Perpetual Change

The adventure begins...finally

So, as some of you may know, the Peace Corps is an experience that I have always wanted to have. It seems like a logical step in the continuation of service; in using my skills from scouting; in being a world citizen; and in extending my personal growth.

But it has been quite a process. I started the application process in December of 2003. I met with several unforseen hindrances and some paperwork friction from my lack of a permanent address. I got my invitation (Peace Corps argot for FINAL acceptance) , the second week of January 2005. It changed everything.

Previously, I had been told by everyone, at every step of the way, universally, that I could not leave sooner than June (18 months from application to staging in a process that is notorious for taking 8 to 10 months), but when my invitation arrived, it was for February 27, and I was going to the Ukraine, a completely different continent, to work on a new (and completely different) project. But the project was a better fit for me so I accepted.

What happened was...with the bad economy and the movement of service, more people are applying for the Peace Corps than ever before, and with no increase in budget, the time it takes to find places for them all has increased. I was to teach English in Central Asia (where exactly that comprises, I am still unsure, and may never know now), not something that used all my experiences, but something in which I had had a good bit of experience. However, the program in the Ukraine is brand new. There are environmental and business advisors and educators, and English teachers in the Ukraine, but my program Youth Development is a new creation. Ukraine wanted a way to increase the skills of rural and economically depressed ares to the level of its urban centers. So Peace Corps wrote a program that teaches IT and computers, business and entrepeneurship, healthy living, and the environment to high school age students in both informal and formal ways. Again that is translated as the 25 volunteers that are about to embark on a twenty-seven month trip will write it, minus those that don't make it which can be as much as 7 out of 30. Ukraine liked the idea so much that they wanted to increase their original request for 15 volunteers to 25. Approval for this in DC took time and when they found the candidates that looked like the best fit, only 6 weeks to departure were left.

So here I am thinking I am done with all the paperwork finally, and I just have to wait until June, and WHAM. In a process that has been as slow as snails, I am rushing to finish yet another personal statement, and resume, and not to mention I have to apply for a new "no-fee" passport and visa in a addition to my personal one.

So I have finished with all that and I have read through most of the material, and I started thinking about keeping in touch. It seems like I should be able to post to this at least once in awhile, and I hate mass emails...
...so this is my invitation to all of you, if you want to follow my experiences in Ukraine.

Happy New Year.

posted by jjs @ 12:35 PM