Adventures with the Peace Corps

Live Blogging Chinese New Year

2010-02-13T20:51:00.008+08:00

The blogger website has been "broken" in China for quite some time, but it seems to be worker now. I'll be posting a digest of recent activities soon, but for now, a live blogging of the CCTV Chinese New Year Gala.

If you're not familiar, this is probably the most watched program of Chinese television all year. Everyone I know is at home watching with their family. It features song, dance, and skits called Cross talks, a traditional Chinese form of comedic dialogue. They are all slapstick and funny despite the sometimes sensitive issues they touch on. This post will be quite long, but I hope it will be worth the read- it should provide a glimpse into Chinese life from a very different angle.

Dislcaimer: This is simply my best guess of what's going on. I might or might not be spot on. Sorry.

I've begun blogging a bit late. We've already had a few songs and dances and two cross talks, one about a "Good Samaritan" who brings a car crash victim to the hospital but is actually the one who ran him over, and the other about a wife and husband who have a spat but eventually reconcile.

8:35- Dancers in multicolored dresses (fuschia bodice, yellow skirt; pink bodice, lemon skirt; etc)sing and dance 50's style. Something about loving out fellow Chinese in Taiwan, Macao, and Hong Kong.

8:49- The stage is set as a Blue's Clues style playroom with mascots of talking clocks, pencils, etc dancing around. Fifty little girls in pink tent-style dresses run out, attacking the humanoid objects (hugging maybe?) and singing "I like you, do you like me?." Now Xi Yang Yang makes an appearnce, followed my some whimsical tiger mascots.

8:54- Crosstalk #3- This one is a meta, featuring two cross talk performers who decide to find new partners. The one who wants a new partner dislikes the new guy he's matched with and ends up partner-less. Wonder what the moral is there?

9:08- Woman in a pink dress and elaborate headpiece dances slowly to violin music surrounded by folk dancing on the floor,possibly dressed as mermaids. Mermaids are on their feet now, and they are all dancing full out ballet while the screen in the background shows some technicolor flowers/mushrooms. Oh I get it! It's a flower blossom- pink girl is the bud, and the others are the leaves.

9:13- Cross talk called "Decoration" which is apparently a remix of a very famous old skit. A wife has gone to Korea for plastic surgery and returns looking young and beautiful albeit with a frozen Botox face. Everyone thinks the husband is keeping a mistress, and disaster ensues. The couple decides the wife should have surgery again to go back to her old face.

9:27- "Legend" is sung. It's a famous song here- your basic pop love ballad.

9:31- A "sketch." Seems to be a type of interpretative dance/non humorous skit about some female air force pilots fighting over who gets to fly over Tiananmen Square during the 60th anniversary operation. The one who is the back up is sad, but the others wear her name on their flight suits, and "in her heart, she is flying." Sort of glad I'm alone so I can laugh a little. The people in the audience are crying.

9:40- The real fighter pilots come out, and the audience gives a wild ovation to the real life back up pilot who seems a little traumatized.

9:42- Recap of the 60th celebrations complete with patriotic anthems and sherbet colored dancers. On a serious note, the depth of feeling displayed in patriotic situations is unrivaled by anything I've seen before. It's quite moving.

9:45- Memorial for Chinese killed in the Haiti earthquake and recognition of their family members, who are in seats of honor. They are honored as heroes.

9:46- Recognition of models of Charity, Heroism, Honesty, Professionalism, Filial Piety; these are people who have been selected from the various ethnic groups for their particular embodiment of these very Chinese virtues.

9:47- Greetings to Chinese living abroad

9:48- Medley "Harmonious Homeland"- compilation of many folk songs from both Han and minority groups (I think). You see these sorts of things a lot- singing old songs in hoping of uniting in the present.

9:56- Cross talk about a husband and wife quarreling over whether to try to pass off a fake bill they receive. (This is a fairly common problem here and has happened to me and several people I know.) A policeman gets involved, and the counterfeiter is found in the end.

10:10- Another cheesy and slightly off-key pop love ballad. The army generals in the front row are not amused.

10:16- Magic tricks by Liu Chen! I've seen him in person, and he's quite good. Funnier and less gimmicky than Copperwhatsit.

10:31- I'm on the phone, so the TV is muted, but there are a group of frenetic dancers in red. They're talented.

10:36- Another sktech. A college graduate starts a potato selling business, and his mother hires a girl to buy all the potatoes, so he expands. It becomes like Aunt Bea and the pickles, and the situation eventually collapses into hilarity.

In the background, fireworks continue to explode in vast quantities. Here, individual families put on fireworks shows that would shame most US municipalities on the 4th of July.

10:49- That was a long skit about potatoes. Ok, more ballet to a song entitled "Happiness." It seems that dancers are all wearing wedding dresses. "Happy people are the most beautiful." The song is mostly about happy families with children.

10:55- Interpretative dance with a rubix cube. Pretty cool actually. Reminds me a little of the Power Rangers!

11:00- One hour to go! This one is called "Smile" and is dedicated to the upcoming World Expo in Shanghai. Your basic world peace and happiness lyrics sung by Mao Amin, who has a lovely voice.

11:04- Group of acrobats in blue. Okay, enough musical numbers...

11:09- An 8 year old girl comes on to stage to prove her mastery of "The Old 100"- a list of the classic 100 Chinese surnames. They have a particular order, and this girl has learned them all. That's nice, I suppose, but why...?

11:11- A song about the beauty of Chinese calligraphy. That's a new one. On a slightly tangential note, someone offered to teach my calligraphy today. I politely declined, as I'm a disaster with all sorts of drawing, writing, and painting. The reply: "It's ok, I can teach anyone!" I had a flashback to when Jeff was sure he could teach me ice skating. That ended up with me sprawled on top of him on the ice, and we both laughed so hard we couldn't get up. No thanks.

11:16- Another cross talk that is way too complicated to summarize with any sort of brevity. Not my favorite.

11:34- Sketch is still going strong. * yawn *

11:37- Oh this is cool- a photo montage of the last year around China. In a moment of rare self-directed irony, the dancers are dressed as tourists taking lots of photos.

11:42- We're now singing about the "Sunny Road," which looks remarkably like its yellow-brick cousin. Not much longer til midnight...

11:48- A bunch of students in school uniforms and young pioneers scarves tilt their heads back and forth while the singer, dressed as a teacher, sings about flowers. Bright future, young minds, etc. "When you drink the water, think of those who dug the well."

The fireworks are increasing in intensity outdoors...Five minutes to go!

11:55- Finale time! All the dancers from all the numbers crowd on stage to one of the many national anthems!

12 midnight! Happy New Year! I have no idea what the TV is saying due to the massive explosions going on outside. I can smell the cordite! It's raining cherry blossoms (on TV, not in my living room, although that would be cool) And now they're singing the Chinese version of Auld LAng Syne.

My night is complete. I think there is another hour of programming, but it will go unwatched by me.

Remiss in my blogging duties

2009-11-21T10:51:00.002+08:00

As I have been reminded by various emails, I have been remiss in my blogging duties. My apologies...but life is very quiet these days and nothing of interest that is also bloggable has happened. Let's see, what has happened...

-I judged a very very long speech competition. The topics were "My Future is not a Dream" and "Thus is a Real University Student." In some ways it was like spending a day at a motivational seminar. The department treated us to both lunch and dinner, which was nice, but lots of food and lots of speeches made for a looong day.

