Salut! Je viens de terminer avec l’atelier “Hommes Comme Partenaires”. The conference was awesome! It took place in a northern city of Burkina Faso called Ouahigouya. If you have a good memory, you will recall that it was the village where our first trainings where held when I arrived in Burkina Faso exactly 11 months [...]
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]I wanted to spend a blog post talking about how I reacted to the whole scenario of my vacation mixed with the events that occurred in Burkina Faso while I was in France. After sitting down and writing it all out, I feel a lot better. I’m not sure if I feel the need to [...]
Hello hello! First I am sooo sorry I haven’t written since December. I have no excuse except I didn’t feel compelled to write since I speak to a lot of my friends and family regularly. But now I feel the need to write about what’s been going on recently and how it has affected me [...]
Aw ni su! Somogow do? Barada do? Hey everyone! So I have been in Bobo-Dioulasso for 11 days now…exciting, relaxing, stressful, and exhausting. I have had a great time, gotten to hang out with a bunch of my close volunteer friends, and was able to be a part of some amazing things while I’ve been [...]
Hi everyone! I’m so sorry it has taken so long to post. I’ve been really occupied lately and when I have had access to real internet there have either been too many people around or I had to run too many errands. Anyway what’s going on with me?! First I have made some improvements as [...]
Well I’m back. It has been a little while, I apologize. It’s just difficult to make myself sit down when it’s super hot and just sitting makes me sweat profusely. Anyway let me move onto the updates. I never finished that last blog. I have it written down on paper but haven’t finished putting it [...]
Let me start by saying this post takes place over a few days so it might be a little disjointed. Plus I’m typing this on my blackberry so have patience! Haha 10.02.2010 Today I’m going into Bobo. Currently I’m in the truck waiting to leave. Its 7:30 am. I love taking the bus in the [...]
Hello, hello! I’m currently sitting in the transit house living room. It’s about 4 in the morning and I can’t seem to sleep…so, since I have to be up in about an hour anyway to catch my bus back to Bobo at 6, I thought I would use this time to update my blog. So [...]
Since my last post i have spent another wonderful week at my site in Banzon. The agenda for the past week was to kick off my Dioula tutoring lessons and start a rotational program where I go to see the farm/place of work of each member of the association I’m working with. Each morning I [...]
Hello world! So I have now spent an official week and 4 days in village. My village is awesome. Key word here is VILLAGE! For some reason I guess it didn’t hit me that I was going to be leaving the bigger cities of Burkina, and now I’m living in a small village in the [...]
I have officially sworn in! On Friday all 77 of us trainees became Peace Corps Volunteers!!!! I will be moving to my new village tomorrow which will not have electricity so this might be my last post for few weeks In short it was amazing, pictures will be coming as soon as possible! My new [...]
Hello world I think it’s a good time for a nice looong update. Let’s see since last we spoke I have been doing a ton of stuff! As I said last time we just finished tech week. It was really great to see a program like that work so well. To be completely honest, my [...]
Hello All!!! I know I know, I haven’t updated the blog in a while…but it’s been really busy, in a great way! But since a lot of you out there have in some way asked what you could send me to help comfort me while I’m so far away from home…I have compiled a list [...]
Hey everyone! I know it’s been a really long time since I’ve written, I apologize! Back to my life here in Burkina……… We have just finished week 5 of 9 weeks of training!!!!! I have only been here for one month and it feels like Ive been here for a year. Training is really grueling and [...]
Demystification part 2 As I left off, I spent Thursday night sleeping under a blanket of stars and with a symphony of crickets, roosters, and donkeys! Friday: We started our day with a trip to the local marché to meet some of the women Gwen knew and have some frozen bissap Then we went to [...]
This past weekend was what they call here in the Corps “Demystification”. What that means is that small groups of us trainees take real African public transport (read overcrowded, hot, crazy bus rides that might have you holding a peeing baby with chickens at your feet haha) out to a current volunteer’s site for the [...]
WARNING: This blog entry is comprised of multiple days of notes and little anecdotes so it might read a little weird. Enjoy Friday started off with two pretty hilarious medical sessions. We were introduced more thoroughly to our PCMO’s, Sylvie and Jean Luke. After we had a presentation on what the role of the PCMO [...]
Hi all!!! I’m writing on a French keyboard so please forgive my brevity and typos So what’s been happening lately? well I’m just about done my first week of training! it is really tiring this whole learnig a new language and culture lol…I have also successfully spent two nights with a host family! They are [...]
Hello again!! This entry is being written from the Dragon Hotel in Ouaga! I happened to have some down time between my admin sessions and dinner so I thought I would write another entry up. So..…I’m in Africa! It’s absolutely unreal being in Africa. I have imagined and dreamt about this place for 11 months [...]
Staging – written June 22 and 23rd On Monday morning, June 21st, I finally walked into the Hampton Inn in Philadelphia for Peace Corps staging. After a 10 month application process I had to constantly pinch myself throughout the day to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. My nerves were running high as I stepped out [...]
