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
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Medical...Complete?
I received an email from PC at 5 AM saying they've updated my application status and to check my toolkit...then I see this:
I'll be anxiously waiting for a letter in the mail during the next couple of days. I still have a legal hold on my account. I'm guessing it's because they do a background check after you've been medically cleared. Is this accurate?
Great, now I can't sleep! But I'm happy a decision has been reached. Hopefully it's a good one!
I'll keep you guys posted.
Peace!
"Medical 
Complete. A decision has been reached regarding your medical review. Please look for a letter in the mail."
I'll be anxiously waiting for a letter in the mail during the next couple of days. I still have a legal hold on my account. I'm guessing it's because they do a background check after you've been medically cleared. Is this accurate?
Great, now I can't sleep! But I'm happy a decision has been reached. Hopefully it's a good one!
I'll keep you guys posted.
Peace!
Friday, October 9, 2009
PC medical clearance update!
I submitted my medical paperwork on September 30th. Two days ago, Oct 7th, I had an update on my toolkit: "Complete. Peace Corps has completed your dental review. There are no dental holds on your account at this time."
Today I log on and this came up: "Peace Corps received the results of your physical exam on October 8, 2009. If the program you are nominated for is not scheduled to leave in the next 4 months you may not hear from Medical until the time of departure is closer. Currently those programs scheduled to leave in the next 4 months are being reviewed. For applicants leaving within 4 months Peace Corps may request additional medical information. Please respond quickly to these requests."
My nomination is for June 2010 so I guess this is what everyone refers to your patience being tested by all the waiting! If they don't review your medical packet until 4 months prior to departure date, I won't hear anything again until February or so. Ahhhh!!! (breathe in, breathe out... I just need to remind myself to do that!)
How is everyone else doing on their timeline?
Peace!
Today I log on and this came up: "Peace Corps received the results of your physical exam on October 8, 2009. If the program you are nominated for is not scheduled to leave in the next 4 months you may not hear from Medical until the time of departure is closer. Currently those programs scheduled to leave in the next 4 months are being reviewed. For applicants leaving within 4 months Peace Corps may request additional medical information. Please respond quickly to these requests."
My nomination is for June 2010 so I guess this is what everyone refers to your patience being tested by all the waiting! If they don't review your medical packet until 4 months prior to departure date, I won't hear anything again until February or so. Ahhhh!!! (breathe in, breathe out... I just need to remind myself to do that!)
How is everyone else doing on their timeline?
Peace!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Peace Corps update
I applied to the Peace Corps on April 16th, 2009! I didn't really have to think about it too much, it just felt right. I've already traveled to Africa twice serving in 3 countries: Uganda, Sudan, and Ghana. My dream of going back, serving and living there for an extended period of time kept getting stronger and more vivid, so applying to the PC was the right thing to do.
I had my interview today with my recruiter over the phone. After an amazing hour and a half she finally said she'd get in contact with me by the end of the week to let me know if she found something that would suit be in order to nominate me for it. Great! I can wait a few more days. So we hung up. An hour later I find myself talking to her again, she said she found one spot left for a Business Advising Assignment in a francophone west African country leaving late June 2010... so I said YES! I took two years of French back in high school and I've been taking French classes through the French Alliance for a few months now so I should be fine. She advised I keep taking the classes until I leave next year since there is a requirement of basic French for the position.
I secretly wanted my departure date to be before the end of this year, but like all PC applicants, I'm extremely grateful for the time frame, not being lost in all of their paperwork, and at least having a date to look forward to. This next year gives me time to prepare myself physically (most importantly: get in shape, get my immune system as high as possible), mentally, emotionally, spiritually; get my finances in order: pay off all of my debt, save money; spend time with family and friends, and keep dreaming!
I'll be waiting in the mail for the medical packet and as my recruiter told me: "You don't know what 'thorough' means until you've seen those papers!" I'm looking forward to it though!
Let the games begin!
Peace.
I had my interview today with my recruiter over the phone. After an amazing hour and a half she finally said she'd get in contact with me by the end of the week to let me know if she found something that would suit be in order to nominate me for it. Great! I can wait a few more days. So we hung up. An hour later I find myself talking to her again, she said she found one spot left for a Business Advising Assignment in a francophone west African country leaving late June 2010... so I said YES! I took two years of French back in high school and I've been taking French classes through the French Alliance for a few months now so I should be fine. She advised I keep taking the classes until I leave next year since there is a requirement of basic French for the position.
