how i got here:

Tonight i'm having dinner with a couple friends who are curious about the Peace Corps application process and it got me thinking about my application timeline and exactly what has happened in the past year to get me to this point!!

So without further adieu:

• Feb/Mar 2009: Started looking into Peace Corps and even started filling out the application, but decided to wait because I hadn't yet heard back from a Fulbright position I'd applied to.
• Mar 2009 (i think): Heard that I didn't get the Fulbright and decided to go ahead with PC!
• April-June 2009: Asked my three references if they would in fact like to be references for me (i needed a volunteer supervisor, a work supervisor and a friend)
• July 7, 2009: My last reference recently turned in her letter, so i gave my application one last go over and turned it in!
• July 30, 2009: Received an email from my recruiter and set up my interview!
• August 14, 2009: Interviewed with my recruiter. And received my Nomination!! (a nomination basically says that you are a candidate for the job). I left my interview thinking that i could be leaving as soon as Dec 2009, but my recruiter called back that same day and said he found a program for Math Education in Francophone Africa for June 2010 and i was nominated to that program!
• August 2009: Received my medical packet in the mail (the next step towards being cleared as a possible volunteer)
• Oct 23, 2009: Had my physical (including 3 shots and about 6 vials of blood drawn...)
• Dec 2009: My application status became 'inactive' because i'm a procrastinator :P
• Jan 2010: Mailed in medical forms, no longer inactive!
• Feb 2, 2010: Dental exam (definitely less blood than the physical) and dental exam mailed in!
• Feb 18, 2010: Medical clearance
• Feb 19, 2010: Received email that it would be a good idea to review my application and resume to ensure that everything is up to date.
  and just as i was about to do that:
• Feb 24, 2010: Received a phone call from the Placement office that turned into a second interview of sorts. Was told that i just received dental clearance and would be receiving legal clearance the next day. More importantly, i was told that i would be receiving an invitation! (aka, the job offer!) They don't tell your country though, so i was left waiting!
• Feb 27, 2010: Invitation arrived at my house when i was out of town! i had my brother hide it until i got home though, and found out i would be going to Burkina Faso!
  Also found out i needed to get a cavity filled and my wisdom teeth out :P
• Mar 1, 2010: Accepted invitation!
• Mar 10, 2010: Emailed the in-country desk another Aspiration Statement and resume
• April 8, 2010: First appt. with oral surgeon
• April 15, 2010: Cavity filled!
• April 22, 2010: Wisdom teeth out!
• May 10, 2010: Received my staging email, booked my flight to staging in Philadelphia, learned I needed H1N1 vaccine
• May 11, 2010: Got H1N1 vaccine
• May 19, 2010: today.
• June 7, 2010: Fly to staging
• June 9, 2010: Land in Ouagadougou, BF
• August 25, 2010: Officially start as PC Volunteer (end of training)
  
• August 25, 2012: Done!

So, there's the journey so far. I was told that the application process typically takes over a year, but as you can see, i'm leaving less than a year after I submitted my application! There were periods of waiting, but i feel that most of them were because of me (i.e. oct-jan), not because I was waiting on the PC :)

But it's about time for that dinner, and the countdown is at 19 days to go!

things just got real!

alright, things just got real around here! I just received my staging email (the email that says everything i need to know before leaving!!!) I also just made my flight arrangements, during which, the guy asked if I wanted window or aisle and when I responded that I didn't mind he said "you're leaving for 3 years, i'll give you window so you can wave goodbye." yikes.

But I will meet the rest of my group in Philadelphia where we will turn in a lot of paper work and get some shots (I also just found out that I have to get the H1N1 shot before I go, too, it's like a bonus shot!)

Below is my schedule for the two days:

First of all, I love how in the email 'completed forms' was highlighted, and above it is in bold. I think they really want us to have those forms completed. :)

Iit is so entirely surreal to look at that and see "Flight departs for Burkina Faso" I really don't know what to think about that right now. But I should probably start tracking down paperwork! Eeek!

one month left!

Well, I haven’t updated this in a while, and to be honest, I feel like not a whole lot has been happening!

