Out of office

It's been five days since I last heard from the Placement Office, and like any other applicant, I'm excited to know more details. I found out from another blog the office is out until Monday...but still other bloggers were getting invites, clearance, etc., so I decided to reach out.

I figured that even though my file didn't call for additional experience, I'd try to get some anyway. I emailed my former supervisor at the Crystal Lake Park District Nature Center who manages park system natural resources to see if he would like help in any of the areas that were listed to improve competitiveness in protected areas management. He responded back in just 20 minutes with a positive response, and we discussed possible activities I could do. He seemed most excited about me initiating a GIS program to manage resources in park lands, particularly by assigning floristic quality indexes...I don't really know much about plants, but he certainly does.

I really don't have much experience on this level of resource management, so I'm excited for this opportunity to become more well-rounded.

Excitedly, I emailed the placement assistant who has been in contact with me but instantly got that 'out of office' reply - happy to know it for sure, but I'm somewhat disappointed in myself, if that makes sense, for not being more patient to just wait and see what placement decides.

Horray, the weekend is over! Hello Office of Placement...

Ever since I began the application process, I looked forward to Monday. Because Saturday and Sunday usually meant no communication for Peace Corps (apparently that's not always true according to my medical update on Saturday).

So each Monday or any other weekday is exciting - the first thing I do is check my email to see if anything's been updated.

Today I was elated. A generic email from the Agriculture/Environmental desk today welcomed me to the Office of Placement! "We wish to congratulate you on receiving your medical clearance, and achieving one of the most important steps on your way to becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer." Specifics should arrive by mail within a week, but hey! I got through it without any problems! Hopefully sooner here than most other pieces of mail took to arrive in Alaska! I hope I get to know soon what I'm doing and where I'll be going. It'll be nice not to begin or end each explanation with "I hope..." or "hopefully."

But then I got an email from the Assessment and Placement Office saying my recruiter recommended I gain more experience in Protected Areas Management. Really? I had no idea. I'm 100% certain she never said I need more experience. I did the best I could with my response describing how I've still been volunteering for Denali National Park and will continue as a contractor soon, how I've sought out volunteer jobs in Chicagoland but they're all one-day events, and sent in an updated resume. This step was mildly discouraging because I thought all was well...

The Assessment and Placement Assistant emailed me right back thanking me for the update, and another email saying that I was

"quite right, no additional experience was called for in your file. However, I will make due note of what you have sent me below and add it to your application."

Ahhhh! Rollercoaster!!

Application status update - at 3 a.m.!

This morning, up way earlier than usual to get ready for my first professional hair cut in four years, I was checking all my usual things online. I was totally taken by surprise to have a Toolkit update - sent at 3 a.m. Eastern on a Saturday morning. Whoa!! My heart began to thump in anticipation... do they need more information? Did I not get a signature? Or is it... COMPLETE!! They have reached a decision and now I need to gallop out to the mailbox daily when the post officer comes by.

And now... to a wedding. My first as a guest. I remember when my recruiter asked in my interview about a time when I had to conform to the local customs out of sensitivity and necessity. Well, today would be a good example, because I'm wearing a dress and getting my hair done.

WHOOOO! Good or not, I've finally reached the end of the medical review!

First PC post

This is my first Peace Corps post, despite the fact I have been applying since June of 2010. The lack of communication and updates has finally driven me to write about it, maybe to see if anyone else went through the same thing.

So right before I left Alaska, I unceremoniously launched my completed medical and dental forms into the custody of the USPS (with tracking, obviously). What I shouldn't have paid extra for was Priority shipping. It started the journey on 1 September, and didn't reach Washington D.C. until 11 September. And then it did some pretty strange things. The package was redirected. My medical representative said that's normal, as all packages arriving to federal facility need to get through security clearance, and she would expect it to arrive within the week. That was the 13th and it's now the 20th.

So just now I tried emailing my medical representative, and got an immediate reply that she is "no longer with the Peace Corps Office of Medical Services," and supplied another email address. Fantastic. All those blogs I've read about these situations are actually coming true for me. So I called the office and left a message (seems a message box is the only option), and emailed the address my former representative sent me.

I'd really like to know what's going on.

EDIT: I got a reply from the person at the new email address saying they got both my phone message and email (...well, I was eager), and that again it takes awhile for packages to pass anthrax screening. It still seems way longer than normal, but she also said to contact them again if the status doesn't change by the end of the month.

10 days.