Hurry up and wait

Fast forward to May 2012, I have 104 hours of ESL English instruction and my status is reactivated. June 11th, 2012, I am robbed at gunpoint at the bank that I work at. The next day, June 12th, I receive an email stating that I am officially nominated for a June 2013 departure to serve as an English teacher in Central/South America. I am also encouraged to get 30 hours of youth development and to be patient in the next steps. June, July, and August were agonizingly slow. If I was leaving in April, we had to get started! The Peace Corps application process has an awesome built in lesson about patience. I was stressed out to the max... I used my brain during the day, but at night it still ran like a plugged in microwave.. using energy to power the clock. But I couldn't do anything until August 2012 when the next application system is released. IN the meanwhile, I work on my TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) certification. August comes, I fill out the new health questionnaire. Nothing major.. only minor seasonal allergies.

 

 

I'm still looking for ways to get plugged into 30 hrs of youth develop experience, but nothing seems to be popping up. I do get some leads to volunteer at the YMCA, but after two months of not hearing anything or receiving answers my left messages, I figure that's shot down.

 

 

Because I was nominated practically a year before my departure date (was nominated in June to leave the next June 2013) my medical papers and any contact from a placement officer would not come until I got a lot closer to my departure date of June 2013. Late October I was "medically pre-qualified" which pretty much means all the basic info about my medical history (no problems/concerns) was not of caution to the PC. I still have to do the doctor stuff once I am officially invited, but that is to come later. Early December I was contacted by a placement officer that requested updated resumes and skill sheets I did all of that. A second placement officer contacted me mid December asking some questions like "Have you told your family? What do they think?" and also asked if I had any reservations about living without electricity (no), running water (maybe), or specific climates (COLD PLEASE!).

 

... to be continued