A 10 months journey has finally come to an end. I have officially received my invitation! i will be spending 27 months in the country of Zambia doing Agriculture – Rural Aquaculture Program ! leaving July 16th.

All the stressing and all the worrying is has finally gone out the window. I know what I am doing for the next 27 months of my life. This has been a long and very frustrating journey. One that my friends and family have been supportive and great motivators to stay positive.

The packet of stuff that I need to do is extensive also! kinda bad timing with it since I have finals this week and I am leaving on a ten day river trip next week. Oh well, Everything has paid off. Now it is time to start buying gear and getting everything set up to leave!

I promise A bigger update later right now I should be studying for my Spanish final

I received an email today from my placement officer today. In the email she thank me for the responses to the questions she asked. she also said that she will be looking at my file in the upcoming weeks determining if I qualify for a placement and don't expect a final decision for the next 2-3 weeks.

This is defiantly going to be difficult. I been waiting for roughly 9 months to find out where my life is going to take me. also in 4 weeks I be going on a 10 day rafting trip on the San Juan down in Utah. I will have no access to Internet or to phone. SO I hope that she gets hold of me sooner. This way I don't leave and she has no way of contacting me. Or worse they send my invitation and I cant open it till its too late!

my plan is to wait two weeks and email about my San Juan Trip. I don't want to do it to soon and seem pushy but I feel like she does need to know. hopefully my trip is not going to be an issue but their is no way I can back out or even want to back out.

I know a short update but I am trying to be better about it. If anyone has been in similar situation or has any advice I would be grateful. Thanks!

Jerry Riener

It has been a really long time since I have updated my blog and I apologize for that, but it does leave me a lot to talk about. So in my lost post I talk about how The medical clearance is a pain in the ass. One of the aspects that is briefly mentioned by others but not extensively is the price. Yes the peace corps does give you some reimbursement but not a whole lot. Overall it cost me close to about 350 dollars to do everything. I also have excellent insurance so I can see the price easily going up if i didn't have that. I was also fortanate enough to go to my campus dental hygienist training center and the student Health center which help me out a lot money wise. Really the actual process of getting the physical done or the dental exam done is not difficult. It is making sure that all that everything is filled out like it should be. IT can be quite stressful because you don't want to feel like a nuisance to the doctor or the dentist but you do have. you have to make sure everything has been filled out correctly. Here is a list of potential things that you might want to start gathering/keep in mind before you start your medical procedure so it is easier to complete.

1. immunization and vaccination records

2. It is going to take a couple visits. don't expect to Get everything done in one visit. (in my case the dentist office)

3. Yes blood work is required

4.Generally the doctors will not have a much better idea what Peace corps wants either.

I submitted all my medical stuff with relative ease. I had no problems with my medical clearance other then a few clerical issues. My Nurse was an amazing person was beyond helpful and quick in the responses to any questions that I had. I have now moved onto the next part of the process which is placement. I have had already recieved a email asking for a updated resume. This email in particular worried me simply for the fact they had a disclaimer in it about how budgets cuts are affecting the placement process. Hopefully this doesn't mean a delay because I have basically put my life on hold. I didn't apply for grad school, Nor Have I been looking for a job.

Anyways I finished updated resume that night and sent it off. The thing that does concern me is I felt like this whole last year I haven't been active in volunteering experience. With school, internship and my job I felt that i didn't have a lot of time too. At this point this is nothing I can do but hope. I received an email confirming that they received my update resume and have sent my files on to the next person in the process. It took about week before I received another email. From all my reading I was expecting an email requesting a time that I would be able to a final placement interview over the phone. To my surprise it has seemed that I will be just answering the questions through email. The questions were pretty generic. But for those who are curious what they asked I am leaving a complete list below.

Logistics

1. What is your current earliest availability to depart for Peace Corps service (currently, environmental and agriculture applicants are being placed in programs departing in June and onward) in mm/dd/yyyy format?2. Since you applied, have there been any changes to your legal status not previously reported to Peace Corps (such as name change, lawsuit, marriage/divorce, traffic citation, arrests, charges, convictions, new/additional financial obligations, etc.)?3. Have there been any changes to your medical status that you have not yet communicated to our Office of Medical Services (OMS)? (A yes/no answer is sufficient as details are not necessary; however, if you are answering yes, please contact your pres-service nurse or the pre-service unit at pre-serviceunit@peacecorps.gov at your earliest convenience).4. Is your contact information (phone, email, current mailing address) that we have on file current (if not please make updates at anytime by logging onto My Toolkit)?