-I did a lesson on body language with my sophomores, which was so fun. We did "gesture charades" to point out those gestures which differ in China and America. I now know why cupping my ear to get my students to speak up has little effect- it is not the gesture for "I can't hear you" here! The best part of the lesson was silent skits. I had groups of 5 design a completely silent scene to show just how much you could convey without words. My favorite was the one where three students pantomined a bus. Another student turned his head while walking to check out a pretty girl and smacked straight into the bus, and they all laughed at him. Another group did a silent rock band, which was also pretty awesome.

-Lots of holiday festivities are coming up, so I will be sure to update when interesting things do happen.

Finally, check the photostream for pictures of our first snowfall and ridiculously cold weather.

Embarrassing Moment of the Day? Month? Decade?

2009-10-15T17:13:00.002+08:00

So today, the bus home was a bit crowded- about three deep in the aisle. A man in work pants, the kind with loops for hanging tools, was trying to squeeze by me and the old lady next to me. As he brushed pass, somehow the button on the back pocket of my jeans got tangled in one of the loops on his pants. And somehow, we got really stuck. He starts shouting for the bus driver to wait so he can get off, but because of the angle, neither of us could see the problem. After some very awkward fumbling, the old lady helped us out, shaking from trying not to laugh at our very red faces. Once untangled, the man positively fled. I didn't blame him at all!

I suppose I need things to keep me humble... :-)

Recipe: Chinese green beans

2009-10-12T13:29:00.002+08:00

Green beans, snapped into pieces (I had about 4.5 cups- it doesn't really matter...)
1 package mushrooms, sliced
4 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp constarch in 1 cup water
1 tbsp soy sauce

Boil the green beans to desired doneness. Cook garlic and mushrooms until mushrooms are tender. Add soy sauce to cornstarch/water, and pour over mushrooms. Cook until thickened (1 min). Add greenbeans to sauce. Toss well and serve.

Recipe: Tofu Soup

2009-10-12T13:22:00.003+08:00

I'm taking nominations for a better name.

-12 cups water
-8 tsp chicken bouillon
-1 package extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes (remember it will expand in the soup)
-4 carrots, cubed
-1 onion, chopped
-1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce
-2 tbsp vinegar (I used "mature vinegar"- you could try balsamic?

Combine water, bouillon, carrots, and onion in a stockpot. Cook until the vegetables are just tender. Add the tofu. Add the seasonings little by little, to taste. I like it fairly vinegary, so watch out :-) Cook until tofu is heated through and softer. Best if cooked, refrigerated overnight, and served the next day.

Status Quo

2009-10-12T13:11:00.002+08:00

Beginning this week, things are going to slowly settle into a nice stasis. :-)

The holiday went very well. I enjoyed the parade (see previous post), did a little housewares shopping, and journeyed to the other side of the city for PCV taco day! Our wonderful chefs A, L, and M did just about everything from scratch except grind the beef. Homemade salsa, tortillas, wonderfully seasoned ground beef, and a delicious dessert made for a day of gastronomic happiness. Even though I've yet to really miss Western food, having tacos was really quite nice. Funny story about getting there: Since it's a long way (2 hours by bus), the three folk in my district decided to share a cab over there. About halfway there, the driver (whose first language is clearly not Mandarin) starts saying something about how we're going to have to get out. We asked him to repeat, and he keeps going on and on about not going into the city--but doesn't stop. In the end, he drove us all the way there. *shrugs*

Classes are going smoothly, as well. The freshmen are super enthusiastic, making their classes fly by. The sophomores make me work a little harder, but it comes out ok in the end. We recently did a lesson on regions of the United States, and it was wonderful and amusing to see their brainstorm list. They threw in Westward Expansion, Lincoln, racial discrimination, corn, and the Houston Rockets. :-)

My writing class, my 11th and final section, will begin this week at last. The students are in their final year of training to become teachers and have been scattered about doing field study for the first six weeks of the term. I've just found out that it's a year long course, so I'm feeling much more positive about the amount of material we will cover and how much the students will get out of the class. I'm quite fortunate that the other sections of the class are taught by another foreign teacher I know, so we can plan lessons collaboratively.

Also, I'm beginning my official tutoring today. I'm eager to begin improving my Chinese in larger steps. The Chinese for doing daily tasks no longer seems like a chore, which is nice, but I'm still really at a loss for small talk beyond introductions and the weather. Hopefully that will come soon.

Finally, I leave you with a couple of gems from student papers:
"I think people should not be so angry with Japan anymore. The past is black and white, but the future is full of colors."
"If I could travel anywhere, I would go to Antarctica. It would be my own small, white world."

Chinese National Day

2009-10-01T12:28:00.005+08:00

I have some highlights from the last couple weeks, but I'll post them later. Of more current interest is Chinese national day. I just finished watching the parade, and it was something else!

The national day parade in Beijing made the Rose Bowl Parade look like Suwanee little league opening day, no offense to the Rose Bowl intended. It was incredible! The parade was organized in formations of people marching and/or dancing around each float. The floats had themes like "Scientific Development," "Youth China," or "Agricultural Development." Most of the floats had moving parts and television screens showing something relevant, and the several hundred people in formation around each float moved in perfect synchronization the entire time- marching, shouting a slogan, waving flowers, or holding up placards to make designs when viewed from the air.

Alongside the parade route was an area the size of a football field that displayed ever changing slogans and images. I was impressed with the technology of such a giant flat screen, then I realized it was made of people! It is similar to sections of football stadiums where each fan has a sign to hold up, and the section, when viewed together, says "Go Team!" However, the area in the parade had a different image for almost every float, and they were all perfect. I'm still trying to figure out how they managed to hold all the different signs.

But most impressive of all was the last formation, "A Better Tomorrow". It was made of 5000 children each carrying a 10 or so balloons. These kids were 10-12, and they were all marching perfectly. I was surprised they weren't wearing uniforms. They marched to the focal point of the parade route singing about hope for tomorrow, then they all let go of the balloons. It was very pretty...but I thought they were finished. Not so. All at once, they began to sprint towards the platform where the VIPs were standing, and I saw why they weren't wearing uniforms. As they ran, they separated into ribbons of red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and purple, and by the time the reached the platform, they had made a giant, ecstatically cheering rainbow. In case you couldn't tell, the entire parade was quite intense.

It's easy to say, "Oh, it's just a well-organized parade" but I don't think that's quite all of it. Every person in the parade was a volunteer, and from what I understand, there were several disappointed people for each person in the parade. The participants practiced countless hours for months, on their own time, and without compensation. They wanted to be in this parade because they want to show the world how much the Chinese love China. And I believe them.

If you have some time, check out cctv.com/english for footage of the parade, or click here to see some still photos of the spectacle.

Finally, I will be sitting around doing a lot of nothing for the next 8 days (our generous holiday!), so feel free to chat or skype me :-)

Recipe: Fried Rice

2009-09-17T20:34:00.002+08:00

This is more or less a no brainer, but I think this one gets the proportions just right.

Ingredients:

3-4 cups leftover cooked rice [It really does have to be cold.]
2 carrots, chopped and cooked [I microwaved with a little water for 3 minutes.]
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped [Chinese garlic is weaker than American- you might try 3]
3 eggs, scrambled
2 Tbs oil
3 Tbs dark soy sauce

1. Cook the garlic and onions in the oil until the onion is clear.
2. Add rice to wok, mixing well with onion. Cook until rice is warmed through, stirring constantly.
3. Add soy sauce, mixing well.
4. Add eggs and carrots. Cook 1 minutes longer.
5. Serve warm.

You can also add other veggies like bell peppers or snow beans. Thick vegetables do best when cooked ahead, but thin things like sprouts and pea pods can just be tossed in and cooked for a minute or two.

