Invitation Kit contains the following paperwork:
Visa Application
Passport Application
Resume
Aspiration Statement
Copy of Diploma
Trainee/Volunteer Registration Form
Instructions are labyrinthine. I spent several hours wading through the visa and passport apps, making sure I followed all the instructions and double checking the section on "Common Mistakes." The apps themselves are only 2 pages each, but if you get anything wrong it could cost a lot of time because they have to send you new applications.
Doing the passport app online was good. I had to call and make sure I actually needed to fill out a passport renewal app. I've been traveling since I was 2 years old. I used to have a diplomatic passport. The one I have now is good until 2016, but everyone has to renew because Peace Corps issues you a special passport. Suits me just fine. The picture in my current passport was taken right after a terrible haircut. I look like I'm going to stab someone.
I took my own passport pictures at home and got them printed at Wal-Mart. Way cheaper than getting them taken by a photographer. Requires some basic photo editing and math skills. Tutorial here: http://www.dpchallenge.com/tutorial.php?TUTORIAL_ID=22
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Successful Appeal and Invitation
My nurse got back from vacation today. I called her as soon as I could. She had me send my appeal to her again. Within two hours she sent me an email that said my medical disqualification was lifted.
After attempting to call my Placement person several times, she answered and was clearly annoyed at me for how many times I called. She said she saw the updated status and had already sent me an email. An invitation is on its way in the mail.
I was pretty blown away by how quickly this went through once they actually looked at my appeal.
The placement officer called me out on how many times I tried calling (which I do feel bad about because I didn't know my calls would be logged), but in my experience with other administrations, nothing seems to get done on time unless you talk to someone directly and periodically check up on the status. For example, If I hadn't called the nurse today, she wouldn't have processed my appeal. She said she couldn't find the email, even though 2 weeks ago I called her to confirm that she had received it. She said she did, then went on vacation.
I also feel that if I hadn't been persistent today, I would have had to wait much longer for my appeal and invitation to get processed. My Placement officer had said the program I was trying to get into was expected to fill up within the next few days, so I clearly didn't have the luxury of time. I didn't want to miss the window so I pushed hard for it and annoyed some people. But it worked. Even my Placement officer told me she was surprised at how quickly my appeal was processed.
Anyway, moral of the story:
Be persistent, be polite, be patient... and btw your calls are logged.
After attempting to call my Placement person several times, she answered and was clearly annoyed at me for how many times I called. She said she saw the updated status and had already sent me an email. An invitation is on its way in the mail.
I was pretty blown away by how quickly this went through once they actually looked at my appeal.
The placement officer called me out on how many times I tried calling (which I do feel bad about because I didn't know my calls would be logged), but in my experience with other administrations, nothing seems to get done on time unless you talk to someone directly and periodically check up on the status. For example, If I hadn't called the nurse today, she wouldn't have processed my appeal. She said she couldn't find the email, even though 2 weeks ago I called her to confirm that she had received it. She said she did, then went on vacation.
I also feel that if I hadn't been persistent today, I would have had to wait much longer for my appeal and invitation to get processed. My Placement officer had said the program I was trying to get into was expected to fill up within the next few days, so I clearly didn't have the luxury of time. I didn't want to miss the window so I pushed hard for it and annoyed some people. But it worked. Even my Placement officer told me she was surprised at how quickly my appeal was processed.
Anyway, moral of the story:
Be persistent, be polite, be patient... and btw your calls are logged.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Helpful info on Placement
From my Placement contact:
My original email:
We do not reserve spots for applicants. Even your nomination is not really a concrete reservation. Like all hiring agencies we recruit more individuals than we have positions for, to account for the various factors that arise, and ensure that we can fill our programs. While I can make no promises about holding a spot for you, I can share that I anticipate this program will be filled in the couple weeks. I know you have a strong desire to serve in Asia, and should your site specific support guidelines be reevaluated to open up this regions to you, and if we have a position available in this region-I will consider you for it. We expect all applicants to demonstrate flexibility and a willingness to serve where they can be best utilized. It is good that you are geographically flexible.
