I'm finally here. All the long wait and paperwork was totally worth it. I'm here in Tanzania with 40 other trainees. We're all education volunteers here to teach various subjects. I'll be bio, others will do Chemistry, Physics, Math, and IT. Right now I'm in Morogoro with the rest of the trainees living with a host family. I have a new Mama and several new kaka and dada (brothers and sisters). I like my host family. We can't communicate all that well as I speak little Kiswahili and they know little English, but we work things out. The food here is very tasty, though lacking in much variety. I think I've had wali with most meals here. I have to use a pit toilet. But it is a very nice and clean pit tiolet. The animals here can get pretty loud at night. The dogs really go after each other and then the roosters start at 3am instead of sunrise. Go figure.

The language is very beautiful and very difficult. I'm looking forward to when I become more fluent in it. But I'm just glad I don't have to teach in Kiswahili. My first subjects will be on human reproduction and sexuality. Which should be pretty interesting. All I can say is that I hope that the students ask questions. I'm not going to answer any question pretaining to my own sexuality, but I'll be open with sexuality in America in general. I start teaching them next week so I'll update you later on that front.

But Tanzania is just so amazing. The people and land are just so beautiful and welcoming. Here in Morogoro we have an amazing moutain range that overlooks town. I can't describe how much I love it. I'll have to find some way of uploading pictures one of these days so I can show you a part of what I experience. Not only are the locals great, but my fellow PCVs and PCTs are all great people. I truly believe that the people in the Peace Corps represent the best of America. I gotta run soon. These internet cafes are useful but time always runs out. Tutaonana baadaye!

Well, the time is almost here. Come Monday, I'll be in Philly for staging. Right now, I've just finished six hours of packing. I know it might sound like a lot of packing, but in reality, there wasn't a whole lot to pack. The reason it takes so long is because you have to pack smartly. You can't pack for the Peace Corps in an hour. We have weight and dimension restrictions that have to be met. We're allowed two checked bags and one carry-on. The checked bags together have to weigh no more than 80lbs and each bag can't exceed 62in of linear dimentions (length + width + height). This results in a lot of shifting and forced condensing of our luggage. It's hard work. Now all I have left to do is print out the photos I'm going to take and pack my carry-on bag.

Yesterday, I spent most of the day up at UMBC meeting up with a bunch of friends that are still there. I was pretty lucky in running into a lot of people that I didn't really expect to. Like my old roommate from my Junior year, and two of the other RAs from last year that graduated with me (which was pretty cool). All-in-all, I got to talk to everyone that I wanted to.

A little over 24 hours before staging and I'm still not feeling the nerves that I expected to. I'm pretty excited to meet my fellow volunteers and finally fly over to Africa. But I'm not as nervous as my friends said they'd be in my situation. But I guess that's a good thing. Yay! I'm going to Africa!!!

Well I've finally received my staging packet. I'm almost on my way to Tanzania. Twenty-five days left in fact (September 18th). Twenty Twenty-seven days left in the States. My staging will be held in Philly. At staging, all the other volunteers in my training group will meet up for the first time, fill out paperwork, and begin our orientation into the Peace Corps. Since it's in Philly, it really is pointless for me to fly there. I think my parents are planning on taking me up there themselves on their way to pick up the Delorian in New York.

Right now I'm still pretty excited about everything. I'm sure that once I've unloaded my bags from the car at the hotel I'll be a little timid...But I'm going to F...ing Africa!!! Come on! That's just...Awesome!

I've still got some items to buy and a lot of packing to do. I got my Power of Attorney and most of my finacial business dealt with. I'm still waiting for the scholarship people to get back to me with the deferment forms. I told them about my departure a month ago. It souldn't take this long...sigh...I'm gonna miss everyone!

June passed by in a blur. From my birthday to Independance Day seems to have only lasted two weeks. Here I am three weeks later and I feel like July's length has doubled. I'm sure it's because I know I'll be serving in the Peace Corps. I still have less than two months before I ship out. I kinda want to be at staging already (cause then things'll start rolling) but I still kinda want to stay here a little longer before I have to leave. I dunno, but I guess things will work out in the end.

