The Journey Begins

So this Peace Corps journey actually began for me about five years ago when I first heard about the Peace Corps as a freshman. I was young an idealistic (well I still am) and I wanted to change the world through community development. When I came upon the Peace Corps it sounded perfect.

The spring of my senior year of college I started my application. This normally doesn't take as long to complete, but I didn't finish it until the middle of December. The application was really long and consisted of such a wide variety of question from how much debt do I have to how would I describe my cultural development.

Once I submitted my application (it was completely online) I heard from the Peace Corps within a couple of days. They sent me some paperwork that I had to complete within the next two weeks, so I went home for Christmas, got fingerprinted, and turned in the necessary forms. I heard back from them soon after that and I set up an interview with my recruiter. I had my in-person interview on February 16th and by the 26th I was nominated. At that time I knew that I would be going to South or Central America doing Agriculture extension and leaving in September. That was all I knew until I was invited.

The next three months I spent completing paperwork that the PC had sent me in regards to my medical and dental health. I visited a doctor, a dentist (twice) and an eye-doctor. Everything checked out. I sent it all in the beginning of May. The next time I heard from the PC was the end of July. They e-mailed me and asked me to call them, we discussed some health related matters, I sent them more paperwork a couple days later, and then a few days after that I heard that I was medically cleared.

That was the beginning of August and I was supposed to leave in September! I still didn't know where I was going or when I was supposed to leave. Meanwhile my life in Memphis was naturally transitioning and I didn't know whether to look for work or move back in with my parents. I opted to move back in with my parents for a short time, but cut the time limit at September. Luckily, I didn't have to. On August 13th I received a phone call from the PC asking me some more questions about my willingness and clarifying some of their policies for me. On August 17th I received my invitation in the mail, which said that I had been invited to serve in Paraguay as a Crop extensionist and that I would be leaving September 29th. Whew! I read the required materials, and e-mailed my acceptance the following day.
And this journey is only just beginning!