Chirp...Chirp...

Well, PC received our medical packets but since we are not nominated to leave until next June, I don't think we will be hearing anything out of them for awhile. In the meantime, we are leaving West Palm Beach on Saturday to head to Virginia, where we will spend 2 weeks with David's family, and then 2 weeks with mine in Georgia. And then we'll spend 6 months in Switzerland & Africa with Youth With A Mission. I'm hoping winter in Switzerland will give us a little taste of what a Mongolian winter would be like :)

Since it doesn't look like much will be going on with this blog, feel free to follow our non-PC blog (really, we need to consolidate...) at http://davidandnicolealdridge.blogspot.com.

All In

As of today, both David and I have completed everything in our medical review packets, filled out all of our reimbursement forms, and sent everything off to the PC office. It's such a relief to know that everything is out of our hands now, but the waiting game is just beginning. And I hate waiting.

We officially leave for our six month Discipleship Training School (in Switzerland and Africa) on Sept. 24, so here's hoping that we have medical clearance before that...because I don't think we'll be doing anything with it while we're overseas.

Come on Medical Office - let's get this show on the road!

12.

Dear Peace Corps Medical Office,

I would like to know who came up with the magical number of 12 as the amount that I should be reimbursed for my eye exam. I know that you work mostly with people living in various parts of the world, but in case you were wondering, the eye exam I had this morning in the good 'ol US of A ran me $175, which is precisely $163 more than you allotted. Don't get me wrong, I am appreciative to be reimbursed for anything at all, but your estimation is slightly extremely off.

Love,
Nicole

Let's Get Physical, Physical

After going around and around with the people at the VA Center, we finally gave up and scheduled appointments for our physicals at a local doctor's office. I'm sure that we will totally regret this when we see the bill, but we're done! And that is definitely worth something.

So we were poked and prodded but both walked out with a clean bill of health. We went to Quest to get our bloodwork done yesterday and are still waiting on the results of that and some other lab work. I need to get an eye exam and David needs to have an eye doctor fill out his paperwork, but the end of the medical saga is in sight! 

El Sol

David and I each have to get 30 hours of teaching experience before we technically "qualify" for the program that we've been nominated for, so we signed up to volunteer at El Sol, which is a community center for the day laborers in the area.

The idea behind El Sol is brilliant, really. The center keeps laborers (mostly Guatemalan and Mexican here) from waiting to be picked up on the side of the road or at Home Depot and offers them free English lessons, computer access, multicultural programs and breakfast/lunch everyday. It also pairs up workers with employers, which helps with safety for everyone.

Honestly, before yesterday, this wasn't a population I thought much about. There are actually a lot of Guatemalans in Jupiter and I see them all the time but we didn't exactly run in the same circles. I had some totally biased ideas about migrant laborers (especially the illegal ones...which I basically assumed was everyone) but that was about the extent of my knowledge about them.

These little guys have captured my heart though. They work incredibly hard, both for their employers and to learn English (which is tough by the way - try explaining to someone what a "pit" is or what "to dip" means) and are super sweet. I still don't know enough to have much of an opinion on immigration laws but I'm glad that places like El Sol are around to help them and I'm excited about spending more time with them over the next few months.

Dental Clearance

We have dental clearance! Although everyone seems to dread the medical process more, dental clearance is a huge deal for me. My mouth has hated me since the day I was born and I've had all the surgeries, scars and appliances to prove it. I had a root canal when I was a 10, a crown, 4 teeth pulled before I had braces, then years of being a metal mouth, which made glands in my lip swell and have to be surgically removed. And then I had 6 wisdom teeth taken out, not without complications, of course.

I've had annoying jaw problems lately and I've started doing some serious teeth-grinding but the dentist didn't seem to think either was life-threatening, and apparently the PC dentists didn't either. Hooray!

It's a day to celebrate!

Whew!

We have a new nomination! We didn't get any explanation about our other nomination but after reading a few journals about volunteers in Kyrgyzstan and news articles about the ethnic violence there, I'm assuming it may have been part of the reason for our change.

Our new nomination is still for teaching English, but this time it is in Asia with a departure date of June 2011. From the PeaceCorps Wiki, it looks like we will be heading to China or Mongolia....but this time I'm not counting on anything!

Our plans are still up-in-the-air, since this little kink will give us an extra 2 months but we're figuring things out. Right now I just want to get all our medical/dental stuff cleared so we can be ready for whatever comes up. Let the adventure begin!

The Good,the Bad and the Ugly

Well the good news is that there is nothing wrong with Toolkit. The bad news is that there is a problem with our nomination. I talked to our recruiter this morning and she said that there have been some changes to the program we were nominated for, so we are un-nominated.

