Pre-Departure Timeline

February 25th, 2015 - Application complete

                                  

February 26th, 2015 - Health history form and assignment selection complete. Top three choices are Albania, Armenia, and Thailand in that order.

March 6th, 2015 - Placed under consideration for an Education position in Armenia in March 2016

April 1st, 2015 - Skills addendum complete

June 25th, 2015 - Interview Request! At this point, almost 3 months after the last communication from the peace corps, I was thinking it wasn't going to happen!

July 13th, 2015 - Interview. It went so well! I was originally supposed to conduct the interview via web cam, but that didn't end up working so it was a phone interview instead. It took about an hour and 15 minutes. I had prepared extensively by reading up on common questions asked at Peace Corps interviews. All of the questions that were asked were questions that I found online. When the interview was almost over I asked my placement officer what I could do to be a stronger candidate and she said that there was nothing more I could do to become a stronger candidate, I was already strong! Things are looking good!

August 6th, 2015 - Invitation!!! I've been officially invited to serve in Armenia as an English Education Teacher (TEFL certificate program) departing March 26th, 2016!

August 14th, 2015 - Peace Corps specific passport application mailed

August 18th, 2015 - The first of many dentist appointments necessary for medical clearance

August 19th, 2015 - Legal kit (including fingerprinting for background check) for legal clearance mailed. Resume and Aspiration Statement submitted

September 10th, 2015 - Email from the Peace Corps saying that the placement office has received my Legal Kit

September 23rd, 2015 - Doctor's appointment. Physical, TB test, Tdap vaccination, eye test, blood work. I had been dreading this appointment for so long. Couldn't be happier that it is over and done with!

September 29th, 2015 - After going back to the doctor's on Friday the 25th to get my TB injection site looked at, I submitted all of my medical forms today! All of the medical tasks in my Medical Applicant Portal have green checks next to them to indicate that they've been submitted! Today is a great day!

October 16th, 2015 - Email from SATO travel stating that my passport application was missing my birth certificate and that I need to mail it ASAP. I mailed it out the next day.

October 23rd, 2015 - I had my last dentist appointment yesterday. My dentist filled more cavities and completed my Dental Clearance form. He marked that my wisdom teeth are present but asymptomatic, so it looks like I'll be getting to keep my wisdom teeth after all!!! This information literally had me jumping for joy! Now all of my medical and dental tasks have been submitted and are awaiting a nurse to review them.

November 19th, 2015 - Email from the Peace Corps Legal Eligibility Team saying that they have initiated my background check. Also, that I will not receive a final notification of my legal clearance and that this clearance will remain tentative until I swear in as a volunteer. (I didn't realize this is how it worked, but I'm not worried about my legal eligibility in the slightest! Medical clearance, on the other hand, is a whole different story)

November 20th, 2015 - At this point I'm starting to get concerned because none of my medical or dental tasks have been reviewed. It has become an obsession. Every morning I wake up and the first thing I do is check my MAP to see if there's any new info. I'm trying to be patient but the waiting is consuming me. I finally broke down and sent a message to a nurse on the MAP. She promptly replies by saying she has been very busy and will try to get to my tasks by Monday the 23rd and that she might even be able to look at them today! I then start checking every hour! Finally around 12pm I start noticing my tasks turn from a green check to a magnifying glass. Yippeee! The moment I've been waiting for. The second all of the tasks had a magnifying glass next to it, I received another message from the nurse clarifying one thing on one of my forms and asking for another form from my doctor. I respond and clarify what needs clarification and tell her that I will have the form to her very soon. As soon as I received the fax from the doctor and uploaded it to my MAP, I got an email saying that I have been medically cleared!!! This moment will stand out in my mind forever! This really has been the most stressful part of joining the Peace Corps and I'm so thankful that it's over. Now, onto the consumerism stage . . .

November 29th, 2015 - Moved out of my apartment in Pepperell, MA and moved in with a family I babysit for in Westford, MA (much closer to work!). I'll be staying here for the next 8 weeks. I couldn't bring my cat with me so he moved to my mom's house, where he will be staying for the next two plus years.

December 8th, 2015 - Email from the Armenia country desk officer welcoming all of the A24s (the 24th group of volunteers in Armenia). In the email she goes over a few of the checklist items that need to be completed. She also mentions that our staging date (the date we all arrive in a U.S. city and complete a one day pre-departure orientation) has changed from March 26th to March 21st! For almost 10 months, March 26th has been engraved in my mind. A wave of excitement and energy runs through me as I think about leaving just a few days earlier!

December 18th, 2015 - Message on the Medical Application Portal saying that I need to get a Polio booster due to isolated outbreaks of Polio in Armenia.

December 21st, 2015 - Today marks the first day of our TEFL online learning course (and the 3 month mark of departure!). As part of the Peace Corps TEFL program, the education volunteers will receive additional training and education on how to Teach English as a Foreign Language. After 30 months of training and practical experience we will receive a TEFL certificate! Our first assignment was to introduce ourselves on the discussion forum. I'm finally starting to see who I'll be spending the next two years with! So far they sound like an amazingly diverse group. I think we'll all have something interesting to bring to the table!

December 29th, 2015 - Got my Polio booster!

January 25th, 2016 - Language course begins! I had my first Skype session with an Armenian language instructor today.

February 23rd, 2016 - Staging info!!! I have been waiting for this email since August 6th when I was invited to serve as a PCV! Staging is in Washington DC and after a half day orientation, we will fly out of DC on Tuesday March 22nd, have a layover in Paris, then land in Armenia on Wednesday around 830pm!

February 24th, 2016 - PC/Armenia conference call. This was the new volunteers chance to ask questions about PC life in Armenia. I also booked my flight to DC today. I will leave from T.F. Green airport in RI at 1015am on Monday March 21st!

March 8th, 2016 - Last Armenian language lesson!

March 9th, 2016 - End of TEFL online learning course!