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!

Placement Contact

Progress, hope, and comfort all in one week about the Peace Corps.

I have a specific contact in placement =) She sent me an email last Friday requesting an updated resume, transcript, and proof that I've been actively learning Spanish. She also informed me that they are unsure whether or not the program I had been nominated to would be cut or not; they are still evaluating programs for final cuts. She asked if I would still want to be considered for placement after january 2012 if in fact my program is cut. So at least I know where I stand right now.... progress...

So I responded (and of course sent her the wrong resume, it wouldn't be me if that didn't happen) and told her that it really didn't matter when, I am still completely committed to this process...but I did mention that I would want to leave between June and August 2012 since any job I would get....or if I continued teaching, I would want to service students for the entire year and not just half of it. I haven't heard back from her about that so perhaps I will just leave in August as originally planned =) hope....

The other amazing Peace Corps event that happened this week was the Black RPCV/PCV/prospective PCV happy hour in D.C. I am sooooo thankful I went. I met a lot of people who enjoyed their experiences, stayed through COS and even one who extended their service. Many of them served in the Caribbean, Latin or South America, so it was great to hear their perspective. It was a wonderful opportunity to network....in my time there, I was promised letters and soap when I leave, offered Rosetta Stone, convinced someone to consider becoming a special education teacher (because we rock!) and connected with someone who is going to come to my school and do an HIV/AIDS presentation..... awesome!

But more than that, I received some comfort.... I am not alone. It is definitely important to create a circle to share what I may or may not experience as a volunteer and to have someone else who has been throughout understand my unique perspective. I also realized how important it was for me to be an ambassador, more people who look like me and come from where I'm from should venture to explore the world through traveling and serving internationally. I am hoping that this blog can be a vessel that provides insight into my experiences and encourages my friends and family to consider serving as well.

Well back to enjoying a wonderful weekend (in the middle of nowhere) with my lovely sisters in Christ as we grow closer to God, rest, and strengthen our connection. Enjoy your Memorial day weekend everyone!!

Random Updates and Things of that Nature

This is going to be an all inclusive update since I do not have that much PC news to tell but I feel like I should not abandon my blog =)

My last post referred to my patience in waiting to hear from placement. (And some of my friends just didn't want to hear about Peace Corps anymore). But for valid reasons-they want me to enjoy the time I have left here. Anyways right after that post....a lot of people started posting about the budget cuts, and invitations being delayed or cancelled....

So while I am still being patient, I wanted to make sure that I had a back up plan. But as much as I wanted to apply for education positions or research opportunities, my heart really wasn't in it. This is truly the season in my life where I feel most prepared and ready to serve in the Peace Corps. If I couldn't serve in the Peace Corps right now, I would love to continue teaching and coordinating the college access program I brought to my school, its probably the only thing that will do. But returning to my current job would be an issue because I had already informed my school that I would not be returning. I implemented a successful college access program and I wanted to ensure that it would remain successful even in my absence (but so much for following directions and actually waiting until I had an invitation to make life changing decisions).

Anyways, I'm thankful because my principal asked me to keep her updated on the PC process in case something goes wrong with it and the chancellor of my school district emailed me personally to ask me to continue serving as a teacher. Needless to say, I'm humbled and honored because my students are wonderful and they have made me so proud over the past 2 years.

So I'm sure everyone was waiting for the little bit of this post that was related to PC, anyways, my college access program had an awards ceremony and I won Educator of the Year for my region. I had informed PC CYD office that I would inform them if I won so I sent an email in this morning. I got an email back like ten minutes later congratulating me on my accomplishment, and informing me that it would be added to my file and they would contact me as soon as they had "more potential programmatic information".

So while I'm thankful that they are still considering me for my potential departure of August 2011 (I think), potential programmatic information scares me. It is vague, but also makes it very clear that my potential nomination is on the chopping block. Even so, I'll continue to wait and be patient. Besides, I need to make sure that all of my seniors have chosen a place to go to school, I need to finish studying for my final exam and prep for my meeting with my advisor, and I need to actually follow my friends' advice and spend a lot of time with them =)

God is for the Poor

Happy Easter.

Let me give you a little background on this post. On New Years Eve, my Pastor (Keith Battle; www.zionchurchonline.com) preached about spiritual pregnancy, meaning God designed you to share a special gift with the world....and the pregnancy is the care and toil you go through in order to actualize and share the gift.

