wooooohooooOOOOOOOOoooOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111111111111oneoneoneoneone
It's out of my hands, baby. The evil medical clearance packet of death from Hell is on its way to Washington, where it will surely gather dust for the next month or two while I wait nervously for an answer and watch the calendar move ever closer to mid-February. For, my friends, if I am indeed to go to Asia in early April, the last day I could possibly receive the invitation would be approximately February 14th. If things aren't squared away by then, chances are I'll be going someplace I haven't been mentally preparing myself for.
On Tuesday evening I got a Polio booster shot, and on Wednesday I mailed away the medical packet, including the dental stuff. The person at the UPS store said it should arrive the middle of next week. I eagerly await the thrill of seeing a change in my application status on the Peace Corps web site. But I pretty much dread the waiting game. So many people just get stuck here. Not hearing anything. For months. And the fact that I've got 2.5 months to go before my "cutoff" date makes me wonder if I won't be left hanging for most of that time.
But whatever. I've done what I can do. I'm healthy and there's no reason in the world for them to deny me, so I'm going to trust that this is going to work out.
And now....what exactly? I've got more than four months before my earliest possible departure. What exactly do I do with myself? Maybe save what money I can and go on a trip. I've already saved some, and I've already proved to myself that I can travel cheap and lightly, so a bit of cash could go far. These tutoring gigs that I've got going have been a veritable cow, and I've been milking those metaphorical cash-teats for the last month.
As I pointed out in some earlier post, Indonesia seems the most likely destination at the moment. Accordingly, I've been reading the blogs of current PCVs in Indonesia. The program is really new, so the current batch are the first batch. It's made me excited for spicy food, crazy landscapes, nice natives, and the necessity of warp-speed friendmaking. I am also jealous that the Indonesia PCVs got to meet Obama on his recent visit. That must have been damn cool.
Hey Tim,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say that the hardest part of the Peace Corps application is out of the way - finally. And actually now that you're basically cleared regarding legal, medical, and dental, you should be well on your way to placement.
And for the waiting game part, I was fully cleared in September and told I wasn't going to receive anything regarding placement until at least December because the Peace Corps was still inviting those nominated for Oct-Nov departures. So that was a drag, not to mention nerve wrecking having to wait day by day.
I was nominated for Easter Europe doing Health Extension work, leaving in March 2011; instead I was nominated early. Now I am doing Community-Based Organization Development (whatever that means) in Thailand leaving January 2011. So you definitely can be nominated earlier for a different location and job assignment. Good luck with everything and I'll check back to see more updates :)
-Kyle
PS. Indonesia is amazing. The people are some of the most hospitable I have ever encountered. And if there was ever a country deserving need from the PC it is Indonesia.
PSS. I've been listening to Savage Love since it came out (no pun intended) and it is like a weekly religious ritual for me, haha
PSS x2. If you want I have a blog, though haven't updated it recently:
http://apcvintheworld.wordpress.com