The Surreality of It All

I was shopping for deodorant the other day, and the thought occurred to me that whatever I bought might go with me to Africa. Would this brand be effective wherever I am sent? It was a really odd thing to experience, standing there in the aisle at Wal-Mart thinking about taking this little product to the other side of the world. It's funny to think about which parts of my daily life will go with me or stay the same and which parts won't.

Will I take my guitar? Will I learn to play new instruments? Will I get to go to church regularly, and will it be a really long walk to get there or will I ride a bus half-full of livestock? Will it be desert or jungle and how will that affect my hair, skin, and sweat glands? What kind of shoes will I wear? What will I eat? Will there be Coke?

These questions are not at all new to me (I've been wondering about them for many months), but they are suddenly more real. The jeans I wear sitting in my mother's kitchen will be on my body when I'm sitting in someone else's kitchen halfway around the globe. It's an odd thing, really, and now I've suddenly got Doris Day singing "Que sera, sera" in my head. :) More to come.

Answers!

The letter was mailed Monday. It arrived today. That means it took three days to get from DC to Lehi. The letter was not my invitation; it had that ambiguous decision in it. And yes, a placement officer will call me before they send an invitation, and yes, that means I will probably not have an invite by the birthday next week. (Yeah, the big 3-0. Hooah.)

Long story short: my legs are simply not too short, and I'm apparently the right amount of crazy. And I quote my spooky letter. "You have been medically and dentally qualified for Peace Corps service." Hooray! Hoobadeedoo!

Furthermore, "Your application will now be considered by the Office of Placement, which matches the experience of medically qualified applicants with the requirements of available assignments. They will notify you directly of their decision."

I guess I'll find out soon enough (fingers crossed) what "notify you directly" means. More to come. The moment I know. :)

Anxiety Girl

This is seriously the hardest week I've had during the entire process. What does "a decision has been reached regarding your medical review" really mean? When they completed my dental and legal, the site said "there are no [dental or legal] holds on your account at this time," which stirred up no anxiety for me.

This time, however, I'm anxious, and I've got incessant questions buzzing around in my head. How long does it take a letter to go from Washington, DC, to Lehi, Utah? When did they send the letter -- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday? What's in the letter or is it the invitation? Shouldn't a placement officer have called me already if they're sending my invitation? Wouldn't they say invitation instead of letter if it were the invitation, not a spooky letter? If they just needed more information, they wouldn't have said they've reached a decision. Mama mia.

Can you see why I'm freaking out a little? Maybe my legs really are too short! If not, that wording is unfortunate, at best. Hhhhhh. More to come.

Medical Review is Complete

Early this morning, the Peace Corps sent me an email saying my status has changed. This is not a new thing since I got an email like this every time they received something, processed something, or recognized they needed something else from me. This time, however, instead of going back to being on hold while they send me a letter saying I need another shot or doc visit, the site now shows that my medical review is complete.

I quote the site: "Complete. A decision has been reached regarding your medical review. Please look for a letter in the mail."

Now, I saw all my medical files and lab results, and I know I'm fine, but still, there's this lingering irrational anxiety about it all. What if the letter they send says they've discovered that I have some weird disease, that I'm too crazy, not crazy enough, or that my legs are simply too short to be of any service to anyone. What? Maybe if they read my blog, they'll know just what kind of crazy I am. Ha!

Of course, I'll keep my blog updated as things develop. Maybe I'll have my invitation by my birthday next week. That would be a lovely birthday present. More to come.

Quick Update

So, I'm still waiting. Nobody panic. In the last few weeks, the Peace Corps has changed my status on their site back and forth from hold to not on hold, both of which mean they are reviewing my records. During that time, I had to get another booster shot (I now have measles, mumps, and rubella in addition to tetanus and polio) and write a letter saying I don't hurt anywhere despite my report in the first round of application papers that I have had neck pain in my life. Yikes. Anyway, I'm currently not on hold, just on pins and needles. I'll keep you posted.