Friday, May 31, 2013

My Personality Clash and an Update

I’m very much a type A personality and I’m always making lists and planning. I always reflect on my thoughts, dreams, and actions, and wonder if what I said/did was the right thing to say/do in that moment. I’m also adventurous. Perhaps this is more related to my current stage of life; however I have been this way since I was a kid. In addition, I strive to be more relaxed and go with the flow. So my type A personality clashes with my desire to have a type B personality which causes me all kinds of inner conflict with joining the Peace Corps. Don’t get me wrong, I am 100% committed to the Peace Corps and can’t imagine anything else I’d rather be doing. It is just so hard to plan! Since the Peace Corps has to send an invitation at least four months prior to departure, I only feel confident in planning things four months out. My mom got tickets for us to see Wicked in September, and I was worried for a day or so that I would get an invite and wouldn’t be able to use that ticket. Silly I know but these are the kinds of thoughts I have among others.

Some great news that I received last week was that I have been legally cleared! I turned in a questionnaire almost six weeks ago, emailed legal placement about 3 weeks ago, and received clearance about one week ago! My application has been moved to the health placement desk which was a pleasant surprise! My original nomination included no information about the region, sector, or date in which I was nominated. At the time I was contemplating whether I was ready for the Peace Corps and did not follow up with my recruiter about this. So then during the pre-medical review, I was told that files were reviewed based on nearest departure dates. I was worried that I didn’t have a relative departure date and that my application would fall through the cracks. I emailed placement my updated resume including my social work experience in a healthcare facility. They must have received the resume and moved me to the health desk because I didn’t have that experience one year ago when I submitted my application!

I was also trying to contact my recruiter about my nominated departure date. After playing phone tag for about a week and a half, she left a message stating that I was nominated for September 2013! Well, September spots are filled and it sounds like many people have already received invites for October so I’m now hoping to get an invite for January. I’m really hoping to get an invite to South Africa doing HIV/AIDS awareness and outreach. But as I’ve said before, I would be absolutely thrilled to serve anywhere in any sector in the place where my skills are best matched.

So that’s where I am now, waiting for contact from health placement. Due my excessive stalking of the future Peace Corps volunteer Facebook page, people tend to get invitations on Friday so I check my email even more than usual on that day. I’m going to a PC sendoff party tomorrow which I’m very excited for. I think it will be a wonderful opportunity for me as well as my parents to learn more about the Peace Corps.

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