Recipe: Smashed Cucumbers

2009-09-17T20:18:00.002+08:00

I have acquired a Chinese cookbook which I am deciphering one recipe at a time. I figure since I'm pretty much translating them for myself already, I might as well share. Here's the first, alternatively translated as "smacked cucumbers."

Ingredients- This all to taste, so the measurements are my own.

Cucumbers (I used 4 Chinese ones which are small- 1 big American one or 2 medium)
Garlic, minced (3 cloves)
Soy sauce (about 4 Tbs)
Vinegar (about 4 Tbs- this is Chinese vinegar- maybe use rice wine vinegar?)
Salt (pinch)
Sugar (pinch)

1. Cut the ends of the cucumbers. Smack them. [The idea is that jagged edges hold the dressing better, I think. The recipe says to use the flat side of a heavy cleaver. I used a small frying pan with moderate force. If you have big cukes, you might want to cut it in half first. Or you could just slice them like carrot sticks.]

2.Mix the cucumber pieces and garlic in a bowl. Add soy sauce and vinegar, then sugar and salt.
3.Toss and serve.

Surreal...

2009-09-11T16:07:00.002+08:00

So I finally got to meet all of the foreign teachers at my school. Counting me, there are four. The crazy thing is, one of them is from the same hometown as me! She grew up down the road from me, and we went to the same high school at the same time, but we didn't know each other then. We know quite a few of the same people and everything.

It's completely surreal to move around the world and find your neighbor.

In other news, I started taking Chinese class/tutoring again today. There are two exchange students in my school, and the school has agreed to let me go to their Chinese lessons. I'm teaching during some, but I can go to others. It's wonderful because the teacher is great and it's really just a tutoring session for the three of us. I think it will help my Chinese a lot.

Aaaaand I'm back!

2009-09-09T11:33:00.002+08:00

Sorry to have been remiss in my blogging duties. It's been a busy several weeks! Quick review:

-We had hotel week, the consolidation of trainees from all the training sites into one place. We stayed at a really nice place in Chengdu. You could tell that most of us are recent college grads or had been employed in the non-profit sector by the way our jaws all dropped at the giant marble panda fountain, the gold and marble lobby, and the small army of neatly uniformed service personnel. These last folks were utterly horrified when we started schlepping our own bags across the vast lobby and came literally running to meet us, armed with burgundy and gold luggage carts. They bodily took our luggage from us and wouldn't take "no" for an answer. This was very nice of them, especially seeing as how there is no tipping in China, but created a bit of a problem when one tried to remove my hiker's pack from my back, not realizing the hip belt was still fastened. ^_^

-Swearing In! I have now officially graduated from being a Trainee to a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV). It's a little hard to explain why, but it's a big deal. All sorts of tiny technical details change, and it signifies that we successfully passed the rigors of training. Hooray! The ceremony was magnificent. The new US ambassador to China came to swear us in. It was exciting because this was his first public act since arriving in China. He was very friendly to us all (though my wittier friends quipped, "He's a diplomat- he's not going to show up grouchy"), and his Chinese is excellent, even if he does have a terrible Beijing accent. The program was topped off by a slideshow of photos taken during training and was touching and hilarious in turns.

-Lanzhou. Here I am, and here to stay. The day after swearing in, all we Gansu folk all got on the same train and headed north. It was an enjoyable train ride, since most of us were together in one car along with our school representatives. It was nice to relax and chat for a while. When we got to Lanzhou, we discovered that several things in my apartment had broken between site visit and now. I was moderately dismayed, thinking that I would have to wait for business hours to have them repaired. Not so! Even though it was a Sunday afternoon, four repairmen showed up within two hours, and everything was fixed straightaway.

-Work! The day after arriving, I got my schedule for this semester. I'll be teaching oral English to freshmen and sophomores, and one section of writing for juniors. Since the freshmen have almost a month of orientation, and the juniors have seven weeks student teaching that I don't deal with, I'm only working two days a week right now. Things will definitely pick up, but I have a lot of down time at the moment. In a way, it's been nice to have a chance to get my bearings, explore, and get settled, but I'll be glad when I have a more filled out schedule. I do like structure in my life!

The school is great, and everyone has been very supportive and helpful. There are a handful of other foreign teachers, and they have been kind enough to help me navigate the paperwork. Also, my counterpart, assigned to me in a sort of Big Sister fashion, is wonderful. She's fun to hang out with and has the lowdown on all the information that I need to know, like schedule changes and the different temperaments of different classes.

-Final thoughts- Everything is going well. There are a lot of new things to get used to (like unrefrigerated eggs!), but a lot of things about teaching are familiar. I can tell that I'm going to really enjoy getting to know my students. I've met several people who live near by that I think could become friends, etc. It's a lot of work, starting over from scratch in a new place, but with a little luck and patience, I think it's going to be a great two years!

Chinese Slang

2009-08-18T21:56:00.000+08:00

Since we had five and a half hours of language class today, our teacher took pity and did a lesson on Chinese slang for part of the time. It was interesting to see the words she presented. We were horrified at some of the slang…until we realized we have analogous terms in English. Then there were words/phrases for whose literal translations we have idioms, but they differ in meaning. Finally there is online slang that is based on numbers. Short lesson below for your enjoyment.

-All languages have mean slang…
-Qingwang- literally “frog,” used to describe an ugly boy. “Ew, look at Chuckie..what a frog!”
-Konglong- literally “dinosaur,” used for an ugly girl. This could also fit into the second category (see below)
-Zhang de anchuan- literally “makes you feel safe.” Used to describe a plain looking person in a nice way. Think, “He has a GREAT personality,” when being told about a blind date.
-Yiduo xianhua chazai niufen shang. Literally, the manure pile makes the flower more beautiful. Idiom for describing an ugly man married to a beautiful woman.
-This isn’t mean, just cool: Wo shi da jiang you. Literally, I am buying soy sauce. Equivalent to, “Leave me out of it” or “I have no opinion.” Buying soy sauce is one of the most basic household tasks, so when someone asks, “What do you think about this controversial issue?” you can say, “Oh, just buying the soy sauce minding my business over here.” Cool, right?

Confusingly non-equivalent slang:
-Kongque- peacock- means overconfident in oneself, not proud as it does in English
-jutou- pighead- clumsy or stupid, not stubborn

Nifty numerical slang:
-886- pronounced babaliu, sounds like baibaile, means byebye
-9494-pronounced jiusi jiusi, sounds like jiu shi, means I agree
-584-pronounced wubasi, sounds like wo fashi, means I promise
-520-pronounce wuerling, sounds like wo ai ni, means I love you

My trash truck plays "Jingle Bells" over and over...

2009-08-16T13:47:00.000+08:00

Not sure why...Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was not, in fact, an ice cream truck.

It’s been quite the week- I’ve been to Lanzhou and back and liked it very much! All the Gansu folk left last Sunday for our train ride through the countryside. I tell you, Chinese sleeper trains are the way to go! We had “hard sleepers” which means bunks in an open sleeper car. The bunks were clean and well-padded and very comfortable. By day, you get a good opportunity to see the scenery and chat with the people around you, and the beds make for good sleeping at night. They lights go off at ten and come on again at seven, so everyone felt rested. As we approached Lanzhou, the scenery became more and more arid. There are lots of mountains that look a lot like the desert mountains in the American Southwest (link to my album at the bottom of the page). All in all, it was a most pleasant way to spend 20 hours.