At that time my family didn't even know I had applied to the Peace Corps, but I knew it was what God wanted me to do, and I was confident that this was the time to do it, but (like in 2007) I was nervous for the reaction from my family. But I prayed over it and now, looking back, while my family is still scared, they have become my biggest supporters and advocates through words and deeds. So over the last several months, I have with lots of care and plennnnnnty of toil worked on seeing this spiritual pregnancy through. Unfortunately, in the process, I've neglected a ton of friendships and subsequently, I've spent less time at church and serving in church.

Well, I went to Easter service with my family today and I couldn't be more thrilled by the message I heard and the confirmation I received about my journey. Main point: You may be in the worst situation but God sees you and can help you. This message furthered the month long point of how God is for the poor and since Jesus is no longer on Earth, we are the ones who should show compassion and serve the poor..

Today Zion Church RESURECTED the lives of five families! One family was blessed with a furnished home; next family was blessed with financial support for a double lung transplant; a third family was blessed with $10K to care for her sick child, the 4th family was blessed with rent for 6 months and other gifts, and the 5th family was blessed with a minivan! NOW THAT'S CHURCH! Zion...A Movement-Not a Monument!
My church is amazing!

I've had such a warm feeling all day in reflection of today. I am more excited and dedicated to serving in the Peace Corps (wherever placement sends me) because God is for people and while I still have a lot to learn in this life, I know I have a lot I can contribute to a community somewhere. Today was a great reminder to continue to see outside of my own needs and think/pray for the needs of others. We can get so caught up in the Peace Corps waiting game and the worry of where am I going, when am I going, will my nomination stick?! Believe me I've experienced all aspects of the R.A.S. but after today I've settled into a strange calm. Everything will happen just as it should, I just need to focus on bettering myself everyday so that I can be a better volunteer in the community to which I am placed.

okay now back to studying....3 weeks left in my [last]semester of grad school and less than 2 months until my students graduate and embark on their higher education journey. I've got a lot to be grateful for =)

Medically Cleared!!!!

Yes!!!! After a very stressful month of sending numerous faxes over to Peace Corps (see previous post), I am medically cleared!!!!!!! I am excited to now begin the placement waiting process. My only concern is that I have to go to a region that can accommodate my shellfish allergy.... (anyone have any idea where that might be?!) I am hoping that provision still allows me to go to my original nomination region of Latin/South America.. but time will tell and I'm more connected to the idea of being a youth development volunteer =)

It's been awhile

Hello everyone,

Its been awhile since I've been near a computer in which I could access this site. There have been a lot of highs and lows in this medical process thus far, I debated even blogging about it....but honestly, if some of you guys had not blogged about your own medical journey, my own experience would have been even more difficult. So in light of 'to whom much is given, much is required' I will share what has been happening over the past several weeks.

So that good or bad update form March 23 was a bad a update. The WORST possible update you could ever have. Seriously, I got a letter saying my allergy was so severe that I could not serve in the Peace corps. Not a one year deferral, or even a two year deferral.... NOT EVER!! Needless to say I was pretty devastated when I received this letter, and immediately called my mom (who isn't too thrilled about this but will always encourage me to pursue my dreams). So through a teary eyed convo with my mom, I learned that that my allergy wasn't really an allergy but I simply choked on some medicine. In order to still be considered for the Peace Corps, I had to send in a convincing appeal which would be reviewed by their medical board.

So what do I do? I drove to the hospital the next day, picked up ALL my files from my hospital visit over ten years ago, faxed it to my doctor who wrote me a letter (I waited for this letter for a week) and then faxed all of this (with a personal statement) to my PC nurse. She literally made a decision the same day and sent me a letter saying that my medical review can continue but she had an additional letter for me.

First thought: Yesssss thank GOD! Second thought: what else could they possibly need? Well actually they wanted a lot. They need a retest of one of my blood tests and several personal statements about my allergies to shellfish and garlic powder (don't ask about the latter one, its so weird) So I'm going to finish all this this week.

I am really THANKFUL that they started reviewing my file two weeks after it was in and that my nurse is SO on it. Even with all these mishaps, my medical file has still been in for only a month, hopefully I can wrap everything on my end this week. I'm just thankful to still have an opportunity to serve.

This medical process has reinforced my desire to serve in the Peace Corps. I see why people say the application process is a mini preview to serving. I've learned a lot about myself already and I've experienced the entire spectrum of emotions in this process. This is still my only plan so God willing I will be able to see it through.