The Beginning

So, as many of you who know me understand and many who don't do not, I am not currently in the Orient. I am in the United States awaiting such an adventure, such an opportunity.

So, let's start from the very beginning:

2009

January

- I begin my application for the Peace Corps

June

- All of my recommendation providers complete their online recommendations for me (thanks, guys!)

July

- I am contacted by my recruiter stating that he would like to meet with me in person, if at all possible, to conduct an interview.
-I arrive at the LA Regional Recruiting Office and my interview begins. Before our conversation ceases, my recruiter states that he would like to nominate my for Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) in Eastern Europe (that part was my guess). The stipulation is that he would have to continually have to pull my file so that it is not tossed aside due to the economic condition of our country and the availability of programs.

August - January

- Severe doubt sets in about whether or not the Peace Corps is for me. I wonder why I should be teaching English to citizens of third-world countries. Am I impeding on deep-rooted cultures that should be left alone. What am I to accomplish?

2010

February

February 7th:
- I have an epiphany that these countries request help from the Peace Corps, not the other way around. I realize that not only are these projects real issues that need tending to but that I am ready to do what is needed

February 11th:
- I receive a call from my recruiter notifying me that he is officially nominating me for Water Sanitation Extension in Central/South America departing August 2010

March

I receive my medical packet.

March 7th - 21st:
- I complete a rigorous amount of medical and dental tests and procedure including the extraction of 8 viles of blood. Medical Packet is sent in.

March 31st:
- Medical packet is received by the Office of Medical Services (OMS)

April

April 7th:
-Dentally cleared!

May

May 27th:
-Medically cleared worldwide!

June

June 3rd:
- I follow up with my Placement Officer (PO) about some updated materials requested only to have that followed by, "What have you done to prepare yourself for the Peace Corps?" An invitation was now in the mail for "Water Sanitation/Health Extension" for Southeast Asia departing July 20th.


I am currently awaiting my invitation to come in the mail. I am thinking that it will arrive either tomorrow or Wednesday. My guess: Cambodia. Why? Because the Peace Corps Wiki says so, and it's pretty accurate.

So, now you are up-to-date. The only thing I have left to do aside from await the opportunity to call my PO and say, "WHY, YES! I WOULD LOVE TO SERVE IN THE ORIENT! It's only my dream to do so." is figure out whether or not I can return to the U.S. in December for my only brother's wedding. So, let's cross our fingers on that one.

"Yet half I seemed to recognize some trick
Of mischief happened to me, God knows when--
In a bad dream perhaps. Here ended, then,
Progress this way. When, in the very nick
Of giving up, one time more, came a click
As when a trap shut--you're inside the den!"

- Robert Browning

--I'm really going to the Orient...