I've officially accepted my invitation and have sent out my applications for a Government Passport (my personal one isn't good enough for some reason) and for a Tanzanian visa. I've also started learning Kiswahili (the more correct term for Swahili). The Volunteer handbook they sent me was kind of duh duh. Nothing new there except a good checklist and timeline sheet to help stay organized before departure. The Tanzanian Welcome Book had more interesting information about my host country; its culture, people, geography, history, and government. I also enjoyed the section on the cross cultural experiences for different groups of Americans. They had a section for female volunteers, older couples, volunteers from minority groups, and even us gays. But those two sources are all good and proper, but very limited in scope.

I've learned much more about my host country from my correspondence with a current PCV in Tanzania. I found him...well I guess to be more accurate, he found me. I posted my invitation on the lgbtafrica yahoo group and he responded answering many of my questions. It's usually a week between emails, but considering in the middle of Africa I think that's pretty good. He's been a great help, but his term of service ends in November and it seems (according to him) unlikely that we'll ever meet in person. That'll suck, but apparently there is a lot of support from the other volunteers so it's not so bad.

I'm so excited!

I finally received an invitation to serve in the Peace Corps! In fact, my prediction about my probable site was 100% accurate.

I mentioned the phone conversation with my Placement Officer in the last post and that she was going to look at my file more and call back about possible placements with me. As with most of my communications with the Peace Corps, that wasn't what happened. I randomly check my email two days after the phone interview and see that my PC account had been updated. I login to find out what's happened and it tells me my invitation has been mailed out! The bad news; it would arrive after I left for PA to help a friend and be an actor in their independant film (while I refuse to see how much of a fool I was, if you want to watch it, it is titled Armageddon Confession). When I got back, I had about four hours to look through my invitation before I had to leave again to go visit my grandparents.

But finally after all that, I finally have time to tell everyone where and what I'll be doing for the next two years. I am invited to serve as a Secondary Science teacher in the East African nation of Tanzania and leaving for staging on September 18th (don't yet know where though). I've got a lot of final paperwork (passport, visa, etc.) to fill out and get sent out before hand. But right now, I'm just excited to finally know!

When we last left our hero, he was left hanging perilously on a cliff over the Seas of the Unknown having clearing himself safely away from the Dental shark , Legal Man-O-War, and Medical Kraken. Boris the recruiter had lured our into these dangerous waters with encouraging words and playing into his sense of adventure. When our hero arrived, he found things to be different than expected. Caught up in these stormy unknown seas, struggling against the unknown, he kept being distracted by Natasha, the PO's questions about motivation and devotion to service.

Now...off in the distance. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? NO! It's a squirrel! It's Rocky to the rescue, and it appears as if he's carrying some sort of communique. What lies instore for our beloved hero? Find out next time on The Adventures of Rocky and Bulwinkle.

___________________________________________________________

For a clearer picture:

"Peace Corps sent you an invitation kit on June 29, 2006. Within 10 days of receiving your kit, please call us regarding your decision to accept or decline our invitation. If we do not hear from you within this period, the assignment may be offered to another applicant."

As you can tell by the title, I've moved another step forward in my PC adventure. This began yesterday when I received a phone call shortly after lunch. It was a PC Placement Officer looking to ask me a couple questions about my expectaions, fears, etc. She started off by asking why I decided to join PC. So I started off mentioning things like adventure, seeking other cultures, learning a language, etc; basically my initial reasons for applying. Then I went on to talk about living amongst the people I'd be going to serve so as to find exactly what they need and focus my efforts to give them what they really need instead of just throwing money at them hoping that would solve their problems. She seems quite relieved when I mentioned this aspect of my motivation. It seems that she was a little worried by my motivation statement and the things my recruiter wrote after our interview because they were both missing the service aspect of being a PC volunteer. And looking back I realized that I, in fact, had not mentioned service in either instances. It wasn't just a simple overlook on my part. I was being completely honest in those communications. You see, the reasons mentioned in the statement and interview were the things that initially attracted me to the PC. It wasn't until I started to do more extensive research into the PC; it's mission and goals, and volunteer experiences, that the PC service bacame a part of my aims.

