Peace Corps- Ok, so the last blog I think I wrote was a few days after my interview and nomination. I guess a lot has happened since then, but the steps have been so spread out, it doesn't really feel like it. I received some medical forms in an official package, I want to say less than a week after my interview. It took me a few days to figure out where I was going to get my dental and medical evaluations done, seeing as how I have no dentist or doctor in Baltimore. Luckily, though, there is a dentist office in my apartment building. So I called to see if they were taking new patients. They were. Score. Made an appointment for a week or two later and I told the receptionist what exactly I needed done and why; X-rays and dental chart fill-out based on the dentist's assessment of my teeth. Please... This must have been some time in mid-November. I actually ended up seeing this dentist twice because the first time around, he remarked that he didn't know how extensive this evaluation was and he had another appointment so I could only get the x-rays done that day. I hate when they do that. Good thing I didn't actually have to take anything more than an elevator and a few steps to get there because I would have been less than happy. I went back for the assessment and teeth cleaning. Submitted the paperwork and got dentally cleared really quickly.
Medical was not so fun. The good thing was I found out there are actual physicians that work in our campus' Student Health and Wellness office so at least it was convenient. For the medical evaluation, it was mostly just annoying paperwork and medical history documents but I also had to have a regular check-up, a blood test, a urinalysis and all women are required to get pap smears. First one. Ouch. A few weeks later, everything came back normal and I submitted the results along with the dental evaluation. Peace Corps sent me a letter in the mail some time during Xmas break saying a few things on my medical chart were missing but they were things that I either a) stupidly forgot to put a check mark next to... or b) filled out but forgot to fax, or they got lost on PC's behalf. One document that was missing required the doctor's signature so I had to wait until the health office re-opened at the beginning of January to go back and get the signature. I re-faxed everything... or so I thought... and waited. I never received any kind of confirmation that my documents were received but I figured that my file was just being put on the backburner because my nomination date still wasn't for another 8 months. Meanwhile, I started an intensive 3-week French course that compressed a whole semester of beginner French into 30 hours of class time and probably 120 hours of homework. It was necessary to keep up my end of the bargain with Peace Corps that I would learn some French if I wanted to take part in my nominated program.
Finally in March, I emailed someone in the Medical Office HQ and asked if the needed something else from me because I hadn't heard from them in 2.5 months. Turns out they never received my fax of updated medical documents. HA! I later realized it was because I never included a "9" before the fax number, which is necessary when sending faxes long distances. I re-re-faxed and about a week later, I was medically cleared. One giant leap for mankind.
Which brings me to today. My online Toolkit, which is basically Peace Corps' system of letting its applicants know where in the process they are and what is need from them next, is a little ambiguous. Here is what it says: "Your file is currently under consideration. Please review the information on this page to determine whether Peace Corps is awaiting any information from you." Well the information on the page doesn't actually tell me anything other than what is already complete so I called the Placement Office for my nomination field to get more answers. The Placement Officer who answered my call told me he would review my file and get right back to me. A few hours later, he responded by email:
"Our database shows that you have been nominated to a Community/Youth Development program that is estimated to depart sometime in mid to late September. The review of your file here in the Placement Office will begin within 6-8 weeks of when you become medically qualified."
It's now almost mid-April and I'm realizing that my September nomination program is not looking so likely afterall. It sounds like they're going to start reviewing my file some time around my graduation. This can be a problem. I'll say why in a second. Here's more...
"Then, your Placement Specialist will perform a final evaluation of your technical skills and suitability for service. Upon completion of this assessment, your Placement Specialist may contact you with some follow-up questions regarding the information in your application."
Yeah. Contacting me after graduation might be a little difficult. And the kicker...
"Given this, please keep in mind that an invitation is never guaranteed. Applicants should make no plans to go overseas until an invitation has been issued and an email has been sent to the headquarters staff to accept the invitation."
Well. That's just too damn bad because I'm backpacking Europe for 3 months this summer and I won't be back stateside until August 25. That might make getting a visa and other documents in order for a 2 year trip that leaves a in a few week, a little difficult. This doesn't really bother me that much though. It's funny to read some other applicants' blogs on Peace Corps Journals and see how stressed out they are about the application process. Maybe I don't care so much because I'm too busy with school/excited about my Eurotrip to worry about placement right now. I've also been thinking a lot lately about the possibility of not being able to participate in my September nomination program and there are only 2 things that suck about it. 1) I haven't really imagined myself anywhere other than French West Africa. But I can quickly get over that. And 2) I specifically started learning French and taking French classes at school as part of my agreement with Peace Corps that my nomination was contingent upon gaining at least a year of French. Oh well to that too. A little French never hurt anybody. And it's a super easy A. So, basically I have zero problem with asking for a new assignment if I am actually invited to my nominated program. It will also give me more time to be in LA for a little while and volunteer somewhere locally as a way to make my candidacy for a new program stronger. I also just miss LA.
So that's my 6-month Peace Corps application status wrap-up in a nutshell. Stay tuned for more updates.