Our recruiter is awesome though and said she is working diligently to get us into another program that would have a similar departure date. I filled out an Education Skills Addendum and we are planning to start teaching at the El Sol Community Center on Friday, but I'm nervous.

They say not to make any big changes until you get your official invitation because so much changes but it's just not possible. David has turned down a job and we are in the process of making some big decisions about the next few months - everything is hinging on this PC thing working out....

Toolkit Problems?

Has anyone else had a problem with Toolkit lately? I looked at mine late Friday and found this:

Honestly, I hadn't checked it for a while before this weekend, so maybe there has been a glitch in the system for a while. I'm really hoping there is a problem with Toolkit, not our nominations.

Going Postal

Thanks to Dr. Jordan, our dental exams are done (for free!) and all the forms and x-rays are officially in the mail.

Of course, there was a lot of drama because this is the Peace Corps, and I think getting this application in is only a part of the trials we'll face in the next few years. We stopped at the Post Office on the way to church this morning and dropped the packet in the drive-thru mailbox...and then I remembered that our recruiter said we should have delivery confirmation on it so we can be sure it is received at the PC office. I made David turn around and we stood in line for a solid 15 minutes to ask if someone could get it out of the box. Clearly there was some sort of misunderstanding but after lots of waiting in the heat and a whole lot of attitude from some mail guy in a Marlins jersey, we got the packet out of the box and stood in line again to mail it with delivery confirmation.

And then the lady tells us that because it is in an envelope supplied by the Peace Corps, we can't even get confirmation for it.

Seriously?! 

VA Medical Centers - Help!

Okay all you "Peace Corp Journal" stalkers - I need your help. Has anyone had their medical exams done at a VA Center? I went through a really long phone tree with the WPB VA Center and was told to call back on Monday, and the Athens center said they do not do them at all. Our Pre-Service Nurse said that some VA Centers aren't even aware that they can do PC exams.

Has anyone else run across this problem? Do you know any tricks or have any tips? 

Neither snow nor rain...

With the help of our amazing mail woman (props to you, Mary! I think that's your name...), our medical packets arrived here in Georgia today. David's was sent to the condo and we were expecting Mary to just mail his, but she even went digging through our PO box to find mine too. What a woman.

Anyways there's not a lot we can do with them while we are here on "vacation" and I've basically read everything about it that I possibly can online but hopefully we can go ahead and get some appointments made so we can knock them out as soon as we are back in Florida. David and I both have pretty basic health insurance right now and haven't exactly had regular check-ups, so it will be interesting to see what they find..

Our fabulous recruiter also gave us the go-ahead to apply for and attend Discipleship Training School in Switzerland in September as long as we have all of our health clearances, so I'm ready to knock this out! Movin' on up..

Empty

Well, we checked both of our mailboxes before we left West Palm Beach, but no medical packets. I guess the good news is that we will have something to look forward to when we get home!

Time Only Flies When You're Having Fun...

If you are reading this right now, I need you to stop whatever you're doing and help us with a big favor.

Close your eyes, bow your little head and pray that our Medical Kit packets come tomorrow before we leave for Athens for 2 weeks. I don't think they would do us a lot of good there, but it would be nice to have them to show my parents and potentially get started on (at least with making appointments, etc.). Toolbox says they were mailed on May 26th, so it's entirely possible that they could make it from DC to West Palm Beach in 3 mail days, right?

Hurry up, Mr. Mailman!

Playing Catch Up

I want to start a blog now to keep everyone updated on our journey through the Peace Corps application process as well as our time overseas (one day...) so you can follow us and we'll have something to look back on. As of now, here is what has been going on.

Feb. 1, 2010: "Deadline" for applications. Later our recruiter would tell us that they operate on a rolling application process but we were naive and got everything in by the 1st. We receive initial paperwork packet, including all legal documents and fingerprint forms.

Feb. 8, 2010: I get fingerprinted at the Jupiter Police Station. They spell my name wrong. Really?!

Feb. 9, 2010: Receive initial contact e-mail from our recruiter, Alethea, and required paperwork and skills addenda.

March 12, 2010: Interview with Alethea in Jacksonville. She is based in the Atlanta office but recommended an in-person interview, and would be traveling for work anyway, so we met her in Jacksonville (halfway between Atlanta and WPB - who knew?!). The interview went great and we had a lot of fun exploring Jacksonville (and eating at Mossfire Grill. Best. Salsa. Ever.) but she was honest about the potentially long waiting period for married applicants.

May 26, 2010: Call from Alethea. She has a nomination for us - Eastern Europe/Central Asia in April/May 2011 for Secondary English Teachers (TESL/TEFL). We (especially me!) will need to complete 30 hours of some sort of education training or volunteer work.

May 28, 2010: Receive official nomination packet and other goodies in the mail.

So that's where we're at. Waiting on medical review forms....