When I got to Lanzhou, the assistant from the waiban (foreign affairs office) was waiting for me along with my counterpart teacher. They were both very friendly and had a car waiting to take me to my new apartment. We dropped off my stuff, and then headed to the train ticket office to buy my return ticket. There had been a miscommunication and it hadn’t been bought the week before, and by the time we got to the office, all the train tickets were sold out. After many phone calls to my new boss and my old boss and a break for lunch, we got it all settled, and I got a plane ticket for Friday. Much faster, but probably not as pretty.

After that was sorted, my ever helpful counterpart helped me negotiate the bus system home and then I took a nice nap in my new apartment (again, see pictures.) It’s a nice place with a living room, study, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. Furthermore, my new bed is the most comfortable one in China. Most Chinese beds are quite hard in a way that is supposed to be good for the back (and I’m sure it is), but my bed is just the right amount of soft. It’s not so much soft as it is deep, if that makes any sense. If you come visit, I’ll let you sit on it and see for yourself.

Also, the apartment is completely furnished. At least two volunteers have lived there before me, so it has accumulated a healthy amount of furnishings and knickknacks. I have nice blankets for the winter, cushions for the sofa, and a starter set of kitchen supplies. The last volunteer even left me a hutch full of books and teaching materials, so I’m looking forward to weeding through that.

On Tuesday, after I had rested up, my counterpart Ai took me around the two campuses where I’ll be teaching and showed me the noteworthy buildings. I live on the west campus but will likely teach all my classes at the Peili campus. Many teachers do commute every day, and there is a school shuttle that runs at intervals. There’s also a public bus that runs every ten minutes during term, and it’s very cheap. I’m looking forward to going back and exploring more in September (and in the next two years) because most of the shops and restaurants near my apartment were closed since it’s the school vacation. Most of their patrons are students, so the owners go on vacation when the students do.

After exploring my new stomping grounds, we went to a tourist attraction- White Pagoda Mountain. They have ramps and stairs built up the mountain to facilitate getting to the pagoda at the top. Apparently, during the expansion of Genghis Khan’s empire, the Tibetan Buddhist sent a priest to pay their respects. Unfortunately, the fellow died in Lanzhou, and the pagoda was built a century or so later in his memory. Now, it is a “cultural relic under the protection of the province.” It was a very nice tower. Also, they have a pond at the top of the mountain where they have giant plastic balls that you can climb in then have inflated. Once you’re all sealed up in your ball, they push you into the pond and you can scoot about on top of the water like a hamster. I watched a couple kids do it, and the final result is somewhere between bizarre and amazing.

During the rest of my time in Lanzhou, I was pretty much free to explore on my own. I expanded my knowledge of the bus system, explored nearby shopping options, and found an internet café. I also had a brief meeting with an official and learned I’ll likely be teaching freshman oral English and writing for students in their final year of a three year program. I’m lucky in that I’ll probably have a break for a couple weeks- freshmen have two weeks of military training at the beginning of the term, and my third-years begin with a month of field study. It’ll be nice to have a cushion between getting off the train and teaching.

It was also interesting to see the different ways shops work there. I went to a restaurant for dinner one night. I thought it was a normal restaurant where you sit down, they bring you a menu (hopefully with pictures!) and then you can order. I started to walk in, and a lady near the door started flapping at me and called me back to the entrance. I went back, and she said I had to place my order with her. Ok….so I told her what I wanted and paid, and then she gave me a ticket and turned to the next customer. A ticket?! What do I do with a ticket? Fortunately a waitress noticed me wandering aimlessly near the door and explained that I should get a plastic wrapped bowl from the stack and take it to the kitchen window in the back. So I passed over my ticket and bowl and got what I ordered in no time flat. THEN I sat down and ate it- very tasty. So, now I know how a ticketed restaurant works!

Now that I’m back in Chengdu, time is flying by until swearing in. This is my last week with my host family. We have our final language test this week and our host family appreciation dinner. Next Monday (a week from tomorrow), I’ll move back to the hotel for a little while. Swearing in is the 28th, and I’ll move to Lanzhou permanently soon after. Time flies when you’re having fun!

Train Station Photo

2009-08-05T18:22:00.000+08:00

Not my photo, but a visual none the less!

News!

2009-08-05T17:46:00.002+08:00

We got our site announcements yesterday! I will be spending the next two years at Lanzhou City University in Lanzhou, capital city of Gansu. You can read a little bit about Lanzhou here. I'm excited about my site. The school has 13,000 students and 1100 faculty on three campuses. I'll be living in faculty housing on one of those campuses. Frankly, it's still strange to me that I'm on faculty at a university at all!

On Sunday, I'll leave for a week-long visit to Lanzhou. Unless they're still renovating it, I will stay in my new apartment, so I'll take and post pictures. There are several other volunteers in my city and a couple only a five minute walk away at other schools, so we should be able to all travel together. It's a 20 hour train ride, but hopefully the company will make the time pass quicker.

In other news, we went on a field trip today to the train station. When we saw field trip on the schedule, we assumed field trip. You know, get on a provided bus, be herded around a location, listen to someone point out the important features, the get back on the bus. Easy as pie. Except that's not quite what they meant by field trip. Instead, we were given some questions to ask and info to find out while at the station. (How much for a ticket to Guizhou? etc) When it was time to go, we were loitering waiting for our teachers while they chatted, a most unusual occurrence. We finally said something to the effect of, "Let's get going," and they said, "Bye! See you tomorrow!"

Thus, today was rather sink or swim. Seems we can swim after all. The point of the exercise was to force us to ask for directions, find a new place, and negotiate it independently. Quite a few of us were given similar tasks, but it was the first time we'd really been turned loose on the buses. It was fun and heartening to know that we can do it. The train station itself is enormous, with a separate ticket hall, and a massive terminal with at least three "waiting halls." I was told they have 170 trains a day. The mass of humanity is incredible. Since Chengdu is the "gateway to the west," many of the people are travelers from non-Han parts of China, and the train station has a more diverse feel than most of the city. That aside, the number of people is overwhelming. There were thousands there today, and it wasn't a peak day or time. Travelling this weekend is going to be quite the experience.

End of an Era

2009-08-01T20:53:00.002+08:00

Friday was the last day of model school. I'm a little glad to be finished with it, but I will miss the kids. It was hard to know we'd only have them for two weeks and thus not get too attached. For the last day of class, they presented their mini-plays they'd been working on and then we had a party. We brought Coke and Chips Ahoy! and played 20 Questions and Would You Rather...? They seemed to really enjoy it.

The funniest moment came when we were giving out certificates. One student wanted to get pictures in classic diploma pose (take with the left, shake with the right), so I did it for all the students while Ross photographed. One boy shook my hand, and then, right as Ross snapped the picture, threw his left arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. So basically there is this great picture of me being pulled sideways off-balance with a funny look on my face as he beams and clutches his certificate.

I also taught our primary school surprise class for two days this week. I co-taught with another trainee, which was definitely a good system. We had 22 kids from 4 or 5 to 13 or 14 with some speaking no English beyond "Hello! Hello!" and some being nearly fluent. It went shockingly well. They were extremely well behaved, and yes, sometimes it was controlled chaos, but we were able to move through a lesson plan. I don't think I could have done that with an analogous American class. We taught them parts of the body and emotions. Obviously, that necessitated multiple renditions of "Head and Shoulders," "Hokey Pokey," and "If You're Happy and You Know It." They were a little baffled, but they really got into it. Many Chinese love singing, and most children do anyhow.

