Major Update

I feel as though I owe a major update since I committed to writing this blog. So here is the quick and dirty -

life. good.
work. good.
friends. good
prince. good.
all around mental outlook. good.

Alright - so, maybe that wasn't thorough enough. I'll start with an update on the topic that gives this blog purpose- PEACE CORPS! I believe in some of my last posts I told you that I received my Medical Packet. Man that seems like a light year ago. Well, quickly after receiving my medical packet I scheduled all the necessary appointments - dentist, doctor, health department, etc. Shots were given, cavities were filled, blood was drawn, and papers were signed.

On November 2, I received a status update on my toolkit that said "A decision has been made regarding your medical review." About 4 days later a letter was in the mail saying that I have been medically qualified for service! Ahhh, that is what I've been waiting for.

So, Peace Corps Application 101 - next stop - PLACEMENT!

I'm really hoping that I still am in the running for a June leave date for Eastern Europe in NGO Advising. Although I know that the reality is that 80% of applicants don't actually go to the location that they were originally nominated for - I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.

Peace Corps Application Time Line

A lot of Peace Corps applicants have some kind of documentation of their process so here is mine:

February 2008 -- Meet with recruiter to talk about the Peace Corps

April 28, 2008 -- Submit application

May 2, 2008 -- Recruiter contacted me about scheduling an interview and sending additional forms

June 9, 2008--Interview with Peace Corps recruiter, Sarah Barfield, in Wilmington, NC

June 23, 2008--Officially Nominated for either Eastern Europe or Africa::Community Development

July 30, 2008--Sent nominations for Community Development in Cetnral/South America or Sub-Saharan Africa

August 4, 2008--Pulled my application due to multiple reasons...to put aside this opportunity for a better time in my life

March 3, 2010--Talked to recruiter about reapplying for Peace Corps

March 15, 2010--Start Application Process Again

March 28, 2010--Turned in Application

March 29, 2010--1st Recommendation submitted (Thanks Peggy!)

March 30, 2010--2nd Recommendation submitted (Thanks Jeff!)

April 28, 2010--Emailed Recruiter because I had not heard anything (this is where the waiting game began!)

May 6, 2010--Heard from Recruitment Coordinator, have to wait due to outside circumstances to move forward with the process.

December 1, 2010--Can finally move forward with application

December 5, 2010--Recieved packet of information including fingerprints, NAC Questionnaire, College Transcripts, Certifications

December 16, 2010--Received an email from the recruiter stating that they needed the information back by January 5th (no problem!)

December 22, 2010--Had to submit a new recommendation to fit the guidelines of preffered recommendations (Thanks Sheila!)

December 23, 2010--Delayed information for log into my toolkit was finally sent to me

December 28, 2010--Peace Corps representative called to have me send over copies of scuba certifications

December 29, 2010--Send back all information including transcripts, fingerprints, etc.

January 20, 2011--Peace Corps Toolkit update! Paperwork is complete!

February 11, 2011--Interview at NCSU completed::possible nominations for Community Development or Business Development, waiting for program specs to be released

February 25, 2011--Emailed recruiter asking what else I should be doing--stated just wait for more information to be released and update him on any new skills I acquire

April 1, 2011--Emailed recruiter looking for an update. RAS (restless applicant syndrome) is settling in

June 13, 2011--Emailed recruiter while in Europe asking for updates. Officially nominated for Eastern Europe doing NGO Development leaving June 2012

July 17, 2011 -- Home from trip to Europe with a medical packet sitting in my mailbox.

September 13, 2011 -- Finished all medical paperwork - Sent back to PC headquarters.

September 24, 2011--Forgot to have Doctor co-sign all paperwork and have to redo two tests.

October 20, 2011 -- Send back all information to Medical Office

November 2, 2011 -- Status Update! Letter came in the mail a few days later saying I am Medically cleared for service!

November 28, 2011 -- Email from Placement Assistant stating my file is complete and a Placement Specialist will be in touch.

Peace Corps Update

Online status update!!

As I'm looking out the window at Hurricane Irene whipping through all the trees in my neighborhood, I'm trying to stay focused on other things. The storm has not been too bad but the wind and rain kept me up for most of the night. Minimal damage has ensued to our area but I'm thinking about my friends and family in the Northeast who might be affected by Irene as well.

My Peace Corps status is moving along quite well at this point. Since I arrived back from Europe to find a medical packet in my mail, I have been going to the doctor and dentist quite regularly. I don't even have to sign in anymore they already know who I am! I've been to the doctor for four visits, the dentist for three, and the health department twice. All in all I've completed all of my dental and medical paperwork and am just waiting for one more shot on the 31st and I can send it all back to Washington. I can't wait!!!

