And It All Begins with Waiting...

I started this Peace Corps journey almost a year ago. I applied in September of 2021 and did not hear back from them for 4 MONTHS! (Thanks Dad and your super secret job that needed to be cleared....) I honestly thought they didn't want me. Then one morning as I was teaching my reading block to my 2nd graders, and I got an email saying they would love for me to continue with my application. Score! So I went home, finished up my application which felt like forever and then waited some more...

Growing up an Army brat, I always heard the saying, "hurry up and wait". My Mom and Dad said that about EVERYTHING that concerned the government. And man oh man, did I experience that this past year. So after waiting another 3 months, I FINALLY got an interview.

The interview process was a breeze! Other than the severe anxiety, fear of the unknown and uncontrollable want to succeed... (Sarcasm is going to be very prevalent in these posts) Thank you to my AMAZING 2nd grade team members for calming me down and making sure no one came into my classroom during the interview. Love you girls! The interview went much better than I expected. At the end of the interview, I felt confident. But, surprise surprise, I waited another 2 months before I heard back from the Peace Corps. I felt like they didn't want me again so I started looking into other job opportunities. I knew I needed to get out of the classroom (a blog for another time) so I was looking everywhere. I even applied to work in the HR department at the Cincinnati Zoo! Because Fiona, duh....

I don't know what it is about getting a phone call from a DC number, but my heart stopped as I was teaching how many quarters go into a dollar to my kiddos. At lunch I called the number back and it was the phone call I was expecting! I had been invited to serve in North Macedonia, leaving September of 2022. Oh, and I had 72 hours to accept or decline the invitation... (insert green sick face emoji)

I will never forget it. I parked my car in the driveway. Mom, Dad and Daniel were swinging in the front yard. My Dad had already pulled out a chair and we sat outside for the next 3 hours talking it out. And yes, at 25 years old I still talk out major life decision with my parents.... It was pretty clear after those hours that there were more pros than cons and I didn't need the next 48 hours to make a decision. I accepted the invitation and then started the next chapter in my Peace Corps journey!

The following 4 months were a blur of paperwork, phone calls, meetings and doctors appointments. LOTS of doctor appointments. On August 30th, I officially cleared my background, medical and dental clearances! So that brings us to today. I have two weeks until I leave for Washington DC and then off to Skopje with my cohort. I hope you will follow along with me and this adventure I am about to embark on. I can promise you three things with these blog posts; funny stories, great pictures and the honesty of traveling over 5,000 miles away from home.