Today, Saturday, we had a whole-group morning session which was nice in that we got to see other site folks and actually hang out with them. A group of us went to lunch and then to see Harry Potter. The movie was in Chinese, and I liked it pretty well. I'm sure I'd get more of the subtleties by watching it when it comes out on DVD (aka next week here!). Purchasing the tickets entailed a hilarious conversation which I will repeat here for your amusement.

Of our group of six, four stopped at a store and two of us went ahead to buy the movie tickets. At the counter:

[in Chinese]
Me: Hello, I'd like six tickets for Harry Potter, please.
Clerk: [very slowly] There...are...two...of...you. You...need...two...tickets.
Me: Yes, but my friends are coming to see the movie too. Six tickets.
Clerk: You have six friends?
Me: No, five other people and me. Six tickets altogether.
Clerk: What movie do you want?
Me: Harry Potter
Clerk: The one at 3:30? [Considering the next showing isn't for four hours, yes!]
Me: Yes, 3:30, six tickets.
Clerk: You know the movie is in Chinese, right?
Me: Yes, I know.
Clerk: And you still want six tickets.
Me: Yes, please.
Clerk: Well, ok. I guess I can sell you six.
Me:...thanks.

:-)

Leshan

2009-07-29T22:08:00.000+08:00

We went to see the big Buddha in Leshan today. It was a two hour drive followed by observing current PCV’s teaching at a teacher training institute. They were mostly doing student-centered activities, which is good, but not particularly useful to observe. After that, we had a tasty lunch.

The actual Big Buddha was slightly disappointing. It’s a…really big Buddha statue. I’m sure if you are a Buddha aficionado, it is a more meaningful experience, but it wasn’t a big (ahah) deal to me. The trip was salvaged by going to a teahouse after our boat ride and playing cards and majiang for a couple hours. That was great.

Finally, I leave you with some food funnies:
-I came home the other day to find a turtle swimming in a plastic aquarium in the living room, complete with fake trees. The family was cooing how cute it was and had named him WuWu. I thought we got a pet turtle to get go with the pet cats. Turns out he was dinner, and a very tasty one at that!
-Roasted or boiled eggs here are served in halves with the shell still on. Take note.
-Sichuan is famous for ma peppers which have roughly the same effect as novacaine. They're amazing at making your mouth all numb, but oh so tasty with green beans!

Hot Pot and Eclipse

2009-07-22T22:08:00.002+08:00

I got to see a total solar eclipse! Well, I didn’t actually see it because it was quite cloudy, but we did get to go outside. It was three hours of sunset collapsed into two minutes, three minutes of cool darkness, and three minutes back to a sunny Wednesday morning. It was a creepy feeling to be standing in the dark at nine in the morning, and we talked about how terrifying it would have been for ancient peoples who didn’t know an eclipse was coming.

More classes and model school today- mostly same old, same old, but I’m having SO much fun with my students. They’re really great and especially enjoyed the (prepositions practice) game where they got to tell me what to do :0)

For dinner, my host family took me to a restaurant where we sat around a boiling pot of broth and chili oil. Sounds crazy, I know, but amazingly good. They bring out raw meat and veggies and you dip it in and cook it. Then , you plunk it in your personal bowl of sauce to cool it and eat it. We were all drenched with sweat but full when we left. It was the good, sauna feeling sweat that makes you feel purified and not the icky humid kind of sweat. So, now that I’m full and relaxed with clean pores, I’m off to finish planning tomorrow’s lesson (Friends and Roommates)!

First Day of Model School

2009-07-20T18:19:00.001+08:00

I named someone today. What a bizarre feeling…

It was the first day of model school. Everything went off perfectly, almost too perfectly. It was glorious. The activities took an appropriate amount of time, the students moved around and participated well, and they laughed at all my jokes. I am so pleased it went well. The only bad thing was the heat it was 95 F with 85% humidity! Whew! Our classroom had neither air conditioner nor fan, though we are promised one for tomorrow. So, after teaching for ninety minutes in a shirt, skirt, and hose (what was I thinking?!), I looked like I had been swimming. However, as that’s a common look around here, it wasn’t so bad, and the students were just as hot.

The students themselves are great. They are generally 18-24 and intermediate level, with some exceptions to both items on each end. The activities for today worked out well, and now I have an idea of what to plan for tomorrow. I’m only teaching half the day so Rosstin gets a turn, too.

There’s been some swapping of the schedule since we found out today that one class is twenty-two 5-12 year olds. That’s quite the news item when were told to prepare for 15 university students. The people who got that class were troopers, but we’ve arranged a system where they will join another team of teachers to teach a normal class and we will all take turns teaching the kiddos on our days off. I mean, how hard can it be to teach 22 small and not so small children for 90 minutes? Famous last words.

Tomorrow will be great! We’re doing an apartment hunting game and then a lesson on prepositions in the context of household objects (the bed is next to the table, etc.)

Faux Pas

2009-07-19T17:46:00.002+08:00

Also, I've just discovered that at the end of meals, I've been going around saying "Thanks, I'm delicious." instead of "Thanks, I'm full."
Oops.

Bookstores and Lotus

2009-07-19T17:44:00.000+08:00

This weekend, I got a lot of lesson planning done, including a nice polished one for tomorrow. The others are still rough because I still have no idea what my students’ level is. Tomorrow night will be a lot of planning for sure. Today, we went to the largest bookstore in Chengdu. I was hoping to pick up an English novel as a reward for a good first third of training, but all the English language books were very expensive, about 110 yuan. (For reference, lunch costs me 5-8 yuan.) I still had fun looking at the entire floor of GaoKao material and the language books. They have “Learn Chinese!” materials for native speakers of English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, Korean, Japanese, and Russian. It was very impressive.

After a delicious lunch, we went to IKEA, which is exactly like the American ones, except they set the tables with chopsticks. They also had a good selection of woks, but they might have that in American IKEA, too. The rest of the kitchen items are geared for Western cooking. We had a good time exploring, and I told/mimed/described to my host family the functions of brownie pans, pizza cutters, egg slicers, muffin tins, apple corers, and the various types of pots and pans. In return, they told me how to pick out a good wok, something that might come in handy very soon.

Finally, we went to Flower Town, which consists of a giant pond/lake full of lotus and the area’s largest flower market. It was very pretty, and we got fresh veggies for dinner, but it was so very hot. We all came home and ate cold fruit, which is surprisingly refreshing!

Week Three!

2009-07-18T09:44:00.001+08:00

We’ve been with our host families a while now. It’s going pretty well! My family consists of a 25-year-old (my host “mother”) and her parents. She is married, but her husband is getting his doctorate in another city, so he’s not around much. They are really sweet and super accommodating. I have the master bedroom and my own bathroom with a western-style toilet and everything. The food is really good, and the house is comfortably cool against this crazy Sichuan heat. Last weekend, we went shopping in Tianfu Square and saw the giant Mao statue there. We also went to SW China’s largest indoor market, where they sell literally everything. One stall of buttons, one of zippers, one of purses, one of backpacks, and an entire street of baby clothes. We also went to Jinli Street, a “preserved ancient street.” It offers traditional handicrafts as well as restaurants, tea shops, and a Starbucks. (Be sure to check out the pictures!)

The 80 trainees who were all living in the hotel together have been split into four training sites. I like the people at my training site, and I’m looking forward to getting to know them better, but the people I’d been hanging out with are mostly at other sites. It’s a good chance to make new friends! We’re all together at least once a week, so that will be fun. I’m sure there will be some hanging out after those sessions.

Training marches on. It’s mostly more of the same. There have been some very helpful practical sessions from current and exiting volunteers telling us what activities have worked well in their actual classrooms of Chinese students. It’s also been good to hear first-hand about their very varied experiences with different types of students, different sizes of schools, and different locations in the countries.