The Placement Officer continued onto subjects like what do I think would be the toughest aspect of PC service and about how I'd cope without the day to day ammenities that we have in this country. The latter was easy to answer. I had the most day/nights of camping of everyone in my patrol in scouting and I'd been the cook for my patrol for just as long. If I can make a meal with some of the things I've had to work with and with the tools I had to use, I think I could adjust to not having a fridge. With the first question, I didn't really discuss all the things that worried me. I mentioned the learning of language (and not feeling like an idiot when I make a mistake), the difference in culture, and being away from people I know. All very valid concerns, however, I refraimed from mentioning the fact that I'll have to lie to the people I'd be living with. Why would I have to lie, the same reason I lied to everyone here for a good portion of my life. Not only will I be lying by ommition, I'm planning on making up a girlfriend a thousand miles away, just so I won't be asked everyday why I don't have a girlfriend and be set up with every available bride in town by the time I leave.

In the end, she seemed satisfied with my answers and told me she'll being reviewing my file and call back sometime next week with either more questions or possible programs to discuss with me. So I'm looking forward to next week!

Well, I still don't know where I'll be serving. The good thing is that I know who my Placement Officer is and how to get in contact with them. The bad thing is that he'll be out of the office for the next couple days. So no progress for the next few days. But I should hear something within one-two weeks. Right now, they're working on programs leaving in August. She told me that I'm a little ahead of the game.

So a little while longer. They did drop one tidbit of information about my nominated program. Apparently it is slated to leave in the middle of Sept. I already knew it would be in Sept., just not when. Well, it isn't a specific departure date, but at least it does narrow things down a little.

As a side note, I'm working on making a website. Should be interesting if I get things to work.

Woo Hoo!!! I've been medically cleared. The lab report didn't come in until late yeaterday so I had to wait until to day to fax them over to the RN in charge of clearances. I called right after sending to ask whether or not they had been received on her end, but got the machine. I wasn't until around 2pm that she called back to tell me that everything had been received and that all was in order. So I asked her if I'm cleared and she said that I was. YES!! It feels great.

This means that all I have left is to get me official invitation. Only when I get that will I know where I'm gonna be going and doing for the next two years of my life. But before I get that I have to talk to my Placement Officer who'll make all the final decisions about where, when, what, etc. To that end I emailed my recruiter today telling him that I've been cleared and asking what the next steps will be. Hopefully he'll tell me who my placement officer is and give me their contact info. That way I can get the ball rolling right away.

I'm on my way.

I'm pretty sure they time their mailing on purpose. Every single form, letter, or email I get from the Peace Corps always arrives late Friday, so I can't do anything about it until Monday. But I guess I should explain my excited title. As I've previously mentioned, the medical clearance stage usually takes 4-6 weeks. Which would place the 4 week mark on 6/1. Then I get this letter today (meaning 6/2, not when I post this) from one of the Peace Corps nurses that does the medical clearance. Turns out she wants two more bits of information. Remember the mix up with the tests I mentioned back in March? Turns out that the lab people did not perform the right test. They did do a Hep B test, but not the right one as they were instructed to do by my doctor (I saw it written plain as day on the doctor's copy). So I rushed over to the doctors office before they closed and explained the situation. So now I have a new form to take to the lab place on Saturday where they'll draw blood to do the correct test. I will be asking them multiple times if they are going to perform the right test with my blood - just so that they remember me and thus remember to do the right test this time. So I should get the results from my doctor on Monday and can fax them in the very same day.

