The Breakdown

I've written my "pre-story" of my Peace Corps journey, but I wanted to present it in a "timeline format" for those who search through blogs for this type of thing.

December 12th, 2010: Get a username and password for Peace Corps application, but never look at it or give it any notice, really.

April 2011: Reset password from December because I have since forgotten it.

May 22nd, 2011: Sit down, look at the application, and say "what the heck, here goes!"

July 1st, 2011: Submit Peace Corps application. Available date: April, 2012

August 30th, 2011: Contacted by a recruiter. Was told I wouldn't be further contacted until mid-October due to a "large number of incoming applications"

Mid-September, 2011: Receive background paperwork and fingerprint charts. Complete and mail back.

October 20th, 2011: Interview with recruiter. Was encouraged to get experience in English instruction before we could proceed in the process.

Late October, 2011: Start volunteering teaching ESL. Goal: 30hours.

December 12th, 2011: Was informed I was still not competitive enough and that I should work on gaining more teaching experience.

February, 2012: Had 30 hours of English instruction but wasn't competitive for my preferred region (Central/South America)

Late February, 2012: Extend my start date to April, 2013 due to job, family, and friends-related issues. Application withdrawn (deactivated for the time being)

April, 2012: Sent in notice of 60 hours of ESL English instruction

May, 2012: Sent in notice of 106 hours of English instruction. Application reactivated.

May 22nd, 2012: Update referenced, since it's been a year since I've originally submitted them!

May 30th, 2012: Receive an email from recruiter stating, "I anticipate programs opening up in the next several months that you qualify for and are quite competitive."

June 12th 2012- Receive a nomination for Central/South America for June 2013 for English instruction. WOOOOOO Am also advised to hold on until August for any more progress until the new application/medical portal becomes available. Encouraged to gain experience in Youth Development.

July 30th, 2012: Invited to complete new medical portal questionnaires, etc.

October 19th, 2012: Preclearance

Mid-November, 2012: Asked to update resume

December 12th, 2012: Started a new job at the YMCA doing youth development. Send in an updated updated resume.

December 31st, 2012: Phone interview with another placement officer, asking questions about regional preferences, getting back to my motivation for serving, etc.

January 4th, 2013: Receive official invitation to begin serving June 2013 in PERU in the Youth Development sector

The rest, as they say is history. (And also continued in this blog so add me and check back often for updates!)


Time from starting application account to invitation: 25 months
Time from nomination to invitation: 7 months

Note that my start to finish time was significantly longer than normal due to my pushing back my start date an entire year pretty much.  I have heard that a normal time for this is 9-12 months, but that is all dependent on sector availability, personal skills and experience, and willingness for flexibility. While you may see timelines that resemble this latter breakdown, it is very important to realize that each person's journey is bound to be different. My advice: sit back, hold on, and be patient.

Have any questions? Leave a comment below or contact me by the information on the sidebar.

I'm in the process of finishing up some of my medical stuff (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET IT BE TRUE) so hold tight to new updates within the next week or so!

Con amor, paciencia, y verdad,
Cheyenne

I GOT SHOT!

... in the arm... with a needle... for a polio booster.

Needless to say I survived. It's been a complex couple of weeks, tracking down old shot records, scanning proof of new shot records, etc.

Because I work for a hospital, I was required to have a urinalysis (peed in a cup) that showed titer (proof) that I was immune to MMR (measles/mumps/rubella), and Varicella (chickenpox). It also showed that I needed to complete my Hep B series (yayyyy.... not.) Something good that came out of this was all of this was paid for by the hospital because it was mandatory for my position (YAYYYYYY).  Part of the "free stuff" was a TB test, a Tdap, flu shot, and the Hep B. This saved about $300 on my part.

Next week, I have an appointment with my doctor for all of the physical stuff (pap smear/general physical) plus lab work (another urinalysis, more titers drawn for other stuff, complete blood count, etc.)

What I am working on in the meantime is still trying to track down a place I can get my yellow fever vacc without having to pay a clinical consultation fee. PC only covers $150 and quotes around here are over $225. I might have to travel to a bigger city like Grand Rapids to find a travel clinic that is more leiniant on their requirements like this.

Sorry this post wasn't super exciting... but it's all business. Going through this experience now, I am thankful for other bloggers who have written their own experience down; it helps me anticipate things easier.

Hasta la proxima, mis quieridos amigos!

If you're happy and you know it...

Things that make me happy:
1. When you wake up at 3am and you don't have to be awake until 8am so you go back to sleep.
2. Jeans and a tshirt
3. Red beans and rice (blue runner style)

Things that don't make me happy:
1. Peace Corps medical process
2. Peace Corps medical process.
3. Peace Corps medical process


They say the medical process is worse than the application process.  Well we all know how the latter went.. so... yeah, no celebrations over here.  I can get it done, it's just a mind-filling event. At night, I feel like the hampster in my head didn't get the memo that there's no more food and won't stop running the wheel. You can see smoke flowing off that thing! Lots of loose ends to get untangled and figure out where things go.  I have to find this immunization, that record, etc. etc. To make matters more tedious, I don't have my records. Washed away in Katrina perhaps? I'm starting from scratch almost, but luckily, my job at the hospital mandates me to have a few of these anyway, so woohoo! free stuff. I also have health insurance that just kicked in, so I'm able to get some of it at a lower rate. I have to coordinate things on my days off during the week, which are few and far between. I've checked a few boxes off the list today, although still having no luck finding a clinic that will give me a Yellow Fever vacc without the consultation. The problem here is that the total cost ends up being $100 to $200 over what PC reimburses me for.  Just another hiccup. But for now, I'm kicking that hampster out.
 
