Oh, hi there! I'm Gina and this is my first blog entry and hopefully I'll have many more to come about my journey as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
The good thing about waiting to hear from the Peace Corps is that there is hope that I will still go to Sub-Saharan Africa in October 2012, just like my nomination letter stated. At the same time, I fear that there may be a budget cut in my program and that I won't be able to serve until 2013. Even worse, I may not get to go at all for some horrific reason.
I began my Peace Corps Application in July 2011 and I turned it in September. Two weeks later, on September 29th, I had an interview with my recruiter. She asked questions like, "Would you be okay wearing a burka" or "Would you have any problems if you lived in a country where alcohol abuse is common." I answered "no" to both. She was ready to nominate me there on the spot for Africa and Eastern Europe for September, but I asked if I could be nominated to depart in October. At the time, I thought that I would like to spend as much time as possible with my family. On December 2nd, she called me proposing one of two positions as an English Primary Teacher Trainer in Africa or the Pacific Islands. I chose Sub-Saharan Africa because I really wanted to go there. About another two weeks later, I received a thick packet of medical and dental examination forms that I had to complete. I turned them in on Feb. 21, 2012 and on Feb. 24th, my toolkit read that the Peace Corps is reviewing my forms. That is where I am currently. I'm hoping to get my dental and medical evaluations cleared so that I can move on to the next process. I am dreaming of the day I rip open my blue invitation kit with my teeth!
I am truly grateful that I didn't know exactly how tedious this application process was when I first applied. I think that knowing that would have deterred me from applying all together. Anyway, I'm off to bed. Until next time...
