Going to Cambodia people!

That's right! I will be leaving for staging July 22 and then off the Cambodia July 25 to be an English Teacher and Youth Development Volunteer!

As I opened my invitation and read through the Assignment book and the Welcome Handbook; I literally almost had a panic attack. I had to stop reading and sleep on it. I was overwhelmed, excited, nervous, doubtful that I could handle such an assignment, and flat out scared. When I woke up this morning I re-read everything, got a lot of information from volunteers currently serving in Cambodia, and then sent my e-mail accepting my invitation to serve! After reading and hearing that other people are actually surviving while serving in Cambodia I knew that I too could handle this assignment!

The people that I have been speaking with that are currently serving have been extremely helpful and am so thankful for that. I recommend that if you have been invited you find a way to reach out the the volunteers serving or past volunteers from your Country. I found a Facebook group and all and more of my questions have answered by current volunteers in Cambodia.

Now it is time to figure out all this Visa and Passport stuff, aspiration statement and resume, and spend time with family and friends before departing for Cambodia. I couldn't be happier right now.

It seems like with lots of determination and hard work, dreams do actually come true.

INVITATION!

So after hearing that I probably wouldn't recieve an invitation for a year, my placement officer calls me today to tell me that I am being invited to serve in Asia leaving in July!!!! I was speechless on the phone. It was so unexpected and just AWESOME! He wouldn't tell me the exact location but told me I would be recieving my formal invitation, the BBP, by the end of the week! I looked at the timeline and there are two Countries in Asia that are leaving in July, Phillipines and Cambodia. Anyone else already have an invitation for either of those countries?

My friends and family have been so supportive of me and were also so happy to hear that it is ACTUALLY happening.

Me, I am all the sudden feeling very overwhelmed, but I know this is something I want to do and am looking forward to sitting down with the BBP when I recieve it to give it a lot of thought before sending back my confirmation. I know I will ultimately take it, but this is a big decision and one that definitely should not be taken lightly.

Well that is all for now, but I will update when I get my BBP with the program details :)

WAAHOOO!

Darn budget cuts....

So I finally got in touch with my Placement Supervisor on Monday and the news was not so good. Basically he told me that there were huge budget cuts throughout the Community and Youth Development projects, obviously the projects I'm qualified for. He told me that they couldn't even give me another tentative leave date or location because of the budget cuts. We spoke on the phone for some time and seemed to be impressed with me and my experience, but made it VERY clear that I probably wouldn't be leaving for 6 months to a YEAR! :( His final question was "Do you still want to be considered if you won't be placed for 6months to a year?" I obviously said yes, this is something I have wanted to do for a long time and have my heart set on doing. He told me that he would keep me updated on the situation and if he heard anything he would give me a call.

I am a little disheartened about this, I really hope this gets resolved soon. It would be nice to know a date and location at least, even if it was a year away!

Anyone else going through this??

Ohh the 3am giggles...

I am currently working a rare overnight at my job as a residential counselor and am browsing through Peace Corps Applicants Blogs and literally LOL'd when I read about RAS or "Restless Applicant Syndrome". I realized that is not that funny, but it is almost 4 am and I am running on minimal sleep. I am pretty sure the person I am working with now thinks that I am crazy, but that's beyond my point. I can relate with RAS soooo well! My friends an family must be SO annoyed with me as all I talk about is the Peace Corps and how anxious/frustrated/impatient/EXCITED I am to hear from the Placement Officer if/when I get invited! I swear I am going crazy waiting! Now at  least I have an excuse for annoying my friends and family!

Thanks for the laughs and entertainment!

Patience....

So it has been a while since I have posted, mostly because I have been so busy! But I was officially medically cleared back in December, which was so exciting! I was nominated for a position in Youth Development for March 2011 in Eastern Europe and I was really hoping that that would work out, although I do know that the nomination is likely to change! Unfortunately, I did not get an invitation for March 2011, and STILL have not gotten an invitation. I sent an e-mail to the person who is reviewing my application in the placement office back in March, and got no response. I do not want to seem pushy or impatient, but I am! haha. Did anyone else go through this as well? I know that it is common for your nomination to change, and that waiting for an invitation can be lengthy as well, but is it normal for the Peace Corps to not keep you up to date on whats going on with your application? I guess I would feel more at ease knowing that my application was at least being looked at and not just lost under a stack of papers somewhere.

If someone could also give me some idea on how you find out about your invitation. Does someone from the placement office call you first? Or do you just get it in the mail? It might be different for everyone, but I am just curious. Any insight would be great!

Completing the medical forms!

FINALLY I have all of my medical forms completed and all I have to do is print one thing and then I will be mailing the forms TOMORROW! I know how important these forms are but man am I glad that this process is completed! I feel like a weight has lifted off of my shoulders and things are out of my hands for once. I did what I had to, and more, and now it is out of my hands, whats meant to be will, well...be.

I know deep inside that Peace Corps is something that I was put on this earth to do. My Mom was the most selfless person I know, and I think she would be so proud of what I am doing. Please, Mom, I want to spread your selflessness to others so that others will learn from the lesson you already taught me. Love you. Miss you.

"In the midst of our lives we must find the magic that makes our souls soar."

Why? Application Process-Medical Review

This whole process has been something unexpected but incredible! I worked on the application for quite some time making sure that everything was perfect. When the application was complete I thought, "Oh, my, gosh! It's finally done!" (even though I knew I was still very far from "done" with this process). After the application was submitted I did feel a moment of relief, like some how it was out of my hands. When I got the second packet of work to complete I began to get more nervous, but also more excited as I realized that my dream is becomming more realistic. Again, when I completed that part I felt that relief again. During this process I was put in touch with a recruiter who was a wonderful and a great tool to help with all the questions that I had. This is also the person I interviewed with.

I was extremely nervous for the interview. I was unsure of what to expect and wanted to make sure I said how I truely felt about serving as a Peace Corps volunteer. To my relief, the interview felt more like a conversation and it was an exremely comfortable environment. I was shocked when my recruiter gave my a nomination right at the end of the interview and re were so many emotions going through me at this time. Is this real life? I was so happy their were tears in my eyes. Knowing that my hard work was paying off and that I was another step closer to my dream becomming my reality was/is priceless. I wouldn't trade anything in the world to replace that feeling. Telling my Step Mom brought me to tears again. She has been so supportive of my through this process and hearing her excitement made it even more believable.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting for the medical packet to come in the mail. Waiting to know what I have to do next and not having control over it was difficult but that feeling of excitement I have overpowered any anxiety I have. Knowing that I am one step closer to helping people and hopefully starting this new part of my life, my adventure. When I finally got the update on my Toolkit that they sent the packet I started dsetting up my appointments and getting my medical documents together. When I finally got the packet I was able to read it over right away to get a better idea of what was to be expected of me and what I needed to do in a short amount of time. I had just recently had a dental exam and x-rays so I was able to get the dental portion out of the way right away. The physical was a bit more complicated. My doctor seemed to be really overwhelmed, more than I was surprisingly, with the amount of tests and labs I needed to accomplish and was at first almost annoyed she had to do it, but eventually calmed down and was more open-minded to the process. I am still waiting on the results and will be going back to the doctor on Tuesday to HOPEFULLY have everything squared away with the medical review!

I think I will stop here and update again on Tuesday after my appointment!