Next week, we begin model school. They recruit Chinese students to take two weeks of English classes as guinea pigs for us to try out new lessons plans and to give the less experienced teachers time to get their feet wet. We are paired off into mentor/mentee pairs, so that the mentee can watch the mentor teach for a week before teaching his own week. Since my “mentee” has taught before, we may do some team teaching. Our theme is “Modern Life in New York,” and we’re doing sub-themes on apartment living/apartment hunting, roommates (aka personal description), and occupations. We plan to wrap it all up by having them invent a person who is moving to New York and present these facets of their lives in groups. Maybe they will have a poster or something, too. I’d better be off to finish up planning for my week now. Happy Friday/Saturday!

Weeks One and Two

2009-07-18T09:25:00.000+08:00

We finally rolled up to our hotel around 10 pm after a 12 hour flight to Beijing, a layover, then short two and a half hour jaunt to Chengdu. The airport in Beijing is spectacular. It dwarfs the massive Atlanta airport and has this really cool orange lattice-work ceiling. The staging staff warned us that officials would board the plane to check everyone’s temperature, and sure enough they did. They have stopped wearing the spacesuits-style haz mat gear they favored in the first stages of the outbreak and now settle for gloves and the plastic full face contagion screens. They also have the coolest thermometers ever. They look rather like bulky penlights and fit easily into a shirt pocket. To take a temperature, you just focus a beam of light on the person’s forehead, and it somehow reads the temperature. Nifty, huh?

No one had a fever, so we were allowed to disembark and begin to trek through the terminal. There was another “temperature gate” that uses infrared cameras to screen passerby. If you appear to be warmer than normal, they scoot you into a curtained area and slap a mask on you and take your temperature again. Several of our group, yours truly included, was afforded this extra hospitality, but we all came up clean. We even got to keep the masks as souvenirs!

The rest of the airport and flying was fairly uneventful, and we were all glad to get to our hotel. I pretty much crashed straight away. The next day, we began pre-service training (PST) in earnest. We would normally only stay in the hotel three days, but since we could be quarantined anytime in the next seven days, we will stay here a week. We don’t want to exposure our host families to contagion and possible quarantine. Also, our wonderful medical staff will be taking our temperature daily. They are going to know our foreheads SO well.

Training quickly settled into a routine. Multiple hours of Mandarin a day mixed in with TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) training and safety and health briefings. Most of the training is great, and I can tell that my Mandarin is improving rapidly. The people have been great to help us. In general, I think most of the merchants and vendors here are nicer to us than many Americans are to immigrants with flawed English. It’s been very pleasant.

Just down the street from our hotel, there is a TrustMart, the Chinese rebranding of Walmart (Walmart does actually own it.) It is surreal to go there because everything looks the same…but it isn’t. The store itself is much more compact and multi-level, but they sell everything! Notebooks, chopsticks, snacks, snake meat, you want it, they got it! The goods that look the same (paper, coffee, socks) are somehow just the tiniest bit different- enough to give you that Twilight Zone feeling. That being said, the store is fun and hectic and very useful.

We also got to make a trip to the American Consulate, something I’d never done before. They staff was welcoming and provided a surprisingly (and welcome) discussion of their perspective on expat life in China. They also invited us to speak at their English corner when we are around Chengdu. That could be fun.

Finally, I just need to say that our hotel is great. They seem a little baffled by the descent of 80 westerners with matching name tags, but they have been most accommodating and always answer our questions. The breakfast here is amazing and varied, including fried peanuts, potatoes, spinach with peppers, dried tofu and peanut scramble (very tasty!), and tomato and egg on a rotating basis. Everyday they have rice porridge, yogurt, steamed bread, tea, instant coffee, and milk. Not a bad way to start the morning! On Thursday we will move in with our host families. I’m not sure what the internet situation will be, so I will update when able.

From the air above Siberia...

2009-07-01T13:53:00.001+08:00

Eight hours and 4150 miles into the flight, and Beijing is now within sight on our flight tracker. Hooray! I may regret saying this, but so far the twelve hour flight is much easier to handle than the five hour one. I think it's easier to sort of settle in for the long haul across the world and pace your energy, food, and activities than to sit tapping your foot and eating Biscoff as you go across the US.

I managed to sleep about four hours when we first got on the plane, so now I'm staying awake
until we reach our hotel in...ten hours. Not so bad. I have a half-baked notion that following China time on the plane will help with the jet lag. We shall see.

The PC folks in China ("post") are still concerned about H1N1--not that it is a threat to our health, but that some of us will be quarantined and miss the first week of training. We have no control over it, since even though none of us is sick, if we are within three rows on the plane of someone who is quarantined, we may be quarantined too. Fortunately, with their usual equanimity, post has a contigency plan. One of the staff will meet us in Beijing this year to help deal with any issues. They've also apparently prepared self-study packets for any unfortunate quarantinees (Is that a word?) to begin training on their own. Oh well. As they put it in our staging materials, it's just one week out of two years, and it would give us time to get over jet lag and get rested. Way to think positive!

Staging

2009-07-01T07:48:00.000+08:00

Staging went wonderfully well. I was afraid that it would pass very slowly, but they did a good job of making the rather dull but necessary policies and procedures interesting through
interactive activities.

More interestingly, the people are fantastic. Everyone seems friendly and smart and personable without having to try too hard. Introductions were easy and not forced, and just about everyone has something inteesting to talk about.

We're staying in a Japanese themed hotel, so I'm going to go try the Japanese soaking tub in the bathroom. First, though, I need to rig some towels to cover the glass door. Don't need my roommate to walk by that :-)

The Journey Begins...

2009-06-29T20:25:00.000+08:00

I'm off! We've been in the air about half an hour. My flight was delayed for thirty minutes because mechanics had to go aboard to reconnect the tubing to the oxygen tanks. I always find it particularly comforting when they have to perform unschedueld maintenance just before I board a plane. The good thing is they've sped up the plane so the flight time is 4.5 hours instead of 5 hours and change.

It's actually been a little bit of a disappointing experience, the first I've had with this airline. The in-flight entertainment system, including reading lights, flight attendant call buttons, tv screens, GoGo, and radio, are all broken. Also, the reading lights turn on and off randomly which wakes up the two year old in arms sitting next to me. She and her mom are nice, and the mom is smart--she gave the kid some travel medicine to make her sleep most of the way there!

We should be landing in about three and a half hours now, so I'll hopefully be off to the hotel and checked in with a tiny bit of time to do some sight seeing before registration.

Post-Commencement

2009-06-11T09:42:00.002+08:00

Graduation (ahem, sorry, Commencement) was superb. They haven't changed much about it since the 1700's, so the meeting begins with all the ancient little shriveled alumni marching in and the county sheriff rides in on a horse and bangs his staff on the stage to call order. (Can you imagine being elected sheriff then finding out that part of your job?) It was lovely to have family there, and I was glad the ceremonies were solemn but positive and not sappily tear-jerking as many high school graduations are.

With all that successfully wrapped up (and friends still firmly connected via gchat), I'm back at my parents preparing to head to China. I've amassed most of the clothes I want to take but still need to get my pack, some khakis, a flashlight, etc. Lots of odds and ends to wrap up in the next couple weeks. Also, my grandpa might or might not be having surgery in another state, so that's added a level of intrigue to planning. Fortunately, it's not too serious, but it might be difficult to be away from home the last week I'm in the states.

