The First of Many

Welcome! Nan and I decided to start up a blog to keep everyone up to date on what we're up to as we get ready to leave for the Peace Corps. Providing we have internet access in our host country we'll be posting periodic updates on how things are going for us and what our experience is like. From the many books, articles, and blogs we've read, most recruits have at least some internet access during their service, even if it is only once a month.

So where are we right now and what do we know? Well, right after we returned from all the celebrations in Tulsa, we got a call from our PC recruiter, Elizabeth. Elizabeth has been absolutely amazing with answering our barrage of questions and concerns quickly and patiently. Well, Elizabeth called to tell us that they have found a placement that we qualify for and that it leaves months before we were planning to. For those who we hadn't told (of which there are few), we were told we would probably be leaving anywhere between June and November, but it was looking like it would actually be November at the earliest. Evidently it is hard to place a married couple in the same place as our skills are very different and they would have to find a location with two positions open that match both of our skill sets. Anyway, Elizabeth called to tell us that they have found a placement for us that would leave in late July or early August. She said that this was much sooner than she expected. She also asked us to talk it over and get back to her by 5:00PM. It was about 3:30PM when she called. Well, we spoke for about 5 minutes and called her back. The placement is for me to be in Youth Development and Nan to be in the Health Extension. What do those mean? We have no idea. But it sounds great and right up our respective alleys. There also seems to be something a little rushed going on with our placement. From everything that we've read, most recruits don't have any idea what there placement will involve, where they will be, or really anything, when they get there call. They are just called and told that they will receive a nomination for an invitation and they need to start working on their medical tests. But we know what fields we'll be working with and what region we're heading for.

Alright, so, the location. Well, we told almost everyone that we were shooting for Africa... and that was our first choice of locations. With all the work that is needed to be done in Africa, we thought it would be no problem to find us a placement there. So, the Peace Corps has found a place for us in the Pacific Islands. OK, pull out your map. Do you see that vast expanse of ocean spreading from Australia east towards the edge of the map and north towards Asia? Do you see all those little specks spread all over the place? No, somebody didn't sneeze on your map. Those are islands. There are an estimated twenty to thirty thousand islands spread through the Pacific Ocean. Now the great majority of those are uninhabited. But many of them are. And it looks like we'll spend about 2 years and 3 months serving on one of them. Needless to say, we're pretty excited.

Would you like more details? So would we. But that's all we know right now. We have until May to get a barrage of medical tests done to see if we are medically fit to serve in the Peace Corps. There are some very invasive physicals to be had, psychiatric evaluations to be passed, dental work to be done, eye tests, hearing tests, and follow ups on past medical complications. We're currently wading through paperwork and medical tests and plan to be done by the end of March. Once that is all finished, they will tell us if we're fit and then give us a departure date.

So, for right now, we are in our house in Brevard, NC until May 31st, when we will put all of our belongings in storage for two years. Our last day of work at the school is June 6th, so we'll be living on the couches of friends for those remaining days and then we'll hit the road and start over-staying our welcome with various friends and family members until we leave.

Please check back here and we'll keep you up to date. Eventually we will have a mailing address that we can receive letters and packages and that will be posted here. Thanks everyone for your support!


Chris


PS We will only be receiving mail at our current address until May 31st and then you can use our parents' addresses. Also, Nan's cell phone will only be active until the end of March. After that, we will be sharing my phone. E-mail us if you need that number. Bye all!