Hasta Luego!! I'm Headed to the Dominican Republic

"We can do no great things - only small things with great love" -Mother Teresa

I saw this on twitter this morning so I think its really fitting that I lead with this. This entire process has been about completing a number of steps with care and love. Some parts were extremely tedious and exhausting, but in reflection...well worth it. I had the opportunity to open my packet in front of my core sisters, and it was what we had suspected (and hoped for): I will serve as a Youth Development Promoter in the Dominican Republic!!!!!!!

It's hard to describe all of the emotions I felt after opening the packet. Excitement, nervousness, humility, sincere thanks. But more importantly confirmation. In 2009, I was beginning the process of coming out of a rough space. I wrote a letter to myself which included a list of 30 things I wanted to do before 30. Before I even knew how wide open and flexible placements for the Peace Corps is... #6 on my list was to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic. (naive right) So to actually have the opportunity to serve there, gives me further confirmation that this is a God order step.

One of my line sister's just sent me an email that said I hope you do as much learning down there as teaching. And I definitely plan to. I'm not out to accomplish some great feat so I can look back and say...yep that was all me. If you know me you know I actually don't like the spotlight at all and I'm still learning to accept compliments and kudos. God's purpose for my life is to serve, and because of that I know I will openly immerse myself in the day to day lives of the people I'll be blessed to meet.

There's so much more I could say but its off to graduation rehearsal....my babies graduate on Monday! Plus there are an awful lot of contents in the BBP that I need to re-read and a million forms I need to fill out. And as my PS put it so eloquently on my invitation letter: "keep learning Spanish" so that will become a much bigger part of my daily routine. Thanks to all of the PC applicants whose blogs gave me insight and comfort in knowing that I am not alone. And to those who are just starting, see it through, this journey is well worth it.

Invited!!!!!!!!

Soooo I had my final interview yesterday! I was sitting with my friend at work and she was trying to convince me to call my placement assistant. I told her that I did not want to disturb the busy people in the Placement Office. She finally convinced me to send an email to the lady I met at the Black RPCV event. As soon as I turned to send her an email (reluctantly might I add) I had one email in my inbox...from my Placement Specialist(PS)!!

I have been waiting for this email for forever, and as soon as I got it, I immediately started procrastinating. Its amazing how you wait and pray for something but as soon as you have it, anxiety hits. I started delaying in responding to the email and finally decided that I would just call. Thankfully he picked up!! We talked about a number of things and I was on edge and nervous because I had no idea what he was thinking the entire time. We talked about how I should not expect to run throughout my community (gender roles), I'm not on a 2 year mission trip (because I spoke a lot about my faith in my essay), my job may be really unstructured (go youth development!), if I am willing to go anywhere and serve in a rural location (I said I would go anywhere I felt I would be safe and rural would be uncomfortable but I'm willing to be stretched), and I may need to cut my locs (dredlocks in certain parts of the world are associated with people who are in jail or involved in organized gangs). I felt pretty good during the convo but as we continued, I realized I had no idea or direction as to where to or when I would get an invite. He also asked me if i was available in august, September, or October, and I eagerly said yes. He also mentioned that he had to take my medical restriction and special education background into consideration. 45 minutes later, I had passed placement but there was no congrats you've been invited at the end of the convo.

So, needless to say I was kind of a wreck after the call. I was anxious and unsure of what would be next. Thankfully, my PS didn't keep me waiting because he called me 5 minutes later! He said that he had called me originally with a program in mind and he wanted to talk to me about before sending the invite. So he said I am going to serve in a Spanish speaking country in the Caribbean or Latin America, mid august, as a youth development volunteer. He said tourists visit but there is real work to be done with at risk youth. I told him it sounded perfect-my original nomination. I'm completely thrilled and ecstatic that I patiently waited for this!!

And....I actually already have the packet!! (For once it pays to live so close to D.C.!) I was able to open the packet around some of my dear friends. Once I inform all of my family and friends, and read through all of the content in the Big Blue Packet (BBP), I'll be sure to add another post!