PIERCE TWP. — When Erik and Lisa Gruber were married in December 2000, they set out to find the perfect house.

        But the couple, college sweethearts who graduated from Ohio University in 1998, couldn't find anything they liked, so they began to discuss their other options.

        “We decided that we wanted to do something different, to travel or something, to get out of the little cubicle before we started a family,” Ms. Gruber said.

        The Grubers had talked about joining the Peace Corps while they were in college, but because they couldn't join it together unless they were married, they had decided not to pursue it.

        Once married, they reconsidered.

        “We weren't really ready to settle down, and since we didn't have kids, it just all sort of came together,” Mr. Gruber said.

        Sunday they left for the Dominican Republic, where, after four months of training, they will begin their two-year experience as Peace Corps volunteers.

        “I'm excited,” Mr. Gruber said. “It's been a long process, and I'm just ready to get on with it.”

        Ms. Gruber is nervous about the language barrier. The Dominican Republic is a Spanish-speaking country, and though both the Grubers took Spanish in college, they are far from fluent.

        Another worry is the submission that women in the Dominican Republic are required to exhibit.

        “I'm the kind of person who always looks another person in the eyes, so if in fact I am required to look away, it will be a huge challenge for me,” Ms. Gruber said.

        Volunteers also are expected to live like the Dominican nationals with whom they are working.

        This means housing with thatch or corrugated steel roofs, walls of wood or cement block and cement floors, according to the assignment description. Some communities have electricity, running water and telephones, but many do not.

        As for their jobs, Ms. Gruber will educate Dominicans about their natural resources, and Mr. Gruber will be working in a pilot effort to integrate information technology into education throughout the Dominican Republic.

        The Grubers said they joined the Peace Corps because they want to understand the world in a broader sense.

        “I hope to gain a better appreciation for the privilege I was born into, just being American,” Ms. Gruber said.

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