Peace Corps Nomination:
We started our Peace Corps Journey in September 2012. We
knew that we wanted to be in the Peace Corps years before we applied, but we
had to prepare ourselves to be the best applicants for the job. After lots of
work filling out our resumes, medical information and interviews, we received
our nomination from our recruiter On April 1st 2013. I thought
someone was playing a joke on us at first. An April fool’s Joke - but no one
was joking, this was real! If you know anything about the work involved up
until this point, it is reason for celebration! I believe we did. We went out
for sushi I think. One of the things we do; we ate as much raw fish as we could
and talked for hours about where we might be heading. All I wanted was
somewhere warm. So, after the celebration we waited for the invitation to come.
We waited… and waited …. And WAITED!
Peace Corps Invitation…
For those who know us, you all are aware that we have been
living in an apartment for about a year now. For those of you just starting to
follow us, well - we sold our home in Stapleton and everything in it. Yes, we
told our children to come and get what they want and the rest was sold in an
estate sale. We have been living in an apartment for about a year. Not because
we were going into the Peace Corps, but because we were not sure they would
send us an invitation. In fact the Peace Corps stresses that you should not
make any big moves until you know you have an invitation from them. But we knew
that even if the Peace Corps did not accept our applications, we would be
moving to California nearer to our children.
“Dear Irene, Congratulations! It is
with great pleasure that we invite you to begin training in Jamaica for Peace
Corps service. You will be joining thousands of Americans who are building
stronger communities around the world. This call to action gives you the
opportunity to learn new skills and to find the best in yourself….”
It went on to say we can accept or refuse the invitation and
they gave us a week to think about it …Let’s see –hummmmm: warm weather, blue
skies, nice beaches, and wonderful new friendships. Think about it? I think it
took us off guard at first; we waited for this moment and now it was here!
Steve and I were beside ourselves with joy! I think it took us all of one hour
to digest the news, but we had to do some quick research before we accepted the
invitation.
Getting Ready…
Well we are getting ready! We have connected with our new
friends in Jamaica via Facebook as well as finding two couples here in Denver one
of whom served in the Peace Corps in the Pacific, and one who has just recently
come back from Jamaica service, and they both are around our age! All of our
Peace Corps friends have been such a great help regarding what to pack, what to
think about packing, and what to be prepared for when we arrive. I have to stop and thank everyone for giving
us support in our new adventure.
Packing…
We were planning on moving to California sooner, but we had
some unfinished business here in Colorado. So it has taken us a bit longer to
make our departure. We didn’t think we had much to pack but planning on what we
keep with us and what goes into storage can be pretty difficult. As I look at
it we will be packing and unpacking for the next six months. We will move to
California in a few weeks, but then we planned a last minute trip at the end of
February to visit family in New York and Tennessee! Then we will be moving to a
few locations around Jamaica for 3 months of training before we have our Peace
Corps swearing in ceremony and receive our post. So as I said we will be
packing for a while.
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