4.4
I've never been happier now that my time belongs to me. My most recent birthday occured at the juncture of a wonderful and optimistic time in my life, yet it still became an emotional reflection of what I have done with my time.
While I am extremely proud of what I have accomplished, it has been difficult on an emotional, physical, and spritual level. Thinking that the 'best years of my life' were used doing something I didn't love breaks my heart (but I must mention that I didn't realize what my passion was until very recently...so, it's not like I had a true sense of direction either).
I'm as hopful now as I was 10 years ago to embark on a new adventure in my life, but the difference is that the feeling in my stomach is more of an excited butterfly feeling, rather than the gut-wrenching dread I distinctly remember feeling (over and over again).
Being a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, I know that my Coast Guard experience was a wonderful stepping stone for Peace Corps (and beyond). Below is my Aspiration Statement:
A. I see myself as a facilitator of development who will bring new perspective, ideas, and solutions. My goal will be to work with project partners to provide them the support they need for enduring positive impact. I hope that my Pre-Service Training (PST) and my past professional experience will give me a solid foundation from which to provide the support that is needed. I am eager to learn more about my assignment in the Peace Corps, and will dedicate the time it takes learn my job and build relationships with project partners and my community. My strongest professional attribute is my determination to reach goals. I look forward to life in Mexico, where I will adapt to new environments, learn new processes, and meet new people.
B. I intend to familiarize myself with the Peace Corps’ standard operating procedures for the host country, and work within the established process to facilitate objectives. I understand the value of repetitive communication (verbal, written, electronic etc) and its link to better understanding, so I will try to minimize barriers to communication inherent in language and culture, by repeating the message in different ways. Building professional partnerships through conscientious attention and personal motivation has been an important asset in my experience. I believe that building rapport and alliances through personal loyalty are valued traits and will help achieve the program’s success.
C. Adapting to a new culture will be full of excitement, confusion, and mistakes, but most importantly: understanding. There are subtle differences in each country’s culture that can only be understood through interaction and observation. I plan to learn as much as I can about Mexican culture before I depart for Staging and during PST, but I know that I will learn the most through my interactions with my host family and project partners in Mexico. I will try my hardest to use on my intuition and situational awareness to integrate into my new culture.
D. I hope to gain the following knowledge, skills & abilities from PST: a better understanding of Peace Corps’ impact in Mexico; practice good health and safety techniques to avoid sickness; become knowledgeable about local business customs; learn new technical skills and be able to impart those skills to project partners; adapt my Spanish for effective communication in Mexico; interact with local officials, NGO representatives, and community leaders; AND develop an esprit de corps with fellow Peace Corps Trainees & Volunteers.
E. In the end, I hope to look back on my Peace Corps experience with a newly defined sense of direction for my life. My experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in an Environmental Education & Community Outreach project will give me a practical insight to environmental issues and their solutions. At this point, I intend dedicate my future endeavors towards the preservation and conservation of our natural resources. To that end, I intend to pursue a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science or Conservation Social Science from the University of Idaho. I believe that my personal and professional hopes are tied to my goals, and that link will be my key to success.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Post Invitation Musing
Well, I'm still smiling. Everything works out in the perfect time & not a moment too soon.
The Invitation Kit is a 1/2 inch folio containing tabbed folders w/ forms and instructions. It's not exactly as big as a phone book...but it is a lot to read when I am so excited I can barely concentrate.
So, as I worked through my Visa application today, I started thinking...Mexico seems to have been THE place all along. In 2006 I had my promotion ceremony (in the Coast Guard this is called a "wetting down") in Veracruz--which can only have been described as Legendary...a party to top all parties.
One of my car-key fobs is from MEXICO. I pulled out my passport today & it has $40 worth of Mexican currency in it. They were souveniers of my travels to a land which I would likely never return...but life has a funny way of working out & God has an amazing way of reminding me that there is much more at work than my haphazzard plans.
I'm excited to discover what doors open in Mexico.
The Invitation Kit is a 1/2 inch folio containing tabbed folders w/ forms and instructions. It's not exactly as big as a phone book...but it is a lot to read when I am so excited I can barely concentrate.
So, as I worked through my Visa application today, I started thinking...Mexico seems to have been THE place all along. In 2006 I had my promotion ceremony (in the Coast Guard this is called a "wetting down") in Veracruz--which can only have been described as Legendary...a party to top all parties.
One of my car-key fobs is from MEXICO. I pulled out my passport today & it has $40 worth of Mexican currency in it. They were souveniers of my travels to a land which I would likely never return...but life has a funny way of working out & God has an amazing way of reminding me that there is much more at work than my haphazzard plans.
