Peace Corps Application - Part 6

We got a nomination! Exciting and horrifying at the same time.

On Thursday, August 21, Jessie and I each got a voicemail message from our recruiter. She said that she had an update and and wanted to talk to both of us at the same time. The message gave no indication of whether this was good news or bad news. We were both a little nervous that this could be bad news because the Peace Corps recently changed their policy on placing married couples. They now will only interview a couple after they are already married and won't place them until they have at least a year of marriage under their belts. This change didn't come up until after we had interviewed, so we figured that we would get the benefit of the old rule...but we weren't sure.

On Friday, August 22, I was able to speak with our recruiter over the phone. Turns out, it was good news. They want to send us to a country in Central Asia at the end of September 2009. Jessie would be teaching other teachers, I would be in the health extension. This is exactly what our top picks were. As for the selection of countries, I am not quite as excited.

You see, I have always thought of the Peace Corps experience (and I think most other people do too) as living in a small village in Africa or South America. Despite my knowledge of all the countries that they send to, this is still what I daydream about when I am thinking about what is to come. In my thoughts, I have not considered living in the Central Asian countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (eek!), Kazakhstan (great success!), Kyrgyz Republic, or Turkmenistan. Does this mean that I don't want to go to Central Asia? Of course not! I told our recruiter that I would go anywhere for a reason. Does this mean that the experience will be any less? Nope. It just means that what I have gotten myself into, doesn't exactly match what I was hoping for. I will deal with it.

So, after briefly talking with Jessie to relay the message of our nomination, she called our recruiter to accept the nomination on our behalf. The next step is for them to send us packets for medical clearance. Hopefully we are both healthy!

We'll keep you all posted.