Two weeks until I go, how did I get here?

Now that the goodbyes have started my thoughts turn in another direction. It was just over a year ago I decided that it was time to start filling out the online application for the Peace Corps. Part of me didn’t think I was going to actually finish it, another part really didn’t expect anything to come of it, but the most hopeful part of me hoped I would be heading out right after my December graduation.

I gave myself one full year to apply, and then life happened. Through the Spring 2009 semester I barely completed the online portion of the application process. You know, the part that once completed there is an average of nine months until you know where you’re going. As an indication of just how busy that semester was, I had failed to line up a summer job for myself. Now with being able to afford school being the most important thing on my plate my first month or so of summer was spent finding a job, no Peace Corps application there.

Upon settling into my life in Door County where I found a job, and finding what is in my favorite coffee shop to utilize the internet in (Glas, Sturgeon Bay, check it out) the application started to get filled out once again. After a couple frustrating days where a total of at least 4 hours of work was completely lost thanks to the wonders of the internet I managed to get the application filled in by the end of the summer. There was one last thing before I could submit it, the resume.

Resume. Easy, I have one of those made and updated so I could get a job this summer… oh wait, I had a job this summer, I should change that… and the wording there is weird, I really don’t like this format… maybe this way, what about that? This should be good, I do really want this to happen though, I’d better make sure. OK OK OK. That’s about enough… I think this one is useable now.

With that, I decided to celebrate the start of my final semester and I submitted my online application to the Peace Corps. Days later I received an email form a man informing me that he would be my Peace Corps Recruiter. All I had to do was get a couple forms filled out and he was going to be in town a few weeks later and, if possible, we could set up an interview for that time. I think we all can appreciate a face-to-face over any other interview scenario.

Being me, I was unable to get that paperwork completed before my recruiter made it to town for the week. I decided the best plan at this point was to go talk to him in person at the career fair. So there I was on the evening of September 22 setting up an interview for the morning of the 23.

I wish I had some horror story to tell of how I managed to survive this interview, but it went very well. It was understandably a rather long interview, but it served a very informative role for me as well. With the recruiter being a returned Peace Corps volunteer there were tidbits and insights passed along during the interview to me disguised as lead-ins to his questions (maybe the other way around). He got a good idea of what I was all about, I got a better idea of what a Peace Corps volunteer actually does. I felt an overwhelming positivity coming out of the interview. Life was good.

I just had to get him a couple extra documents before anything more could happen, and then it was time for the waiting game. ‘Don’t call me, I’ll call you,’ so I waited, anxiously, for the call.