Application to Invite

Since I'm now calm and collected with my thoughts, I decided it's the time to start my blog.  From September 2009 - until a couple weeks ago when I received my invite to Lesotho, Africa, I've been all too worried that I may not be selected to carry out my dream of serving with the Peace Corps. All the waiting and wondering during the application process is quite stressful and I read blogs of other applicants to try to determine where I could go and when I would receive my invite. I really didn't think I would end up in Southern Africa, but after reading so much about Lesotho, I'm just so excited PC invited me there. The staging date for Lesotho is May 31, 2011.

For this post, I'll concentrate on my timeline thus far...and for future posts, I'll write about all the exciting things I've learned about Lesotho. 

• September 2009 - Started Application
• October 2009 - Submitted Application
• December 2009 - Interview with University of Oregon recruiter and initially nominated
• January 2010 - Interview with Seattle recruiter. She told me that there weren't any openings for business volunteers and if I wanted to join PC I would need to take french to qualify for a business program in the future. She also had me fill out a Romantic Involvement Questionnaire about my relationship.
• January 2010 - February 2010 - Took a french class
• March 8, 2010 - Contacted by Seattle recruiter telling me an opening for business volunteer in Africa opened up, leaving Feb 2011 (no french required)
• March 2010 - Received Medical and Dental Kit. Found an awesome dentist that did free checkup and x-rays for future volunteers. Dental paperwork went well. Medical was more extreme since I needed over 5 vials of blood and several vaccinations. Also, since I had seen a free counselor in college when my grandpa died, I had to write several personal statements and contact the health clinic to verify that I was mentally sane and wouldn't kill myself if I became lonely in another country. Lots of faxes back and forth.
• April 2010 - Medical/Dental packet complete and sent to PC. 
• April 20, 2010 - Contacted for additional bloodwork (white blood count low), re-took test and count looked good. 
• May 14, 2010 - Cleared Dental
• August, 2010 - Cleared Medical
• October, 2010 - Legally Cleared
• December 20, 2010 - Told my slot was filled and would have to wait till May/June departure. I cried. A lot.
• January 3, 2011 - Placement interview. My placement specialist asked me about my relationship status and also asked if I was willing to serve ANYWHERE (even though I had expressed a preference for Burkina Faso, Africa). I said I was still in a relationship and would still serve ANYWHERE. She said she would still try to get me into a program in Africa. 
• January 4, 2011 - Sent off another Romanic Involvement essay
• January 12, 2011 - Received invitation to Lesotho, Africa (staging May 31).
• January 13, 2011 - Accepted invite
• January 23, 2011 - Sent aspiration statement and resume
• January 26, 2011 - Sent forms for no fee passport
• May 2, 2011 - Received staging email with details on the orientation in Philadelphia
• May 2, 2011 - SATO (gov travel agent) booked my flight from Eugene to Philadelphia