The second item they wanted info on was the scar on my finger that I got way back when I was ten. If my doctor wasn't so thurough, this wouldn't have mattered. It doesn't even matter anyway, but I still have to write a personal statement explaing how I got it, when I got it, and any treatment I received for it. The basic answer: August 1994...bow saw stuck in branch...yanking free but with finger in way...bleeding...bleeding...hospital...stitches...brace. Real simple and will be faxed with my lab results on Monday. I will also be calling them after I send both forms to make sure they get them in their hands. So hopefully I'll get clearance real soon. Then my invitation!

But I can't help but wonder if there hadn't have been an issue with the Hep B test, would they still have held up my clearance for my scar? I'm afraid the answer would have been yes...

I'm still waiting for medical clearance, but in between finals, check-outs, etc. I've been doing more research into my possible assignment. Apparently Michigan University has a web page that details all the program types available in Peace Corps assignments. Details including the general job outline, personal requirements, and possible countries.

Here's the link to the page I think relates to my nomination:

http://isp.msu.edu/peacecorps/area/AA%20175.pdf

So this provides more evidence against my assignment being in Ghana. But you never know. I guess I'll just have to wait for clearance to find out. Not that I want to wait anymore. I mean, I've read about a couple people being medically cleared the day after the Peace Corps received their medical packet. That's just amazing. Some people I've met have waited for months and even a year to get clearance (they had medical issues to clear up) and here they are getting cleared the very next day. I don't envision having any issues that'll hold me up once the nurses start looking through my forms. Right now I'm just waiting for them to pull my folder out of the pile. I'm guessing they're still going through the paperwork of those people whose programs are scheduled to leave in July. The good news is that they're aren't any programs leaving in August. So, once they finish up with the July people, they can start working on those of us leaving in September.

As much as I don't want to have to wait any longer...I have no choice in the matter. Based on my research on the subject (of which you should know is very extrensive), I'll most likely have to wait until June before I hear anything. I know June is pretty close (and so is my B-day...22...scary), but it isn't close enough in my mind. I know I'm not alone in this. Every single Peace Corps nominee feels this way. We all just want to know.

The sad thing is that once I know where I'll be going, I'll most likely be avidly awaiting the departure date...

I got a response back for that confusing email I got Friday. Apparently its one of those general form type emails that was sent out to every nominee that still needs medical clearance. They do in fact have my medical forms.

This post isn't all that important or spectacular, I just found out a little tid bit of information that I thought was pretty interesting and potentially very helpful for me. You see, I went back home today to have a Mother's Day brunch with the family. A whole lot of the conversations we had revolved around my upcoming Peace Corps experience. All of the sudden my father mentions that he speaks to a former Peace Corps Director on a pretty regular basis through his job. I was kind of shocked by this because you'd think he'd have mentioned that fact earlier, but I guess he just plum forgot.

So now I know I've got a good connection to the Peace Corps. Now if I have issues getting accepted or have other difficulties, I can have my dad contact him. If I can get a former Peace Corps Director on my side then there's not much that could stand in my way of joining the Peace Corps. Things are looking up.

I've been doing a lot of research and reading of blogs, and I've learned a lot of helpful stuff. The most helpful resource I've found so far is the Peace Corps yahoo group (I think it's named peacecorps2 but don't quote me on that). They've got all sorts of hints, advice, support, and several regular chat times. This group hase helped me a lot. I hadn't previously thought about it, but they suggested I set up a Power of Attorney for someone here so they can handle all my financial, legal, etc dealings. It makes a lot of sense. I'll have to talk to my parents about that.

The other really great thing about the group is that it can help you narrow down and possibly predict which country you'll be assigned based solely on the description of your nomination. I couldn't help but try to find my own and I think I've got it, but I'm gonna hold off on actually saying which one for now. Why? Oh just for shits and giggles.

This group is very connected. There are several thousand people in the group with an average posting rate of 700 posts/month. I've been reading though peoples experiences w/ applying and their application timelines. Apparently the wait for medical clearance usually takes around 4 weeks. But this is far from being an absolute. I saw one person that was completely medically cleared the day after they received her maedical packet. One day is just assotunding. Right now I'm hoping to get medical clearance by the end of the month. I don't have any medical issues and that would be close to being 4 weeks. Acctually, 4 weeks would place the clearance as being on my birthday (which would be a nice gift).

