The Waiting Game!

Since the last time I wrote, I've gotten REALLY good at waiting...or at least, I've gotten really used to feeling impatient! Back in June, I spent a whole day being poked and prodded as a part of my Peace Corps medical evaluation. I kid you not: I went to the dentist, had a physical, saw the gynecologist, did bloodwork, and went to the eye doctor all in one day. It was super fun. -.- In all seriousness though, it was good to just get it out of the way all in one day, rather than have to travel from Gettysburg to Lancaster several times.

After that hellish day, it took several weeks (yes, WEEKS) until I had all of my medical/dental/optical forms filled out. I had to account for literally every cut, scrape, or bruise I've ever had. Suffice it to say that the medical process was thorough, somewhat gross, and often uncomfortable, and on top of that it took forever to compile all the forms. BUT, once I did get them all together, I made photocopies of everything and shipped the whole ginormous package off to PC, and started to WAIT (I'm thinking of taking it up as an official hobby...)

About three weeks later, I got word that PC had finally received my forms! (I was starting to worry they had gotten lost in the mail...) Shortly after that, I got my dental clearance (I can't tell you how worried I was...:P).

Aside from having to exchange one e-mail to clear up some confusion with the nurse doing my medical review, the medical process went by very smoothly and a lot more quickly than anticipated. On July 28, I found out that I am MEDICALLY CLEARED!!!! I was a little bit concerned that my asthma would keep me from being cleared, so I was suuuuper happy and excited to find this out!!! :D

On that note, here are the reactions I received from my parents when I told them I was cleared:

Mom: "Oh shit...now there really are no obstacles?!"
Dad: "Well, I guess I'll say congratulations even though I don't really mean it..."

Thanks, love you guys, too! :P <3 

Now, I am simply WAITING to find out what country I will be placed in!!! I cannot wait to start researching (as my mom would say: obsessing) about my country! Travel section, here I come! I should find out within 4-6 weeks. Updates to come!

Besos,
Rachel

Nomination!

I got my official Peace Corps nomination towards the end of the spring semester! My recruiter e-mailed me to tell me about the nomination on 4/29/11 and sent me the official nomination a few days later on May 3:

I am so excited to be assigned to somewhere in Latin America and to know that I will be teaching English (hopefully with kids!)! That is what I have been hoping for all along...I cannot wait to get awesome at Spanish! When I first heard about the nomination, I was coincidentally at work with a former PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) named Amanda who served in Honduras. It was fun to hear the news with someone else who appreciated how excited I was and who I now pepper with incessant PC-related questions haha.

Since I got the nomination, but departure date has been narrowed down a bit to January 2012. Right now, I am smack in the middle of getting all of my medical clearances done. On Friday, I had all four of my appointments in one day, so that I wouldn't have to go home to Lancaster from Gettysburg more than once. So, needless to say, I was poked and prodded and injected all day long, and my arms are still sore. BUT I got all of the appointments out of the way, and am now just waiting to get some test results back before I send in my medical packet to the Peace Corps Office of Medical Services. Because I don't have any major health problems, I should get cleared pretty quickly. That's what I'm hoping for, since the sooner I get cleared, the sooner I can get my official invitation and find out which country I'll be serving in!

The beginning stages!

Hey everyone!

Okay, to start from scratch: for those of you who don't know, I might be serving in the Peace Corps after I graduate in May! I feel like God may be leading me in that direction. I am still praying about it for guidance, and it's not definite, but I have started the application process because the whole thing can take up to a year to complete. So your prayers about the whole process and my decision would be much appreciated :)

I first thought about the Peace Corps when a PC rep visited Gettysburg a couple years ago, but immediately disregarded the idea as crazy. Because, let's face it, it does seem a bit insane to leave the US for two years to live and work in a third-world country--I totally get that and have gotten that reaction from a lot of people. On the other hand, I can't think of a better way to stamp out distractions so I can become more dependent on God, less dependent on other people, and more at peace with life. Anyway, after that, the PC has sort of popped up at random times, over and over, and I started to think maybe God was trying to tell me something. The idea started to stick in my mind and, although I am sort of terrified (as well as excited) about the idea of serving, it began to seem like something I couldn't not do. When else will I have this chance? Never. If I don't try it now, I will probably never be able to again, because I might have a husband or children or a job I can't leave. Carpe diem, eh?

I began the application process early in the fall 2010 semester, maybe late August or early September. I took a long to time complete it because I was really nervous about telling my family of my plans. But after attending a PC info session on campus, I realized I had to either go through with it or forget about it. So I told my mom, who was fully supportive, despite her personal reservations (Thanks, mom!!!) I finally submitted the application on December 21, 2010. Nine days later, on December 30, 2010, I got an e-mail from my PC recruiter, Rebecca Wong! The e-mail had two attachments--job descriptions of potential areas I could serve in, either secondary English teaching or community development! Check out what exactly those titles mean here: http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whatvol

I responded to Rebecca's e-mail right away and sent her a few other pieces of info she needed, like my unofficial transcripts from Gettysburg and confirmation that my recommendation letters have been submitted. I'm still waiting to hear back from her about the next step in the process, which includes filling out a huge stack of paperwork that PC will send to me and completing an interview. If all of that goes well, I will get nominated for a particular program in one of the PC's regions, as well as a general time frame of when I will leave. After that, I will have to get medical and dental clearance. Assuming all of that goes well, I will then get an official invitation to serve in the Peace Corps at a specific program in a specific country with a specific starting date. Keep your fingers crossed!

I've told my family about my potential service, and they are somewhat ambivalent about it. Of course, my mom will ultimately support me no matter what, but she and my dad and sister have a lot of concerns, mainly about health and safety. Of course, there is some risk inherent in PC service. BUT, the majority of PCV's (Peace Corps Volunteers) have good experiences and return to the US safe and sound! Check out more info about that here: http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.faf

Finally, some of you may be wondering where I would serve, and the answer is: I don't know. I requested to serve in Latin America, but the PC does not guarantee volunteers their preferences. My best guess is that I will end up in Latin America (because I already speak Spanish) or Africa (because of my Africana Studies background). My hopes are really up for Latin America though!

One more thing, I really like this PC ad:

That's all the updates I have for now. I'm anxiously awaiting that big packet of info from the PC, as well as my interview! Thanks for reading :)

Love,
Rachel