PC Reactivation!!!

My previously sad volunteer status on the Peace Corps website. 

MY NEW volunteer status on the Peace Corps website!!!

Yeah...THAT happened :)

Im back in the process and all I can do is smile.
and dance
and cheer
and just feel like

because I withdrew my application 4 MONTHS ago and shortly thereafter, I spent way too much time questioning my decision to postpone.

The time during postponement, where I thought that I'd have to wait 1.5 years before doing PC service, was just too much to bare... I've realized that choosing to devote two years of your life to the unknown is pretty damn hard. But its even harder committing to a life you're unhappy with and on that note:

 God Im so glad I'm taking this break from Graduate school.

I feel like many of us forget that our youthfulness will not last forever.We will not always be as free from constraints and independant as we (well I) am right now. Things will pop up, life, babies, marriage or financial obligations or even health issues that come with age, that can prevent us from doing the things we want.

You have to take advantage of life when you can, or you risk living a life full of regrets.


and all I can say is that I'm excited and more than sure that the Peace Corps is the next phase in my life and my next big adventure.

As soon as I reactivated, things just seemed to fall into place. I had tasks to complete in the medical portal and they were done in lightning speed.

4days after two doctors visits, faxed & scanned paperwork, I receive an email from Medical saying:

Dear Ashley,

We have reviewed the medical information you provided and have issued you a medical pre-clearance. 

A medical pre-clearance means that, based on the information you have provided so far, you are preliminarily medically cleared for Peace Corps service.

This does not necessarily mean that you have been cleared for service in all Peace Corps countries.  Based on the medical information you provided, we may impose limitations on the countries in which you may serve.  In particular, we will only be able to place you in a country where you will be able to complete a tour of service without unreasonable disruption due to health problems, where we can provide you with necessary and appropriate health care and where your service as a Peace Corps Volunteer will not give rise to a significant risk of substantial harm to you or others.

This is also NOT a final medical clearance.   Your final medical clearance will be based on the results of a physical exam, a dental exam, and lab tests you will be asked to provide if you receive a formal invitation to serve in the Peace Corps. 

Your application will now be reviewed by our Placement Office.  If the Placement Office issues you a formal invitation to serve, and you accept that invitation, the Office of Medical Services will contact you again with instructions on obtaining your final medical clearance.

And just like that I'm one step closer to an Invitation! :)

Postponing the Peace Corps

For any and all people that are curious....

I have officially decided to postpone my Peace Corps service.

yeah yeah I know, I've been going back & forth about this for months now... but this is legit. I let my recruiter know and everything.

Those of you who I talk to on the regular know how hard this decision was for me. But after thinking about what I want to do with my life and who I want to become... and although being a PCV is mixed up in the recipe that makes an Ashely, it just makes more sense to push it off for when the time is right.

And when the time is more convenient than detrimental to my other goals.

So...Peace Corps on hold... for now.

Peace Corps Interview/Concerns. as told thru photos & words...mostly words.

"You reach a certain age and you have to stop thinking about the person you want to become...and just become that person."

Thursday, March 28th @ 1:00pm

I had my 1st Peace Corps Interview :)

Almost 2 months have passed since I sent in my applicaion to when I actually got the interview. So you can imagine how I must have felt the morning of my interview.

.

This about sums it up.

The interview lasted a little over 2 hours, but the time flew by so fast simply because this is an interview in which you actually get to talk about interesting things...

Why do you want to join the peace corps?

 How do you think traveling and immersing yourself in another culture will impact/change you?

Where would you like to serve and live for 27 months of your life? and why?

... so the 2hrs I spent in my interview was mainly due to the fact that I couldn't just shut up, and neither could my recruiter (who was a returned peace corps volunteer that served in Guatemala a few years ago). Its like talking with a friend, someone whose super down to earth, who's interested in exactly what you are, and who 'has been there and done that' already! I got to talk to her about my concerns, what she went through in her time abroad, and what I could expect, and the interview really just made me leave even more pumped and sure about committing to such an amazing organization. 