So the time has finally arrived, the night before staging… I don’t really know what I should be writing at this moment in time. The whirlwind that has been the last 6 weeks has thrown me back and forth between harsh lows and riveting highs. The goodbyes have been the hardest part. I have this [...]
Today the invitation kit came!!! I came home and there it was just sitting there, waiting for me to rip it open and revel in it’s wonderfulness. So here are the deets: Country: Burkina Faso Program: Small Enterprise Development Job Title: Small Business Advisor Orientation Dates: June 21, 2010 Pre-Service Training: June 23 – August [...]
That’s right everyone, I had my final phone interview with my PO today! I knew that it was going to happen today because we scheduled it yesterday over e-mail. Needless to say I didn’t sleep very well and was a wreck all morning until I had my call at 1:30 pm. The interview was great, [...]
Dear Peace Corps,
For my birthday…all I want…is a toolkit update!!! Or a note saying my final review is in progress
Pretty pretty pretty please?!???!!?!?
Loooooooove,
Keith
P.S. – My birthday was today….soo…… yea
What to say, what to say. Well, no new news has come so far from the Peace Corps. I was told on March 1st that my placement review would be complete within 4-6 weeks. However I have also heard from a PO that they most likely won’t be getting around to July invites (for which [...]
Hello fellow applicants and friends,
I woke up this morning with an e-mail saying I had a toolkit updated. What a nice surprise especially since I wasn’t expecting any toolkit updates for a few weeks. I checked on the toolkit this morning and it looks like I have legal clearance! Woo-hoo!!! That means I have all [...]
So as I wrote yesterday, the medical nurse and I had a wonderful phone call where she told me I was medically cleared. And having been through so much in the past 16 weeks with thinking I would be through or thinking my review was all on track, just to find out I was nowhere [...]
Yes! It’s true!!! I just got off the phone with my Nurse and she said that I am medically cleared!!!! Eeeep! I just did a victory lap around the apartment (since I’m working from home, thank you snow storm!)
So hopefully I will wake up tomorrow and my toolkit will show that my medical review is [...]
I know I had decided to just wait for an update and try to not pester the Medical Nurse, but it had been 12 days since I sent in my supplemental forms so I was over being passive. I actually got right through to my nurse!!! That has never happened before. Unfortunately, her news was that [...]
Based on my last post, most people would expect me to be medically cleared by now, as I did. Truth is, I’m still somehow in medical review. After I faxed back my supplemental questionnaire, my medical hold was actually taken off for a about ten days and I didn’t really understand why. I tried reaching [...]
Hi All!
I finally was able to fix my comments section, it appears that now you can post comments (I changed it to a pop-out box instead of embedded, since that wasn’t showing up).
So all of you other peace corps applicants, friends, or strangers – feel free to leave some love
[...]
So it has been 13 weeks since my medical kit was received by the Peace Corps Medical office in DC. 13 weeks — that’s roughly 67 business days. 67! I had not heard anything, didn’t see an update stating my review had began, was repeatedly told that the process takes 8-12 weeks, even [...]
Well Folks, it’s been quite awhile since I’ve last updated. Sadly it’s because I haven’t gotten any news since November 3rd. I was notified that my medical packet had been received as of November 4th and that’s the last thing that was said. It has now been 6 weeks since then and [...]
Hello, hello! Just wanted to write a little note because I’m a huge dork and am super excited to know that I had an update on my toolkit this morning: Dental Clearance!! Woo!
Now I know I sent everything together on Tuesday afternoon so that means they have everything. I also have read that it [...]
Well, finally after a much longer timeframe than I had previously expected, I have Fed-exed my Medical/Dental/and Vision forms back to the DC Office. I know they were delivered yesterday, now I’m just waiting to see how long before I see that they are actually in the hands of my Medical reviewer. I [...]
So I thought I would write a little update on the recent activity involved in getting my medical paperwork complete.
When we ended last time I was telling you all about my frustrations with having to get a form filled out by a therapist that I had seen once in my sophomore year at Penn. [...]
Medical Clearance…very, very, extensive. I am currently in the process of trying to get through the medical clearance portion of the application process. I have gotten my dental forms all complete, I had my physical exam/medical history check, I had blood work done (4 vials! that’s a lot of tests!), sent a letter [...]
Wow…wow………..just WOW!!! So as an update, I had my interview this week on Tuesday. I went into the Peace Corps recruiting office down in the Village (such a lovely neighborhood), had to go through all the high security schtuff which I wasn’t expecting but seeing as the Peace Corps is a government organization, I’m [...]
Yay! Definite progress has been made. This week I have had the fingerprint forms, agency check, and recommendations sent in and finished. I sent in all of my financial obligation data and my notarized letter of the person who is going to assume my private loan payments (thanks Tim!). Today I received [...]
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