My original email:
I am currently working with Medical on appealing my disqualification for the Asia region. I apologize for the inconvenience this must be causing. I am aware that the invitation deadline for my original nomination, University English teaching in China, is approaching and seats are filling up. I wanted to know if there is any way I can make it in time. Would it be possible to reserve my nomination seat until I get the results back for my appeal? Or at least for another week or two? I feel as though I have a pretty good case because I have lived, worked, and traveled in Asia for over half of my life, and the allergy for which I'm being disqualified is so mild that I've never had any problems with it. It wouldn't interfere with my service at all.
I want to clarify that I'm not opposed to serving in another region such as Eastern Europe, as you mentioned. I would be happy to serve there and learn a new culture. I am excited to serve for Peace Corps regardless of the region, and I am particularly adept at adjusting to new cultures. I have worked very hard to get this nomination in Asia, and it would be an ideal fit for me because all my experiences and career interests are aligned with it. I am also familiar with the language and the culture already and have worked, studied, and volunteered with people from and in the region. I feel that I could really do a lot of good in that country to foster a spirit of understanding and cooperation because of my unique qualifications.
Any information you can give me will be helpful. I look forward to working with you through the Placement phase.
Thank you so much for your patience.
I had already assumed that that is the way it works. I figured it wouldn't hurt to try. It was sort of a last ditch effort to do something about it.
Nurse on Vacation
I called Medical to check up on my appeal status. Unexpectedly to me, the nurse assigned to my file is out of the office until April 25 (a whole week) and the number she says to call in her message is a wrong number. I tried calling my Placement officer. She wasn't in the office. I called Peace Corps headquarters and a guy forwarded me to a message machine telling me to email all medical questions to a particular email address. I called headquarters again telling the same guy I wanted to talk to an actual person in Medical. He forwarded me to the Office of Medical Services. I explained that I wanted to check up on the status of my appeal and that my original nurse is out of the office until next Monday. I got forwarded again to another nurse. I explained everything again. She essentially told me there was nothing she could do. She called up my file and said there was no note saying anything about an appeal. She told me all I could do was wait until the nurse assigned to my file got back from vacation. I told her I just wanted to check and see if she had forwarded my personal statement to the physicians like she said she would by the end of the week last week. She said, "I can't find that out. She may have or she may not have gotten around to it."
Then she said, "when is the program you're trying to get cleared for leaving?"
"June 29."
"Oh you've got plenty of time then. You just have to wait until she gets back to the office. I'll tell her you called. Don't get excited about this. Don't try to rush anything."
Then I got an email back from my Placement contact telling me she expects the program I'm trying to get cleared for to be filled "in a couple weeks." From my perspective, it seems like there will be very little time for my appeal to go through after my nurse gets back from vacation.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Medically Disqualified from serving in Asia on the basis of nut allergy
In November 2010 I interviewed with my recruiter and he nominated me for University English Teaching in Asia, which he told me would probably be in China. I was pretty ecstatic because I am interested in working in China as a career, possibly with State Dept. I have learned some Chinese, I am half Chinese/Thai, and I have lived, traveled, gone to school and worked in Asia half of my life. So I was thinking this was a perfect fit. Of course, I knew this wasn't certain, so I took great pains not to get too attached to the idea of going to China. I purposefully kept myself in the dark. I didn't do any research because I didn't want to develop any expectations for where I was going to be serving.
On Monday this week, Placement called ready to offer me an invitation. The officer started off by telling me I was medically disqualified from my original nomination and from serving anywhere in Asia. I knew exactly what the problem was and I voluntarily brought it up with her as I don't think it's an embarrassing medical issue. I asked if there was any way i could appeal that disqualification. She said I could call Medical and appeal it with them. I asked how long that would take and she didn't really answer, but "if you do go through with this appeal, you will likely miss your original nomination date."
I have a very mild allergy to cashews and pistachios. I've never had any serious issues with it. I've never had to be hospitalized or carry around an epinephrine injector (Epi-pen) or antihistamines for it. When I eat these nuts, all I get is a stomach ache that goes away within an hour. Worst case scenario is vomiting, but I haven't vomited since I was around 5 years old. I know some people with nut allergies have horrible, life threatening respiratory reactions. Mine is not of that nature and nowhere near as severe. As I said, I have lived in Asia, specifically Thailand, for half of my life, and it has never been a problem for me. I always eat the local food on a daily basis, which does include cashews sometimes. I felt that I had a good case for an appeal considering this.