Since the last update, I had my wisdom teeth removed. It went really well, no dry sockets and I was back to work on Monday (I had them out on a Thursday). Unfortunately, my insurance didn’t cover as much of them as I’d hoped, so they were expensive little buggers, but at least it something I won’t have to worry about later in life (or while I’m in Burkina!).

I feel like it’s lame to talk so much about things I’m buying, but at this point, that’s about all that’s going on. I finally decided on a solar charger! (I just ordered it yesterday even!) I decided on the Solio charger (the one recommended in the first place), but the key reason I finally made a decision was this little guy; a battery recharger that charges through a USB port. With the Solio you are able to buy a different tip for the different devices you need to charge, so I can buy a USB port to charge both my ipod and batteries. Until I found that the USB charger, I was really stuck on what to get, so I was super excited about that find!

I recently found out that some volunteers use car batteries as a source of electricity at their homes. They are able to get the car batteries recharged as needed, and they have a strong enough current to charge laptops, too. I’ll check that out when I get there, but that is something I would have never thought to do!

So, as the departure date gets closer and closer (33 days!) a lot of people are asking if I’m getting more nervous or excited to go. To be honest, I’ve been a crazy mix of emotions since I found out I was leaving, but lately I don’t really feel strongly one way or the other, just sort of neutral. I think a big reason for that was now that my wisdom teeth are out, I don’t really have anything else I absolutely have to do before I leave. Before this I had two vacations, multiple dental appts, wisdom teeth, and researching and buying the bigger items. And now I’m sort of just coasting to the finish line. I’m guessing that as these 33 days left start to dwindle down I’ll start to get back into a state of mixed excitement and terror.

I’ve also decided that I need to practice my French! My little brother had ordered these French CDs online, so I have them on my ipod and I’ve decided to use my time at work before store open to listen and practice. And now that I think of it, I think there are a couple Mooré (the most common local language) lessons on the PC website! So maybe in my coasting time near the end here, I’ll finally focus on language practice.

Final note: I am having an open house before I go! If you’re at all in the area on May 22, swing on by! Send me an email if you need an address or details. If you’re not in the area, give me a call! I would love to hear from you before I go :)

a burkina song

so for all of you who heard that i was going to burkina faso and thought to yourself "burki-what?," i found this song for you! It is by one my fellow PC volunteers, and he'll actually be in my same training group in june!

A Burkina Faso Song.

the start of packing...

Today i picked up a couple of the larger items that I'll need for my time in Burkina! I think REI should pay me for the little shout out I'm giving them here, but these are the 3 things i picked up tonight:

Screen tent. Many of the volunteers choose to sleep outside because the houses sit in the sun all day retain all that heat! Sometimes as much as 90 degrees at night still. Most houses are surrounded by a locked gate, so they are safe from both people and animals :P Because of the risk of malaria from mosquitoes, I will need some sort of protection, and this little tent was definitely the best bargain.
Camping pad. For sleeping outdoors, in my new tent. I originally was looking at a more expensive, but lighter pad (more expensive because of the technology required to make it lighter...) But i realized that i won't often be trekking this around, so the extra cushion would be worth the pound or so more i would carry on the trip there and back. Also, it isn't the name brand, so i got about double the thickness for less money!
My daypack!! I bought the grey/green one pictured, because it was $25 cheaper. It has the exact same features, but was $25-$40 cheaper than comparable packs. I've heard that once i am in burkina (and especially once i move to my permanent site) i won't travel more than a couple days at a time, meaning my large hiking backpack would be too much for a couple outfits and the necessities. I thought about just using my school backpack I've had for a few years, but i was really afraid it just wouldn't hold up. And it doesn't have all the fancy zippers and straps :)

The last item i am really struggling with is the solar charger. There are many options to choose from, and i think my biggest problem is that i don't know exactly what i expect from it. I know i don't expect it to charge my computer (to get one that can charge a laptop makes the cost jump from less than $100 to as much as $600, though you can probably get one close to $300). I think i want one that can charge my phone (which i will purchase in Burkina), my ipod, rechargeable batteries and my camera. I just haven't found one that can do that mix. Or i just don't know enough about all the adapters out there either.
So, if anyone has any sort of insight, please let me know :)