There is a good reason why they say that patience is the biggest quality a prospective Peace Corps needs. I just wanna know!

Everything was fine. I was approaching finals and graduation was rapidly approaching. Then I get this email.

Greetings!

Congratulations on your nomination into the Peace Corps. In order to proceed with the application process in a timely manner, it is important that you submit your medical packet as soon as possible. Remember - you can only receive an invitation after you've been cleared by the medical department. You can check your current application status from our website using the following link - HYPERLINK "https://www.peacecorps.gov/mytoolkit/login.cfm". Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions or concerns. Again, congratulations again on your nomination.

So I get this email from a PC Placement Officer. Normally one wants to hear from a Placement Officer because that means you've been medically cleared and that they are trying to find you a placement. This wasn't that kind of email. Right now I'm just a little bit confused. If you've been reading this blog, you'd know that I sent my medical packet in a few weeks ago. You'd also know that I've already been dentally cleared and have received an email from my recruiter that they have indeed received my medical forms. So you'd think they would have them and are currently processing them. I don't know what's going on on their end but someone's got crossed wires.

So I sent her a small wtf email asking her to clarify the situation. Hopefully it was just a simple mix up and not something I'm going to have to deal with.

Well this weekend I met up with my parents on Saturday right after I got off duty down in College Park. The purpose? To attend a sale at REI so that I could start getting items and clothing for my upcoming stint as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I got some good hiking boots (which I'll start breaking in this summer), some good all purpose sandals (instead of the flip flops I've been wearing). I also got some good socks, a hat, light rain jacket, pants, and shirts. While the impedus behind the whole trip was to get stuff for my trip, I was not the only person to get new stuff. We also got some extra and replacement stuff for everyone else.

On another note, my recruiter emailed me to tell me that they've recieved my medical packet (something I alread knew), that I've been dentally cleared (also known), and that they were looking at my medical exam (an assumption of mine). So I'm optimistic that I could get medically cleared within the month of May. Then my file would be transferred over to a Placement officer who will find a place for me somewhere. Let me tell you, patience is definitely something one needs when applying to join the Peace Corps.

As a final side note, I was actually a little surprised when during the Res Life banquet that the final speaker mentioned all the after graduation plans for us Seniors. Some of them sounded pretty fun and they mentioned joining the Peace Corps (everyone at my table looked at me then even though I wasn't the only graduating Senior doing so). It was a nice touch.

Some good news. I just recieved notification that I have been dentally cleared for Peace Corps Service. This is good because; 1) I need it to join, 2) It tells me that they recieved my medical packet. and 3) That if they are reviewing my dental forms, that means that they are most likely looking at my medical evaluation forms. The last is a very good thing because this means that they aren't just putting my stuff in a pile to wait while they examine other nominees that have earlier departure dates. So I'm not going to have to wait for the actual wait. Yay!

Well I've finally finished all the medical paperwork for my Peace Corps application. Let me just tell you that the paperwork was no fun to fill out. I spent over an hour just making sure that everything was indeed completely filled out before mailing it out. The amount of specifics they want is quite large, plus they require that every question/blank be filled out (even if it just needs a N/A), and if there are any they send it back because it is seen as incomplete.

I had quite the scare today when I picked up the forms from my Mom. Apparently one of the nurses that was filling out the lab results on the form said that one of the tests that they were to do weren't done. This was a very bad thing. I would have had to have to go through the whole process again for that last test before I could turn in my paperwork. Something that could have held me back for a good week or more.

So when I went into the University Health center on campus to have them fill out my form for the TB test reading they did last week I asked them to read over the lab results just to make sure that the nurse hadn't made a mistake in reading the papers. And what did I find out? That the test was in fact done and that it was negative. I do not have Hep C. Whew! Not that I expected to have it, but that the test was done and I didn't have to deal with any more medical exams. I can finally mail it all in! And I did. So the medial people at the Peace Corps should have their hands on my paperwork by Thursday or Friday this week.

