The Peace Corps And "I"

Passing the 6 months mark!

2007-02-02T06:37:00.000-05:00

Wow, talking about getting caught up in time. Every update I write starts with an apology, but I must say that being disconnected from the internet and not running all over the place in order to get to it is actually pretty nice!
Well, time does fly by, as you can probably tell by the title, I have been here for 7+ months already!
The good news is that I finally started working!
December 1st is World AIDS Day, and this year, along with a local NGO, we managed to commemorate that day like never before!
We invited local organizations that do HIV/AIDS education/prevention to come join us and perform. We had 2 booths, one for condom demonstrations and one for free testing for HIV. 110 people learned how to use condoms correctly and got a free gift – condoms, and 44 people tested for HIV. I know it sound weird for an outsider to learn how to use a condom, but believe it or not, some people really don’t know!
At about 2pm we had a march from the edge of town to the venue, which was outside. We had enough time for about 2 performances before it started to rain! Well, all we could do is turn the music on high, and start dancing in the rain! It was great, and to our huge surprise, people stuck around. We managed to fit in a couple of speeches from our guests of honor when the rain got lighter and sealed the event with a candle lighting ceremony to remember those who passed away from AIDS. Without a doubt, this has been the best day I have had in Tanzania so far!
So now to my gardening project...I must say this one is not going as well. To begin with, I discovered that although the soil in my region is really good, the soil in my area is not! It’s actually a mixture of sand and soil! So due to those difficulties, I had a delay in my gardening project…but I hope to get back on track soon!
So the next project is scheduled to start at the end of Feb. It will be a training of 40 secondary and primary school teachers, along with community members from various NGOs and secondary school students. It will be a 9 day long workshops about HIV/AIDS, Life Skills, STIs, and so on. After this project, we have an even larger plan to do a district wide AIDS Campaign – more details to come…
So what else? I must say life is good! I like being here and although some days are better than others, the overall feeling is positive.
Two days ago there was a storm…I thought the wind is going to blow off my roof, and to make sure the sound effects of the things moving in my ceiling board were in full effect, the electricity got cut off! Luckily nothing happened, and I must say my house is very sturdy! The best thing about this whole weather craze is that all the dust I spent getting out of my house that day was blown right back in!
Oh, I almost forgot to mention my visitor! A couple of days ago I was about to go to sleep and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, when I noticed a little frog climbing up my drain…I though it might be a prince, but it ran back in before I got a chance to kiss it…
My house renovation is still ongoing…although I have realized that my house does not have to be perfect…so now I am just waiting for a dining table and some chairs and I’ll be all done!
Ok, as always...i promise i will try to update here more often...

-May.

All by myself

2006-11-12T05:05:00.000-05:00

Long time no update…sorry. It’s been a busy couple of month s around here. Not solely work related unfortunately, but that as well.
To start off, I officially live by myself now (hence the title…). The volunteer I am replacing has COSed (Close of Service) about 3 weeks ago. It was really nice having her around, especially since we got along pretty well and she helped me a lot with my integration into the community. However, it is still nice to be on my own now. I feel comfortable in my environment and hope to actually start doing some work soon.
So what has been going on? Well, I am continuing my renovations of the house…I finally gave in and had a professional painter come and paint the house!
Prior to that I was away from home for about a week and a half of workshops. The first was about permaculture, which is a way of gardening which is sustainable and close to home, producing nutritious food. That system is truly revolutionary! Even me, a person who NEVER garden before was inspired to embark on a gardening experiment. When I got home I was all excited about all the things that I am going to plant, especially since the soil in my region is known to be very good. Come to find out that the soil is actually not soil, but sand, and half of the things that I want to grow wouldn’t survive in the upcoming heat. But no no, I am not giving up yet…I am just taking it slow and going with what the locals are planting…so maybe I wont have an herb garden like I dreamed of, but I’ll have plenty of mchicha (local spinach) - that’s for sure!
I already managed to hurt both my hands while using a hoe (never thought the skin my hands can get so many sores…) and the neighborhood cows came and ruined the little that I started already. At least the neighbor’s chickens are enjoying the open shady space under the tree I cleaned off from all the dried weeds that pilled there.
Another activity I had taken upon is painting (in the sense of painting pictures that is). I took out all the old paint canes from around the house and started playing with the colors…something came out, not sure what though.
Oh, did I mention I’m almost here for 5 months now? It’s crazy how time goes by sometimes. Those 5 months have been packed with activities and new things, but its all good so far. Until next time,

-May.

