Slacking..

It has been an incredibly long time since I've updated my blog, so here it goes. After numerous doctor and dentist visits I mailed in my medical packet in mid-July before leaving for a trip to Colombia. My dental paperwork came back within a week and indicated I needed to go back to the dentist to have some fillings done. After reading the paperwork, I realized I had already had fillings on those teeth and got a note from my dentist saying that. I mailed that back in, only to have it returned a week later saying that I need MORE fillings on those teeth. Once I finish all that, I had dental clearance within a day of the Peace Corps office receiving my dental paperwork.

Then began my longest stint in "the waiting place".

Three months, no word.

Peace Corps had my medical paperwork for July, August, September.. then in mid-October I finally got an update! My medical paperwork was under review. Of course, within a couple days I had an envelope from PC requesting yet more medical information. So, back to the doctor I went this week to have my TB test redone and get some signatures on a couple other things. Tomorrow I have to pick up a couple more lab results at an old doctor's office then all that info is getting faxed to PC. On top of my doctor stress of this week, I got an email this morning explaining that I need to complete a questionnaire and write a personal statement about an MIP charge from 2007. So, I spent my afternoon completing perhaps the silliest questionnaire I've ever seen. While filling out that questionnaire, I got an email from PC basically telling me to hurry the hell up on my medical paperwork. I've discovered, through this application process that Peace Corps will take their sweet time with any paperwork when its in their hands However, the second the ball is in your court the timer is on and they WILL let you know if you're taking too long.

So..

Dental Clearance: check
Medical Clearance: Final requested forms to be faxed to D.C. in the morning
Legal Clearance: Emailed my final requested forms this afternoon.

None of my clearances have been as easy as I had hoped, but I guess the frustration is all part of the application process. I guess if you can't handle the stress of applying, you certainly can't handle the stress of actually BEING in the Peace Corps.

It's very exciting to have all of this happening now and to know that my file is being looked at and not collecting dust in a filing cabinet somewhere. Of course, this all has to happen during the busiest point in my final semester. I swear I've had a huge paper due every day for the last two weeks. All this activity is also a little stressful too though. Over the months of applying, I had to stop obsessing about PC as a survival mechanism. While I'm still very excited to go, I just recently realized just how close it actually is. I could potentially be living somewhere in Africa in three months or so.

Well, I will update more often now that I can safely start obsessing about PC again. Hopefully I will have news soon!