I am one of the few that has already received my legal clearance, which from what I've read is sometimes takes the longest and typically doesn't clear until after your medical clearance goes through. So I'm feeling like I'm in a good place to leave in June or maybe even sooner. Who knows!! If there is one thing that Peace Corps is not good at, it is keeping applicants abreast of leave dates/locations. I'm constantly sitting on the edge of my seat through this process.

Good luck to all those that are waiting out the storm!!!

Medical, Dental and Legal Frenzy

As I returned home from Europe, I had a stack of mail as tall as the papasan chair in the living room. I was so excited to find hidden in its depths real information from the PEACE CORPS!! I received two envelopes from the elusive agency, one that congratulated me on accepting my position in Eastern Europe and one that was chock full of medical and dental paperwork to fill out. It's a bittersweet moment, as I have been warned, to open up the medical documents. Inside you'll find a whole slew of shots and tests and pricks and jabs that the doctor and dentist need to give you but it also means that you are one more step closer to placement. 

Now the process starts in locating all of my medical records....oy. After having gone through a period of my life where I moved every two years and not having a primary physician since I was 12, I first wonder how I am even remotely healthy and second dread trying to locate all my shot records from the past 25 years.  

Today that journey begins as I try to call every doctor I've ever been to and take a jog down memory lane and call Queen Anne's County High School to see if they can dig through their closet to find my records. I can't believe I've been out of high school for so long.

Wish me luck!

Peace, Love, and Awesomeness

Sami

Nomination

Yesterday was such a great day! After six months of waiting, I have finally heard my nomination for the Peace Corps. I was becoming rightfully inpatient and decided to email my recruiter yesterday BEGGING for more information, and within ten minutes he emailed me back with a nomination for me to accept or reject.

Of Course I Accepted!!!

Now, a nomination isn't set in stone. I still have many many more hoops to jump through and your nomination can also change when you are finally placed. However, I am happy just to know something so when people ask about the Peace Corps I can give them a snippet of information :)

So......drum roll please....I have been nominated for Eastern Europe to do Non-Governmental Organizational Development in June 2012. PARFAIT!!! The countries Peace Corps works in are: Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia. I am so excited about this! If you are interested in what NGO Development work is, then click here for the Peace Corps explanation.

I'm so very excited!!! Now time to sit back and enjoy my time in Western Europe.

Peace Corps Update

New dates have been posted for October, which means that, hopefully, I'm one day closer to knowing where I might be going. As any Peace Corps applicant with the well-known "Restless Applicant Syndrome" knows any bit of information is like a being handed a million dollars. I have been watching the list every day to see what is posted, just waiting for new posts for November.

My recruiter said that I should know something more by June/July, so here I sit patiently waiting for something more. Until then I'll desperately dream of distant destinations. <--alliteration at it's finest :)

Anyone have plans for easter?

Government Shutdown...

I have to admit, I haven't really been following all of this government shutdown hub bub. I know I'm a public administration student and I'm SUPPOSED to know all this stuff, but no ones perfect! However, I did find some interesting information about the Peace Corps protocol in case of a government shutdown.

In summary, the Peace Corps will keep all current volunteers in country (as it is cheaper to keep them in rural Africa...or whereever....on $15.00/day than fly each of them home at $2,000/flight). Current headquarters staff will be furloughed until further notice. And, now for the sad news: Any stagings scheduled for 3 weeks after the beginning of a government shutdown should be continued. All other stagings will be considered on a case-by-case basis....AND...suspended Peace Corps activities include recruitment, selection and placement of new volunteers.

Ok, ok...I'm breathing again. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that a government shutdown doesn't happen (not just for my sake, but for the sake of all U.S. citizens). Peace, Love, and Aweswomeness.

Why International Service?

The question has come up many, many times about why I am joining the Peace Corps to serve internationally instead of doing service to my own country. I would like to state that the Peace Corps is a program funded through the United States Government, in my opinion, to increase visibility of United States culture, increase global literacy, and to build positive relationships globally. Although I will physically be serving in another country the benefits are awarded to the host country and the United States through the success of the relationships I create and programs I work on.

