The Invitation Process

As a senior at Boston University I spent most of my final year fretting over what I ought to do after graduation. At first I had intended on heading straight into law school, but I reconsidered and decided that I should take a year off to gain additional work experience. I then began the frustrating and seemingly never-ending task of identifying and applying to potential jobs; nothing intriguing came my way. So around February, I began to think about Peace Corps again. I had previously decided against it thinking that 27 months was just too long of a commitment but the more I thought about it, the better it sounded and ultimately, I applied in March. After slogging through the lengthy application and enduring a two-hour interview, my recruiter informed me in May of my nomination to serve as a Health Extension volunteer in Africa in September. Graduation rapidly approached, I shed a few tears and moved back to San Diego to mooch off of my mother while I went through the medical clearance process. I've been told by numerous people that I ought to write a book about my experiences gaining medical clearance; perhaps, some day I will, but the public domain does not seem the adequate outlet for that news, so those of you who are curious will just have to wait until later publication! I can tell you though, that it took me almost five months to gain medical clearance. The entire process truly tested my patience and my dedication to serve as a volunteer. There were numerous times when I felt like giving up and I send my heartfelt thanks out to all those who helped me through that process with their encouraging words. In late September, as I was leaving work, my mother called me to tell me that there was a message on the phone from Peace Corps -- I was leaving in November! I sat in the parking lot outside my work trying to digest the news; I was trying not to panic. Owing to the fiasco of gaining medical clearance, my Placement Officer had informed me in August that I would not be leaving until January 2007 at the earliest. Furthermore, at the time, I was not aware that I had been medically cleared as I had just faxed out the latest requests to the Office of Medical Services a few days prior and was still awaiting a reply. Thus, the phone call came as a complete shock. I was preparing for a 2007 departure. I was looking forward to spending one more holiday season with my family. I had just bought health insurance lasting through March. I was quite enjoying the French course I was taking at night. And most importantly, I had a mental schedule of everything I needed to accomplish before my departure and I didn’t know if I could get it all done without those two additional months. I didn't know whether I should accept the placement or convince PC that I needed a later one. So at first, I was panicked. But then, a few days later, my invitation packet arrived in the mail and everything became clearer. There was no questioning, no choice. I read the word ‘Namibia’ and I knew. Without much knowledge of the country or my placement, I fell in love with it. From then on, there was no possibility of rejection. I’ve had about five weeks to prepare; many volunteers have two or more months to do so. Thus, the past few weeks have been all-the-more overwhelming. I’ve spent my days rushing through the pages and pages of checklists I’ve written, completing countless tasks. Although I certainly could have used more time to prepare, I am excited and anxious to begin my tour of service. I leave on November 5 for a few days of training (called Staging) D.C. before heading out as a member of Nam 26 (the 26th group of PC Volunteers to serve in Namibia). I can hardly wait!