Filed under: stalk me!
So I just started this thing…and let’s see how long I’ll actually be able to keep it up! For all of you that are thinking about Peace Corp and somehow found this site, congrats! I’d like for it to be available to more people, but I don’t know anything about the web …so pass it on to anyone you may know who could use the help/advice/reading material….
So this is the timeline that I went through, and good god, you must be patient:
April 2008- began applying
June 2008- finished online application portion…(it doesn’t take 2 months to finish the online application mind you….I was just in school and busy with finals and somewhat of a slacker..)
June 11th, 2008 – phone interview- where I was nominated for a program that left sometime in the summer of 2009 and entailed teaching art to deaf children. I wasn’t given any specifics at all, so don’t expect any when you have an interview.
Sometime late June- I got all the medical and dental papers that needed to be filled out. This stuff is intense…so don’t be overwhelmed! There are a lot of appointments that you’ll have to make and a lot of blood that you’ll have to get drawn, but if you’re really committed to doing Peace Corp, then you’ll get it all done.
July – September - got all of the medical stuff done during my summer at home
Beginning of December- medically cleared! Yahoo
December 15th- got my wisdom teeth out! THIS IS NOT A REQUIREMENT, but because mine could have potentially caused some problems while serving, it was wise to have them removed. It was surprisingly not painful at all.
Mid January- Dentally cleared. Cleared of everything now, all I had left to do was wait and hear if I would get an invitation. They say that you will hear back at least 6-8 weeks before you’re supposed to leave…so I didn’t expect to hear back anytime soon…which is what happened. I had hoped though, that since I was cleared of everything relatively early, I might hear back sooner than later…but no such luck.
February – End of April - waited! AH! There is a lot of waiting, so you HAVE TO BE PATIENT. You can call and ask them how it’s going and that you wanted to find out your status, but chances are, you won’t be told anything.
April 22nd- Invited to serve!
June 3rd-I leave for Ghana, where we will spend about three months training and then we are off on our own.
Hope this helps – (to any of you who are actually reading it) Good luck with everything!
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Thank you for sharing this experience! It is so good to have a timeline of ‘what is normal’. I am thinking of joining the Peace Corps – just started the process and was curious about how others go through the process. You provided just the right information. Looks like I should finish the application as soon as possible so I can be part of something that will make a difference within the next year or so.
Good luck to you and may God bless your experience!
Comment by Lori May 5, 2009 @ 11:32 pmHi Lori! I’m so glad you found it helpful…and that you even found this blog at all! Good luck with your process, and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Even if you’re just thinking about doing the PC, you might as well begin applying…you can always say no once you’ve been offered an invitation. Good luck again!
Comment by Sonya Dugal May 6, 2009 @ 5:46 pmSonya! Oh my god! I had no idea you left New York for Ghana. That’s really amazing. I admire you so much! I wish I could do something like this some day. I’ll keep reading your blog! Hope it all goes well!
Comment by Julissa July 9, 2009 @ 8:09 pm