Medically Cleared!

Today, I have been deemed medically and dentally cleared which is great to know because if I wasn't cleared I would probably have some other issues to deal with.

As soon as I accepted my invitation I received my Pre-Departure requirements, most of which were medical requirements. Apparently, they do not want to be sending any sick, physically, or mentally unfit people overseas.

I needed to get a number of shots. Got the first 3 at Walgreens, and had to go to a clinic to get the last one.

• polio
• chickenpox
• Tdap (tetanus)
• Yellow fever

A physical exam was also required. Other than the normal check ups I had a bunch of lab tests done.

• Tuberculin Test (for TB)
• HIV
• CBC
• Hep B
• Hep C
• G6PD titer
• Basic Metabolic Panel
• Urinalysis

Not sure what some of these are (G6PD titer?), but I checked out, so all is good.

A dental exam and x-rays were required as well

It is good to know I am healthy. What will be interesting is the challenges that I may face to maintain my good health. I am sure my diet will change. Food and water born illnesses could and probably will occur (I've heard diarrhea is a popular topic of conversation among volunteers). I'll also need to come up with a new workout plan. I doubt they have a gym on every other block, but I'm sure I will figure out a way to stay fit.

I can't wait to see what Namibia has in store for me!

Bucket List to Bucket List

Receiving my invitation to join the Peace Corps 4 months before departure hasn't left me too much time to cross things off bucket list, especially while I'm still working full time. There's an endless number of things that I want to do that will have to be put on hold for 27 months.

One thing that doesn't have to be put on hold is skiing Tuckerman Ravine. Today my good friend, Adam, and I woke up before sunrise, drove to Mt. Washington, and embarked on a ridiculously awesome adventure. We hiked up about 3 miles to the base of the ravine with skis and boots strapped to our backpacks. Next we headed up the headwall, this was tough. Going up Left Gully we followed the boot tracks and slowly but surely got to the top. After taking a breather we strapped on our skis and headed down...straight down. It was steep and narrow, but the snow was great. Overall, the ride down was pretty incredible. After our first run, we were pretty sore from the ascent. Clouds started rolling in, so we decided to make our way back down. (pictures at bottom)

I had always wanted to ski Tucks and getting to do it before I take off to Namibia was amazing. Hopefully I'll get to do some more amazing things before taking off, but I understand a lot will have to wait. Fortunately, I won't have to suffer too much. I've already started my bucket list for Africa!Here's what I got so far:

• Go on multiple Safaris
• Etosha National Park (Namibia)
• The Skeleton Coast (Namibia)
• Swakomund (Namibia)
• Fish River Canyon (Namibia)
• Skydive in Namibia
• Victoria Falls (Zambia)
• Lake Malawi
• Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania)
• Cape Town (South Africa)
• Johannesburg (South Africa)
• Zanzibar
• ...

The Application

I thought I'd let you all know about the application process. (Just in case anyone was interested in joining me in a year or so)

There is nothing too challenging about the application but there is a lot to do and it takes a long time. For the most part it is like any job app: experiences, education, and skills/training. You need a resume, transcripts, and 3 references. I think it was important to have references that could speak to my personal characteristics rather than just my skills. 

Since the Peace Corps is essentially an extensive volunteer trip there are lots of questions about volunteer experience as well as leadership experience. This however does not mean lots of past volunteer work is required. There are questions to see how you will handle difficult experiences that one will definitely face while overseas. Questions about the how you will fulfill the 10 Core Expectations for volunteers are also very important (link below).  You need to get medically pre-cleared as well. This requires just answering basic questions to make sure that you can physically and mentally handle the experience.

Next you get contacted by a recruiter to set up an interview. The interview is an hour long. Its a pretty basic interview: why you're interested, experiences, strengths, weaknesses, preferences ect... You can give location preferences, but nothing is guaranteed. After the interview, the recruiter will either nominate you or not. You get nominated for a specific assignment, but you are not told what assignment this is. So I was nominated for Namibia, but I did not know this until I got the invitation.

If you are nominated you must also legally cleared. For this you must get fingerprints and mail them to the Peace Corps office. I am assuming they do a pretty thorough background check. They also ask you to fill out a placement skills questionnaire. This is so they can get a better idea of your capabilities.

After getting legally cleared, its just a waiting game. I think my application went through pretty smoothly. I've heard of people having to do more for medical and legal clearance. Either way there is a long agonizing wait.

I got legally cleared in October and got my invitation in March. I did email my recruiter a couple times to make sure nothing was wrong. That government shutdown probably slowed things down too for me. They tell you that you will here back at least 4 months before your departure date and in my case they used all their time.

The waiting is definitely the hardest part of the application process, but I'd say it's worth the wait.


10 Core Expectations

Not there yet (the when and the why)

As you can tell from the name of this blog (JP in Namibia), I will be blogging about my experiences in Namibia. However, I am not quite there yet.

I figured it would be a good idea to at least: 1. let you know when I will be there and 2. let you know why I will be there.

When: July 23, 2014 to September 17, 2016 (dates subject to change). That's approximately 27 months or 112 weeks or 787 days or 18,888 hours or 1,133,280 minutes or 67,996,800 seconds...I'll be there for awhile.

Why: The short version is, that less than two years removed from school I realized that the typical corporate/business environment is just not for me...at least not yet. The long version is, well, longer:

On May 19, 2012 I graduated from Marist College with a degree in International Business. It was a great day, more so because it also happened to be my birthday as well. I had no job, but hey, if I had a job would I have gotten to drive across the US? (#shouldvebloggedthat). I eventually did start working for one company, and then started working for another, and then another, and then one more. In between working for the third and fourth company I submitted an application to the Peace Corps (June 12, 2013). I did this because the more I worked, the more I realized I wasn't on the right career track. I just could not picture myself working in corporate America for the rest of my life. I needed to do something that would be more interesting, challenging, and rewarding. I felt strongly that the Peace Corps would be the answer.

Nine months later (March 20, 2014) I received my acceptance to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. I had been working for that fourth company for awhile, and while the job was good it still did not fill my needs. There was little doubt in my mind that this opportunity would be perfect for me as the opportunity to work in Namibia as a Community Economic Development (CED) Volunteer would absolutely be an interesting, challenging, and rewarding experience. I tried to think of reasons not to go, but I found that there was nothing that could sway me. This was my calling, so despite my departure being less than 4 months away I have started mentally preparing myself for what will undoubtedly be a truly incredible adventure.

Note: I officially accepted the invitation on March 24, 2014 (because they require a response in 7 days), but decided to hold off on my official announcement until now so that I could have enough time to ensure that I was making the right decision.