Peace Corps Withdrawal Statement - Cameroon

I submitted a Withdrawal Statement to my Placement Officer today from my invitation to Cameroon.

Please click here to read the statement.

I wish you all the best during your Peace Corps service! It's been a great journey.

Peace.

Invitation to Cameroon!

I received my invite to serve as a Small Business Advisor in Cameroon leaving June 2nd this past Monday. I'm in Haiti right now so my mom called me to let me know the packet arrived. It was a bittersweet moment. I've been waiting for this for a year now, but I'm on a mission trip in Haiti and I'm focused on being over here right now. Nonetheless, I'm very excited and eager to get back to Puerto Rico and start getting ready to leave in a little over a month!

Anyone else getting invites to Cameroon?! I can't wait to meet everybody!

Peace!

PO & a little bit of Haiti

I e-mailed my PO with an updated resume in mid-February. I had already sent one, but I added my mission trip to Haiti. She e-mailed me saying she got it and that she'd add it to my file for when it begins to get reviewed. Then she said that they're still working on programs leaving in April (and May), so it would be a little while until I heard from them. They send their invitations with at least 6 weeks in advance so the latest I would hear from them would be in late April. Given the fact that I was medically cleared so early for my June-nominated program, I will be one of the first ones reviewed for the June Business Advising Program in SSA. That was encouraging :)

I'm going back to Haiti at the end of March for about 3 weeks. I keep thinking I'm going to get my invitation while I'm there! We'll see. Either way, I'm very excited. Time is going by quickly and I can't wait to be an official PC invitee!

If you want to read my first post on my reflections on my Haiti mission trip you can click here.
Peace!

Haiti

I'm going to Haiti next Monday, February 1st. I linked up with a group of people from a church in Puerto Rico. They know I've done missionary work in Africa before so that helped. I've been glued to the news since the earthquake happened and have been figuring out ways to help. I'll be there for about two weeks so I'll keep you guys posted once I get back!

In the meantime, I haven't heard again from my Placement Officer. Everything is done, checked, and completed. I'm just waiting for my file to be reviewed for placement!

Here are some thoughts I wrote on my other blog about Haiti over a week ago. Feel free to check it out!

Peace.

A non-update update

After 5 weeks of receiving the first email from my Placement Officer I decided to kindly email her just to touch base and to let her know that even though my nomination isn't until June, I'm available for departure before then...just in case. She promptly replied thanking me for my email. She marked my file as available to leave as soon as possible, BUT "there are very few (if any) openings in programs departing before then." Oh well, it was worth a try. I just keep checking the PC wiki page and see all those great countries I'd love to go and just can't wait for an invitation!!!
So this was my non-update update. Nothing has really changed since my last post. Just an extra email exchange, just in case.

Peace!

Dear Placement Officer...

Evaluations required to become an Invitee:

DentalComplete. Peace Corps has completed your dental review. There are no dental holds on your account at this time.

LegalThere are no legal holds on your account at this time.

MedicalComplete. A decision has been reached regarding your medical review. Please look for a letter in the mail.

PlaceThere are no placement holds on your account at this time.

I love surprise toolkit updates when I'm not expecting them. I just got the checkmark back on the legal bubble. I'm just waiting on the last and most coveted bubbles of all...the Placement hold bubble. Dear Placement Officer, where art thou? My birthday is on Sunday, Christmas is next month. Is it too much to ask as a birthday wish or Christmas present for an email from my Placement Officer? I think not.

I'll keep you guys posted! Congrats on those of you who recently received nominations, clearances, and invitations!

Peace!

Medical Clearance!!!

I received this e-mail this morning:

"The Office of Medical Services has informed us that you have received your medical clearance. Over the next few weeks, your file will be reviewed by the Assessment & Placement Staff for further evaluation. This includes evaluation of technical skills, suitability and legal information. Upon completion of the assessment, you may be considered for an invitation. Please keep in mind that this stage in the process can be competitive as there are typically two applicants nominated for each spot available. Given this, an invitation is never guaranteed and applicants should make no plans to go overseas unless an invitation has been issued and you have spoken to headquarters staff to accept your invitation."

Woohoo! I haven't received the letter in the mail yet, but e-mail is good enough! I'm really excited. Hopefully I'll hear from my Placement Officer soon!

:)

Peace