The Nature of Things

2006-10-04T10:22:00.000-04:00

These past couple of weeks have been interesting…I kept on going back and forth in my mind about whether “I have a lot of work to do at my site” to “I have no work to do at my site.” The truth is that every site is unique in its own way. Some sites get very specific direction and the supervisor has a program for the volunteer to work on, others doesn’t have a specific program but the people of their site are eager to have them there and pull them in all sort of different directions. Being a second volunteer in my site, I decided to concentrate about my actual job description and not give in to other demands such as teaching English. Many volunteers use secondary projects in order to get integrated into their community when they first arrive; however, I feel as though my integration process is easier since I am being introduced to the community by an existing volunteer.
One of my major dilemmas was that it didn’t seem like people were seeking me out for the purpose I am here for. Everywhere I go I see opportunities and a million things I could do, but no one with an interest. I have come across a few projects that were funded by foreigners; some seem great on the surface like creating libraries at school. But in reality, those libraries are now used as teachers’ room; the books are collecting dust on the shelves and are a mere decoration. I concluded that no project will be sustainable and particularly beneficial if the initial motivation would not come from the community.
I had to step back from those discouraging thought and figure out how I can reach the community.
I figured out that although I would like to make my projects sustainable, the less “in-between” people I have, the more information is actually going to reach my target group. I though that working my way from the bottom to the top might be more proper for my site, rather than training the top and hope it will get to the bottom somehow. I’m hoping to start small and spread.
So that is the work related update, otherwise my house remodeling is still going well but slow. I have received my first piece of furniture last week; it looks good and makes the house homey (it’s in the living room). I’m hoping to get the other piece by the end of this week (which will go in the bathroom). I am also looking for fabrics to recover my sofa and make curtains.
Ok, thanks for reading! Until next time,

-May.

3 months in country!

2006-09-14T05:30:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow makes my 3 months in country…from there on it’s a countdown for the 2 years…
I already have a ton of ideas for projects I can start, but I am waiting patiently to make sure I am getting integrated into the community before starting anything.
Tanzania is a lot about building relationships, which takes time, but those relationships can definitely take you far. I figured I will officially start my “work” here around November. Until then I have a lot of traveling to do for workshops and different activities.
I’m still remodeling my house, one bit at a time. This week I worked on the bathroom and the toilet. I painted both and made a curtain for the shower window. The carpenter came back with estimates, and a problem. Apparently there is no wood to be found anywhere! The only wood that is available to not very good quality and can only be used to make 2 of the 4 items I wanted. At least those are the 2 most important ones…
I’m having a wall unit built for the living room, and another unit for the bathroom with cabinets, shelves and a drawer. I think its going to look nice.
This weekend I’m going to travel to the nearest main city from me, which is about 5 hours away where I can meet some of my fellow volunteers and but items that are not available here.
I also have been doing a lot of cooking, which anyone who knows me knows I like to do! Last night I made pizza - no cheeses, but it was still really good. The truth is that you can make almost anything in here, and the cookbook Peace Corps provide volunteers here is awesome! It’s a true inspiration. I have a feeling that as soon as the volunteer I’m replacing is going to leave, I won’t be cooking as much. It’s not as fun cooking for one. My resolution to that is to create a cooking club! I already mentioned it to my next door neighbor, who is a really nice mama and is respected by the community. Her response was positive and she said they can teach me how to cook Tanzanian food and I can teach them American food. Mamas here are always happy to learn about different ways of cooking, so I hope it will go well. I will have to add in some nutrition though, maybe find a place where they will make whole wheat flour for me...
Another idea I have is to build a brick oven. I know there is a volunteer couple who built one in country. I don’t think it should be hard, and it will definitely be nice!
Those are only a few ideas of many I have. Some I’m sure will never actually come into practice, because that is the nature of things in here, but it sure is something to be excited about.
Ok, that’s it for now, countdown starts tomorrow.

