Applying for the Peace Corps: Part Two

Isn't it funny? The little things you seem to remember. I remember the night my placement officer called to tell me I had been nominated for the Peace Corps. It was a significant step in the process because I finally felt like I could begin telling my family and friends about my [tentative] post-graduation plans.

I was in my kitchen in the midst of making spaghetti a la carbonara (because I'm cool like that, it was actually a staple in my college diet). Now, anyone who's anyone knows that the final step in making carbonara, while not difficult, requires a lot of care and attention. After rendering the fat from the pancetta and cooking the noodles, you create a mixture of egg, cream, black pepper, and parmesan cheese. Noodles go into the fry pan and mixed with the rendered fat and the cooked pork. Finally, you add the egg/cheese mixture and stir the sh*t out of it. Ideally it will become a creamy cheesy mixture. If you f*cked up it will become scrambled eggs with noodles (which I can only assume is disgusting). So back to my story, noodles were cooked, fat was rendered, when--RING RING. No that's not quite right. I believe I had an Amy Winehouse ringtone. So she starting singing and even though I'm terrible at multitasking, I answered the phone. My placement officer Janice was on the other line, and started off with some small talk. Straining the noodles. Wiping the fog off of my glasses. 'So I just wanted to tell you that I've decided to nominate you and we can move on with the process. The pancetta pops and a piece of grease hits me on the hand, 'SH*T!' doesn't sound like a proper response to what she's saying so I ignore the pain. 'Given some of your past experiences, I've decided to place you as a health extension volunteer to work in either Central or South America.' Sigh, or maybe it was quick intake of breath. Its one of those sounds you make when you're excited, only to later ask 'What the hell was that sound?!' 'I thought you might be excited, I know that's where you were hoping to go!' Pouring the mixture into pan and stirring my heart out. Some just fell onto the floor, but doing two things at once is hard enough, I'll wipe it later. 'Now I know you were hoping to leave next summer, but this program will have you leaving next September.' Ten months from now, I can live with that. 'Do you have any questions?' I made a lot of carbonara, would you like some? 'Great well congratulations and you have my phone number!' At this point I was completely ignoring my delicious italian treat and running around my living room like a buffoon doing, what I can only imagine was, an incredibly awkward dance. I wanted to call someone, but of course nobody was answering their phones!

It was a good night. The next part is the hardest. The waiting.

Towards Christmas time I received a lovely, thick packet from the PC office with all kinds of medical/dental forms that I was to have filled out ASAP. Now, normally I would have all of Christmas break to get this done, but seeing as I was out of the country for most of January, I had a small, five day period in which I had to get my entire medical review done. For anyone who wants to know what the medical review is like, I would say: all-encompassing. I was poked in every orifice (that's actually not a joke, it was kind of gross). I got every vaccine scientists could think of. [I pride myself on being well-vaccinated. And no Michelle Bachman, the vaccines haven't made me mentally retarded] I had gallons of blood taken (okay that one is a joke, but it seemed like a lot!)

Good news: I'm healthy. Bad news: Insurance covered none of what I got done. Good news: I have parents who love me...and paid to make sure I'm healthy :)

After being cleared the waiting game continued. All spring. 'Ian where are you going in the Peace Corps?!' Still don't know. All summer. 'Ian where are you going in the Peace Corps?!' Still don't know. About mid-July I received a letter in the mail, but it wasn't the letter I was hoping for. Due to budget cuts, my program, set to leave in September, had been canceled. To say I was upset would be an understatement. I was also a little depressed having realized this was the basket in which I had placed all of my eggs. There was a possibility that I would get to leave with the next health extension team in February, but I would be competing against the people nominated to leave then, as well as the comrades I was to leave with in September. In order to stay competitive I would have to complete so many hours in different volunteer sectors and do some résumé polishing. It was going to be a lot of work, and I didn't really have the time. Luckily I had gotten a job at the Boys and Girls club for the summer and was able to acquire quite a bit of hours of 'health-teaching experience.'

Well, the work seemed to pay off, and at the end of my [depressing] summer, I received the invitation kit [and country name] I wanted so badly. Honduras.

So it's set. I'm leaving February 22nd to serve as a Health volunteer (working with HIV/AIDS) for 27 months! The process was long and tedious, and the waiting was HARD, but it has paid off. I am excited for the adventure that awaits and eager to get on the road. Plane. Eager to get on the plan.