so in a few hours i will be hopping on a plane in madison, flying to milwaukee, and ending up in philadephia where i will have staging for two days. i can't believe the time is already here for me to leave...it went by way to fast yet it seemed to take forever to actually happen.
to start at the very beginning...i first started applying to the peace corps in february of last year. i filled out an online application which took about two hours. i was then called for a one on one interview which was late march. after the interview i found out that i really didn't fit any of the programs the peace corps was involved in. i wanted to do a health extension program so i had to volunteer for at least thirty hours to qualify for the program i wanted. this proved much, much harder than it would appear as i struggled to find an agency in milwaukee that fit within my school schedule. turns out, it didn't work.
so graduation came and went, i moved back home to save money-not my sanity-(just kidding mom and dad) and got hooked up with the best group of volunteers ever. every tuesday and thursday i took the 25.8 minute drive to dodgeville (if going 73mph) and volunteered at the free clinic there. the experience was absolutely amazing and the other volunteers really made me believe that serving others was what i was meant to do with the next few years of my life. so i quickly got my hours needed for the peace corps but continued with the clinic....with such a amazing group of people who wouldn't?
after sending in my hours to the peace corps regional office i finally got my nomination into the corps. didn't mean i was in, just that i was a candidate for the program. it was now mid-august. then in october i got my letter of acceptance into the peace corps and a few days later got my assignment-senegal. i was pumped. not only because it was in africa and a health program, but because my friends and i kidded around that senegal is where i would be assigned and then i would marry one of marquette's star basketball players who happens to be from senegal and then we would raise a bunch of goats together. it could still happen. i'm really holding out for the goats.
after being invited into the program i formally accepted the invitation, and then proceeded to fill out a novel size book of medical forms, dental forms, and other paperwork that i guess has a point of existing. i also ended up getting my one wisdom tooth removed in the process. after being medically, legally, and dentally cleared nothing happened until february when i got to book my tickets to staging (which was supposed to be atlanta but got switched at the last minute), filled out more papers, and finished packing (which was done about three hours ago tonight). all in all, my experience seemed pretty par for the course in terms of taking as long as it did and having to deal with the process. i hope that my service will be worth the wait.
so that was the past year in a peace corps nut shell for me. thank you to all the friends and family who gave me such wonderful support through the whole ordeal and especially in the last few weeks in the states. i can't believe the number of people i am surrounded with who have given me so much love, inspiration and strength. i'm truly the luckiest person alive to have you all in my life. take care, stay in touch, and keep spreading the love around.
peace,
jaime
ps- hope you enjoy the blog, and the links i have. if you find any other sites, video, etc about senegal that you think others would enjoy let me know and i will post them here for everyone.
ok, now i'm off to my last shower for two years...au revoir mes amis!
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