Expectations for Your Service5. Part of preparing for Peace Corps service is developing realistic expectations of what life is like as a Volunteer, with specific attention to the common challenges Volunteers are likely to face. From what sources and/or experiences have you learned about the realities of life as a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV)?6. What are the key lessons you have learned from these sources that will help you succeed as a PCV?7. List the top 5 challenges that you expect to encounter as a PCV and discuss how you plan to deal with each.8. Have you gained any additional agricultural and/or environmental experience since you sent in the updated resume?Your Family & Friends9. Since you first told your friends and family of your plans to apply for Peace Corps, has their level of support for your decision changed? As the time for a possible departure gets closer, how are they feeling about it?10. Since you were interviewed have you become involved in a romantic relationship OR has there been any change in a previously reported romantic involvement?Site Placement11. Living with a host family is required during Pre-Service Training (PST) and sometimes for at least for the first 3 months at permanent site. In some sites, staying with a host family is required for the full term of service. What do you consider to be some of the challenges and some of the opportunities in living with a host family long-term? 12. “Sites” (the specific locations where PCVs live and work after Swearing-In) are determined by in-country staff during PST. The nature of sites varies widely both from one country to another and within the each country. In your application you acknowledged and accepted responsibility for meeting the “Core Expectations for Peace Corps Volunteers.” By the nature of where Peace Corps serves, most sites are in more rural, isolated areas. When considering potential site placement, keep in mind Expectation #3: “Serve where Peace Corps asks you to go, under conditions of hardship if necessary, and with the flexibility needed for effective service.” Regarding sites where you may be asked to serve:· Are you prepared to serve in a site with limited or no “amenities” such as electricity, running water or indoor toilet? · Are you prepared to serve in a site that is isolated and/or a significant distance from other PCVs?· Are you prepared to serve in a site where access to means of communication such as internet or cell phone service is limited or non-existent? Can you ride a bicycle and are you prepared to “commute” up to several kilometers round-trip per day by bicycle?

I answered all the questions and have sent it off. Again starts the whole process of waiting. I have been patient but this waiting around is getting nerve racking. Trying to plan my next couple months is all riding on this placement. I will promise to try and update more often now that school is winding down. But wish me luck!!

Jerry Riener

Last time that we talk I was beyond excited because I was nominated. Now that time has gone by. it has actually allowed me to do a little bit of reflection on the whole experience. How it feels to be nominated, the amount of work that is put in, how really just getting nominated is just the start. ( and here i am referring the medical clearance.)

Patience! On the peace corps website they tend to reference this a lot. You don't really understand the concept till you are knee deep in the process. I remember looking at the Peace Corps Wiki and thinking how does it take people so long to get stuff done? but now i totally understand! The medical clearance is really extensive. IT is a full physical. which yes includes the turn your head and cough aspect. I had to get a ton of blood work done and a urine sample. Do expect about 2-3 visits depending on the facility. The blood work and the TB test are the reason for this.

The dental exam is not as bad depending where you go. I went to the college dental hygiene school. They do it for cheap. Plus all the paper work that Peace corps wants, the students must fill it out anyways for their records. so they can just copy it. The peace corps wants a pretty detailed record so be prepared to take a long visit or a couple of visits. they want to check everything. depths of gum coverage, cavities, fillings, just about anything that is involved with your teeth is extensively reviewed. .

if you to be cleared by a eye doctor dont fret. all they want is your glasses measurements. it doesn't ask for a full eye exam. so if you have update glasses you just need the eye doctor to fill out the paper. also remember the peace corps wants you to have 2 pairs of glasses before you go. (something that i need to get.)

remember all of this depends on your age and also your health. My teeth and my health are really good so it made the process way easier. the Peace corps does give you some money for the whole process. not necessarily a lot but it does help a lot with the expense.

It is amazing how Peace corps is still consuming a good chunk of my live. the majority of my thoughts and actions are oriented to peace corps. All I am asking for Christmas is gear or money so I can go buy what I need. All my research for classes are oriented to information that i believe that I will need or wil find usefull on my trip. In a way this does worry me. When I am done where will my energy go? where will my focus go to? I know its a couple years away but still makes me think.

