nextPCVs - Peace Corps Blog

Cool, I was added to PC's blog for new volunteers http://nextpcvs.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/jennifer-cain-of-los-angeles-selected-for-health-assignment-in-fiji/

Jennifer Cain of Missoula Selected for Business Assignment in Lesotho

NAME: Jennifer Cain
AGE: 26
HOMETOWN: Missoula, Mont.
HIGH SCHOOL: Homestead High School (Cupertino, Calif.)
ALMA MATER: University of Montana, Class of 2007 (Business Administration)

COUNTRY OF SERVICE: Lesotho
ASSIGNMENT: Community Health and Economic Development
DEPARTURE DATE: May 2011

WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO BECOME A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER? My 11th grade history teacher spoke well of his experience as a Peace Corps volunteer and encouraged his students to explore similar opportunities. Ever since then, I dreamed of volunteering for the Peace Corps and continued to attend recruiting events until I had the education and skills necessary to become a volunteer.

OTHER PERSONAL INFO: Over the past 3 years, I’ve worked in marketing and graphic design for a civil engineering firm and a contract furniture company. I’m also an avid runner, mountain biker, and hiker. I have run in five half marathons and two marathons.

ABOUT THE PEACE CORPS:
In 2011, the Peace Corps celebrates 50 years of international service. More than 200,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers in 139 countries since President John F. Kennedy established the agency in 1961.

Through their service, volunteers increase awareness of America around the world and help our country gain an understanding of other cultures beyond our borders. Currently, 8,655 Peace Corps volunteers serve in 77 countries – the largest number of volunteers in 40 years.

Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment. Volunteers live and work with a community overseas to reach goals in education, health, business, agriculture, the environment, youth development and more.

Peace Corps volunteers spend their first three months of service in training, living with a host family and studying the local language and culture.

Volunteers receive many benefits, including transportation, a living stipend, medical care, graduate school opportunities, student loan deferment, $7,425 upon completion and much more. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens, at least 18-years old, and in good health. There is no upper age limit and no cost to participate. Apply online.

For more information and online applications, please visit www.peacecorps.gov.

Best Dentist in the World

So the Peace Corps is having me get another dental exam. Last year I got my dental exam and x-rays on May 6th and PC says that a PC applicants records need to be updated after a year. Since I leave May 31st, I'll have to get a couple new x-rays and a check-up for my records. I called the best dentist in the world, Dr. Jay Lamb, and asked if he could check out my teeth again for no charge. His assistant said "no problem" that he is glad the PC asked for another check-up since I had a couple problem areas. What a nice dentist. I'm really really hoping the problem areas haven't turned into cavities...especially since I chew excessive amounts of Big Red.

For my last free check-up, I sent my dentist and his assistant a thank you card. A thank you card was somewhat pathetic since he spent 30 minutes explaining my x-rays and telling me about his dental trips to developing countries. He also showed me a picture of him giving free check-ups to people in Central America..they were all sitting outside in plastic chairs while he pulled teeth and fixed them all up. What a good guy! This time, I'm thinking his generosity deserves a bigger thank you...maybe I'll send flowers to his staff or something.

PC 50th Party

Last night's 50th PC party in Eugene was quite interesting. There weren't really any chances for mingling at the rally or party because of the speeches and music, so I didn't meet anybody that had been to Lesotho or any invitees at all. Most of the RPCVs were from back in the day. It was funny because they all looked the same too....everybody in their typical Eugene REI attire.

Happy Anniversary Peace Corps

Tomorrow, March 1st will be the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps. It all began with John F. Kennedy inspiring volunteers to serve overseas to promote peace. Throughout the past 50 years, Peace Corps has had significant changes that you can read about on the PC website, www.peacecorps.gov. The history of this federal agency is very interesting and the reasons behind its establishment are more than you would think.

In Eugene there are two events going on. There is a rally at Broadway Square at noon and a party at 7pm. From the newspaper, PC website, and postcards, it seems like there will mostly be Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs). I'm sure there won't be too many invitees, but if there are, I'm super excited to talk to them. I'm also hoping to meet some RPCVs and hear about their stories. Richard will be coming with me, and lucky for him, he gets to hear even more about PC then I tell him already! Hopefully, we will see the RPCV that we saw present at the U of O over a year ago. I don't know her name, but her stories triggered me to start my PC application. Well, it was actually the fact that she went into her service in a relationship and was still with her partner at the meeting. I would like to talk to her or other volunteers that have had a long-term relationship while serving. I hope tomorrow will give me some good insight and I can't wait to be a part of the celebration.

Here is to 50 years of the Peace Corps! I thank the US for giving me the chance to serve in Lesotho.

More on Lesotho

The more I read about Lesotho, the more I get anxious to go. Although, I'm extremely excited about my adventure and I'm making sure to enjoy every day I have in the US before I depart May 31st. I'm lucky to have three months to spend time with the people I love and prepare for Lesotho!

I really don't know what my Peace Corps job will be like in Lesotho. I'm coming in as a business volunteer under the Community Health and Educational Development (CHED) program. Jobs can range from teaching computer and business skills, to helping people start businesses. Volunteers are also encouraged to promote HIV/AIDs awareness, which is something I'm highly interested in doing.

Addressing the issues of economic development and HIV/AIDs is ultra important in Lesotho because there is a high unemployment rate and around 30% HIV/AIDs infection rate. Almost half of Lesotho's economy is dependent on farming and animal husbandry. Their economy also consists of diamond mining, exporting water, and manufacturing. I've even read that there's a Levi's manufacturing facility in Lesotho. 

It's pretty tough to find information on Lesotho because it is so small and most guide books are on South Africa....but I'm still non-stop looking up as much as I can.

Some Research on Lesotho

Here's some information I've gathered from Lonely Planet, Peace Corps website, and various other sites.

Lesotho (pronouced Li-soo-too) is a small country within South Africa and is nicknamed 'kingdom in the sky'. Apparently, it's extremely mountainous which makes me happy because I'll be able to do some hiking. Pony trekking is quite popular there, too. I don't know if I'll be riding one of those poor little ponies. I'm sure they're much bigger than I'm imagining, but I'm a tall girl and I don't want to tip one over.  I'm sure I'll be cool with doing a lot of walking....I really hope I can get a mountain bike, but from what I've read on other blogs, you may appear well-off with a mtn bike. Peace Corps rarely allows volunteers to drive, so I won't be touching a steering wheel for over two years. I'll be quite the scary driver when I get back, but if I come back to Oregon I'll fit right in! If anybody has ever driven in Oregon you know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, more Lesotho facts.

• Lesotho's population is approximately 2,067,00 and the capitol, Maseru has a population of around 175,000. I will most likely be living in a rural village or in a "camptown". 
• The coldest part of the year is between May and September and temperatures can even drop below zero degrees. Lucky me, I get two winters! And everybody who knows me is laughing because I have some major circulation problems and am going to freeze my @$$ off! 
• Which brings me to another fact about Lesotho, wearing blankets. Apparently, Basotho (people of Lesotho) wear wool blankets to display style and status. I'll surely be rockin an awesome wool blanket! 
• It sounds like Basotho don't regularly eat meat because it is expensive and saved for special occasions. They mostly eat a cornmeal porridge with some vegetables.  Yumm!

I'll do some more studying and then report back. There are many serious facts about Lesotho, which I will most definitely touch on with future posts.

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