Life
finally called during my senior year at American University. The Peace Corps was
on the other end of the line. My recruiter answered my questions about serving
and explained how the Peace Corps is a great adventure. I was eager to join.
Then suddenly, I was put on hold…. for a year.
The
Peace Corps application process feels like one long customer service call. For
one year I spoke to multiple staff members, provided fingerprints for legal
clearance, uploaded documents into the medical portal, re-uploaded the same
documents, and faxed those said documents when they refused to upload. The worst part of this service call was that there is no soft music playing in the background while I was on hold.
Jokes aside, the year it took me to get into the Peace Corps felt like an eternity. To make things short, I’m providing a timeline to illustrate the long and tedious application process:
Jokes aside, the year it took me to get into the Peace Corps felt like an eternity. To make things short, I’m providing a timeline to illustrate the long and tedious application process:
January
9, 2013: Open Peace Corps application
February
1: Submit application
February
26: Receive invitation for interview
April
10: Interview
April
12: Receive nomination
May
1: Send in fingerprints for background check
May
13: Graduate from American University
June
1: Receive legal clearance
June
23: Receive and submit placement questionnaire
July
23-August 8: Go to Europe with my sister Priti (yes, I was so impatient that I went
to Europe to kill time)
September
16: Receive official invitation to serve in Indonesia
October
23: Send in passport and visa application
November
1: Receive instructions for medical clearance
November
26: Three hour long appointment with my physician. This does not include the
time it took to get lab work completed
January
1, 2014: NEW YEARS DAY!!!!
January
3: Submit all medical documents
January
23: Receive email stating that two medical documents are rejected
January
24: Fix and upload corrected documents
January
31: Receive final medical clearance
If
you think the wait is over, you’re wrong. I’m still sitting in my hometown in
Connecticut twiddling my thumbs while the Peace Corps gathers my flight
information. I will fly to San Francisco for staging (the pre-training session) on March 15. The next morning I will fly out to Indonesia. I have a
little over a month in the United States left. While this waiting period has dragged
on, I know the last few weeks will fly faster than American Airlines.
Life
is calling. How far will I go?
10,052 miles. From North Stonington, Connecticut, USA to Surabaya,
Indonesia.
That’s how far.
