The application process

October 22, 2010 - I actually started writing this blog back in July, with notes and memories starting back as far as August 2009.  I didn't feel like I was ready to post it yet and let anyone read it until I was 100% sure I was accepted into the Peace Corps...since this blog will be all about my Peace Corps experiences.  The application process took just over a year and I finally got official word that I am a Peace Corps Volunteer.  I have a deployment date and destination.  You will find that out later if you continue to read through my blog.  But now I am finally ready to share my story starting as far back as I could remember.  There may be some gaps in time as my memory eludes me sometimes.  I hear that happens with age.  The beginning parts when I was trying to remember are kind of boring at times but it was just to get you up to speed to present day.  Which is where I am now.  I hope for this to be a fantasitc way for me to keep you updated on my adventures with my writing and pictures (when I get there).  Also, a good way for you to keep in touch with me as you can write any comments you would like.  I don't think I'll have that big of an audience that it will be too tough to keep up with all my fan base.

August 10, 2009 - For 15 years I thought about it...for almost 5 years I have actively pursued and worked towards it. Today I submit my application to join the Peace Corps.

Since I am a single mother of 2 boys, planning the next phase of my life to coincide with my boys next phases of their lives was crucial. Especially since my phase would not only take me out of town but it would take me out of the country. I am going to join the Peace Corps. I have always felt that I was here for something so much bigger than what it is I have/had been doing. I worked for one company for 16 years. Good pay, good friends but no personal rewards for all my years of hard work. After I got laid off in January of 2008 I didn't know what I was going to do. Since I already knew so many people at the Red Cross due to my volunteer work I figured I would just go down there during the day and volunteer doing whatever they needed me to do and maybe something would work into a real job...one with pay...we all know that being a volunteer is the greatest job you'll never get paid for. But come on, I had a family to support, mortgage to pay!!

"We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles, rather than by the quality of our service relationship to humanity." - Martin Luther King

As it turned out the American Red Cross was just getting ready to hire a Client Case Manager in Long Term Recovery. They were looking for someone to help the victims of the 2007 Southern California Wildfires whose homes were destroyed to recover and rebuild. What a great opportunity to do something that really mattered and that would fit so well into my resume/application when the time came for me to submit my Peace Corps application. Disaster Relief!!

One and half years into this job, it's time. Time to start filling out my application for the Peace Corps. I began doing the paperwork July 8, 2009. There were pages of information needed, medical, legal, past job experiences, both paid and volunteer. This was the easy part. Then I had to write two essays. In 500 words or less. This was the hard part. I had to write one essay on Your reasons for wanting to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer; and how these reasons are related to your past experiences and life goals. The 2nd essay was to write about a particular incident where you had to deal with a different culture. How you handled that incident. These essays don’t sound that challenging in and of themselves, but keeping them under 500 words…that was the challenging part. I am a woman of a lot of words. But I completed them and was finally ready to submit my application. August 10, 2009 was a big day for me. The first day of the rest of my life!!

Essay #1
Some of us spend the majority of our lives wondering what we will be “when we grow up”. What our purpose will be? Do I have a special purpose on this earth? Over the past 5 years I have spent many hours volunteering for the American Red Cross, San Diego Hospice and Alliance-for-African Assistance. My hours working with those that have been affected by a disaster, those that are in the last stages of their life or the resettlement of those beginning a new life will allow me to work and interact more effectively abroad with members of a local community; to work closely and lend a hand to improve life in their communities. During the time I have spent volunteering my purpose and life’s goal have been made clear. I exist to make a difference.

By volunteering abroad I know I will do things that I never imagined I was capable of doing. It will be one of the most educational, inspiring, and exciting things I do in my life. I imagine I will take away with me more than I give. New Friendships, a greater understanding of other cultures and I certainly will have the opportunity to have challenged my personal limits. Living and working in another culture while donating my time and energy to a worthwhile cause has great rewards and will enrich my life long after I return home. I will be changed forever and be a better person because of it.

I realize that I will not be able to change the world but making a difference to the people within the community I will live and serve is a good start. I will spend two years attempting to make a difference at a very local level. One of the goals of the Peace Corp, as I understand it, is to meet a community’s need for trained workers without the community in which you work becoming dependent on the services and skills offered. At the end of my commitment I am confident that any work or service I provide could be sustained long after I’m gone. The goal is to teach and educate…to leave a footprint of my time there.

There is not a person that you can talk to that is not saddened by the state of the world. It is so overwhelming that one is lost for words. We have “abandoned the last outposts of humanity without making the slightest attempt to help to protect others, to prevent them from being infected, or to help the dying to live a dignified life.” Making a difference is not so difficult if we would care enough to sacrifice a part of ourselves in order to change the world for the better.

Essay #2
"We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams." -Jimmy Carter

As a volunteer for the American Red Cross (ARC) I have been exposed to situations in which cultural differences have played a huge part. Currently I am a member of the National cadre of volunteers that assist those that have been affected by disaster. In order to better serve all of its constituents the ARC holds culture sensitivity workshops for its staff. In these a respected member of a community speaks of how to work within their community while being mindful of their culture and customs. One of the workshops I attended was about the Muslim community. There I learned about the different roles men and women have as opposed to my own. The knowledge gained that day would help while doing my part during the 2007 Southern CA Wildfires.
When the fires occurred, my duties included delivering crucial items to various sites throughout the County of San Diego . One particular delivery was to a Muslim Mosque that was serving its community as a shelter. I knew being a woman delivering supplies by herself to a Mosque could present a hurdle as shaking hands with a man is something that should be initiated by a man and that they may not speak to me or want to be spoken to. As I pulled into the Mosque, I saw several men standing outside awaiting the delivery. I got out and opened up the back where the supplies where. Without saying anything or offering any help, I moved to the side of the truck and let them unload the supplies on their own. They where done within minutes and it was then that one of the men closed the truck and said, "Thank you." They all proceeded to go back inside, I turned to walk away and it was then one of the older men walked up to me. Taking my hand in both of his he said, "We did not know how we were going to shelter everyone that had been evacuated. Thank you so much for your help."

With a little education and acceptance, and the respect that you would show any of your neighbors, our communities would be a much more peaceful place. We would see that we are all so similar in many more ways than we are not.