In the end my recruiter basically told me that she was for sure passing me onto the next stage in the application process and that I should expect my Nomination in a few days! :D She also told me that I will for sure be an English Teacher  or Teacher Trainer, which allows me to get my Teaching Single Subject Credential through PC service once I return home AND that I qualify for Central and South America :)

I left the PC office like...

.

It was an exhilarating feeling, I was on a high... I couldn't stop smiling, I had to scream once I got inside my car to release some of that positive energy ! I ran home to tell my Dad about everything and to FINALLY talk to him about the Peace Corps, since it has now become so real and an actual possibility. But when I saw him and the words Peace Corps escaped my lips my dad slowly looked over towards me like..

Yeah...needless to say he is not happy with my decision to become a PCV.

In fact here are the most common reactions I get from some family and friends when I talk about the Peace Corps or any of my traveling aspirations.

When I left for South America for 6 months, June 2012-December 2012.

"How exciting! You're gonna love it and your Spanish will improve so much!"

"Wow six months, super cool Ash, I will miss you!"

"You know they eat dogs out there right?"

"O.o  .... 6 months.... you know thats like half a year... "

" Havent you ever seen the movie Hostel?? ...and you STILL want to go?"

Informing them that I'm going to Europe for 3months June '13- September '13

"You're so adventurous! I love it"

"At least this one isn't a 3rd world country. Have fun"

"How are you affording all this?!"

"I think the movie Hostel was actually based on a story that took place in Europe..."

Applying to the Peace Corps and leaving tentatively Jan '14 for +2years.

"So when you return, you will be 27 years old... dont you ever want to get married!?"

"You know.. I think you just need to learn your lesson that traveling isn't safe..Im not saying that I want anything to happen to you but..."

"So...you're dedicating 2 years of your life to be a bum?" (this one made me 'lol')

"What about your boyfriend..."

My reply:  "I DO love him but...

..how can I say "No" to such an opportunity? Im young, neither one of us are trying to get married anytime soon...we are both trying to achieve the things we want in life,  he totally understands and supports me, and if we are meant to be together then we will end up together... but how can I be sad right now when all I feel is...

The Peace Corps isn't for everyone, it may not benefit others as much as it will benefit me personally, and career wise as a Teacher, or even becoming a Foreign Service English Language Officer. I totally get that, and I'm not surprised when sometimes people look at me funny and wonder why I'm interested in it, or why I'm into traveling at all. Like with my dad, I just learned that sometime its easiest to just sit back and be like...

Peace Corps and the 5 W's

Its official. Im obsessed.

and its not a cute obsession either, its like the obsession the middle aged man who lives in your neighborhood seems to have with the nearby elementary school. Its a bad, nasty and very absurd obsession. But I cant help it, the Peace Corps is all that is on my mind lately. I read countless blogs, articles, watch youtube videos... its just *sigh* Its so far away, yet I'm so excited about the prospect of becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer.

This is a looooooooooooooooonnng process. The PC says to apply a year before you're hoping to leave. I applied last week, February 4th on a Monday.

And I cant stop thinking about it.

Who: The Peace Corps (PC) is a US Government agency that places volunteers in over 70 third world countries that need assistance in the fields of Education (me), Health, Business, Environment  Agriculture  and Community Development.

What: As a volunteer working in the field of Education, I *hope* to be teaching english as a foreign language in the schools in the country I serve in.

When: The commitment to the PC is 27months. 2 years and 3 months.

Where: I'm praying for placement in any Spanish speaking country...but my top 3 are: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and The Dominican Republic and it wont hurt for you to pray with me.

Why: There are a million and one different reasons I have.. but what sums it up best is this: "You reach a certain age and you have to stop thinking about the person you want to be...and just become that person."

I know this is it, this is the next step in my life and I dont care if you think I'm getting ahead of myself *coughJAMEScough*. I can feel it in my bones and I was so sure about it that I had a conversation with the boyfriend about life in the PC and if he could come with me (which can only happen if we were to get married *yikes*)  So that convo was fun... but Im sure hes tired of hearing me rant about it and so... now you see why I turned to blogging >=) The interview with my PC Recruiter should be less than 2 weeks away, soooo

All I can do from here on out is wait. and so the waiting game begins.