DRUMROLL PLEASE

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment I've been waiting for...

I will spending the next two years of my life is a South American, Colorado-sized country that has the Andes mountains, the jungle, the ocean, and a set of amazing islands. You may of heard of them: The Galapagos. Yes, people, I give you....

ECUADOR! (And the crowd goes wild!)

My first choice! Sustainable Ag, staging February 24-25 before I head to Ecuador to train until May 8, when I move to my final village and my service starts. I am a Peace Corps invitee!

And suddenly life has meaning again!

Guess who got a call from their placement officer today? I'm slated to leave in February, for Sustainable Agriculture and Animal Husbandry. Not sure what country yet. I was in Burlington Coat Factory with my mom, and when I saw that 202 area code I nearly screamed. I went outside to take it, and when I ran back in my mom was waiting anxiously and I yelled "I'm joining the Peace Corps!"

It's like standing at the edge of a cliff: exciting, refreshing, terrifying. Now I wait to get my invitation and see where I am going. I'm guessing El Salvador, but it could be Ecuador, or a lesser possibility, Paraguay. Wherever I go, there I shall be.

Strap on your seatbelts, boys and girls, we are now entering Purgatory

Oh my God, this waiting is killing me. I can't believe I might have another month of this. Please, God, let the invitation happen, and let it happen soon. I don't think I can take much more.

Do the boogie woogie dow chica dow

I'M MEDICALLY CLEARED!

One step at a time (da da da, da da da)

My blood tests finally came back and they are NORMAL! And being faxed to the Peace Corps right now. I will call later to make sure they went through, but oh baby, we are back in business!

One sigh of relief before I hold my breath again, waiting to be medically cleared. I am so close to my dreams. Please, please, let this happen for me.

PC Timeline so far

Rough Peace Corps Timeline:

Jan 20: Made decision to join
Jan 23(?): Began application
Feb 26: Turned in application
March 31: Submitted legal info
April 16: Interview, nomination, accepted nomination
April 30(?): received medical packet
July 16: Mail out medical packet
Aug 27: Found out I was medically deferred for 6 months, and additional info was needed. Deferral turned out to be six months from date it was discovered, which was in May, so it ends November 1.
Early/Mid September: Doctor's appointments and faxing additional info
Nov 1: Is a Saturday, so must wait until...
Nov 3: Blood drawn! If normal hold is over and we are back in business!

Dec 21: Must have invitation by this date for departure in Feb, if indeed I can be placed in my original nomination group. *holds breath*

Peace Corps Update

I'm dentally cleared, which is good but not thrilling. In 8 days I can get blood drawn, and if that is normal then my medical hold is over. I found out that I must be invited by December 21 to make my program, so I will definitely know by then, hopefully earlier. My resume is looking kick-ass, except for the fact that I was just fired from my job for no damn reason at all. I need to find a job that will hire me for about two months...looks like it's back to minimum wage for me.

And after that interlude, I think I'll go back to wallowing in my depression. Goodnight.

Nothing in life is certain; or, everything happens for a reason

So.

I received my Peace Corps letter in the mail today. It seems that my mild thyroiditis is cause to defer me for six months before they will even look at my medical paperwork, which means that I'll miss my original departure date. I'm going to get more blood work tomorrow and if that goes well I'm going to get my doctor to help me fight this, get them to change their minds or at the very least lessen it from six months to two or three months. However...

Even if that goes well, even if I get medically cleared, there is no guarantee that I will get in. I've been so sure that I would definitely get it, but right now they are facing a record number of applicants and huge budget cuts. Lots of people who are at the end of process, medically cleared and waiting for their invitations, are being dropped from the program for not having enough experience and leadership skills. The idea that after all of this work, seven months of hard work, I could not get in, is unimaginable. And I realized that I don't have a plan.