I secretly wanted my departure date to be before the end of this year, but like all PC applicants, I'm extremely grateful for the time frame, not being lost in all of their paperwork, and at least having a date to look forward to. This next year gives me time to prepare myself physically (most importantly: get in shape, get my immune system as high as possible), mentally, emotionally, spiritually; get my finances in order: pay off all of my debt, save money; spend time with family and friends, and keep dreaming!
I'll be waiting in the mail for the medical packet and as my recruiter told me: "You don't know what 'thorough' means until you've seen those papers!" I'm looking forward to it though!
Let the games begin!
Peace.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Thoughts on Africa
I haven't been able to fall asleep yet. Maybe it's my heart racing or a guilty conscience. Maybe it's because of what's going on with the election in Zimbabwe or the nice treat I received from Amazon today with some amazing books about Sudan...
It's been six months since I returned safely from Africa. I was sick most of the trip (I had malaria), met amazing people, shared meals and had memorable fellowships with my brothers and sisters there, and fell in love with the most joyful and beautiful kids in the world. It's been an emotional roller coaster from the moment I stepped off the plane in Entebbe, Uganda until, well, now. I don't expect it to get any easier since the journey has only begun. I've been wrestling back and forth in my mind so many thoughts about where to begin to do all the things I want to accomplish. As soon as I got back to Puerto Rico I couldn't help but start thinking about when I was going back to Africa. Not because I don't like being here, because I do... it's a beautiful island, it's where I grew up, all my family is here, and you gotta love the food! But after having a life-altering experience, you can't come home and not do something about it. I have a sense of responsibility to act, to not be a by-stander. I have pictures of the kids in Uganda and Sudan on the walls in my bedroom. They are a reminder of the most amazing month I've had in my life so far. They keep me grounded. They don't let me forget the hardships they've endured, the sacrifices they've made, the civil war and displacements they've been through, and how blessed I am to hang those pictures on concrete walls in an air-conditioned room in a nice neighborhood in Puerto Rico.
When did they become just a statistic to us? I mean, we're aware of the genocide in Darfur, we've seen the movies Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamond, and The Last King of Scotland, but then...nothing. We watch CNN and read the news online, but what else? We say: "oh, that's too bad" and then change the channel. Meanwhile my heart breaks. I'm here feeling helpless. I long for the day I can go back and see them and kiss them and hug them and play with them again. I started a non-profit organization last week to promote awareness in Puerto Rico about what's going on in Africa. It's a small step. I'm planning my second trip to Africa for the end of this year. Another small step. I yearn for the year 2025 when our generation eradicates extreme poverty in the world (Read: The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs). I want us to CARE. I want us to not just be aware of the injustices of the world, but to DO something about them. I want it to HURT. I want it to TROUBLE you and for us to be SHAKEN by it. We complain about the heat this summer, we complain about our politics, we complain about family issues, money, food... but at the end of the day we have a roof over our heads, a queen sized bed, air conditioning, we eat and indulge delicious food and then over-eat and over-indulge... Why can't we care about our brothers and sisters in Africa as much as we care about our pet parakeet?
I went to see Chris Rock tonight. He had a show in San Juan and was absolutely brilliant. He said something that really hit home for me. "How is it that when you see a homeless guy on the street with a puppy you feel more upset about the puppy than the homeless guy? You say: Aww, poor puppy. I hope it has food tonight. Someone should take the puppy away from him and feed it. Maybe I'll wait 'til the guy falls asleep." It could be a bit extreme, but we all do it. We all cross the street and avoid eye contact with a homeless person. But WHY? Are they really going to attack you and steal your purse? OR are we just so ashamed that we don't care to smile at them or buy them a slice of pizza and we're so consumed with ourselves that we choose to avoid them and pretend they don't exist in order to not be confronted by this reality: We're emotionally numb. If it doesn't affect us directly, we don't care. We're numb to the millions of people displaced by the genocide in Darfur. We're numb to the orphans around the world that have no warm food in their stomachs tonight. We're numb to the sick and malnourished, the homeless and the widow... but we jump at any opportunity to take advantage of a good sale at the mall.
