I forget where my last blog left off. Well, my toolkit was updated last thursday that my invite was mailed on wensday. so I've been obsessive-compulsively checking the mail the moment I get up ever since but no letter yet. I still think it's either cameroon or burkina faso and I'm still happy about both. It's funny that it's taking this long because I get letters or packages from oklahoma sometimes and it usually takes one or maybe two days to get to me because I live in a suburb of philadelphia so it's not like I'm way out there or anything, I'm actually relatively close to DC. Oh well, I'm actually not stressing out too much about it. I'm actually glad the mail comes only once a day as apposed to email which can come at any time. when I was waiting for med clearance I checked my email about as often as I breathed during the day (ya bad metaphor but you get the idea).

so in case you were wondering, here's a day in the life of a peace corps invitee awaited the invite letter: Wake up before the alarm goes off. I think for a while about the weird dream I just had about the peace corps (last night I received three packages with books describing people I would be working with who live in the jungles of cameroon and who carry speers and wear a lot of red, the night before that I dreamed I was going to burkina faso. I've also had dreams about going to south america and another burkina faso dream). I roll out of bed, immediately put on my shoes, walk downstairs and outside to check the mail. If the mail hasn't come yet, I stalk the mailman through my window until he's at my house, and then I meet him at the mailbox. I calmly search through the mail and am dissapointed to see the letter still hasn't arrived. I search again just to be sure I didn't miss it. I put the mail on the table (my mom has been very happy I've been getting the mail for her every day the last two weeks! Haha!), whip out the laptop and check email, myspace and pc blogs. THEN I get up, go upstairs and brush my teeth and get ready for the day. I have a normal day from there on, and the next morning it repeats. LoL I may not know what to do with myself in the morning once I do get my letter, I may get up and automatically go to the mailbox just out of habit.

Anyway, I'm off to maryland for three days sans letter. It's coming tomorrow, I just know it! One day too late. Oh well, if it's not here by friday I will call my PO, he said it should be here by the end of this week :) it doesn't really matter I guess, I'm happy with both burkina and cameroon, but still, it would be soooooo nice to know which one I'm going to :) And it would be hilarious if it were someplace completely different since I've been so focused on cameroon and burkina for a while now, it would show how much I know!! Haha oh well I shall update you hopefully soon when I figure out where in the world I will be living in june!!! Woohoo only like 10 weeks away I will be there!!! yyyyaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!! Whereever there is!!!!!!

peace.

Burkina Faso or Cameroon!

so according to the unofficial directory on the yahoo peace corps page, I am either going to burkina faso or cameroon! I am secretly hoping for burkina faso because I think that will give me a better chance at getting a rural placement. Though, I could still get a rural placement in cameroon :) and it's beeeeeaaaauuuutiful there!!! So I guess it's a win/win situation, I am just going to have to sike myself up a little more if I go to cameroon :) I just want to know!! I should know by the end of next week but hopefully sooner than that :) I'm excited :)

Invited!!

so less than a week after being medically cleared (it's now thursday and I was cleared on saturday) I checked my email and it says my peace corps page has been updated!! I checked and it says I am now officially an invitee. I feel a little nervous and a little excited. They said they mailed it out yesterday so hopefully I will get it in a couple days. I still haven't been able to get a hold of anyone in the placement office even though I've called every day since I got cleared, the placement office right now seems to consist of a desk with an answering machine sitting on it as far as I can tell. Haha!! Oh well at least the answering machine matched my mad skills to a program and I will find out soon where that program is!!! Woohoo!! I'm going somewhere doing something leaving sometime!! Isn't that great!!

On saturday I got up way too early after going to bed way too late and my dad and I went to the bank so he could pay off my car. Woohoo no more care payments!!! Maybe I can go to africa with five dollars!! The idea was originally to sell my car and worry about the no-car thing when I get back. Well, my dad liked the idea at first but then he didn't like it because he would loose money on the down payment and blah blah blah but he didn't want car payments or anything so he bought it, and early enough that now with my pathetic income it doesn't all have to go to my car anymore and I can start saving!!! Oh and a funny thing happened cause my dad tried to pay off the loan with his check card but apparently it has a limit on it so they wouldn't let him do it but the lady when he handed her his card looked at him like he was literally robbing a bank or something, she just stared and shook her head really slowly. I asked why it matters whether its a card or a check cause it's coming from the same account, but she didn't say anything she just stared at me with that same "oh my god i can't believe you're robbing a bank" look. I was like... oookay gues not... i'll just.... go then... LoL it was funny! (also what was funny was this morning at the gym this old guy was singing loudly to himself to music he was listening to on his headphones so of course he sounded really high-pitched, I don't think he even realized he was doing it, it was sooo funny and we were all laughing at him, it was really hard to keep a straight face when he started working out right next to me) So then Irene and Rachel showed up at the bank we just robbed aparently awith a checkbook, and afterwards we went to breakfast and I got yummy yummy eggs benedict!! Afterwards I went home and went downstairs and fell asleep to an old eppisode of dr. phil. I then had to get up to get ready for work, but I realized I hadn't checked my email yet. It was the first time in over a week I didn't check my email about 10 times a day looking for anything from the peace corps, since I mailed my polio stuff in last week. Well I checked my email and wow!! My toolkit on the peace corps website has been updated!! I checked, and as it was loading it occured to me that it could say that I'm not cleared... hmmm... but that fear passed a second later when it popped up that I am officially medically cleared for service!! Woohoooooooooooo!!! I've been working on medical clearance since september and here it is!! So since I am supposed to leave in june, I should get my invite really soon. I couldn't get a hold of the placement office today but I will try again tomorrow. I have to tell them my phone number has changed. Anyway!
Oooooh oh oh oh and I have other news!! I found this awesome peace corps group online that has a database of when everyone leaves for the peace corps, and what they do there and where they go. It's an extremely useful and at least partially accurate guide to where you may be going when you are nominated. So according to the guide I am either going to cameroon or burkina faso!!! I'm super excited about both!! YYyyaaaa!!! Burkina Faso or cameroon!!!! Isn't that great????