Settling-in to my new house

2006-09-07T05:47:00.001-04:00

So I have been in site for almost 3 weeks now. I have to admit the first week was rough. I was a little sick, (which I cannot complain about since I haven't really gotten sick so far, Know on wood!) and all of a sudden I had so much time one my hands and nothing to do!
Training is such an intense phase, and the schedule is so tight, and then I got to site, I was alone, and I had nothing to do!
Unlike the first week though, things are great now! I really like my site, the people are nice and the area is beautiful!
The volunteer I'm replacing is back from vacation now, which is really nice because she shows me around, introduces me to people, and we can hang out together.
We do a lot of cooking, which I love! Ever since getting to site I have been eating pretty well I must say, even with the limited equipment. So far I made things like rosemary and olive bread (on a little gas stove inside a pot), chocolate balls, sesame peanut noodles, bruchetta, pasta, salsa, refried beans, etc.
Spices are hard to get here, but I am fortunate since the person I'm replacing has a nicely equipped kitchen and a lot of spices that she inherited from people who were here and left.
During training food was a little different because I had to eat what my host family made. I was lucky to be served good, tasty food at my host family, but the variety of food available locally was limited. The food was not bad, but it was a lot of rice and beans, cooked plantains, French fries, cabbage or spinach, and some sort of fruit such as bananas, papaya or orange.
For breakfast we usually had chai, which they made with milk, black tea, sugar, and ginger; mandazi (mini doughnuts), vitambu (a rice doughnut), or bread with blue band (margarine).
Unlike everyone who thinks I'm gonna come back with half of my weight off...I'm just hoping to come back the same!
On a good note though, I just got my bike today! It is a brand new bike, a really nice one too. It is actually still in a box, I have to ask someone to come help me put it together. I am very excited about it since I haven't ridden a bike in about 10 years! I hope to get in a habit of riding it and get some exercise done that way. There are great roads to bike around here with beautiful scenery.
I also started doing some remodeling this week. We painted the living room and I had a carpenter come over and see if he can make me some furniture. I hope to be done with renovations by sometimes next months. Ok, that is the update for this week..I actually had time to upload some pictures, but its hard to get them on the blog, so if you would like to see some you can email me and I will send you a link.

FInally, An Update!

2006-08-25T08:51:00.000-04:00

First off, I must say my apologies for not updating for so long!
The truth is that 1st, I was VERY busy with training and 2nd, the internet at our training site was unbelievably slow! It took about ½ an hour to simply get into my email…
We had an intense 8 week training when we learned Swahili 8 hours a day 6 days a week and learned health/technical stuff as well. I finally finished training last week and got sworn-in as a Peace Corps Volunteer! Wohoo...
For my site I was place in the Morogoro Region. I am replacing a current volunteer who is finishing her 2 year service in 2 months. I arrived at site a week ago, and the next morning the volunteer left for vacation...so it took me a few days to realize what is where and how to get there, and one bumpy ride of the back of a pickup truck, squished between 10 other people and 2 bicycles! I wonder what the ride back would be like....
The nearest town is 5K from me, where I can find internet and other essential things like the market, bank and hospital. There is a large Roman Catholic population here.
So for the next 3 months I am not supposed to do much, just get adjusted into my community and get to know people...After that I hope I will start teaching HIV/AIDS education such as prevention and transmission in school and health clinics.
Ok, so that’s it for the update...I hope I will have more time with the internet here to update more often and with more detail…
SO thank you for reading, even though I haven’t updated for a while.

2006-06-27T08:55:00.000-04:00

Im Still here :)

So I'm still here, in africa! Its getting a little more real now, but still everything is in need of a reality check.
I dont have a lot of time to write, so i figured the most interesting thing i can say is how my daily life is going at the moment.

We moved into our host family houses a week ago, and our large training group was devided into smaller CBT (community based training) groups. I have to say i am very privillaged, because my house is very modern, clean, has electricity and running water.
Ok, so this is my daily schodule:

Get up at 7am, go take a bucket shower, with water they heat up for me. I then have Chai with a light breakfast like a mini doughnut. I then go to school and have language classes. At 10 we break again for chai and then go back to language and technical classes. We then have luch at around 1pm, and go back to classes. I go home at 5pm and help my family cook dinner, i do homework and take a shower. We then eat dinner and i go to sleep.

In my next update i hope i will have more time to write about the kind of food we eat here, and what my family is like.
It has been really great so far!

Finally Here :)

2006-06-16T07:51:00.000-04:00

So we finally arrived in Tanzania! The flight was long, but we survived.
Our group is actually 40 people, 1/2 environment and 1/2 health. We spent the night at a hotel here in Dar es Salaam. We are spending tonight in here as well and then we are off to our training site which is about 5 hours away from Dar.
The staff has been incredibally nice and welcoming so far.
Our internet access is going to be limited during training and so are phones...

