Waiting for an invitation= watching paint dry= waiting for water to boil= picking my nose = twiddling my thumbs= pulling hair out = you get the idea.

Sooo, the November staging dates are quickly approaching (check out the staging timeline at http://www.peacecorpswiki.org/Timeline). The rule is that your invitation to serve can be recieved as early as 6 months prior to departure, and as late as 6 weeks prior. 6 weeks before the first November staging date to Kenya is 7 business days from today. I have been medically cleared for a very long time and seriously thought I would have been one of the luckier nominees- one who knows where they're going by now. I'm nervous because a lot of the September nominees got pushed back to October and some even as late as next Spring, due to budget cuts and whatnot. The good news is that I've corresponded with a handful of other November hopefuls who are in the same boat. "Misey loves company," indeed.

In more exciting news, I am taking a 2 week vacation to Guyana (South America) on September 24th. My good friend, Kien, is currently serving in the Peace Corps there as an Environmental Educator with a company called Conservation International. Google it; they have an awesome website. Also Google Guyana; they have an awesome jungle :)
For the time being I've been 'sitting the kiddo's in Merrimac in the afternoons and substituting at Atkinson Academy. Elementary is far easier than middle school- who knew!?

Check back soon! And if you get bored click on my cousin Patrick's link over there to the right and read about his new life in JAPAN! <3

The Leonard Lopate Show

I found this on a PC discussion page and thought it was pretty interesting. 3 RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) discuss the Peace Corps' past as well as what it should strive to accomplish in the future:
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2008/07/14/segments/103300#

Upcoming PC Family Online Chat

"Dear applicants, nominees and invitees,

Please share this link with your friends and family; if they cannot make this event, we will schedule another one for later in the summer and we’ll resend the invitation to you. Peace Corps Online Family Chat –Meet parents of currently serving Volunteers. Friday, July 11th, 2008, 5 pm EST (Limited Connections, RSVP Early)Meet two mothers with daughters serving in the Peace Corps (in Africa and Central America).

Click here to register for this meeting, or paste this URL https://peacecorps.webex.com/peacecorps/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=681281610 in your browser. Once you have registered for the meeting, you will receive an e-mail message confirming your registration, providing you with information that you will need to join the meeting.

Questions? Email Joanna Shea O’Brien at jobrien@peacecorps.gov "

Obama's Remarks on Service

This is important- please read:
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/07/02/obamas-remarks-on-service/?mod=googlenews_wsj

Did you know that the Peace Corps budget, at $331 million, is comparable to ONE day of military service in Iraq? Some returned Peace Corps volunteers have started a campaign to change this. Read and help: http://www.morepeacecorps.org/

And... yes. we. can! ;)

Email from Africa Placement #2:

"We wish to congratulate you on receiving your medical clearance, and achieving one of the most important steps on your way to becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer. We will soon be screening and reviewing your application materials and you will be notified if any additional information is needed for your file at that time. Once we have initiated the review of your file, we will update you on the next stepsof the application process.
We understand that you might be eager to receive more information from Peace Corps at this point, and we greatly appreciate your patience. In the meantime, you can prepare for Peace Corps service and make your application more competitive by: continuing to gain experience through working or volunteering within your nominated field; attending PeaceCorps events; talking to Returned Volunteers; and reading books,articles, and other resources about Peace Corps. You can also find resources and learning activities on our website and in My Toolkit.
The Africa Placement Team would like to update you on the timing of our review for your application. We are currently reviewing applications for the June and July time frame. We will be reviewing applications for the August and September time period in the next 4-6 weeks. Once those programs are completed we will shift our efforts to the programs leaving after September.
We appreciate your patience and look forward to working with you in the near future. Please do not reply to this e-mail as we are unable to respond in a timely manner."

Email from the Africa Placement Team:

"Greetings from the Peace Corps Placement Office! We wish to congratulate you on receiving your medical clearance, and overcoming one of the most important steps on your way to becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer. We will soon be screening and reviewing your application materials and you will be notified if any additional information is needed for your file at that time. Once we have completed our review of your file, we will update you on the next steps of the application process. At this time, we are working to fill programs departing in May-July. If you were nominated to a program scheduled to depart in August-September, we will be reviewing your application in the next few weeks. If you were nominated for a program scheduled to depart in October-December, we will begin reviewing your application in mid-May. You will receive an update from your “My Toolkit” account once this review has been completed..."

Kenya stop buggin' me now? :p...

"Peace Corps/Kenya Volunteers are currently consolidated in a variety of locations in response to the ongoing violence associated with the recent presidential and parliamentary elections. There are 144 Volunteers serving in Kenya, 122 are in country, 22 out of country on vacation. All Volunteers are safe and accounted for."