Thursday, July 7, 2011

The Process, I

Of course the Peace Corps has a web site, http://www.peacecorps.gov.  I found it quickly and read everything I could without beginning the process. PC has an Atlanta office. I called and asked some questions. We found out that the Atlanta office would have a table at a career day at Georgia State University where Susan and I had both worked. We went to that and over the next few months we went to several talks by Atlanta PC staff members and returned volunteers. We read more and decided we would apply.  We began the Process in December, 2009. We laughed when we read that most people complete the application in 3 weeks. The online forms are lengthy, there are references to contact, medical history to gather, documents, legal and other, to obtain. The website helps keep track of what is complete and what needs further work.  After four weeks, we had both completed our forms  and we each pressed the submit button.  A few weeks later we went to the Atlanta Peace Corps office for an interview.


We then heard nothing until March 8 when we were nominated for an education program in Africa.  We expected to have some additional questions for our medical history and we got quite a few.  We had to prove that we had had various childhood diseases such as mumps and chickenpox.  Old Dr. Bane who treated me for all those childhood ailments had died in about 1957.  It was thus back to my doctor for "titers" a method of examining blood for antibodies which proves that the patient has had the disease.  The big problem was adequately documenting my heart ablation.  I had had occasional rapid heartbeats for as long as I could remember.  In the late 80's or early 90's a procedure became available the fix my problem.  The doctor inserts a catheter through the groin, up into the heart and, in my case through an interior wall or two of the heart until the "bad pathway" on the heart is reached. Then high frequency electrical waves burn out the bad pathway. I had the procedure performed in 2008.  In over 98% of the cases, and mine in particular, this procedure is successful.  So, I was cured of the occasional rapid heartbeat. PC wanted all the details.  It took months to get this and other items documented. My doctors and their staffs were most helpful, but a clerk at the hospital where some records were kept was either lazy or incompetent.  Finally both Susan and I had completed all the medical items and we were medically cleared in December of 2010.  Susan then developed a symptom-less thyroid condition and that set us back again.  Peace Corps wants volunteers to "3 months stable" on any medication.  In March of 2011, we were placed in an education program in South Africa.   

I formed a Facebook group, Peace Corps South Africa July 2011 - 13. Other Peace Corps Volunteers, PCVs, began to find the group. Susan became an expert at searching for other PCVs and about 45 had joined when we left for staging. As I finish up this second post, it is the second day of staging. We announced the group at staging and invited the remaining PCVs to join the Facebook group.  If no one drops out there should be 57 of us on the plane to South Africa this  evening. 


The Facebook group has been very helpful. In addition to the PCVs going to SA with us, about 15 current volunteers joined the group. Those current volunteers were a great source of information. 


One of the best helps for me from the group happened on Friday of the July 4th weekend before staging.  At 8:00 p.m. that evening our email went down for a system upgrade until Tuesday morning, the day we left for staging.  PC had emailed several reminder notes and some forms we needed. Those became locked up and unavailable in the email system.  I went to the Facebook group and asked that someone send the emails.  Within a few minutes I had two copies of everything we needed.

My next post will be about staging, the two days of orientation we are having in Washington D.C. If I don't get to it today, it may not happen until September.  We will not have our computers during pre service training, PST.  PST will be 8 weeks of language, specialty, and safety training.  We will live with a host family who speak the language we will be learning.  We hear it is an intense time.