Its hard to explain emotions right now since there is so much going on, but I can definitely say that staging and talking to volunteers upon arrival has made everything a lot clearer.

In gonna end for now, but next update will have some more useful information for perspective volunteers.

Karibu Tanzania!

Staging!

2006-06-13T18:51:00.000-04:00

Wow, I'm here, I still cannot believe it!
Well, I cant really write much, because my time is very limited - we're leaving tomorrow morning!!!

So I had my goodbye party on Sunday, it was great and my friends really made me realize how lucky I am to have them! They actually bought me an awesome digital camera for my goodbye gift!

I arrived in Philly on Monday at around noon, met 2 fellow volunteers at the airport and together we made our way to the hotel. Our sessions started at 3 with some very informative information and a great staff to answer all of our questions.
Today was very informative as well, more straight forward topics suck as actual travel and going to the clinic to get "shot" up.

It has been great so far, and I cannot even imagine how its going to proceed from here- so next update will probably be from Tanzania :) :) :)

Back In The US!

2006-06-09T10:35:00.000-04:00

I just got back to the US yesterday, and I have a hell of a jetleg!
Anyways, I managed to get up at 8 this morning, in an attempt to start packing...but I have one major problem - I don't know where to start from!
I bought so many things and there are so many things I want to bring along, that there is no way it will all fit in 2 bags/suitcases and weigh less than 80 lbs.!!!
It is very ironic for me that I am happy to go into a non-materialistic society, but at the same time cannot imagine not bringing my materials along with me for an initial comfort...

I think this is the first time I am starting to freak out a little because I feel kind of helpless...
I know that I'll be fine with whatever I bring and that at the end I wont even use half of it...but there is a certain comfort in having things you want with you. I guess its a way of not thinking of the challenges ahead and filling your time with "things" rather than "emotions".

My room is a complete mess, my entire bed and its surrounding is filled with begs, and I have to go and sort through everything now :(
Wish me luck! I hope that my next update will be post-packing and happy :)

An Update From Israel

2006-06-01T04:11:00.000-04:00

So I have been having limited internet connection in here, and therefore haven’t been updating my blog…

So far being in Israel has been giving me pretty good “training” for what’s to come!
I went to this mountain in the northern part of Israel and slept in a tent…when I the morning came, I counted my bug bites and there were at least 25 of them!!! I couldn't sleep all night from the sound of mosquitoes in my ears!
Another useful preparation is not having internet. I usually have very frequent internet access when I come to Israel, but this time I don't at all! This has been driving me crazy!
Unlike New York, it is very hot in here as well, and although I thought I’m a hot country kinda girl, I soon found out that heat is nice, but only when you have an AC, and not when its 32c outside!
I have about one more week in here and then I’m flying back to New York to a 4 day marathon of packing and saying goodbyes…
One thing I’m very happy for is that 2 people from my group managed to contact me, and that gives me a great relief, because so far I haven’t been able to contact anyone at all.
Ok, I’m going to finish my update in here in hopes my stupid internet connection is not going to vanish.

Packing Update...

2006-05-14T19:58:00.000-04:00

Wow, time goes by so fast sometimes...
Wednesday is my last day at work! Wohoo :~)
I have to say I don't think I will miss work, but I will definitely miss the people I work with because they are so much more than co-workers to me, they are my friends...
This is the point when I start to realize that really soon I wont be here, I will be on the other side of the world, for 2 years!!!
For the past week I've been stressing about my shopping list, packing, and everything that had to do with Peace Corps, but now I realized that I should start stressing about being with my friends and family.
I just counted, and I only have 11 more possible days to spend with my sister...That's why were going out for dinner tonight!

So on a lighter note now:
As far as packing, my room doesn't have much in it in the first place...So that's pretty much done.
I sent off my Peace Corps passport application on Tuesday, and got my dental clearance, so that's done as well.
My Aspiration statement and Resume were emailed, and my staging packet is going to be sent out to me on May 15th. I found out the date has changed to June 12th now, and were leaving from Philadelphia. There are 39 people in the group, 1/2 Health Extension and 1/2 environment. Tanzania actually has 2 groups departing a year, mine - which is the first group, and then another in September, which is mostly teaching.
I also took a CPR/First Aid class with the RedCross...I figured it might be useful, and it was very informative.