Last thing...4 months from today! And tomorrow, I can say "In 3 and a half months...." Wow. Super fantastic. Shout out goes to one of my best friends Kellie today. She recently left to serve as a missionary in Buenos Aires, Argentina for 18 months. I remember getting excited with her as the days counted down to departure and the craziness of "Wow, I get to do this amazing thing!" I'll be making my way down there to South America soon, girl. I love you.

Ultimate last thing... In order to sharpen my Spanish skills before June, I'm going to do a few posts in Spanish (with English translation for my non-Spanish speaking friends). Now I have to google the keyboard shortcuts for the accented vowels and such.

Hasta la proxima! (Until the next time)

Cheyenne

it rhymes with shamu

January 5th, 2013: I receive an email from my placement officer with the title: We are pleased to invite you....” WHOA. I brace myself. Whatever is in this email will guide me for the next 27 months of my life. My heart wants a Spanish-speaking country, but my head knows anywhere would be a blessing of an opportunity. I had to take whatever was in there.

PERU for YOUTH DEVELOPMENT!! The most amazing giddiness swept over me. I suddenly became grateful for this whole year and a half process and for the personal journey I had from beginning to end (and more to come). Sometimes, we have to give up what we want (or we think we want) in order to be humble about what we have (and what will come). Pretty much, I was beside myself for Peru. It's actually the country I had wanted to choose if I could. I had dreams about it a week before selection and the country just kept popping up in my life here and there. AHHHHHHHH.

So next step... passport/visa paperwork, aspiration statement, and updated resume. It's GO TIME BABY!

 

.... This is the last of the past updates.  Onward, it will be current updates. Thanks for following :-)

people, places and things

In November 2012, I moved 2.5 hours north and moved in with family in order to save money and so I could develop my relationship with my family. I also took on two jobs. One is working full time at Mercy Hospital, and the other is a part timeposition with the YMCA serving on staff as their Teen Impact Facilitator. The hospital offers full time benefits (which will come in handy once I start my PC medical requirements). The Y offers youth development experience (and a free Y membership!). These two jobs will help me develop skills needed in the PC (not to mention become very competitive for final placement).

As far as where I'd like to serve, I know that anyplace I am invited would offer me a life-changing opportunity, but I do have a special place in my heart for Central/South America, where I am originally nominated for. It sounds selfish for me to say that I don't want to work with Youth Development in Africa or Secondary Education in Asia, but so much of my heart is already invested in the Central/South America region that it just fits me.

I did some soul searching, realizing a couple of things. I had to remember my motivation: loving people. I got away from my foundation of wanting to “be with the people and help the people.” It seemed selfish to forfeit an opportunity with the Peace Corps simply because I wanted to remain with what was comfortable. Isn't that what challenges in life are all about? I could always pursue Spanish-related opportunities later in life, but I would always look back on this time and regret not serving.

... to be continued

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

The air literally smelled like bananas

I remember filling out my application, really having to think deep down inside why I wanted to do this.... I learned a lot about myself in the experience. In the essays I had to write, I had to point out things in my life I had accomplished. In an essay entitled "The air literally smelled like bananas," I recapped my study abroad experience and how I was able to overcome adversity of a new culture. I was starting to get excited... that this could really become a reality. It was August, 2011 before I heard anything back. I received and sent back completed fingerprint cards and background check information. October, 2011 came and I was scheduled an interview with a recruiter. I even got out my iron (had to dust it off) to iron my blouse for the interview.. I was so nervous! I'm great at talking, but not always so great and making sense when I speak. Factor in major nerves, I'm surprised my recruiter didn't need a translator.

At the end, it was noted that I really needed to gain some experience in teaching. I was told that English teaching positions in Central/South America (my preferred region) were amongst the most popular, therefore volunteers had to be competitive in their skills to be chosen. I needed on the field training but how was I supposed to do that when I had two jobs? What my recruiter said next would become a newly adopted life motto, “If it matters to you, you will find a way.” Harsh. Reality gut check. By the way, be careful what you complain about... because the next day, I found an “impossibly difficult and non-existent in my schedule” position teaching ESL English. And it worked with my schedules... bonus.

I worked on my volunteer hours, but I was getting ancy about my progression. I wouldn't get the 30 hours by December, 2011 (only 3 weeks from my recruiter requesting this), my lease was ending... and I couldn't get a full time job if I was leaving in a few months for PC. I decided to push back my start date to April 2013. At this point, my application is put on pending mode until I am have acquired 30 hours of ESL instruction and am ready to continue in the application progress.

 

... to be continued