to wear a dri-fit running t-shirt! Also: I wouldn't do split shorts, but some of the longer shorts with no split were just fine for running!

Kenyan women:

*Easy Run: long tights or pants and jacket

*Extremely Hard Workout: Short sleeve shirt with short tights at least.

That is the full spectrum

Most of the runners wear tights. Lycra Gang.

The only time your reveal is in competition.

This is basically how I dress, and all my teammates don't understand.

What Kenyan women wear in training camps is very, very, very different from what a PCV will need to wear in your average remote village.

It REALLY all depends on where you are. There are parts of Nairobi where you can wear short shorts and a tank top and be fine. There are parts of Kenya where I would not even wear pants; I would wear an ankle-length skirt.

another average american wrote:

What Kenyan women wear in training camps is very, very, very different from what a PCV will need to wear in your average remote village.

It REALLY all depends on where you are. There are parts of Nairobi where you can wear short shorts and a tank top and be fine. There are parts of Kenya where I would not even wear pants; I would wear an ankle-length skirt.

Ok that was what I was wondering. Thanks!