I'm excited to discover what doors open in Mexico.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Invited to MEXICO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4.2
The UPS Man never look good as he did today, when he pulled up in his big brown wagon & delivered my Peace Corps Invitation!
I'm going to MEXICO! What a total surprise--I didn't see it coming at all b/c the PCMex Blogs that I stalked mentioned they were shutting down those programs!
I'm going to be working w/ the equivelent of their Department of Natural Resources/National Park Service. This is all I know right now. I haven't even read the rest. This is perfect for me!
Are there enough exclamation points in this yet!!!
ahh....perma-smile on my face. butterflies in my stomach. tears in my eyes. What a wonderful day!
The UPS Man never look good as he did today, when he pulled up in his big brown wagon & delivered my Peace Corps Invitation!
I'm going to MEXICO! What a total surprise--I didn't see it coming at all b/c the PCMex Blogs that I stalked mentioned they were shutting down those programs!
I'm going to be working w/ the equivelent of their Department of Natural Resources/National Park Service. This is all I know right now. I haven't even read the rest. This is perfect for me!
Are there enough exclamation points in this yet!!!
ahh....perma-smile on my face. butterflies in my stomach. tears in my eyes. What a wonderful day!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Sunday Morning Surprise
4.1
My conversation w/ PC Placement was on Friday afternoon, and I know in an office it can sometimes take a while to processes applications...so I wasn't expecting too much forward movement on my Peace Corps Application Status Toolbox over the weekend. But yesterday (Saturday), I had all the checkmarks, indicative of the Legal Office removing the Legal Hold--surprising to me.
Then this morning (SUNDAY) I woke up to find another 5am email from Peace Corps App update. I logged in to find a beautiful sight. Imagine the screenshot that says:
Congratulations! You have been invited to become a Peace Corps Volunteer
I continue to be amazed that the seas are parting for me in a way that I cannot even have imagined. I feel like my life can be likened to a race through a densely clouded/foggy street--where I can't tell what I'm running from or what I'm running towards...and you just don't know where you are going until you are there.
My conversation w/ PC Placement was on Friday afternoon, and I know in an office it can sometimes take a while to processes applications...so I wasn't expecting too much forward movement on my Peace Corps Application Status Toolbox over the weekend. But yesterday (Saturday), I had all the checkmarks, indicative of the Legal Office removing the Legal Hold--surprising to me.
Then this morning (SUNDAY) I woke up to find another 5am email from Peace Corps App update. I logged in to find a beautiful sight. Imagine the screenshot that says:
Congratulations! You have been invited to become a Peace Corps Volunteer
I continue to be amazed that the seas are parting for me in a way that I cannot even have imagined. I feel like my life can be likened to a race through a densely clouded/foggy street--where I can't tell what I'm running from or what I'm running towards...and you just don't know where you are going until you are there.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Official Invitation-Cleared but not mailed
Chapter 4--The Begining of a new Begining
My Peace Corps Placement Officer called & left a message, letting me know my Legal Hold had been lifted off of my file (thank you DD214). She wanted to confirm that I was still available for placment into an earlier program departing in Mid-August (vice September)!!
Since I was not @ home when I listened to the message, I called my brother/lifeline to look up what countries were departing in August from PCWIKI. Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala & Dom Rep. After a couple of phone calls, I felt that August sounded fine.
My Application Status Toolbox notes all the checkmarks are complete, but the Official Invitation has not been mailed YET! I should get it in the next 3-5 business days!! That is when I will find out exactly what my assignment (job), country, and departure date will be.
A lot of positive life-changes have happened this week (Last Day @ work, 200mi Relay & Peace Corps Placement)! All of my impending deadlines & dates have come to a close & I'm glad that I've been busy enough to avoid obsessing over them.
Next week my focus is to get my house-hold goods storage set up, have a massive garage sale, and follow-up with the sale of my home... should be going to Closing anyday now.
BTW, I really like the programs available in Panama or Guatemala...I hope i get one of these. Dom Rep is technically in the Carribean, so I will likely not go there (but who knows). Nicaragua has a 31AUG departure & since she said 'mid-August' departure...this may not be it.
Whereever I end up going, I'm sure it's exactly where I am supposted to go! Updates to follow.
My Peace Corps Placement Officer called & left a message, letting me know my Legal Hold had been lifted off of my file (thank you DD214). She wanted to confirm that I was still available for placment into an earlier program departing in Mid-August (vice September)!!
Since I was not @ home when I listened to the message, I called my brother/lifeline to look up what countries were departing in August from PCWIKI. Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala & Dom Rep. After a couple of phone calls, I felt that August sounded fine.