As July gets closer and closer the reality of Peace corps is slowly sinking in. it is a good thing, but it does make some decisions in my everyday life different. I find myself not really branching out of my social group. I want to spend my time with them. I have no desire to go out and meet new people like I used to. My time I feel, is better spent with people who are my friends. I also am noticing that i am enjoying the little things more. Things such as showers, books, warm weather.

I easily can go in-depth more on this stuff but i feel that if you really want to know you tell me.

f there is anyone that wants more information lust leave a comment and i will respond to it. hopefully i can answer anyone questions.

Well folks it is official, I have been nominated! you have no idea the level of excitement I have experienced that last couple weeks since I have heard this words. When my recruiter said those words I feel a rush of emotions, happiness anxiety and bewilderment, all in one swift moment. The happiness comes obviously from the joy of being nominated. The anxiety comes from knowing that this was a huge step and the strange emotion ,bewilderment came from what i was nominated for.

I was nominated for... Fish farming! I was completely bewildered by this. I have no experience in such a field so why was i nominated for it ? I was nominated for this because I have some horticulture experience. I told them that i don't have any experience in this field! They were not concerned at all because they figure it is something i could pick up pretty fast.

The Region I was nominated to was Sub Saharan Africa, leaving in July. Looking at Peace Corps wiki I was able to determine the two countries I will most likely go to. Those include Zambia, and Madagascar. I am thinking most likely Zambia because their latest emphasis is growing the fish production. You have no idea how excited i am for this!

Following the few weeks since the nomination I been pouring over anything I can pull up on Zambia. Made me realize I defiantly need to get some camping gear. SO... if you have any you don't want let me know and i might take it off your hands for you! The reason for this is that almost no one has electricity or running water. I will be living in a mud hut. Oh and I am suppose to average about 40KM of biking a day!! that about 25 miles roughly for those who don't know metric. I need to start getting in bike shape I guess.

Now the nomination has happen it seems to put everything in prospective. I am way more focus in school then I every had in the past, Doing a better job at controlling my money, It has given me something to Focus on. I have a goal in the future that I can chase down.

Strangely enough my professors don't seemed that happy that I am leaving. They say its a good experience but i have the feeling that they believe I shouldn't break up my education like this. I can see their point but i need a break bad. I need to get out and see the world, experience life a little. I know that i am young and not everyone has the same opportunities as I have so I need to seize them. This will give me an insight that not very many people will have.

Got my packet for the medical Clearance. Just looking at it makes me think its going to be a pain in the ass. I feel bad because i have to put it off at least a week because of midterms in school. I don't have any time to do a lot of running around. Or on this blog technically. lol If anyone has questions comments or advice It be greatly appreciated!

The picture below is one of the main attractions of Zambia! its called Victoria Falls!!!!! I might have the chance to see them in Person!!!

well people i been slacking on the updates but i figure I better do one since quite frankly there is a lot of stuff that has happened.

last update i told everyone that I drove up to seatttle to do my interview for Peace corps. The interviewer liked me and said she was going to nominate me. long story short, the quarter came around and with the recent amount of budget cuts and stuff i wasnt nominated to a region. This throw me for a loop becasue I had everything plan to leave next summer. I called my recruiter and she told me not to worry becuase it was kinda unusual but wait till next quarter.

she did mention that their was a slim possibilty that i would make the national pool. this pool is basically the alloted applicants that didnt get filled by the region were placed in a pool that any region can nominate someone too. I didnt think I had a chance in that so I figure i be waiting till the next quarter. she told me she would let me know either way if i got into that or not. but she was going on vacation so it might be a week or two. I figure all right not a big deal

then last night at 3:00 am I recieved an email saying I had a change to my peace corp status. I went online this morning and it says that i been nominated and it happened the day before! at first i got super excited but then i had to calm myself down. I never recieved a phone call or email saying i been confirmed, and to top it off my recruiter is off on vacation!

so of course i did the only thing that i know to do. and that is too research. I read peace corps wiki and Peace corps website. according to everything i have read when it says you been moved on (accoridng to your Tool kit) to the next level and it next step is medical clearance it means that you have been nominated. so i guess that means i been nomiated to a region! I been trying to keep my hopes downd becuase I havent been informed by anyone about anything.

so i am bascially sitting in limbo wondering what the hell should i do? should i call or should i wait it out? I am thinking i might wait it out and see if i get contacted or not. Either way i would like to know.