I called the nurse assigned to my application and discussed this with her. She told me to submit a personal statement including everything I had just told her and she would forward it to the physicians in Medical. I asked her how long the appeal might take. All she said was that she would forward my statement by the end of the week and "if you do go through with this appeal, you will likely miss your original nomination date." She wanted me to fax the personal statement, but I don't have a fax machine. I asked if I could email it because I thought that would be faster, and she agreed. I did that within an hour.
The next day, I called to confirm that she received my statement. She said she did. I asked if there was anything else I could do. Should I see an allergist? Is there any more information she needed? She told me to wait until the physicians retrieved my medical paperwork and looked at it. I asked again how long that would take. All she said was that she would forward my statement to them by the end of the week.
Yesterday, Friday, feeling antsy, I emailed my Placement officer thanking her for her patience and apologizing for the inconvenience. As a last ditch effort, I asked if there was any way I could reserve my nomination seat until I got the results of my appeal back, at least maybe another week or two. I'm not even sure that's the way it works. It was toward the end of the day, so I figure I won't get a response until Monday.
I also clarified that I am not opposed to going to another region like Eastern Europe as she mentioned. And I mean this 100%. I'm really excited that I'm going to be serving in Peace Corps. I know I will be happy wherever I go, and I will work hard. I have a history of adapting to new cultures easily. I just think Asia would be best suited to my experiences, career interests, and unique qualifications. It's kind of disappointing that the only reason I won't be able to go there is because of such a minor medical issue. It feels like they are saying I can't go home. I have also worked so hard for this nomination. I've done everything I can to try to secure it. I even sacrificed an opportunity with AmeriCorps because they wanted me to serve until a date that was after my PC nomination date. The one thing I didn't think of was how significant my allergy was in Placement.
It's Saturday now. I plan to call the nurse on Monday to confirm that my statement has been forwarded. This is all I can really do at this point.
The officers I've talked to about my appeal keep repeating "If you go through with this appeal, you will likely miss your original nomination date." I feel as though this is an attempt at discouraging me. But if I'm disqualified from my original nomination, then I've already missed it haven't I? I have to try. It's not like it's going to disqualify me from Peace Corps altogether. I can only gain from it. Even if I miss the nomination for China, and I succeed with the appeal, I will have opened up the rest of Asia (indeed all regions of the world) for service.
I also want to clarify, that I'm not criticizing Peace Corps. They have a good reason for being careful about medical issues, specifically allergies. It's not just a liability issue. Peace Corps has a responsibility for the safety of its volunteers since we are putting a lot of trust in their support. I don't blame them for their caution. I do wish I had been informed about the issue earlier. Maybe I could have resolved it much sooner.
Since Monday, I have been frantically researching this issue online. A Google search of "Peace Corps medical disqualification appeal" and similar search terms kept yielding a particular applicant's blog in Peace Corps Journals, Facebook, and other blogs. She has the same allergy to cashews and pistachios as me except more severe. She managed to successfully appeal her medical disqualification and get medically cleared for service. I managed to get in touch with her through Facebook and she gave me some very encouraging advice and showed me her appeal letter. I'm very thankful for her help.
I'm writing about this in detail in case someone now or in the future has the same difficulty with medical disqualification for certain regions. It helps to know what you can do about it.
On Monday this week, Placement called ready to offer me an invitation. The officer started off by telling me I was medically disqualified from my original nomination and from serving anywhere in Asia. I knew exactly what the problem was and I voluntarily brought it up with her as I don't think it's an embarrassing medical issue. I asked if there was any way i could appeal that disqualification. She said I could call Medical and appeal it with them. I asked how long that would take and she didn't really answer, but "if you do go through with this appeal, you will likely miss your original nomination date."
I have a very mild allergy to cashews and pistachios. I've never had any serious issues with it. I've never had to be hospitalized or carry around an epinephrine injector (Epi-pen) or antihistamines for it. When I eat these nuts, all I get is a stomach ache that goes away within an hour. Worst case scenario is vomiting, but I haven't vomited since I was around 5 years old. I know some people with nut allergies have horrible, life threatening respiratory reactions. Mine is not of that nature and nowhere near as severe. As I said, I have lived in Asia, specifically Thailand, for half of my life, and it has never been a problem for me. I always eat the local food on a daily basis, which does include cashews sometimes. I felt that I had a good case for an appeal considering this.