My Application Status Toolbox notes all the checkmarks are complete, but the Official Invitation has not been mailed YET! I should get it in the next 3-5 business days!! That is when I will find out exactly what my assignment (job), country, and departure date will be.
A lot of positive life-changes have happened this week (Last Day @ work, 200mi Relay & Peace Corps Placement)! All of my impending deadlines & dates have come to a close & I'm glad that I've been busy enough to avoid obsessing over them.
Next week my focus is to get my house-hold goods storage set up, have a massive garage sale, and follow-up with the sale of my home... should be going to Closing anyday now.
BTW, I really like the programs available in Panama or Guatemala...I hope i get one of these. Dom Rep is technically in the Carribean, so I will likely not go there (but who knows). Nicaragua has a 31AUG departure & since she said 'mid-August' departure...this may not be it.
Whereever I end up going, I'm sure it's exactly where I am supposted to go! Updates to follow.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
This Is It
My last day at work was full of hopful goodbyes & best wishes. I'm genuinly happy to move onto the proverbial 'next chapter' of my life; all my sadness to leave my past & the anxiety of the unknown has turned into a quiet peace in my mind.
I feel a little numb actually (too). "So this is what this feels like" is what I kept thinking as I walked around today. I walked out of the building into the parking lot for the last time, in my Coast Guard uniform and thought...'so this is what this feels like'.
Life is so unpredictable, that Goodbye rarly means Goodbye.
Life is infinite.
Life is finite.
Peace Corps News:
I sent my Legal Specialist my DD214 (military discharge papers) today. I haven't heard back from him/her...but I think my official Peace Corps Invitation should be forthcoming.
This seems unreal, yet it is very REAL. (I'll reflect more on my contridictory nature later or perhaps in another forum!)
I feel a little numb actually (too). "So this is what this feels like" is what I kept thinking as I walked around today. I walked out of the building into the parking lot for the last time, in my Coast Guard uniform and thought...'so this is what this feels like'.
Life is so unpredictable, that Goodbye rarly means Goodbye.
Life is infinite.
Life is finite.
Peace Corps News:
I sent my Legal Specialist my DD214 (military discharge papers) today. I haven't heard back from him/her...but I think my official Peace Corps Invitation should be forthcoming.
This seems unreal, yet it is very REAL. (I'll reflect more on my contridictory nature later or perhaps in another forum!)
Monday, May 10, 2010
Almost Invited
Chapt 3.1-
It is with a twinkle in my eye that I report I was almost invited today! But not to worry, I was Qualified for PC Service, and once I clear the Legal Office, I should get my Invitation!
Here's how it went down:
I returned my Placement Officer's Friday 4pm call this morning, which lead into a phone interview! I was nervous, grasping for answers at first. A sample of questions below.
Q: What have you been doing to prepare for service?
A: [quitting my job and selling my worldly possession since January; applying for Volunteering in Summer Programs with the State Parks & local Hatcheries Fish & Wildlife Service...but have not resulted in any opporutnities]
Q: Have you done any research on the PC since your interview in OCT?
A: Yes, Aside from the official PC website, I've been scourring PCWIKI & PCJournals. I've also been reading some books about the PC (What to know before you go) and on international social entrepenour projects (How to Change the World).
Q: In the blogs, are there any challenges that the PCV are facing that you anticipate being a problem.
A: [i chocked on this one, I think i went in circles and didn't answer it...b/c I could not think of any]
Q: As a minority, do you anticipate any challenges?
A: I have never felt like was treated differently in the US, and did not anticipate this during PC service & if anything PCV would be the minorities.
Q: Do you foresee any reasons why you might ET?
A: I mentioned that a death in the family might be tough to work through, but that since PC allows volunteers to take Emergency leave, that it should not be a problem.
Q: Would you have any problems being required to live w/ a host family for your entrie PC serivce?
A: [this questions has Pacific Islands* written between the lines!] It wouldn't bother me at all!
*correction: Peru also requires its volunteers to live with host family too!!!
Q: Scenario question; as an Envi Ed Volunteer, if you organized a function and 20 people RSVP'd, but only 4 showed up, how would you handle this?
A: Take the opportunity to alter the venue & to engage in small group discussion etc etc. I understand that sometimes we do not catch on to culture nuances etc.
Q: Enviro Ed Volunteers typically work in a grade school class room 1-2 times a week, have you had any class room experience?
A: No, none besides conducting occasional training sessions at work, but I would imagine the in-country training includes Pedegogy Training, where we could get ideas and learn the fundementals, so I would look forward to this as an oppotunity to develop a new skills. My current volunteering experience is limited to one-on-one literacy tutoring. etc.
Q: When is your earliest availability?
