So I’m joining the Peace Corps

So I’m joining the Peace Corps. If all goes as planned, I will be heading to Eastern Europe in March. My interest in the Peace Corps was first peeked when watching Shallow Hal. I figured hey, if Gwyneth Paltrow in a fat suit can find love, so can I. That was a joke. I became interested about two years ago, before finishing grad school. I had done minimal research - I knew you get sent somewhere for 27 month and you get a stipend (in lieu of a salary). I began the online application which is extensive, to say the least. I was working on it off and on for a few weeks but eventually I put it on the backburner because I wanted to finish grad school first.  At the time I think all I had was by exit paper to finish but I really had no idea when I would complete that task. I realized it was a bad idea to get a head of myself; I needed to concentrate on the task at hand. When I did eventually complete my program and received my degree I had pretty much said F it to the Peace Corps. I decided to apply for paying jobs and apply I did – for over 20 positions. Majority of the places I applied for were international NGO’s or non-profits.  For some I was under qualified, some over and some I was exactly what they were looking for. I had one interview (most places I applied for had a high volume of applicants and said they only responded to top candidates).  I think lacking in international experience/educational background and language skills was my down fall and that recession thing.  Peace Corps seemed like a place I could get both. I revisited the application. I completed all of it within a week except for the personal essays which I put off for about a month or six. Writing those things is incredibly frustrating. One may think the parameters make it easier but it doesn’t.  Those things request sincerity in a contrived manner yet to be successful you need to be tactical. I prefer to be deep and personal in a more organic way.  But finally, in the second weekend of August, I wrote the essays completed and submitted the application.

So I thought. I did not receive any conformation that they had received my online application and letters of recommendation. It turns out I had overlooked/misunderstood an aspect of the online application. The problem was easily solved, although I had some serious communication problems with the receptionist at the recruiter’s office. But crisis averted and a few days later I received a packet requesting transcripts, fingerprint cards and some other legal stuff, all of which had to be submitted before my interview could be scheduled. In the packet was also a letter from my recruiter. I noticed he was going to be the one hosting the information session here in San Antonio that week. Although I had already been to one, I decided to go and meet him ahead of time, so I did. Nice guy. Within a couple of days of receiving the packet, I returned it. It arrived a few days later in Dallas and then my recruiter called to set up an interview – in Dallas. Next week will be my interview.