On another note my internship for school been going great. They do keep us busy as hell though. I been busy researching different degrees offered in differerent sociology departments. To be honest if i know right when i left high school i was going into sociology i would have not gone to Idaho State. Regional their is some way better options.

Along with regional schools I have to research national schools and international schools. It is really interesting comparing ISU to other schools. As far as i can gleam it sounds like ISU is trying to be more competitive and add some different options in terms of degrees. I think we need to! a degree in sociology with emphaisis in community or rural studies looks way better then just plain sociology.

well I will let you know when I hear anything about my situation. I am so anxious to know if i have been nominated or not! either way i will let you guys know.

So the internship that I been doing for ISU is amazing. The last couple years all I have felt is that I was stuck in a rut, proclaiming that I was going to do something big, make something of myself, and having no results. But this internship has made me feel great. I feel like I am contributing to something greater. It is setting me up for future I can see myself greatly enjoying.

Part of my internship is that I am a TA for a Sociology 101 class, with over 200 students!! At first it was a little intimidating but after some time I feel like I am Getting the hang of it. It is making me defiantly brush up on all the basics of sociology. Which frankly I have forgotten some of it.

Peace corps recruiter called couple days ago. Did the usual follow up questions, what's your biggest fear, update your resume, you know the usual. Then she asked me a question that I wasn't ready for. Thru asked what my experience with farm animals was. I told them my dad owned a ranch that I frequently helped at. She told me good that she would put me down for animal husbandry also. AT first I was okay with it, the more I thought about it though I became less and less comfortable with it . Not because it not something I don't wanna do but something I felt I didn't have the expertise with to claim I can go and educate people about it, so tomorrow I think I will call and ask if i don't be nominated for that.

This week in general has been filled with a lot of joyous news. The internship and Peace corps. But at the same time had its downs too. Hanging with all my friends and talking to them about peace corps has made the decision finally sink in. People are making plans for next year or for next summer and i simply cant join them. I most likely will be gone. Its a weird feeling. I know their is a lot of steps between nomination and actually getting your invite but i feel like the decision has been made. I am going to go. Not sure when, where, or how exactly i just know that I must go.

Its been forever since I done a blog and i apologize for that. But I have had a lot of exciting news though! I went to my peace corps interview 2 weeks ago and It went great! it was great to actually sit down and talk to someone face to face. The interview was what I expected. The information that i receive through various comments on this blog were extremely helpful. I was able to go into the interview with confidence. The questions were ones that I was not used to but they were really in depth. They don't mess around when it comes to trying to pinpoint or nail down who you are in that short span, but it is something that they have to do so I understand.

After the interview I was able to sit down with my recruiter and talk with her. It was nice to talk to someone that has been through the whole process. she was great in the fact that i felt comfortable enough to talk to her about anything. Right after the interview she told me that she was going to nominate me! she told me she would get to the necessary paperwork done till the end of august because she is so busy but told me not to worry. I am trying to be patient about it but i want the paperwork to go through so that i can possibly start the next step which is the medical clearance.

I am not worried about not being medically cleared. I have Just heard that it is a long and tedious process. I just want to make sure that i get it done in a timely manner. The only concern I have for the peace corps is leaving next summer. I have nothing planned if i don't leave next summer. So my timing is very important.

On a different note school has started for me. It is weird being done with track. I don't have to go lift or go to practices. I have a couple extra hours a day that I usually would put aside for track activities. The social aspects of not being in track are their too. I don't know or really care to know any of the new freshmen on the time. If I meet them great but I am not going out of my way too.

I also have learned to not wait on people. What I mean by this is so many people talk about making plans and generally dont follow through. yes some things sound like a lot of fun to do but when it comes down to making the effort people generally don't. The next couple months are going to be interesting. I also found out that I was award a internship through the school sociology department. It seems that good news does come in packages.

Sorry for the brief update but i have to run to do some homework! hopefully in the near future i will post a more comprehensive blog update!