A: This one caught me a little by surprise, b/c i was just stating to make summer plans (Australia/Europe, jack johnson concert, survival style camping in my dad's abandoned cabin, volunteering).
But after fumbling through the calandar, i figured that all my real chores would be wrapped up by mid-June, and I would be available July 1st (yikes).
After all of this, she said she found me Qualified for service, and that she should have the Invitation ready by Close of Business!
Conversation was later followed up by an email saying that I'll have to provide the military discharge papers before they mail the official invite.
Not a big shock, b/c I have known that the PC needs my military discharge papers, so I let her know that I would not have those until June 1/2 & confirmed to whom I should send them to.
But for 7 hours today between the phone call and the email, i walked around knowing that I was within days of an official PC Invitation and it was amazing. Now i know, I'll have to wait longer but it doesn't matter!!! I'm Qualified.
This feeling is kind like being a winner on the Price is Right! You feel like jumping up and down, yelling: I won, I won, I won! I'm outside of myself. I'm amazed at the doors God is opening.
The hope of serving in the Peace Corps has opened my eyes to the realization that my passion is environmental stewardship, and that working in this capacity IS possible. I feel everything I have done up to this point has been in preparation for this very moment & I am humbled. Send me!
It is with a twinkle in my eye that I report I was almost invited today! But not to worry, I was Qualified for PC Service, and once I clear the Legal Office, I should get my Invitation!
Here's how it went down:
I returned my Placement Officer's Friday 4pm call this morning, which lead into a phone interview! I was nervous, grasping for answers at first. A sample of questions below.
Q: What have you been doing to prepare for service?
A: [quitting my job and selling my worldly possession since January; applying for Volunteering in Summer Programs with the State Parks & local Hatcheries Fish & Wildlife Service...but have not resulted in any opporutnities]
Q: Have you done any research on the PC since your interview in OCT?
A: Yes, Aside from the official PC website, I've been scourring PCWIKI & PCJournals. I've also been reading some books about the PC (What to know before you go) and on international social entrepenour projects (How to Change the World).
Q: In the blogs, are there any challenges that the PCV are facing that you anticipate being a problem.
A: [i chocked on this one, I think i went in circles and didn't answer it...b/c I could not think of any]
Q: As a minority, do you anticipate any challenges?
A: I have never felt like was treated differently in the US, and did not anticipate this during PC service & if anything PCV would be the minorities.
Q: Do you foresee any reasons why you might ET?
A: I mentioned that a death in the family might be tough to work through, but that since PC allows volunteers to take Emergency leave, that it should not be a problem.
Q: Would you have any problems being required to live w/ a host family for your entrie PC serivce?
A: [this questions has Pacific Islands* written between the lines!] It wouldn't bother me at all!
*correction: Peru also requires its volunteers to live with host family too!!!
Q: Scenario question; as an Envi Ed Volunteer, if you organized a function and 20 people RSVP'd, but only 4 showed up, how would you handle this?
A: Take the opportunity to alter the venue & to engage in small group discussion etc etc. I understand that sometimes we do not catch on to culture nuances etc.
Q: Enviro Ed Volunteers typically work in a grade school class room 1-2 times a week, have you had any class room experience?
A: No, none besides conducting occasional training sessions at work, but I would imagine the in-country training includes Pedegogy Training, where we could get ideas and learn the fundementals, so I would look forward to this as an oppotunity to develop a new skills. My current volunteering experience is limited to one-on-one literacy tutoring. etc.
Q: When is your earliest availability?
A: This one caught me a little by surprise, b/c i was just stating to make summer plans (Australia/Europe, jack johnson concert, survival style camping in my dad's abandoned cabin, volunteering).
But after fumbling through the calandar, i figured that all my real chores would be wrapped up by mid-June, and I would be available July 1st (yikes).
After all of this, she said she found me Qualified for service, and that she should have the Invitation ready by Close of Business!
Conversation was later followed up by an email saying that I'll have to provide the military discharge papers before they mail the official invite.
Not a big shock, b/c I have known that the PC needs my military discharge papers, so I let her know that I would not have those until June 1/2 & confirmed to whom I should send them to.
But for 7 hours today between the phone call and the email, i walked around knowing that I was within days of an official PC Invitation and it was amazing. Now i know, I'll have to wait longer but it doesn't matter!!! I'm Qualified.
This feeling is kind like being a winner on the Price is Right! You feel like jumping up and down, yelling: I won, I won, I won! I'm outside of myself. I'm amazed at the doors God is opening.
The hope of serving in the Peace Corps has opened my eyes to the realization that my passion is environmental stewardship, and that working in this capacity IS possible. I feel everything I have done up to this point has been in preparation for this very moment & I am humbled. Send me!
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