So that's it for now, next post will probably be next week, after 4 shopping days and 2 intensive packing days, right before flying out to Israel!

Preparing for the Unknown

2006-05-06T11:04:00.000-04:00

Well, it's time for me to start packing...
I finally figured out my schedule following up to departure. I gave my 2 week's notice at work and May 17th is my last day!
The same day I am going to take a bus to New Hampshire (where my mom lives) and start a very intensive shopping spree. I decided to go there because first, things are much cheaper, and second, there is no tax. I will stay there until May 22, when me and my mom are going to drive back to New York, spend the night and then fly out to Israel on May 23rd. I arrive in Israel on May 24th and depart June 7th. If I could I would had cancelled the trip, but its my cousin's wedding, so I have to go. Besides, it will give me a chance to see some family I haven't seen in a while (like my dad!) and know I wont see for at least another 27 months...Unless they decide to come to Tanzania, which I doubt.
I arrive in New York on June 8th, and its time for last preparations and shopping, my goodbye party, which I would like to have on June 11th and then bye bye USA for a while.
I have so many things to do in so little time! I don't know where to start and what to bring...
The only things in know is that I'm going to concentrate my packing on sentimental thing and items that will bring me comfort...Cloths and everything as such I'm sure I can buy in there.
I've been having a problem contacting other RPCV or PCV that served/serve in Tanzania.
When I looked in the Yahoo PC Group I saw all sort of African countries, but no one who is going to Tanzania :(
Well, I guess I will just have to figure it out by myself and make sure others can learn from my experience...
Ok, I'm going to go buy some large trash bags and start packing my closet...This is wired...I'm going to Tanzania!!!

Its Here!!!

2006-05-02T12:07:00.000-04:00

It came this morning, in a FedEx envelope. Inside was a blue folder, that has says "Peace Corps invites you to serve". It has the information that will change my life forever, and enlighten me to my whereabouts for the next 27 months.

ITS TANZANIA!

If you read my previous post, you probably know that I guessed this might be it, but having it official, in your hands, along with a bunch of MORE forms you have to fill out - is just great!
Now it all begins, the packing, the sadness, the excitement, the unknown, the questions...

Its going to be an incredible journey, and your coming with me - as long as someone will provide me with a pen and paper, and maybe an internet connection once in a while!

Thank you for sharing my joy, and although my process has been a little different than others (such as every individual's experience) I would be happy to assist anyone who has a question or need information.

Invited!!!

2006-05-01T00:12:00.000-04:00

So yea, I was so surprised everything was going fast for me...And then it hit me - an actual invitation!

I was medically cleared on Thursday, and on Friday afternoon I got a call from a PO for the Africa region for a short phone interview...She wanted to know some more details about my previous internships and volunteer work. She also said that my recruiter noted on my application that I will not be comfortable to serve in a Muslim country. I had to explain to her that there was a bit of miscommunication. In no means am I prejudice against Muslim countries, I just felt that in a country that is predominantly Muslim, I might feel animosity towards me due to my background (Jewish/Israeli). She agreed and stated that for safety reasons during training they might advise me to keep a low profile when it comes to my background. As much as I am proud of where I came from and who I am, I understand that there are certain situations that not disclosing your religion or background is a percussion.
As soon as the conversation ended I had to run to work (I'm a waitress at a restaurant - but not for long :)), I was already late and didn't even have time to talk to my mom. For the next 5 hours I was in a complete shock, I couldn't really digest everything that happened so soon and my heart was beating as if I just ran up a flight of stairs! All of the sudden everything became real, especially when my sister said "June 13th? That's like a month and a half from now!"

It is a few days later now, and things have started to sink in...All sort of thoughts are running through my head...A major one is how do you pack for 27 months??? What country am I going to, and how would the conditions be like.

There is no doubt that Africa is one of the most, if not the most challenging regions to serve. My friends have a very funny way of preparing me for what's to come...Here are some of their jokes:

- Start practicing going to the toilet by bending you knees.
- Bring a 2 year supply of wetnapes and toilet paper
- "Your going to Congo!"
- Get yourself ready for the flies and mosquitoes
- "There is no coffee in Africa"
- Bring a large supply of over the counter drugs (anti-diarrhea, constipation, etc.)

I learned to take their jokes and have fun with it, because its now that they are the ones who realize that soon, I wont be here!

