Success!!!!

I don't know if emailing them did anything to improve my chances of progress, but I just got an email from my Placement and Assessment Officer - horray! She asked when a good time would be to call me, and I responded that I'm free any time. She wrote back immediately asking for my number, I sent it, and the next immediate response was: "Great. I will call you now." Cue crazy running-around-the housedness. Of course, my phone acted wonky and just gave her a busy signal. But all's well, she gave me her number and I called right away.

The conversation lasted about 20 minutes, and most of it was a discussion of my diet. After talking with other vegans and vegetarians, who have and have not served in Peace Corps, I think I've developed my own beliefs when in a PC situation. I'd really prefer being vegan or vegetarian - and it seems a lot of volunteers can do that based on where they live - but I basically said serving is more important to me than my diet. My supervisor at Alaska served in Senegal, and told me I'd have to be flexible enough to eat something that's been cooked in fish broth, and I know I can handle that. But my Placement Officer said I should probably try eating meat before I leave after explaining her own experience as a trainee. When she first arrived, she was offered meat and got pretty sick for several days since it was the first meat she had in 9 years.

So after that long conversation, she seemed reasonably satisfied. She asked me more questions that were similar to my nomination interview, like if my motivations have changed, how my family is coping, what are my reasons for joining, etc.

And then she said I'm a strong applicant, and she's definitely nominating me for service!

BUT

I have a choice.

The program I was originally nominated for is closed, and she said I wasn't as qualified for protected areas management as other areas...so...it's either:

1) Sub-Saharan Africa - Forestry, leaving in early February

2) Central/South America - Environmental Education, leaving in early February

She described both programs, and then I pretty much stumbled. I had to decide right then. I said both programs and both areas sounded perfect for me, but EE might be a little better fit than forestry, and the idea of Africa really intrigued me. So I asked if she could decide for me. She laughed and said that's often why they rarely give applicants a choice. True enough!

So I was invited. I'll get the package in 7-9 days!

I shifted through Peace Corps Wiki to see what countries are possibilities. It seems like the best I could do was narrow it down to three. These are the countries with forestry/environmental education, and the asterisks are for countries with departure dates in February:

C/SA:
Panama
El Salvador
*Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Guatemala
Belize
*Paraguay
Ecuador
Peru

Africa:
Benin
Senegal
Ghana
*Zambia
Cape Verde
Togo
*Malawi
Mali
Gambia
Tanzania
Cameroon
Niger
Guinea
Gambia
*Uganda

So if you consider early February to be 15th or sooner, it's going to be:
1. Paraguay
2. Uganda
3. Zambia

WHAT WILL IT BE? She mentioned my language skill is important, so could it be Paraguay? Unrelated or not, that's where she served. I have no idea now.

The last two weeks...

What has happened the last two weeks? Not much to me. I got Peace Corps' reimbursement check for my medical and dental costs (only $110 of over $2,000, but it helps). And today I finally broke down and emailed my assistant Assessment and Placement officer because over two weeks ago he said I could. He responded in minutes, saying my file is currently being evaluated by an Assessment and Placement Specialist...and based on my area of nomination, it's 'definitely possible' I might hear from her within two weeks. But if I don't, I can check back in again in early November.

I'm still in it 100% and excited to start, but my enthusiasm in waiting has left me. I'm frustrated seeing people get invitations for February and March, even if those are different programs from mine. It was draining babysitting email and my phone, and I'm not doing it anymore. I'd really just like to know for sure what's going on with my life.

In the mean time, I've jumped into selling my photos on Etsy. Check out Go Volcano Photography on Etsy if you're bored and want to browse, and even if you'd like to buy a print. They're priced well and hopefully the quality from my new pro photo lab will impress me whenever my prints arrive.

What's going on with my placement?

March departure dates. Plenty of them are being announced at peacecorpsjournals. And I am still waiting to hear about my January nomination. What's going on? Was I not competitive enough? Are protected areas management applicants moved along at a slower pace? Am I going somewhere else, at a later time? I'd love to know what's happening to me. How about an update tomorrow, Peace Corps? Please?

Where?

It's just going to be one of those 'I'm bored and anxious, so I'll do this elimination game that I've done before while I wait forever for a phone call or email.'

Protected Areas Management:
Guatemala
Fiji
Morocco
Mexico
Panama
Honduras
Vanuatu
Peru
Senegal
Gambia
Ecuador
Samoa
Uganda
Dominican Republic

Central/South America:
Guatemala
Mexico
Panama
Honduras
Peru
Ecuador

Leaving in January:
Guatemala
Panama

Contact and bugs

The assessment and placement assistant responded back yesterday acknowledging he got my update - and said I could hear about my final placement any time from now until about mid-November. He also said that if I don't hear anything from them in a couple of weeks, I could feel free to contact them again. I'm not sure what I would ask...

So I'll just be waiting anxiously for that email or phone call as usual. I'll be pretty happy when this application bit is over.

Whether or not I get placed in a Spanish-speaking country, I've decided to review the language anyway by starting with the absolute basics of verb tenses using a lesson book I've had for years called "Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses." I've also got 'Better Reading Spanish' picked up at a used bookstore in Fairbanks. And 'Marley y yo' rented from the library to see if I can get through it - it was the only contemporary book I recognized on the shelf. I hated that depressing movie, though.

The past few days, these buggers have been slowly invading northeastern Illinois:

Nothing wrong with that, though...at least, not for us. It's the annual invasion of the boxelder bugs who are looking for a warm place to spend winter. They're pests to some people but we've never had a problem with them. Their presence tends to herald fall...

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!!