Long I Stood

Wow, it's been a while. Anyway, if I were to leave in December as planned (a few days ago), I would have heard by October 21. Well, I was in the middle of a two-week vacation that day. When I bought the airline tickets back in July, I didn't imagine I wouldn't have received an invitation by then. Dad was at home checking the mail for me, and I was checking online. Nothing. Nothing happened. Nothing arrived at home and nothing changed online, so I waited a buffer day and then called to find out what to expect.

The short version is that since the Peace Corps nominates more people than can fit in any given program (about 1.7 people for each 1 slot, she told me), it is pretty common for folks to be nominated to a program and then not get placed. With the tanking economy, weakening of the dollar, decreasing program sizes, and increasing number of applicants, she said, the December programs had about 3 nominees for every slot. It filled up, and I wasn't placed. I felt absolutely average and a little disillusioned. Bleh.

When I told my family, my sister invited me to Denver to help with her kids until summertime. Her sixth baby was on his way, and her husband who travels a lot is in grad school, so more hands would be helpful. So, I'm moving to Colorado after Christmas.

Shortly thereafter, my placement officer called me about a new program in June helping teenage girls make good decisions, get educated, and the like. Sounds awesome.

So, I'm back to where I've been: waiting. Honestly, it would have been easier to get a thanks-for-applying letter than to still be in limbo. What's next for Lauren? It's anybody's guess, folks.

More to come.