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nora peace corpsChicago native Nora Kaitis, 23, appreciates the fact that she's had access to opportunity her entire life. And that's why the International Studies/French major signed up for the Peace Corps after graduating from Marquette University in Milwaukee in May 2008. Nora is about to embark on her second year with the Peace Corps, teaching in the village of Biro in Benin, Africa.

Her Inspiration: Nora began the year-long application process during the summer before her senior year because a good friend had recently joined the Peace Corps and loved it.

"I'd always thought about doing it, and then I heard his story and got the ball rolling," she explained. "I'm happy I applied. I was part of a very wealthy existence. I felt like it was time to find out how the bottom billion live and give back."

Nora interviewed with the organization in September of 2007 and was nominated for a volunteer position. After getting medical and psychological clearances -- their standards are tough -- Nora waited to be placed in a country that could use her. She thinks her previous experience teaching English to Spanish immigrants influenced her placement in Benin. Nora's airfare, medical expenses and insurance are covered by the Peace Corps.

Click here to keep reading about Nora's job, duties and future plans.

Her Job: Nora teaches seventh and eighth grade, but it's not a class of 12- and 13-year-olds; students range in age from 11 to 23. And unlike junior high- and high school-age kids in America, many of Nora's students are more preoccupied with helping their family earn a living than being cool and popular.

"I work in a rural village, so it's like a dirt floor, mud walls and me [in the classroom]," she explained. "The kids have two pens and two notebooks to copy what I write on the board. There are no school textbooks. They can't read very well or write. A lot of times, they're pulled out of school because they have to work or their parents can't afford it."

Like an American teacher, Nora gets a summer vacation. (She did this interview during a visit home.) She earns $3 per day.

nora peace corpHer Challenges: Though Nora received two months of training before she started teaching, she wasn't prepped for her new living situation: a concrete house with no running water or electricity.

"The Peace Corps teaches you not to ask questions. You're taught to just go, to integrate, and go with it. At first it was really hard. You're like a 2-year-old again. You can't feed yourself the usual way, you can't go to the bathroom like you're used to."

When times get rough or lonely, Nora gets in touch with her family, who she says has been supportive from the start. "My parents were sad [I'm so far away], but really proud and happy. I can talk to them really regularly from Benin."

Her Future Plans: Nora, who is now back in Benin, is stoked for her second year of teaching. She has arranged for some of her students to be pen pals with students at a school in New Orleans and kids in Michigan.

While Peace Corps volunteers can extend their commitment past two years, Nora has decided to come home and look for a job in the States next year. Her advice to others who are considering joining the Peace Corps is just to go for it.

"Everyday is crazy and totally different. But people are people everywhere all over the world. My kids are the same as seventh graders in the states -- goofy and stuff. There's a really great support system, too. All the volunteers lean on each other, and we're also like best friends."

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