I have no plan other than the Peace Corps. If I don't get in, I'm lost, with a waitressing job and a college degree that means nothing in the real world. So I've decided that I'm going to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity in the area for more experience, and apply for grad school in the fall. My senior seminar teacher, who also teaches at Goucher, one of my top choice grad schools, said that she can see no reason why I wouldn't get into the program, especially with her backing. And I'll apply to a bunch of others as well. That way, if I don't get into the Peace Corps, I'll go into grad school next year (if I get into that!) So that's my plan. Write a portfolio, get some recs, and then apply.

If this happens, if I go to grad school and not the Peace corps, then I don't think I'll ever join the PC. I mean, maybe after grad school, but this is the perfect time in my life to do this. After grad school I'll hopefully have the experience to get a job I want, and I won't want to waste the connections I'll make by going away for two years. So it's seems to be now...or never.

Also, if I focus on the silver lining, then if I have to put off the PC, or don't get in at all, it will give me the ability to finish revising Dangerous People and find an agent. So maybe I'll get published sooner. So that's...something.

Everything happens for a reason. I have to believe this.

What's my reason? Where's the reason in all this?

Oh, the nerves

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

This is what my Peace Corps toolkit said this morning. At first I freaked out (Good or bad? Good or bad?) but then I saw that it still said "There are no placement holds on your account on this time." So I think that perhaps they need more information and the letter will detail what they need. But why not say that on the website? THEY ARE TRICKSY LIKE THAT.

I will be quietly freaking out until I get that damn letter in the mail.

Nearing the finish line, but I'm not there yet

Mailed out my medical packet today, after nearly 3.5 months of sitting on it. I couldn't believe how intensely nervous I was just dropping the envelope in the mailbox, but it's done. Now I wait.

This is me, being Awesome with a capital A

What's that, Sarah? After 2.5 years of thinking and planning, and a year of writing, you've finally finished the rough draft of Dangerous People? And with only one more signature, you'll be able to mail out your Peace Corps packet this week? And you're cutting all your hair off and will look absolutely bitchin'? And you're leaving Pittsburgh and your internship on Sunday, never to return? Can it be true?

Yes. All true, my friends, all true.

UNBELIEVABLE!

I'M NOMINATED FOR A PROGRAM! They sure do move fast.

Where: Central/South America
What: Agriculture Extension
When: Departing January/February 2008

Perfect. Exactly where/what/when I want. This is so exciting! I almost wish it wasn't such a long time until I leave. But I keep telling myself that I need that time in the fall with my family, and if I don't get it I'll regret it. So January it is!

Bwahaha!

Suddenly this random hope of mine is becoming a reality

My interview went fantastically! She showed up half an hour late and because of this I think she was eager to be friendly and open, and I nailed the questions. We talked for about an hour, and I am happy that I studied the questions beforehand, they were exactly what I thought they would be. I made sure to be extra enthusiastic and I know she made note of it. She said that I should get a call from the head recruiter in New York in a week or less with my nomination!

Right now, my top choices are:
Latin America/Carribean (aka Spanish speaking country)
Water Sanitation first choice, aka bringing clean water to a village, building wells and latrines, and teaching about sanitation and health
Agriculture second choice, creating sustainable crops and teaching about new ways to plant and harvest
(Both are exciting because I can work with my hands in a more structured environment than Community Development, my third choice.)
Leaving at the beginning of next year, probably early February.

This is really happening; I am really going to join the Peace Corps. Let's see what I get!

It's that time of the year again

I am very quietly freaking out inside, between all of the work and emotional stuff and graduation in less than two weeks, and OH YEAH, my interview on Wednesday. BIGGEST INTERVIEW OF MY LIFE. Freaking out, just a little bit.

I just want to grab onto the recruiter and plead, pleaaasssseeeeeee let me into the Peace Corps, I'll do great, I promisseeeeee! However, I think that might make the wrong impression.

Oh, and I'm writing this in class, and my laptop battery is so shot that it only lasts about twenty minutes. I have so much work to do I'm drowning in it. One huge paper down, two to go, two projects to go, one thirty page portfolio to go. Sigh.

