Monday, August 30, 2010

Invitation!

So, as most of you already know, I recently received my invitation to serve in the Peace Corps. I leave for the Kingdom of Tonga on October 5th, where I will be a Primary School Teacher for the next few years. The departure date is coming up pretty quickly and it was a bit of a surprise. My application was originally under consideration for positions departing for Sub-Saharan Africa in November. Late on Sunday the 22nd, while I was visiting camp friends in Westchester, I got an email from Placement asking if I would be okay with being considered to head to the Pacific Islands in October. I was a little hesitant since it was sooner than expected, but then again, it was the Pacific Islands... After talking to my mom and tearfully telling Jeff that I would only consider it if he promised I would get to see him before I left, I emailed back and said I was willing to be considered. The next morning when I checked my email, I had a response saying thank you and my invitation was in the mail! The actual invitation packet came on that Tuesday, the 24th and I said yes on Wednesday. To Tonga I shall go!

It feels a little weird to actually be preparing to leave for the Peace Corps. Up until my junior year of high school I had fully planned to be a preschool teacher. Then I did a project on the Peace Corps for World Lit/Geo and decided that's what I wanted to do. So for six years I have planned on this part of my life and here it is. I opened my application in October 2009, submitted it in March of 2010 (okay okay, so I was a BIT of a slacker when it came to the application), interviewed in April, got nominated in May, medically cleared at the end of June, and invited in August. Quite a process, although once I submitted my application it did go more quickly than I expected. Now there is so much to do before I go! It is a little overwhelming, but exciting nonetheless.

I will try and keep everyone updated about my experiences getting to and living in Tonga. For any of you who experienced my epic blogging failure while in Trinidad, I promise I will be a little bit better this time around- although, to be honest, that isn't saying much. You'll still have to be pretty patient!

2 comments:

  1. Hi Kaitlin,

    They switched me from East Africa to the Pacific Islands, quite like you, though my whole application process took much longer than yours, for be thankful there.

    There are a bunch of excited volunteers here waiting for your group to come, especially those like me in Ha'apai who will be so close to your training group. If you have any questions please let me know.

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  2. Hi Kaitlin,
    Let me know if you have any questions. I am a PCV in Tonga, but back in the states for medical, so I have access to Internet like 24/7. Email me with any questions!
    vanfrank85@gmail.com
    Take care and good luck!
    Kelly

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