To my friends and to my followers and to everyone I've met along the way, my Peace Corps experience is over. I received the official email from my Placement Officer today. You can read that below. I just want to thank everyone for the support. I could not have made it this far without it. I also want to thank the fellow applicants that I met. Craziness, right? For those that get an invite or already have it, I wish you the best on your travels! This blog will remain open for future applicants to have as a resource. Again, thanks everyone! PMA

"Joey,

Thank you for your email and I appreciate your explanation of your interest and motivation to join the Peace Corps. Unfortunately every country I have spoken with has agreed that they would not be able to accept you into their program because of your visible tattoos and body modifications. The reality is, Peace Corps Volunteers must be able to conform and assimilate into the cultures and communities they serve, and this includes their appearances. Because your tattoos and other body modifications are permanent, you would not be able to conform/modify properly enough as to ensure that 1) your safety and security would not be in jeopardy, 2) you would not ostracize yourself, or be found unapproachable, from local citizens, and therefore 3) you would be able to successfully perform the duties assigned to you for 27 months.

I understand your arguments, however you must be aware that surely the Peace Corps can say “whether or not [your] tattoos would cause any problems”. I am not making this decision sitting in an office in Washington DC. These decisions were made by the staff (both Americans and Host Country Nationals) in the countries we serve in. And trust me, the staff in Ukraine, or Jamaica, or Eastern Caribbean, or wherever, knows better than you or I do regarding how your visible tattoos and body modifications will be regarding in their countries.

I am deeply sorry Joey, however we are not going to be able to offer you an invitation to serve in the Peace Corps. This is not a reflection of your motivation nor your skill set, both of which are solid. This decision is based solely on your inability to modify your appearance in order to maintain a safe and productive service as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Jason Bowers"

Finally heard from my Placement Specialist today. It has been weeks. Unfortunately, it wasn't good news. It was quite the opposite. He said that he had spoken to two different countries, both of which did not want me as a volunteer due to my tattoos (note: none are offensive). He said that he is going to talk to a third country and I should hear something within two weeks, however, he said that the outcome will most likely be the same. This being said, it was followed by a "you will not become a Peace Corps volunteer" more or less. Needless to say, this left me feeling completely horrible. I'm going to start job searching now. Oy. I wish I was told this three months ago while I was still in school. This messes up plans a lot. It also leaves me with a lot of anger towards discrimination, even if the Peace Corps says the other country didn't want tattoos. It still comes down to the PC's decision, and this is how it ended up. Lucky me, huh? Official PC decision in a couple weeks, I suppose. I don't expect it to change.

Good luck, fellow applicants.

Just got a phone call from my Placement Specialist. He said the Placement Office is doing somewhat of an internal audit. Basically, he said that this means I most likely won't hear anything regarding an invitation until early January. This really spoils my holiday season. I was really looking forward to being able to tell family and friends about where I'd be going to in March. So much for that. I really just don't like having my life dangle on a string held by the PC. It's so annoying. January isn't too far away, though, and my holidays are relatively planned out anyways. It's just annoying. Ha, at least they didn't tell me I suck and that I'm never getting an invite.

I was supposed to talk to my Placement Specialist on Friday. Left messages, emails..still didn't hear back. I called the main desk and left a message today. Got a call back from Imani...ha. She put me on hold to go talk to my Placement Specialist real quick. Basically, she told me that he said he hasn't heard anything from the country yet so that's why he hasn't been in contact. So now I'm just waiting. Yay... I'm okay with that for now, I guess. No matter how much anxiety I may get from this lovely waiting game, a phrase from a manga/anime that means a lot to me keeps coming up in my head: you can give up on me giving up! That's basically where I stand with that now. Good luck, applicants! Keep up that PMA and things will start working out! BELIEVE IT!