In terms of choosing what is best fit for me, it is a hard choice as the United States provides many diverse opportunities for each person and it is our responsibility to find what fits us best. However, I want to reiterate that this is my reasoning for why I choose to do international service instead of another program like AmeriCorps that solely serves needy people and communities in the United States. Each person has their own set of needs to feel fulfilled and my response may not make any sense to you and that is okay. You have chosen your path because it best fulfills your needs as this will mine.

The United States, formally through government initiatives and informally through the third-sector (non-profit organizations) provides an optimal amount of services and programs to people in the United States. Although I can not argue that there is plenty of social injustice in this country—we all have the opportunity to strive and be the best people that we can—whether we take the opportunity or not. I believe that the chance to see a country whose government and people can not provide opportunities, hence why the Peace Corps is placed there, will humble me to a point that I can return to the United States to inspire others to utilize the programs that are available to them as well as encourage others (and myself) to be thankful for what the U.S. provides for us. We are a country of “never enough”—never enough money, never enough food, never enough services, never enough health care…but once we become more aware and less ignorant to the state of the rest of the world, maybe we will begin to understand a tipping point of “satisfaction.” Perhaps in my network, I will be the tipping point.

I do not advocate for the inability to strive for more or to stop trying to be better but I believe that it is only helping myself, my community, my network of people, my family, and my nation to become more aware of the culture of another nation who is also striving for better but may not have the resources to do so. The positive relationships that have been built between volunteers and international communities has helped bridge an information gap between ourselves and the communities in which Peace Corps volunteers serve. These relationships create a mutually benefiting understanding of the U.S. and the host country.

As the world grows smaller and smaller, my experience abroad will only assist me in a future career with a full understanding of how to work and think globally with sensitivity to differences between cultures. An experience domestically would not provide me with this opportunity and would only reinforce the United States culture and needs without account to others.

I may not ever have a lasting impact on the community in which I will serve, but I will return with so many things that most U.S. citizens will never have including: a better understanding of the cultural diversities that exist in the world, fluency in at least one new language, the ability to speak intelligently about communities across the globe, experiences to share to decrease the ignorance we hold about people not like ourselves. The last thing I will return with is two years of experience in program planning that I can apply to a career in the United States. So, am I just serving internationally, no….absolutely not…..I will be able to return and have an even better ability to serve my own country. I hope that this answers some questions about why I'm choosing to serve internationally, if not, please ask a specific question and I'll try to answer.

So I may turn this and ask, what are you doing to better your community for today and tomorrow? As well as, what needs are you fulfilling in your life to feel proud of your life accomplishments?

And…If you haven’t done so already be sure to check out the Peace Corps Core Expectations to better understand the expectations of volunteers in the Peace Corps.

Peace Corps Update

Since I haven't updated on the Peace Corps recently...I thought a "where I am now and what is left to do" post is appropriate.

I found out last week that a friend of mine that I traveled to India with was finally medically cleared for the Peace Corps (goooo Lauren!!). Since she is rearing to go at any moment she is just waiting on her placement in a program teaching English. I'm so excited for her!

On the other hand, I'm a little further back in the process. Since I restricted myself to the inability to leave before November 1st I have to wait until programs become available to know antyhing. Currently on the PCWiki page they have program staging dates up for September but none for any later than that. As soon as a program opens up for either Community Development or Small Business (the programs my experience and skillset match up with) after October, I will hopefully hear about a nomination.

So here are my next steps for those of you who are new to this whole thing...
1. Nomination for a region and program (hopefully by June/July)
2. Start reading every blog available for the region you are nominated for
2. Medical and Legal Clearance
3. Invitation (typically 6-8 weeks out from departure date)
4. I'm OFF!!

So that's it! I can't wait to know a little bit more information but the Peace Corps is a waiting game. In the meantime I'll just fill my (and yours) brain with dreams of distant shores.

Interrogation Day

Okay....so maybe it wasn't that bad. Today, I had an interview with the Peace Corps recruiter at NCSU. All in all, it went great. The recruiter asked me the typical questions, "what made you want to apply to the Peace Corps," "what situations have you been in to prepare you for this," etc. etc...

The interview though makes it feel legit. Like this is something that I have actually committed myself to. And I'm happy about that. Of course, I'm getting a little backlash from friends and family with their concerns and questions but I think everyone will come around. It's been therapeutic more for myself than anyone else to talk about how things will work when I finally am gone.

The recruiter mentioned that he'd really like to get me into a program the end of the summer, however it's ideal for me to be at my best friends wedding in October and leave right after that. I know you can't be picky about this process so I'm keeping an open mind about what happens, knowing that it'll all work out in the end.

Peace, Love, and Awesomeness.