I called the nurse assigned to my application and discussed this with her. She told me to submit a personal statement including everything I had just told her and she would forward it to the physicians in Medical. I asked her how long the appeal might take. All she said was that she would forward my statement by the end of the week and "if you do go through with this appeal, you will likely miss your original nomination date." She wanted me to fax the personal statement, but I don't have a fax machine. I asked if I could email it because I thought that would be faster, and she agreed. I did that within an hour.
The next day, I called to confirm that she received my statement. She said she did. I asked if there was anything else I could do. Should I see an allergist? Is there any more information she needed? She told me to wait until the physicians retrieved my medical paperwork and looked at it. I asked again how long that would take. All she said was that she would forward my statement to them by the end of the week.
Yesterday, Friday, feeling antsy, I emailed my Placement officer thanking her for her patience and apologizing for the inconvenience. As a last ditch effort, I asked if there was any way I could reserve my nomination seat until I got the results of my appeal back, at least maybe another week or two. I'm not even sure that's the way it works. It was toward the end of the day, so I figure I won't get a response until Monday.
I also clarified that I am not opposed to going to another region like Eastern Europe as she mentioned. And I mean this 100%. I'm really excited that I'm going to be serving in Peace Corps. I know I will be happy wherever I go, and I will work hard. I have a history of adapting to new cultures easily. I just think Asia would be best suited to my experiences, career interests, and unique qualifications. It's kind of disappointing that the only reason I won't be able to go there is because of such a minor medical issue. It feels like they are saying I can't go home. I have also worked so hard for this nomination. I've done everything I can to try to secure it. I even sacrificed an opportunity with AmeriCorps because they wanted me to serve until a date that was after my PC nomination date. The one thing I didn't think of was how significant my allergy was in Placement.
It's Saturday now. I plan to call the nurse on Monday to confirm that my statement has been forwarded. This is all I can really do at this point.
The officers I've talked to about my appeal keep repeating "If you go through with this appeal, you will likely miss your original nomination date." I feel as though this is an attempt at discouraging me. But if I'm disqualified from my original nomination, then I've already missed it haven't I? I have to try. It's not like it's going to disqualify me from Peace Corps altogether. I can only gain from it. Even if I miss the nomination for China, and I succeed with the appeal, I will have opened up the rest of Asia (indeed all regions of the world) for service.
I also want to clarify, that I'm not criticizing Peace Corps. They have a good reason for being careful about medical issues, specifically allergies. It's not just a liability issue. Peace Corps has a responsibility for the safety of its volunteers since we are putting a lot of trust in their support. I don't blame them for their caution. I do wish I had been informed about the issue earlier. Maybe I could have resolved it much sooner.
Since Monday, I have been frantically researching this issue online. A Google search of "Peace Corps medical disqualification appeal" and similar search terms kept yielding a particular applicant's blog in Peace Corps Journals, Facebook, and other blogs. She has the same allergy to cashews and pistachios as me except more severe. She managed to successfully appeal her medical disqualification and get medically cleared for service. I managed to get in touch with her through Facebook and she gave me some very encouraging advice and showed me her appeal letter. I'm very thankful for her help.
I'm writing about this in detail in case someone now or in the future has the same difficulty with medical disqualification for certain regions. It helps to know what you can do about it.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
A Peace Corps Journal
Starting a blog seems to be the thing to do among today's hip, young, tech-savy PCVs and PCAs, and with good reason. Today I join the fold.
It occurred to me that it would be a very beneficial thing to do not really for me, but for others who are interested in PC, who are applying to PC, who are serving now, and friends and family. I decided to start one when I directly benefited from the Peace Corps Journals. I recently encountered a complication in my application process and doing a google search lead me to the blog of an applicant who had the same issue. I managed to get in contact with her and she has given me hope that I can resolve it like she did. I will write about this extensively in a following post.
It occurred to me that it would be a very beneficial thing to do not really for me, but for others who are interested in PC, who are applying to PC, who are serving now, and friends and family. I decided to start one when I directly benefited from the Peace Corps Journals. I recently encountered a complication in my application process and doing a google search lead me to the blog of an applicant who had the same issue. I managed to get in contact with her and she has given me hope that I can resolve it like she did. I will write about this extensively in a following post.
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