I'm thoroughly enjoying following the China facebook group. Also fervently hoping we don't get quarantined like Mayor Nagin. I guess it wouldn't be too bad because the whole plane load of us would be together...?

Beginning?

2009-06-04T11:38:00.001+08:00

According to the highly ritualized (and largely Latin) ceremony I will go through tomorrow, this is the beginning of my life--the commencement. But, I've done so much living already. It's interesting to think that of all that as...prologue.

Comrades!

2009-06-02T10:06:00.003+08:00

Perhaps that is a poor title choice...Anyhow, I had a delightful brunch with two folks who will be in my Peace Corps group. We have very different backgrounds, but we also have a lot in common, and it made me feel much better when we were comfortable with each other quite quickly.

I did feel a little young and less experienced with living abroad. From the brunch (and from the Facebook group), I've noticed that most people have lived and taught abroad for at least a year. It will be interesting to see if my experience in teaching more academic English will even things out a bit.

Staging

2009-05-30T01:35:00.000+08:00

We received the email about staging today! Nothing too terribly exciting, but it's nice to finally have some concrete details about going to China. I called to make my plane reservations, and I have a 8am flight out of Atlanta. We have a four-hour orientation that day in San Francisco, then we leave at 5 am the next morning for Beijing, have a short layover, then fly to Chengdu. Whew! That's 20 hours in the air of 48 on three flights!

I'm a little surprised that the orientation/staging thing is actually only four hours. It used to be a couple days, but they're cutting everything down to conserve funds, or so I hear. Anyhow, I'm sure it will be fine, and I'm looking forward to visiting San Francisco--I've heard it's lovely.

Chengdu video and Reading Period

2009-05-13T10:41:00.002+08:00

Here is a great video about the continuing aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake, one year later. It follows two musicians who travel to a school for students relocated away from their families after their schools were destroyed. They recorded the students' songs then visited their families and showed them. There is some footage of Chengdu, where I'll be training in a little over a month (!). Also, it was cool to hear the language as its spoken there- the accent was pretty intelligible to me, which is heartening.
Afterquake

I'm currently in the throes of my last reading and exam period ever. Here is my anthem for this reading period. Jon Schmidt

TEFL Manual

2009-05-11T06:13:00.002+08:00

I received an email today from the country desk with a manual to help us prepare for teaching English in China. I look forward to reading it and posting the gist of it here.

Also, the email reminded us that we will need diploma copies for our visas. I'm not sure if I will receive my actual diploma on graduation day or if it will be a dummy with the real thing to follow. I should check into that. I've done way too much paperwork to hit a snag in the visa process now!

Pre-Service Training Questionnaire

2009-05-05T09:17:00.006+08:00

This evening, I attended the year-end fête of the public service organization that has been the backbone of my college experience. Many of my friends received awards for their contributions to the organization, and the speeches were reflective, leading to an evening in pleasant conversation about social justice, the work we've done, and the work that has yet to be realized. (Of particular note was the discussion of radicals vs. liberals. I am firmly of the opinion that both are vital to the social justice movement. One needs the fist pounding on the wall to rouse the hearts of the oppressed, but one also needs a mason to chip away the key stones. A fist alone soon grows tired and bruised, and simply plucking away stones only makes tiny holes. But together they can topple the wall.)

Anyhow, after this therapeutic ending ritual, I was delighted to find one of the first concrete signs of the new chapter in life in my inbox- the Pre-Service Training Questionnaire. It was pretty straightforward- smoking, drinking, and other host family preferences as well as a condensed work history and language learning history. It makes me happy to see that they really do customize training for each group.

A couple of the questions were a little stickier- "What is the most important factor we should consider in your site placement?"- was the most interesting. I finally deciding on answering with my preference for teaching low-level students. I'm much better at that than fine tuning the skills of advanced students. We'll see how that goes.

Staging information should come soon! It's exciting to see the growing crowd of 15's on the facebook group. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone.

Visa Medical Info- fin

2009-04-22T11:21:00.003+08:00

I collected my forms and reports from the doctor today. After a last minute flurry tracking down the nurse regarding some fields left blank, I double-checked everything and packed it into the FedEx envelope conveniently provided by the PC. I even found a super convenient FedEx drop box that I didn't know existed. Bonus, I suppose.

It's all out of my hands now. Barring any issues, that should have been the last paperwork before staging. Not much longer now.

Last Doctor's Appointment (?)

2009-04-14T03:43:00.002+08:00

I went in for my visa physical today--it was blessedly quick and painless and involved minimal poking and prodding. My doctor was thoroughly amused by many of the questions, including "Neck?" [to which she answered "present and accounted for"] and "Toxicoparanoia?" [which she hadn't heard of].

I also had to get more bloodwork, which was rather embarrassing because the only things I needed were HIV and syphilis tests. The phlebotomy techs gave me a knowing/pitying look that made me feel very awkward. I also had chest x-rays and asked for them on a CD as required by the PRC government. After I got home, I realized that they had also included my toe x-rays from the summer. I hope it seriously confuses some bureaucrat in the future, as a small form of payback for this whole mess of red tape.

Hoorah for the last of the med stuff!

Foolishness

2009-04-01T23:13:00.003+08:00

Happy April Fool's Day! The post below, however, is entirely true.

I finally phoned the Country Desk yesterday because they never answered my email about receiving my staging documents. (I'll be traveling close to departure and wanted to see what address I should list.) The very helpful fellow at the desk said that they had never gotten that email, nor had they gotten the resume and aspiration statement that I sent in February or so.

Turns out, I had been using the wrong email address! The invitation kit says to send things to [countryname]@XXXXXX I was using prc@XXXX and apparently it is actually china@XXXX. In retrospect, I should have known, but it never occurred to me... Shame on me for being an East Asian Studies major.

Anyhow, no harm done, and I've resent the documents to the proper address and received confirmation. And I noted the email address.

Vaccinations

2009-03-31T09:52:00.002+08:00

I went to see the travel nurse today as my doctor advised. I certainly trust PC people to give me adequate prophylaxis, but I'd rather get shots now instead of when I'm moving half way around the world. The Welcome Book says that PC China vaccinates for: hepatitis A and B, rabies, Japanese encephalitis, typhoid, influenza, meningitis, diptheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, and rubella. The nurse largely agreed, but she also gave me anti-malarials. Apparently, I should take them if I go into any rural areas in Sichuan or Guizhou during the summer. That seems like a likely occurence, so I'll bring them along. She also gave me Cipro to take along in case of traveler's diarrhea. Lovely.

I was nervous that I would need tons of shots, but I lucked out. I have already had everything but Hep A, Japanese encephalitis, typhoid, and rabies. Typhoid vaccine comes in pills, interestingly enough. One refrigerates them and takes them every other day for a week. They also give you a handy "Livestrong" style bright orange rubber bracelet proclaiming "Remember Oral Typhoid Vaccine!" Quite the fashion statement. I got the first shot of Hep A, to be followed by a second in six months. I couldn't get the encephalitis one today. Apparently it has a higher risk of side effects and they must observe you after the shot, and I didn't have time for it today. I'll go back for that later. Finally, the rabies vaccine is in short supply and not available for prophylaxis. Oops.

Short version: I was afraid of becoming a pincushion, but it wasn't that bad. Hooray for being protected!

Dental Clearance! (Again!)

2009-03-14T09:14:00.002+08:00

I received paper confirmation of my dental qualification today, two weeks after my toolkit told me this. More paper for my bloated PC folder :-)

Considering the awesome technology of the toolkit, it surprises me that they still send all the letters, since they arrive so ludicrously out of sync. At the very least, I'd expect them to have a paper or electronic option on the application- so you could opt out (or in) of all the letters, just like they do at the bank. Anyhow, it's not a problem, just funny.