Now I just sound like I'm complaining a lot, maybe I'm bitter. But I'm tired of feeling this way. I'm tired of being part of the western world that doesn't care. I'm tired of waking up in the morning to the sound of the air conditioner, instead of the Sudanese kids playing outside my window.
Thanks for reading this. I'll try to fall asleep now.
(written June 30, 2008 @ 3:22 AM)
It's been six months since I returned safely from Africa. I was sick most of the trip (I had malaria), met amazing people, shared meals and had memorable fellowships with my brothers and sisters there, and fell in love with the most joyful and beautiful kids in the world. It's been an emotional roller coaster from the moment I stepped off the plane in Entebbe, Uganda until, well, now. I don't expect it to get any easier since the journey has only begun. I've been wrestling back and forth in my mind so many thoughts about where to begin to do all the things I want to accomplish. As soon as I got back to Puerto Rico I couldn't help but start thinking about when I was going back to Africa. Not because I don't like being here, because I do... it's a beautiful island, it's where I grew up, all my family is here, and you gotta love the food! But after having a life-altering experience, you can't come home and not do something about it. I have a sense of responsibility to act, to not be a by-stander. I have pictures of the kids in Uganda and Sudan on the walls in my bedroom. They are a reminder of the most amazing month I've had in my life so far. They keep me grounded. They don't let me forget the hardships they've endured, the sacrifices they've made, the civil war and displacements they've been through, and how blessed I am to hang those pictures on concrete walls in an air-conditioned room in a nice neighborhood in Puerto Rico.
When did they become just a statistic to us? I mean, we're aware of the genocide in Darfur, we've seen the movies Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamond, and The Last King of Scotland, but then...nothing. We watch CNN and read the news online, but what else? We say: "oh, that's too bad" and then change the channel. Meanwhile my heart breaks. I'm here feeling helpless. I long for the day I can go back and see them and kiss them and hug them and play with them again. I started a non-profit organization last week to promote awareness in Puerto Rico about what's going on in Africa. It's a small step. I'm planning my second trip to Africa for the end of this year. Another small step. I yearn for the year 2025 when our generation eradicates extreme poverty in the world (Read: The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs). I want us to CARE. I want us to not just be aware of the injustices of the world, but to DO something about them. I want it to HURT. I want it to TROUBLE you and for us to be SHAKEN by it. We complain about the heat this summer, we complain about our politics, we complain about family issues, money, food... but at the end of the day we have a roof over our heads, a queen sized bed, air conditioning, we eat and indulge delicious food and then over-eat and over-indulge... Why can't we care about our brothers and sisters in Africa as much as we care about our pet parakeet?
I went to see Chris Rock tonight. He had a show in San Juan and was absolutely brilliant. He said something that really hit home for me. "How is it that when you see a homeless guy on the street with a puppy you feel more upset about the puppy than the homeless guy? You say: Aww, poor puppy. I hope it has food tonight. Someone should take the puppy away from him and feed it. Maybe I'll wait 'til the guy falls asleep." It could be a bit extreme, but we all do it. We all cross the street and avoid eye contact with a homeless person. But WHY? Are they really going to attack you and steal your purse? OR are we just so ashamed that we don't care to smile at them or buy them a slice of pizza and we're so consumed with ourselves that we choose to avoid them and pretend they don't exist in order to not be confronted by this reality: We're emotionally numb. If it doesn't affect us directly, we don't care. We're numb to the millions of people displaced by the genocide in Darfur. We're numb to the orphans around the world that have no warm food in their stomachs tonight. We're numb to the sick and malnourished, the homeless and the widow... but we jump at any opportunity to take advantage of a good sale at the mall.
Now I just sound like I'm complaining a lot, maybe I'm bitter. But I'm tired of feeling this way. I'm tired of being part of the western world that doesn't care. I'm tired of waking up in the morning to the sound of the air conditioner, instead of the Sudanese kids playing outside my window.
Thanks for reading this. I'll try to fall asleep now.
(written June 30, 2008 @ 3:22 AM)
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