From my understanding and research, the medical clearance is that one that takes the longest to pass. The eye and dental are supposedly really quick and simple. So I should be cleared in those aspects within the next couple weeks. If that is, they start looking at my forms right when they get them. Which isn't a definite thing. They base everything on when the program you're nominated for leaves. Which makes sense. For those leaving within the next three months the medical clearance is needed quickly. My program is slated to leave in September, so I'm guessing they'll start looking at ours in May. Which gives them about 3-4 months.

Now I've done everything I can on my part. I've just got to sit back and wait for my medical clearance and then my formal invitation. Uggg. I'm not going to like the wait very much.

I had my doctor's physical yesterday. I actually didn't have to wait that long to see my doctor. That's what really surprised me. All the other tests were expected (I had to fill out part of the paperwork earlier so I saw what they wanted). The only new exam (as in never had done to me before) I had to have was the anus/rectal exam. I didn't really have a problem with it. I didn't see what was so terrible about it. Sure it wasn't an experience one has most days, but it wasn't painful or that unpleasent. I think most guys dread that exam more for because they think that in some way it makes them less masculine.

So I'm just waiting for the lab tests on my blood for the final okay from my doctor. I'm not forseeing any complications there, but you never know what might happen. Hopefully I'll have everything together by Monday and can mail it out. Then I'm pretty much done on my side of the process. Once I turn in the medical paperwork, then I have to wait for medical clearance (which can take several weeks). Once I get that I'll be assigned a Placement Officer who will try to match me with a program. This is where the important decision is made. I could end up with a completely different job than the one I was nominated for. I could even be placed in a whole nother part of the world than the one I was nominated for. Everything could change before I get my final invitation.

I also went to the Peace Corps get together last night. I'd never been to the National Headquarters before, but after a little mix up in directions, I arrived right on time. After a bunch of speechs from people you'd expect (PC Director Gaddi Vasquez, Regional Director, etc.) there was a refreshments/mingle portion of the evening. I talked with my recruiter for a couple minutes (I was kinda shocked he remembered my whole name and pronounced it right having just met me that once for my interview). I also talked with a bunch of other nominees and invitees (most nominees were jealous of them, me included. They at least knew where they were going). I even met someone that was given the exact same description for her nominated program as myself. So we might actually be heading out into the same program later this year.

So to sum everything up, I could have all my medical forms filled and mailed out by Monday next week. Then maybe I'll have an invitation by late May or early June (that would be a nice birthday present).

Here I am with my first post. This will be my second blog. The first dealt with my college experiences and this one will focus more on my adventures and experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Just to bring everyone up to speed:

So far I have filled out the online applications and had my interview with my recruiter. I have also been nominated for a program somewhere in Africa (they never tell you where for certain until you get officially invitied). My main job will be to teach Biology to high school aged students. My expected departure date (this can easily change) is sometime in September of this year. So come this fall, I could beginning my Peace Corps tenure.

Just before I made this blog I RSVPed for a Peace Corps event down at the national headquarters down in D.C. It's supposed to be a send off celebration for future volunteers. I'm hoping to learn more about the Peace Corps experience and hopefully meet new friends. I told Mary (a fellow RA from a different community that is also applying to go into the Peace Corps) about the event in case she wanted to go with me, but she had class. The event is tomorrow so I'll let you know how it turns out.

I've also got my medical evaluation tomorrow as well. I've already done the eye and dental exams done (the dental was a little more painful than what I'm used to). The dentist and assistant were very interested in learning more about the Peace Corps. The dentist also made a comment about how I must have know I'd go into the Corps ever since I was young (because I have perfect teeth). I never realized not having cavities or fillings was such an unusual occurance. Mom told me it was because I've never had a soda. I guess it makes sense. And it would also explain why my brother's teeth aren't as healthy as mine but still never had a cavity (because of me there isn't a lot of soda to drink at home but he still drinks it at school, etc).

Here's to finishing the medical exam portion of the Peace Corps process.