I wish I had a shoulder to rest my head against. Comfortable. Uncomplicated. Hopeful.

What a way to run a business, spare me these unending trials!

I finally submitted my fingerprints, background check info, transcripts, and recommendation list to the Peace Corps. NOW they will finally call me for the oh-so-important interview. Once that is over I can finally respond with some measure of confidence when someone asks, "Where will you be going?" or "Is it certain that you'll be accepted?" Then I can get started on the new mountain of paperwork they will send me, as well as the overly-detailed, expensive medical check-ups.

I just want to keep a record of this whole process, as a point of reference. I'm curious as to how long everything will take. It's already been over two months since I started.

Some part of my brain still thinks I'm crazy. There are times I agree with it.

FOR THE WIN!

I APPLIED FOR THE PEACE CORPS! I DID IT I DID IT I DID IT!

I should hear from the recruiter in 3-4 weeks. AHHH!

And now to the most terrifying decision I've made...

If the job with my dad's friend falls through, I am going to join the Peace Corps.

I am simultaneously thrilled and excited and terrified and crazy. I said, so many times, that I would never do it. Two years! 27 months away from home! But now, after much research, meeting with the Pitt representative, realizing I can come home for Christmas, drooling over the amazing medical plan, fantasizing about what a jump it could give my career and life, and reading online blogs like crazy, it feels like the right thing to do. Honestly, the only thing to do.

It takes a long time for the application to go through, probably about nine months. I'm giving my dad one more month to find out about the job. If it's a no or a maybe (and I seriously doubt it will happen), I'm applying for the Peace Corps. Right now I'm joining Habitat for Humanity for some volunteer experience. If this happens, I'll move back home after I graduate and get a full time job (probably waitressing) and wait to leave around next January.

I would love to go to Latin America to do a Community Development program (which is one of the few programs I am qualified for and means I wouldn't be teaching kids English the whole time). But you don't get to choose where you go, and honestly, I'm game for anywhere. I'm more than game. Think about it: Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Fiji, Madagascar, Mongolia, anywhere! I would , could go anywhere.

And I'm not naive. I know how hard it will be. I know that it will be strange and difficult and achingly lonely and that at times I will break down and cry and want nothing more than to go home. I know that. I experienced it in Spain, when I was all alone, little girl without friends or a purpose. At least in the PC, I will have a purpose, a challenge. I will be doing something good, no, AMAZING with my life, giving two years to serve others in a faraway place. How many people can say that? I know myself, I know that I will cry and be sad and lonely and want to give up. But I also know that I won't give up, and that in the end, it will be wonderful. I will be changed irrevocably.

I am so excited; I kind of hope my dad's plan does fall through, so I can do this.

Peace Corps. Holy shit.

Step One: Breathe. Step Two: Keep doing it.

For anyone reading this blog from the beginning: Hello. I'm Sarah, and this entry isn't really dated January 2008, it's December 17 2008.

I'm a 22-year-old University of Pittsburgh grad (nonfiction writing and Spanish), a writer currently polishing the rough draft of a novel, and a huge nerd. But mostly, I'm a girl hungry for adventure and experience in this great big world.

I just found out yesterday that I will be going to Ecuador to serve for 27 months in the Peace Corps as an Agriculture volunteer. I know that as I was applying I searched high and low for any blogs that detailed the application process, that showed me what other people went through and how they were feeling along the way. So I'm pulling all of the entries from my Livejournal account that deal with the Peace Corps and posting them, dated from when they were originally posted, on my Peace Corps only journal.

My Peace Corps journey began last year, so that's when this blog will start. I hope that anyone out there who is thinking of joining, is applying, or has joined the Peace Corps will find interesting and fun stories within this journal. Oh, and family and friends too, of course. This is mainly for them.

If you want to leave a message, please do! I am always up for making new friends. If you are in Ecuador or are going to be, let me know. You never know where life may take you.

"Freedom lies in being bold" Robert Frost.

Let's get started!