I was sitting in ethics class when my phone rang with the 202 number (I had been waiting on this all day). I literally ran out to answer. It was my Placement Officer. He decided that he wanted to have a final interview with me. :D :D :D

The interview was about an hour and a half of intense conversation..mainly about my tattoos. Long and incredibly scary story short, he said that I was a special case, as they've never had anyone apply with as many tattoos as me. Ha, he also asked about my hand and neck tattoos. I said "I have black X's on my hands, a blue bull (like Paul Bunyan) on my left neck, a gryphon on my right neck, and a cartoon symbol behind my left ear." When he asked what the symbol was, I bashfully said it was the Hidden Leaf Village symbol from the anime Naruto. FYI guys, I'm a huge nerd. Haha. He also decided that he didn't like the program I was originally nominated for since my skills weren't so great for Community Development with a focus in Environmental Education (found this out the day before via email with him). Instead, he finds me much more suited for a Youth Development project with a focus in At-Risk Youth. This is perfect for me. He said he needs to contact a few countries to see if they want me even though I'm covered in tattoos. He said he was pushing my file foward for an invitation based on my skills and experience. He said if I don't hear back from him by next Thursday to call him on Friday. I believe next week I will be told whether I'll be getting an invite (or not) and to where it may (or may not) be.

Overall, great conversation. Very informative. So I guess now I have a week to do more research and spaz out. Keep up the PMA everyone! It's working well. BELIEVE IT!

Today was the day I was expecting an above average phone call (in terms of positivity) from the Placement Office. I ran outside to answer the 202 phone call, possibly looking like a lunatic to everyone else eating there. It was from my lovely Placement Assistant, Imani. Yes, I've resorted to sarcasm folks. We discussed the message I left on her phone last week. I mentioned the email I sent to her over the weekend to which she responded "I was out of the office." Well, yeah, I get that, but do people not check their emails?? She works in an office..come on. She said my nomination is for early March. Yet again, I get that. I've been told this for a long time now. Let us note this, though: TOMORROW STARTS DECEMBER!! 8-week rule? Psh. She said "We're working on applications leaving in December, January, and February." 8 week rule? I tried to explain to her that I graduate in less than 3 weeks. I said "You must understand the situation I'm in." She didn't really seem to get where I was coming from. However, I am still optimistic about this week. Many of you reading this entry may see everything above and question that, but here are my reasons why that's the case. The first reason is that I have decided I'm not going to deal with Imani anymore. I never seem to get anywhere with her. The main office was more helpful than she has been. The second reason is that I will be calling my actual Placement Office, Jason, on Friday if I don't hear anything else from the Placement Office this week. One good thing that actually did come out of this phone call is that Imani is marking on my application that I can leave earlier than March. Why? BECAUSE I GRADUATE IN LESS THAN 3 WEEKS. I still have my sanity and my optimism about this week. Nothing is going to get me down.

PMA PMA PMA.

So I was in bed. Asleep. It was 11:06am. I'm a college student...deal with it. I didn't sleep very well last night so when I heard my phone make noise, I assumed it was my alarm clock. I reached over to turn it off only to realize that it wasn't my alarm going off. It was ringing...WITH A 202 AREA CODE! I jumped out of bed, cleared my throat, and hoped I didn't sound like a buffoon to the person on the other end. It was the Placement Office returning my call from last week (they moved). She gave me some information about what was up and I asked her some questions, too. Ha, she was very polite. Um, basically she said the person I thought was my Placement Officer is just a Placement Assistant, I guess. This isn't the first time something like this has happened to me so I just kind of brushed it off. She did tell me that she believes my file is in the Final Review stage of things because 1. it's not infront of her and 2. because I've already been in contact with a Placement Assistant. The nice lady on the phone also gave me the extension of the person that is actually my Placement Officer so I plan on contacting him at the end of the week to discuss things (mainly that I'm graduating in three weeks and I have no invite and no job and will be unemployed for awhile and...many things relating to that).

HOWEVER, fellow applicants (especially those nominated for January, February, and March), I feel that this week is going to be a good week for all of us. I don't know why, but I just feel really good about this week. Positive Mental Attitude!!!

