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.

Car Free Lifestyle

I'm thinking about selling my car. Living a car-free lifestyle has often been on my mind, but as of late I have been thinking about it more and more. As I'm trying to cut back my expenses and reevaluate where I'm spending my money, I realized I spend an astronomical amount of money on my car. Actually, I spend more money on my car than I do on the roof that is over my head. Seems crazy, huh.

Although in my head I'm thinking about this in sheer dollars there are a lot of other things to think about to. Currently, I can walk to work, the bank, food and drinking establishments, the park, and many other things but there are things that would be less convenient. Such as:

Trips to Target...which could be the death of Sami as you know her.
Easily accessible grocery store
Beach Days
Cold walks to work in the Winter Time
Am I missing others?

Fortunately living downtown allows me to walk to work and there is an OK bus system that would allow me to get to the grocery store and target with little afterthought. However, for 25 years I've lived a life of instant gratification...and I want to be sure that I think about all the aspects of my life that may be affected positively and negatively before I make this drastic lifestyle change.

Here's what my 7th grade History teacher, Ms. Hanifee taught me to do when life offers choices: A good ol' pros and cons list.

Pros
Environmentally Friendly
Get Exercise
Save LOTS of money
Wilmington offers Public Transportation and living downtown allows me to walk to food and entertainment
Can rent a car for long day or weekend trips

Cons
Won't be able to do things at a moment's notice
Will have to walk in the cold/rain
Inconveniencing friends when needing a ride

So, it's looking pretty good that I may want to try this. My mom and I came up with a good idea to try to live for two weeks without using my car. Meaning hide the keys from myself and see how I can get around without using my car. Seems easy enough.  Since I'll be leaving for the Peace Corps, hopefully, in June 2012 and will need to sell my car anyways I really want to think seriously about this. It's a great way for me to save up some money before leaving by severely cutting my expenses.

What do you think? Any advice would be great. I know a couple of you have lived in Wilmington without a car and I would love to hear your experiences!!

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.

Friends are Grand.

Sometimes we take for granted the amazing friends that we have. I am probably the most guilty. But I was so gently reminded when I arrived home yesterday to a package sitting on my doorstep--with my name on it. I thought to myself, I can't remember ordering anything....let alone having the money to even think about ordering anything. But when I opened the package it was a lovely book from the one and only, Sheila Kitchen. It was a picture book of all of our adventures driving across the country last summer.

For those of you who don't know, Sheila was my roommate for three years and such a dear, dear friend. She was accepted into a PhD program at OSU in Corvallis and so she packed up all her bags last August and invited me along for the trip. It was so great to spend those bittersweet memories together.

If anyone ever has the opportunity to drive across the country,

please do yourself a favor, and GO!!

We did it in two weeks and did so many fantastic things. We drove the Blue Ridge Parkway, stopped in Knoxville for some delicious pizza, stayed the night with an old friend in Nashville, drove through the beautiful Kentucky countryside stopping at the Maker's Mark factory for some whiskey, drove through the plains of Indiana and watched some CRAZY thunderstorms on the way to Chicago. Stayed two nights in Chicago with a new friend and excellent tour guide, stayed in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and moved quickly along to Rapid City checking out Mount Rushmore and the Badlands (soooo cool!). Next we moved on to a breathtaking drive through Yellowstone National Park staying in the interesting Idaho Falls. We went white water rafting down the Yellowstone River, and saw countless animals including a momma grizzly and her two cubs, elks, bison, crazy looking birds, etc. Moving on to the idealic Couer D'Alene, we enjoyed a delicious greek dinner, street festival, and sitting under the stars in North Idaho, we thought to ourselves what could be any better than this? Almost done our trip, we stopped to stay in a really cool hostel in Seattle and enjoyed the delicous food (we picked a North African restaurant) at the public market, amazing shopping, and a great New Pornographers show! Sheila started to get nervous at this point as we reached Oregon and we knew we'd have to part....but we drove down the Oregon Coast, through Astoria, stopping in Cannon Beach, Newport (SEALS! YEA!), and then finally Corvallis. We decided to get the keys to Sheila's apartment and then take off again, not wanting to accept reality. We headed to Portland, had Voodoo donuts and stood in line with Weird Al Yankovic, did the shopping thing, walked around, and ended my time there with a beautiful drink date with a dear old friend whom I haven't seen in forever (Love you Jinell!!).

As I think back, I don't understand how to I got to be so fortunate to have great friends and great memories to go with them. I'm looking forward to my adventures this summer but I am happy to have that little drive across the country in my back pocket. Thank you Sheila for my beautiful gift!