My title is not as alarming as i make it seem. but it is the only way i know how to describe my life and emotions at this point. I have made the next step in the peace corps routine. I have a interview next Thursday!!! I have no words or way of describing how i feel right now. I am behind excited and nervous all at the same time. All the filling out of paperwork and waiting has paid off. I know their is plenty of more steps behind the interview but I view it as a step forward. I am going to Seattle for the interview. It is about a 14 hour drive for me . They wanted to do it over the phone or via webcam but i felt like i needed to do it face to face.

The biggest part that i am worried about the Peace Corps is the questions. I keep going through my head what questions they will possibly ask; I am usually good at interviews and being asked random questions. I think the reason why I am so nervous for this one though is because it is something I Really want. Most of my interviews were just for "jobs". This Peace corps interview is something that can change my life. Another aspect that i am finding difficult is the questions I should be asking. I know that i should be asking something of value to the recruiter, But I feel that I have done enough research that I don't have any pressing concerns.

It is weird in one aspect now that I know the process of becoming a volunteer is well underway. How I treat relationships with people. Honestly before I mostly went out to meet people (women in particular) I went to find long term relationships. I don't look that way remotely at all. My focus has completely shifted towards peace corps. Don't get me wrong i am not saying i am not interest in meeting different people and meeting new friends. I have and always will love doing that. But how I view the immediate future with those people has completely shifted. This change applies to more then relationships with people. I don't want to buy anything because i see it as a waste. I also don't want to sit around anymore. I been trying to fill my weekends with activities that i been wanting to do. Like hiking or hanging with certain friends. Trying to hang with various family member as increased too.

The reason i feel a little Unease by all this is because it is a major shift of prospective. I knew that Peace corps was a life changing process and decision but i wasn't ready to fee the consequences so early. To most people they wouldn't like this but to me it is exhilarating. I love this feeling of being out of my usual comfort zone. it broadens your mind and horizons. I believe more people need to feel this way more often and get out of their comfort zone. All of these emotions and prospective changing altitudes has done has gotten me excited. Its going to make the waiting all that much harder.

I been waiting on my friends personal reference for a bit now. Trying hard to be understanding but sometimes it is difficult because i cant do anything or even look forward to the next step till it is turned in. I know the process is long but waiting on peace corps is alright.. When the waiting is something that involves my actions i tend to get impatient. Even though i been waiting on Peace Corps application i been trying to not let it dominate my mind at all times. (which I have find is difficult to do).

Went out for a friends birthday last night and it struck me as weird the different reactions from people you receive when they hear peace corps. it is amazing how many people tell me they thought about doing peace corps/ When i ask what happen the usual response is "life". I find this baffling. Peace corps to me is a step in life. A step that will get me to where i want to go in my life.

Other people were actually alarmed that i was doing this. "you realize you might live in a mud hut?" "you wont have electricity or Internet!" and my all time favorite "What does peace corps even do for today society?" People don't seemed to understand that i have realized i might live in an area with no electricity and Internet and possibly a mudhut. They don't understand that to me, this will be an adventure. I want to go out and experience such things. it stuns me how people don't see pain and suffering in other places and not have that drive to do something about it.

Talking to people has been an eye opener that is for sure. In some respects great and in others not so much. I was worried that talking to people might make me regret or rethink my decision of joining peace corps. But so far all it has done is solidify it. I do realize that it will be difficult and challenging. but what is the point of not going through life without any challenges? So many different people would talk about how they wanted to or considered peace corps. But yet i am one of the few that is actually trying to follow through with my words. Makes me wonder if we did everything that we spoke of, how much different the world would be.

This is the first time I have ever done anything like this. Communicating or expressing myself in a public setting. Going into peace corps I figured it be a good time to start simply to keep friends and family informed of the whole process. I submitted my application on June 30th. Emotions needless to say all over the place. Joining peace drops was something I talked about for years and now I actually started the process. Crazy to think that possibly in a year I could be somewhere else, entirely differnt culture starting a new chapter in my life. I went from being super excited to slightly worried. I have place almost all my apples in this basket. Future plans hinge on peace corp.

It took peace corps roughly three weeks to call me and inform me that, They have received my application. I also received mail for all the finger printing and legal clearances. Also found out that they don't accept professors as close friends so I need to have a actual friend write me a letter. Lucky me Kara, my room mate and close friend since I started college, agreed to help me out.

So here I sit, waiting for clearances and paperwork to be finished. Then I can hurry up and wait lol. Good thing I got a year left of school to occupy my mind!