I have a million things in my head, and probably two million things to do, but I refuse to take any steps before I have my official invitation in my hand and I accept it.

The only clue I have regarding the country is that the religious division is 1/3 Muslim, 1/3 Christian, and a 1/3 indigenous beliefs. Of course I couldn't help but researching everything I could to try and guesstimate where I might be going, and according to the world fact book, the only country that is divided such as in that region is Tanzania.
Now I'm going to try very hard to stop myself from researching that country and putting myself in this mindset in order not to get disappointed or surprised!

Ok, I hope the next update will be VERY soon, because I cant take this mysteriousness anymore!

Medically Cleared!!!

2006-04-27T13:32:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it? I just found out that I got medically cleared within a day and a half of sending the packet! Is that a new record of something?!? This process usually takes anywhere between 4-6 weeks...
So I am very happy! I wasn't sure if my toolkit update meant I was cleared or that they just got it - so I called the lady from placement office that have been helping me, and she said I was medically cleared. She thanked me for taking care of medical so quick and said that she sent my file to a few placement officers (PO's) in the Africa region. Apparently there is a great need for health extension in that region at the moment and since I have some experience in health...(forensic psychology degree, some volunteer work) she think I would qualify. She said nothing is for sure yet and that for the next week she will send my file to a few other regions.
I need to call her back within a week - this is going to be a hard one!!!

Medical Sent!

2006-04-26T00:44:00.000-04:00

I received the rest of my medical results today! As far as I can tell everything is ok, and after going through the forms 1000 times, memorizing the handbook, and harassing my doctors for signatures and license numbers, I was finally confident to sent in my packet. I decided to fax it over to their office since it seems to be MUCH faster...
I will give the medical office a call tomorrow to make sure all the forms arrived and that I didn't forget anything.
I'm hoping to get medically cleared quickly so that my application can be sent on to the Placement Office.

On Thursday I have an appointment with a dentist to get panoramic X-rays to send with my dental...$ 125!!!

Who ever said that joining the Peace Corps is going to be cheap???

Medical Update

2006-04-20T09:44:00.000-04:00

So I'm here in New Hampshire, came up to see some doctors in order to complete my medical (some of my family lives here). I went to see my family doctor yesterday, he signed off on most of the forms, but I still need to go back to get the blood test results today. I really really hope everything will be back, because if not I have to wait for the rest of the results to be back before I can send off the forms! Later today I also have to visit my dentist :/ I have to get two cavities filled so that the PC will have nothing to complain of...
I guess one things that I keep in mind is to seek perfection when it comes to medical - signatures, dates, license numbers + state of practice, SS#, etc. on ALL documents. I also make sure to review all of the forms before I leave the docs office, so in case something is missing I can just ask them to fill it.

Wish me luck :)

Intro

2006-04-18T01:24:00.000-04:00

Well, here I am!

So Writing an introduction to this Blog is probably one of the hardest things I have to do. It will be the first thing you read about me, at least for a while - until I will have some more juicy stories from some far away village on the other side of the world...
I will do my best to give you the impression of me I would like you to have, yet I am certain that if you wont get to know me at least you will get a few good laughs and some interesting info about the PC (Peace Corps).
My first and foremost promise on this blog will be to be honest to myself, and to you (the reader) when posting. This means that when things are happy and pretty you will read happy posts, and when things get rough (which I am certain they will. many times), you will read about that too.
I guess my goals for publishing this blog is:
To have an online documentation of my experiences
To give my readers an imparcial, honest and realistic view of my experience
And to network and receive comments or question regarding my blog or anything else.

So the first question you probably have is regarding my status.
I figured I should also add the timeline for reference of others who are going through the process.