In other exciting news, via facebook i found a couple from minnesota who is going to be in my program!! The woman even works with my dad! We discovered that they even work in the department, just a couple rows away, which is amazing when you consider how many thousands of people work in that building! We might try to meet before we go, but either way it has been fun to talk to people going through the same steps and asking the same questions i have been asking :) And they are from iowa, so we are all familiar with both areas!

well, that's about it for now. i just got back from out little family vacation on tuesday with just a little sunburn... i guess it's just a warm-up for the years to come! I have to admit that my days of staying up late, sleeping in & napping every afternoon to then start the cycle over have not made for an easy re-adjustment to working at 6...
and wish me luck, tomorrow is my first appt with the oral surgeon! time to get these wisdom teeth checked out, eek!

So it begins!

I finally started my blog!! I've spent yesterday and today playing around and making sure it has all the features I want :) Maybe if I'd taken more programming classes I could have designed my own sweet backgrounds, but I'm pretty happy with what I found!

Well, I leave for Burkina in 74 days!! I really cannot believe it is coming that soon, because I feel like I haven't even started preparing. The first week I found out I submitting my passport application (I will get a second, government employee passport. Kind of like a secret agent!), my visa application and emailed my country's Peace Corps desk my resume and another aspiration statement. Up until that point the people working specifically for the Burkina Faso placements and such didn't have any information on me, so I hope I made a decent first impression. The only Peace Corps paperwork I am still waiting on is re-submitting my dental paperwork once I get my wisdom teeth out. So that will be fun. Other than that it is a lot of little things that you wouldn't really think about: renewing credit cards, driver's license, and anything else that will expire before August 2012. I have a lot of loan paper work to get started on as well, which I suspect will be about as much fun as getting my wisdom teeth out, minus the painkillers.

Since I sent out my last mass email stating that I was officially in, I haven't been officially been told any new information, but I've been doing a lot of blog stalking of other volunteers and think i have a pretty good idea of what to expect for training at least. The first 3 months of my 27 month commitment will spent training with the group of volunteer starting the same time as me. At the end of training I will be officially sworn in as a volunteer (PCV), up until that point i'm only a trainee (PCT). I'm guessing the training group will be 15-20 people, but I really won't know until I get there!! We will be training around Ouahigouya (the northern of the two cities marked on the map to the right. The other city is the capital, where I'm guessing I will fly in). Part of training is spent at the PC training center, but for most of it the group is split up to live with host families. The purpose for this is to help us adjust to the culture and language sooner than if we all just stayed together. The host families will not all live in Ouahigouya, some may live in smaller villages outside the city. Once again, I'll find out when I get there!

My placement is officially to teach math at secondary school (anywhere from 7th-12th grade). But I know that all African PCVs do some work with Health Care. I'm not sure exactly what i will do for this yet, i think a lot of that will be determined by the specific needs of the community where i live. Burkina doesn't struggle with HIV/AIDS as much as other countries do, most of the health problems there are malnutrition and dehydration (because of diarrhea from unclean water). The average life expectancy is only about 45, while the US life expectancy is about 75. So as much as Africa needs advanced medical care to treat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, they also just need clean water and food. (I will provided a water filter from the Peace Corps for my water. It is very unlikely that i will have running water at my house, i will most likely have to transport it from a well.) I don't know the specific village/town i will be teaching in yet (and i won't until about halfway through training), but it is unlikely that another volunteer will live in the same village as me. In the village i may live with another host family or i may have my own place. Either way, it's my understanding that i will have my own stand-alone building, probably just a single room. Most of the houses there are set up on compounds, with many buildings inside a locked gate.

Well, i feel like i'm starting to ramble, which is always a good time to stop. If you have any questions, email me! I would, as always, love to hear from all of you too! This next week my family is going on vacation to Florida, so it will be nice to relax a little and see my grandpa before I leave!! We are also going on a short cruise (my first), so that should be pretty fun :) I'm sure I will update several times before i leave, but once i get there, it may only be about once a month or so (i also don't know what my electricity/internet situation will be yet). But like i said before, only 74 days until i leave!! and i know it will fly by!