After sitting around all day hoping to get an email, I finally got one. This came as a surprise to me since it was sent at 5:08pm. So this email was from my placement officer. It was finally a relatively in-depth email regarding placement. However, as in-depth/lengthy as it may have been, it was also very vague and ambigious, like a template. One part of the email said how placement is working on nominations that have immediate departures i.e. programs set to leave in January. Since my program is set for early March, she said that she anticipates that my file will likely be reviewed in December. This email also said that I will hear from my placement specialist no later than the last week of January if I am going to be invited to the program which I was originally nominated for. Based on invites sent out for Sub-Saharan Africa, this email was a load of crap. To my knowledge, there aren't any Sub-Saharan Africa programs set to leave in March. Meaning I would have to leave before or after. March is still part of the first quarter so I hope that my program can be included into the January/February category. This is all pretty disheartening. I would hope to be contacted soon regarding an invitation. I feel like communication is key in these sorts of things. Maybe I'm just not getting the communication that I want. Then again, I guess that would prepare future volunteers for living in seclusion. I'm just going to try and stay positive about all this. An email, though vague, is better than nothing at all. Good luck, everyone/self.

Also, for all of those wondering, the email that was sent to me said the cut-off dates are EIGHT (8) weeks, not six.

Next week (five days to be exact) will be the one month anniversary of me being contacted by my placement officer. Funny story: haven't heard from her since. Well, until today that, is. I emailed my old recruiter in hopes of getting some help. Typically..actually..every time I have emailed my recruiter about updates, something happens. So this time when I emailed her, lo and behold, I received an email from my placement officer. This is the email:

Hi Josh,

I’ve received your updated resume; thanks!

Imani

Make note, my name is JOEY. JOEY!!! J-O-E-Y! So with that, I wonder what's worse: receiving an email being called someone else or not receiving an email at all. I would really like things to just move along. Seriously. Oh, also the email she responded to was the 3rd email I have sent to my recruiter. I understand that these people are busy, but really?? Ha, little disappointments going on right now. I would just like to see some good things come my way. Geesh.

I have finally been contacted by the Placement Office! I have been thinking about this everyday for the past month. Finally! Finally!!! My Placement Officer requested that I send in an updated resume and final transcript. Resume will be done this weekend, however, I don't graduate until December, meaning that is when I'll be sending in my final transcript. My Placement Officer said this should not slow down the process, though. My file will continue to go through. WOOT! WIN FOR ME!!!!! Pushing foward, kids. LET'S DO THIS!

I got my offical Peace Corps medical clearance letter in the mail on Monday. Now I'm just kind of waiting around. Almost constantly keeping an eye on my phone waiting for a call from a Placement Officer. Hey, my name is Joey. CALL ME!

Got an idea from another applicant...let's talk on Skype! Social networks and social support are great! ESPECIALLY for this kind of thing. So let's get talking, guys and gals! Skype: kangaroozer510

After a week and a half of emailing various PC personel (which I do believe helped move the process along), I woke up to an unexpected email from the PC this morning. Account was updated. Got super excited, checked the main page immediately, and boom....MEDICAL COMPLETE! YAY!!!!! I then proceeded to contact my best friends..after jumping around the room cheering, and laughing, and almost crying. Ha. Now I'm waiting for my letter in the mail and then on to placement. Medical has taked four months to clear. Most difficult wait EVER! Onward!!!!

My dental forms clearned in about two days after sending in all of my paperwork. However, medical is a little different. It is taking VERY long for that paperwork to clear. I remember reading that they focus more on applicants that are leaving sooner rather than later, and since I'm leaving in March..well..it might be awhile. In the mean time I've been keeping myself occupied with reading lots and lots of journals of other applicants. Let's note that doing so definitely does not help with my excitement level, which is still very very high.

I finished up the last of my dental work last week. I overnighted all of my forms, x-rays, and photographs yesterday. Hopefully neither my doctor, my dentist, my oral surgeon, nor myself missed anything on those forms. If everything is correct on my forms, then I just have to wait until I get an invitation in the mail. LET'S DO THIS!!!

I had my dental exam yesterday. I have four cavities that I need to get filled. I also have two wisdom teeth that need to get pulled. Basically, I have dental appointments almost weekly started, well, this week, all the way until the first week of May. That means that May will be the earliest that I will get my medical and dental forms in. I'll definitely be staying on top of this stuff. Hopefully when I get my bloodwork done, the doctor won't say I have cancer or something...

Monday of this past week I received a call from my recruiter saying that I'll be going to Sub-Saharan Africa next March! What an exciting phone call!! When I got back from my Spring Break Service Work trip I had the medical forms in the mail. I got both my dental and medical appoints set, both of which are in the following two weeks. My recruiter also asked me to start doing some environmental activities for my application. I just spent a week doing Hurricane Ike relief down in Texas, which helped, but I'm also going to join the Natural Resources Club on campus, and also possibly do some volunteer work at a local park. That's all for now!

