Application Deliberation

the application process is exactly that... a process. the peace corps tells you to give yourself a year, and they mean it. a lot of people seem curious as to the general timeline and all of the components and whatnot. (myself included- i think my first full night of sleep in the year 2005 was in august!) the experience obviously varies from person to person but here is a rundown of how it played out for me:

1/24/05 submitted application and health review online
3/7/05 peace corps finally received all of my letters of recommendation!
3/11/05 interviewed at new york headquarters
3/22/05 nominated for special education program in pacific departing oct
*at this point my file was forwarded to d.c. for remainder of process
4/1/05 received medical kit in mail
5/2/05 submitted medical kit
6/6/05 medically cleared (it took a lot of pee but i finally got there!)
8/2/05 received invitation for special needs placement in apia, samoa
projected staging date 10/10/05, projected departure date 10/12/05

so now i'm waiting for my staging kit, which i was told to expect about a month before departure. it's an incredible feeling to be sitting on the edge of such a powerfully transformative life experience. i feel that i finally understand what adults mean when you're graduating college and they tell you that you have your whole life ahead of you and you can do whatever you want to do and be whatever you want to be. (what they don't realize is that at the time you're pretty incapable of processing this because you're mostly dealing with attempts to face the reality that never in your life have you been anything other than a student and all of a sudden you're expected to turn into an adult overnight. in my case i was given six days, but i think the point maintains its salience.) despite my tangential meanderings and wordiness (bad writing habits), i guess my point is that i'm extremely glad that i waited to undergo this journey for a time when i could really appreciate its magnitude and significance. and so here i am. appreciating :)