Fill in the blanks....

1. The phrase or punctuation I overuse the most is..."Awesome." and it always reminds me of my friend Cristina. Her first visit to the United States, she thought this word was so funny and EVERYONE was always saying it. So, six years later, it's still a prominent part of my vocabulary. Love you Cris!

2. Today I am thankful for...the opportunities that life hands us.

3. My best friend is...as excited to see me this weekend as I am her.

4. A quirky thing about me is...I make about 10 to do lists a day and I'll write and rewrite them until I'm happy with the order the items are in or my handwriting, or the wording. I'm OCD about my to-do list.

5. This weekend I...am spending time with my bestie for her birthday and bridesmaid dress shopping.

6. Something that worries me is...trying to find a job upon my return from Europe until I leave for the Peace Corps.

7. On my nightstand you will find...an Italy travel book, earrings, a pen, a stack of papers that look like some homework I haven't finished, a genie lamp from India, a hand-painted jewelry box, clock radio, and lamp. I think that's it.

On eight simple pleasures...

….excited about a myriad of opportunities to travel, help others, and pursue some dreams.

….when my dog does that whole tuck his tail under his butt and run through the house as fast as possible thing.

…staying busy at work. There is nothing like sitting at your desk with a checklist of things to get done, and slowly chipping away at it.

…the flowers are blooming! The flowers are blooming! Despite the allergies, I’m excited for the most beautiful time of the year in Southeastern North Carolina.

...having a fun planned weekend of being a tourist in my home town, visiting aquariums and a night at the theatre. And possibly a visit to see my mom and play with little puppies they have running around.

…having stuck (well for the most part…can’t say I haven’t had some chocolate or Flaming Amy’s) to my diet and exercise regime.

…my last Spring Break EVER! Well, I guess I said that last time I thought I was NEVER going to go back to school again, but nevertheless I get to take a mini vacation to see a dear friend and do some important wedding shopping for her.

…having a stack of really great books to read. Even though reading for school is monopolizing my time, the thought of all the those pages just waiting to be read makes my heart flutter.

How do they do it?

As I sit and watch the Oscars, wishing desperately that I was half as talented and creative as those people, I wonder how does the academy keep the winners a secret!?!? I couldn't do it, I'd be too dang excited to be privy to information the rest of world is DYING to find out. Who is the best!! Nevertheless, I sit here in anticipation of learning who wins as I watch this American cultural staple. Can I confess that I've only actually watched one of the movies up for Best Picture. Netflix, you and I need to have a few dates.

What was your favorite movie this year?

In other news, I'm working hard this week trying to put a good research project together so I can FINALLY finish my masters. Although I love school, I can't wait for the day when I don't have to spend a beautiful day at the library. Like maybe visiting these places {via ohhellofriend}....how beautiful and majestic!

I'm thinking a lot about two people today. Amy, whose family is under stress with some family health issues. And Sheila who is shaving her head today in support of cancer research and was able to exceed her fundraising goal!!! Can't wait to see pictures! My thoughts are with both of you today!

Focus. Pocus.

Yesterday, as I was sitting in class, I had an epiphany. Okay, okay...get out from under your desk. Don't be scared. A colleague of mine mentioned how she always looked forward to chatting before class with me because my days are so varied and stories so diverse.

So, my mind starting wandering off during class about how much energy I put into thinking about environmental issues to planning events, from the big scary corporate world to grassroots fundraising, from getting myself back in shape to snuggling on my couch with the pooch, and everything in between. I think we all feel a little bit on overload these days with our dabble in different topics, theories, interests, activities, etc.

What if I actually focused ALL my attention on one cause. one activity. one program. one thing. wow. I know it sounds simple but it's actually something that, I think, a lot of people struggle with. I think this is one of the things that the Peace Corps offers to me. I'm able to put down the 1,001 things that I'm interested in that drive my brain from one end of the earth to the other in the 18 hours of time during my active day to focusing on one thing. and one thing only. I don't know what that thing is yet, but it's coming....and I'm excited.

Pictured is someone that I truly admire, and a person that knows what it means to put his mind towards a goal and reach for it empowering others to change their mindsets and follow. I totally wish I could be like old Nelson.

Travels in India

Traveling in India was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I want to share some of the stories that I documented throughout the trip. I kept a journal during my time abroad, but was unable to type them into this blog while away, so I'll post them day-by-day as I have time. Hope you enjoy.

The picture to the right is a family at the Taj Mahal who stopped to talk to us. We were sharing our henna designs as they stared at our blue eyes and blond hair. They are just as much interested in us as we are in them.