Jan 30, 2006 - Completed Application Online.
- Application took me about 2 months to complete since I had trouble collecting all of those
specific 3 references (work supervisor, volunteer supervisor, friend).
Feb 3, 2006 - Got an email from my recruiter (Josh Strauss) with a welcome message.
- He stated that a packet was sent to me with some forms that need to be completed and sent
back to him.
March 7, 2006 - My recruiter received the packet.
- He emailed me to confirm everything was in order and to schedule an appointment.
March 23, 2006 - Interview with recruiter
- My interview went pretty well, I prepared by reading some of the sample questions that were
posted on Yahoo! Groups: Peacecorps2 (by the way, this is a great forum filled with some very
useful information!!!). I made sure I retained my personality and stayed true to myself while
being interviewed. My recruiter was very nice and typed all of my answers to his laptop. At
the end of the interview he made it clear that he is confident in nominating me, however, there
were not many open program in which I qualify for. He said he can try to nominate me for this
one program teaching secondary school English, and since I was so excited to be nominated, I
agreed. The next day I got an email with the offer...which you can probably tell, I wasn't too
excited about. He wanted to nominate me for Eastern Europe/Central Asia, departing in
July/August 2006. This was the only region I was really hoping NOT to be assigned to! As
most applicants, I was hoping for a Latin America nomination, which quickly turned into a very
slim chance. At that point I actually didn't care where I will be, just not there. One might
wonder what is the reason for the strong reaction, so let me explain: first, the cold weather. If
you think that this is not a reason enough, I disagree. I am not trying to be spoiled or picky
about the weather, I just know myself and the way I function when its really cold. That region
has some very cold winters and I didn't want to suffer for 27 months! The other reason, which
some of you may find more appealing, is the fact that many countries in that region are
predominantly Muslim. Being Jewish, I felt as I might feel animosity towards me. As I said
before, I believe in staying true to yourself, and I didn't want to put myself in a situation where I
would feel I have to hide my identity. I know I might sound racist, or like I over reacted, but
the truth is that I feel like a volunteer should feel happy upon nomination, and that one should
follow his/her own instincts when it comes to accepting them. I just didn't feel like I have a
connection to that area, and in order to give of myself I have to make sure I am somewhat
comfortable with my surroundings. So moving on...I declined the nomination with the following
email, that was send to my recruiter on March 26:

Dear Recruiter,

Thank you for getting back to me so soon. The entire weekend I have been thinking and thinking and thinking. I started evaluating my willingness and determination to fulfill this goal of mine, and there is no doubt in my mind I am ready to conquer the challenge. However, I have been also researching the region you gave me and realized that many countries residing in that part of the world are predominantly Muslim. I expressed my concerns in the interview regarding being placed in a country where I might feel animosity towards me due to my background.

I am very eager to join with a positive mindset and make sure I will be able to complete my 27 months of service. Therefore, I don't want to jump on the first opportunity I get just to leave the country. I have a goal to help people and I want to make sure I am able to complete it to the best of my ability. I have no desire to join the PC just in order to travel or get a free ticket to an unknown destination. I know that joining the PC means being faced with some very difficult challenges, and not feeling comfortable in my placement might add to the complexity. I just don't feel like I can give 100% of myself at a place that I might not feel comfortable. I rather wait until more options open up and possibly be placed in a region where I will feel more comfortable. I realize I am risking not being nominated for a while, and that there is no guarantee that a program I am qualified for will open up. I also realize that leaving in the middle of service is not an option for me, since I will not commit to a challenge I cannot complete.

I want to thank you for being confident enough in my abilities to nominate me, and I hope that declining this nomination will not give you a negative outlook on my willingness to join. I know that there is still a big chance I will get nominated to the same region after waiting for new programs to open up, but I guess I rather give myself one more option before accepting a challenge that I know will change my life forever.

At least now I know that even if I will never be nominated to any assignments in the future, I will definitely have the answer to the question "What was the most difficult decision you have even made?"

I will keep in touch until you will ask me to stop calling/emailing, just to make sure you remember that there is a young woman here in New York that has a whole lot to give. I will be open to do any extra training/volunteer work/ language coaching in order to qualify for a different program.

So my heart felt letter worked, and after receiving an email back giving me another day to think about it, my recruiter asked me to contact him towards the end of April for new program options. A few days later, to my pleasant surprise, he emailed me again with an interesting offer. He offered to nominate me into the "Pilot Program." This program allows you to go through medical and legal clearance without a specific nomination. In other words, you are nominated into a pool. After completing medical and legal, you get invited. It sounded interesting and I decided to accept the offer.

April 3, 2006 - I got nominated in to the "Pilot Program", My Toolkit officially says "Nominee"!!!

April 11, 2006 - Medical Kit has been sent to me.

April 16, 2006 - received Medical Kit

So, this is where my timeline ends for now...I have all of my medical appointments scheduled for later this week, and I'm hoping to sent it off by Friday. Another tip I got at Peacecorps2 group is not to sent it via USPS but rather use UPS or Fedex.