I apologize for not keeping up with my blog here (this semester has been brutal). In Decemeber, when programs were to open up, my recruiter could not find a program for me. She said I should try and get more things put on to my application and wait until March when more programs open up. I decided against trying to qualify for another program and to wait it out until March. Well, it's March now. I got an update last weekend in my email so I checked out the main Peace Corps site. My application on there was finally fully up-to-date. After that I emailed my recruiter to remind her that I was still interested in a program. I got an email response saying she was out of the office and would respond back to emails by March 12th. Needless to say I was a bit saddened by that. However, almost immediately following that my recruiter emailed me saying that she'll try and find a program for me and that she'll be in contact with me over the next few weeks. I went to my second class today and checked my email (this is a normal thing). I had another update email. So I checked the main site again and it said that I was nominated for a program!!! I was/still am super excited and super happy to have read that! However, my recruiter is still out of the office for the week so I don't know where I could possibly be going yet. Haha. Kind of funny. Patience is key here. I'll just wait it out until my recruiter contacts me, I suppose.

I had my Peace Corps Interview yesterday over the phone with my recruiter, Nicole. Her asking questions lasted about an 45 minutes. I asked questions for about 15 minutes. Many questions were asked regarding cultural differences, how I deal with things in certain situations, etc. The interview went very well overall. Since the programs that begin in December of 2010 don't start recruitment until December 1st of 2009, Nicole is putting my application on hold AGAIN. However, I was told to email her after Thanksgiving to get my application taken off hold and get it ready for putting me into a program. Only a few more weeks until things get moving again.

On my way to do some volunteer hours at the YMCA yesterday I got a call from Nicole. She said that she was very impressed with the initiative I've taken to get these hours done, and so quickly to boot. She said that she is going to take my application off hold since I'll have my hours done next Friday, and that she wanted to set up a time for my interview. Very exciting news! However, I'm a very very busy man so the best time I could find was Monday from 4:30-5:30pm, which happens to be the time between my volunteer hours and work. Hopefully I can drive fast and get to work and park my car before my interview starts. Just another step closer!

I should have posted last week, but I've been busy. Sue me.

I got volunteer hours set up with the YMCA starting the first week of November. I'll be doing roughly 6-10 hours a week. I contacted my recruiter after those hours were set up. Went I sent the email informing Nicole, I also asked her if she needs three months of service, or if there was a set amount of hours needed. She responded saying I needed three months of service OR 30 hours, whichever came first. Which means I'll have this service work done in a month. Especially after this past weekend. It was the Alternative Fall Break here on campus. We worked at a rescue mission. I got my advisor for the trip to verify my hours and that came to a total of 12. I'm basically halfway there now. Woot!!!

I received a phone call from an unknown number today. When I answered I was greeted by my recruiter Nicole. She said I almost qualify for a Community Outreach program. I just need to have a bit more volunteer experience. So for now she is putting my application on hold. I need to contact her when I get some volunteer work set up. She says I need about three months of volunteer work. This coming week I will hunt down some places to do volunteer work (and hopefully I'll be able to do it every weekend). This was good and bad news, but mostly good news to me. I'm close. I'll keep this blog updated once I hear back from Nicole after I get the volunteer work set up.

Yesterday I received the next step in my application process. It containted info about a National Agency Check (NAC), the form that I need to fill out for that, and two fingerprint charts. I called up the University Police to see if I would be able to do it there, or if I'd have to go downtown. They said they could do my fingerprints, but only during normal business hours...which were 7am-3pm (I didn't know those were normal business hours). So today I went in during my break between my Friday classes. Took about 15 minutes. After that I went straight to the University Post Office to get them sent out. They should reach Chicago on Monday; Tuesday at the latest. I believe I should be getting a call from my recruiter soon. I'm so stoked!

Last night I finally finished my Peace Corps application. After about a week of procrastinating, I found some creativity and wrote my final essay. It's a great feeling to finally start this process that I've waited so long for. In the next few weeks my reference letters will be sent in, and I should be contaced for an interview. I'm excited!