couldn't be better

We're at the Hacienda Castillo with the other 37 volunteers in our program. The temperature is perfect and there's a group sitting on the veranda typing away. We had lectures today (boring but I was well-behaved) and started our Spanish lessons. I'm in the intermediate group. I'm braver at trying to speak than I thought I would be. I think it's because I was speaking French last month. They really want us to be speaking fluently when we are done. John's been studying hard and is making great progress.

OUr group is really interesting. There are nine in the technology transfer program with John. There are about six in a new environmental education program, and the rest in various other environmental programs. There are some recent college graduates, some with advanced degrees, many with lots of interesting experience. Counting us, there are four or five who were volunteers before - one in Malawi and one in the Philippines.

We will hear where we are going on Saturday, which will be great. We think it will be Guadalajara but we aren't sure. We'll also meet our host families where we will stay for the next ten weeks.

This place is a hotel/conference center. The buildings are old and it's pretty basic in terms of amenities but it's beautiful, there's hot water from 8-10 in the evening and 6-8 in the morning, and there's internet access as you can see. What could be better?

Mexico here we come!

At the very last minute we were invited for Mexico. I'll be doing conservation work and John IT consulting. We are so excited. Today was my last day at my job. We can't wait!

Maybe Mexico?

We have an interview tomorrow morning at 7 am. Maybe maybe we'll get an invitation to Mexico. Here's hoping!

Calm down, Barbara

I know I shouldn't nag our placement officer. I know they are trying to find a spot for us in the Mexico program. I think we'd both do really well there.

If that doesn't work there's one more possibility for fall and after that it would be February. I'm leaving my job at the end of this month. I know Peace Corps says not to quit until you have your invitation but sometimes it's not ethical to do that. We could end up with no income and no health insurance until February.

Calm down, Barbara, I say to myself. Maybe Mexico will come through. It will be a lot of work to leave then but we can do it. We should hear soon. I'm sure they are working on our situation.

Mexico please!

We hope we'll get the call and the interview for Mexico tomorrow. It's very difficult dealing with the uncertainty. It would be much easier if we weren't going to Europe for the month of July but that was planned a long time ago. So we are getting our house ready for the house trade with the nice family from Albertville, and keeping in mind that we might be leaving for two years on August 17th, or not. If not, maybe no invitation until February of 2010.

If there's anyone who has been invited to Mexico who'd be willing to talk to us, that would be great. My e-mail is blkdye@cox.net and John's is john.dye@cox.net.

Mexico sounds better and better as we think about it. I hope it works out.

Beware the mammogram!

A warning to all of you in the application process. If you need a yearly mammogram, that knocks out a lot of countries, including possibly the one for which you have been nominated. We were happy to pass dental, medical and legal, but then found out that we were no longer able to go to the country in Sub-Saharan Africa in September (whatever it was) because of that requirement, and the psa test my husband needs once a year. We offered to fly somewhere to do the tests but that's not allowed. They call this passing with an acommodation. I wish we had realized this sooner so I'm passing on this warning.

Hopefully we'll get another placement, since I quit my job. I sympathize with Kyline and her job dilemma!

No Africa but maybe Mexico?

This process is complicated! We passed legal and thought we were just waiting for our invitation. Then yesterday we got a phone call asking if we would be interested in Mexico. Evidently our medical approval wasn't totally clear - we have to go to a country with extra medical support and the program we were nominated for doesn't qualify. We said yes to Mexico, but that's not certain either, plus it leaves on August 18th, which would be a huge amount of work to make.

I understand that they say not to quit your job (which I did) until you get your invitation, but when you are being asked to sign a one-year contract with a 90-day notice period and you care about the place you work and making sure they can find someone else, it's difficult. For older couples, six weeks is not much notice to pack up 35 years of stuff and arrange to rent our house.

I wish medical had told us that we were no longer qualified for the African program, whatever it was, that we were nominated for. Now I hope Mexico accepts us (it's a special program and that's not for sure) because we could be in big trouble if they don't. There may be some departure dates this fall, but we know it's difficult to find positions for both of us in a program. The next batch aren't until February. Aghhh!

Tanzania is up on the wiki!!

We are mid-September in Africa. Tanzania just posted on the wiki with invitations for the 20th. I think that's mid-September. And Cameroon is still a possibility. Hopefully we can get legal clearance and get our invitation before the end of the month when we go traveling. What happens if you are away when the envelope comes? Do we have to have someone overnight the package to wherever we are? How does that work?

We got our medical clearance! - what could go wrong now?

I wrote a beseeching e-mail to our medical nurse asking her how close we were to getting our status finalized. I told her that I had had a second interview for the Botanic Garden Executive Director job and that I really needed to know about our medical. She has been so great. She e-mailed that we both were officially cleared. So when I called the recruiter back I told her that I was doing the Peace Corps. It's too bad in some ways since that would be a great job and it was nice to be offered it after they did such a big search, but I guess life is full of choices. Now, how long will it take to get an invitation? What do we have to do for legal? What else could go wrong now?

John (my husband) wants me to wait until we get our invitation to tell them no officially. I don't think that's fair. I told the recruiter about where we were, and she actually agreed with John and told me to think about it. But they're a great group of board members who are excited about a new direction for the garden. I don't think I should string them along just in case Peace Corps doesn't work out. What else could go wrong now?

Nothing venture nothing gain

They want me back for another interview at the Botanic Garden. This would be such a great job. But I really want to do Peace Corps. Can I and should I do an interview for a job I really don't want? I wish Peace Corps would clear us and we'd get an invitation. It would make our lives so much easier to have a straightforward future. The lovely medical person said there are no more issues so why aren't we cleared? All this uncertainty makes me feel like such a whiner!

I don't think there's any way to pressure Peace Corps to make a decision. I thought about asking our recruiter but I don't think there's anything she can do. We are busy upending 35 years of settled lives to take a chance that we'll end up in Peace Corps. I remember that when, all those years ago, we were in Peace Corps Ghana, there were trotros (trucks) with painted slogans. One said on the front "nothing venture," and on the back, of course, "nothing gain."