Rosetta Stone

2009-03-03T09:16:00.002+08:00

So far, mixed feelings...I got a free pass to use the Rosetta Stone for Mandarin a few days after I accepted my invitation. There are three levels, and within each level is four units, and within each unit are four lessons. I'm currently on Level One, Unit Two, Lesson Two. A good bit of the stuff I knew from Chinese class, but I've learned some useful vocabulary from it.

Already, I can tell that if I didn't already have a concept of the language, the program would drive you mad. It shows a language pattern, has you mimic it, then has you parse it and use it in new combinations. I think it's just that I don't like the style. I enjoy knowing the grammar and the whys and wherefores of language. However, it's been a nice way to practice speaking and listening without stressing about characters, which is the focus of my Chinese course.

Verdict: It's nice to have, but I'd never use Rosetta as the sole means to learning a language.

Dental Clearance!

2009-03-01T00:14:00.002+08:00

Woohoo! I got the last of my fillings done on Thursday, got the bewildered receptionist to type me up a letter, and over nighted it to the Medical Office. The dental folks, prompt as always, got it cleared straightaway, and I received the Application Status Update today. All clear. Now the only thing that doesn't say Complete is the legal status, and there's no hold, it's just they haven't done the final check. Hopefully they will now that I'm dentally cleared.

In other news, I never heard back from the country desk that they got my resume/aspiration statement, nor did they return an email about when they'll send the staging kit. (It matters because I'll be leaving this address on June 5th and stay with my parents until I leave.) I suppose I should phone and see what's going on.

More Paperwork. Really?

2009-02-06T00:03:00.000+08:00

It never ends, seriously. I knew that there was more medical paperwork to get a work visa for China. I understand their need to prevent diseases from entering the country, but I just had all of this stuff done for the Peace Corps. * sigh * Anyhow, for any other China applicants, here's what they want:

--Foreigner Physical Examination Form- you can see a copy here. Standard info for the most part.

--Lab reports for HIV 1 and 2, a syphilis test, EKG with interpretations, and chest x-rays. I have to send in original lab reports dated after April 1st and the EKG in, but the chest x-rays I have to carry with me on the plane. I don't get it, but ok.

--Dental form. This I don't understand and need to phone the office about. It says they will pay $20 for this update, but it doesn't say what I need to have filled out. I'm hoping this is just since I haven't gotten dental clearance yet, but we'll see.

They're serious about this exam (where they=PRC). I have to submit a passport photo signed by my doctor to prove that I'm actually the person being examined and I didn't send in a healthy body double or something. Also, everything has to be stamped with the "official hospital stamp." I'm not sure University Health Services even has an official stamp. This is getting a little crazy...

(Belated) Secret Santa

2009-02-01T14:05:00.000+08:00

Awww! A group of friends had a belated secret santa gathering today. My present was a copy of Lonely Planet China and a page-a-day Learn Chinese calendar. And chocolate. Hooray! I'm lucky to have such a thoughtful friend :-D

Invitation Kit, Part Two

2009-01-21T10:15:00.000+08:00

I've had a chance to get through the invitation kit, so here's some thoughts:

--Assignment booklet: chockful of interesting information. Lots of details about the sort of places I'll be working and what I might be expected to do. For example, I'll teach between 14 and 16 hours in the classroom, and I'll have between 35 and 85 folks in my class. Oof.

--I get to apply for a government passport. That's sort of exciting, no? I also have to fill out the visa application. After some debate, I decided to include my Chinese name. I hope it doesn't confuse anyone, but I might as well make it official now. I'm fond of the name my teacher gave me, so now's a good time to stick with it.

--I have to submit a resume and aspiration statement. I spent a lot of time crafting my original resume, so I'm a little sad to have to put it into a standardized format. The aspiration statement is also a little tricky- they ask about anticipated challenges and expectations. This is odd, since the PC theme seems to be "have no expectations." Anyway, I think I can handle it.

--The Finance folder was extremely helpful. I get life insurance as a PCV, so there's a form to designate a beneficiary. Also, they have brochures on personal property insurance. Mine works out to be about $70 a year, which seems reasonable. I got a cheap computer for a reason, but I'd still pay $100 for a deductible than $500 to replace it. It also includes information on student loans (which I don't have, thank heavens), income taxes (I probably won't make enough to be taxed), and other debts (which I also don't have).

--Staging forms. Mostly empty since the Staging Kit comes later. For now, just a registration form and a final eligibility check: Have you been arrested since the last time we spoke? etc.

--Domestic Connections: Press release info and signing up to penpal with American school kids. Not super exciting, since I'm not sure my program is well-suited for cultural exchange with kiddos.

--Welcome Book- no surprise here since it's on the yahoo group's website.

--Volunteer Handbook- Pretty much what I expected. Some interesting rules on appropriate use of PC owned technology.

I think that's all. It was a very hefty package. Now I just have to get a bit more dental work done, and I should be good to go.

The Invitation Kit

2009-01-10T12:30:00.002+08:00

The much-awaited kit arrived today, only three days after it was mailed. I'm going to miss American mail service.

It contains quite a wealth of information: a pamphlet on my assignment, a booklet on cultural adjustment, the volunteer handbook (read: rulebook), the welcome book for China, and a booklet for family entitled "On the Home Front." Has a nice patriotic ring, no? :0)

In addition, there are bunch of folders, my passport and visa info, resume instructions, finance info, staging information, and "domestic connections" which is a chance to penpal with American schools, etc.

I look forward to wading through all of this fun stuff, and I'll keep you posted!

I'm in!

2009-01-07T20:37:00.003+08:00

Yay! I was phoned by my very friendly Placement Officer yesterday. Apparently my availability was still listed as September even though I was nominated for a June program. I clarified, and he said he was inviting me to the China program. Excited is a slight understatement.

My parents, I think, have resigned them to the Peace Corps as inevitable. They were appropriately happy for me. I was worried about my grandfather's reaction- I hadn't told him because I didn't want to worry him prematurely. When I called him last night, he got really excited and thinks it's great! I love pleasant surprises.

This morning my toolkit updated. I was curious- does the toolkit update when someone updates and then you get an email at 5 am OR does it all sort of upload at 5 am? Turns out that its the latter. Just so you know.

My new and improved toolkit begins with a cheery "Congratulations! You have been invited to be a Peace Corps Volunteer." The status is no longer on the first page. there are links to My Application (all those circles and checks), Prepare Yourself, Prepare Your Friends and Family (which both are unchanged), and My Assignment. I kow have a Place checkmark in My Application, so the only thing missing is Dental. More fillings, whoo.

My invitation kit is in the mail, so I will read it, then phone to accept. More forms, presumably. Then a welcome kit a couple months before departure, then a staging kit, then staging then I'm off to China!

The "My Assignment" section doesn't have much, actually. There are sections for pictures and journal of PCV's, but both are blank. There is some general info, but nothing about China. I wonder if that will update. I suppose most people don't get a phone call, so they don't know where they will be until their invitation comes in the mail. Interesting.

I will continue to explore and keep you posted.

Reimbursement

2008-12-16T03:22:00.003+08:00

I got my check for a whopping $12 today! Yay.

Also phoned to let my APO that I would be out of town with sporadic email access. I was half hoping he'd say, "While you're on the phone, let me go ahead and do your invite." No such luck.

It turns out that the people who are receiving invites now were pretty much all originally scheduled for another date and got pushed back, so that's making me feel a little better. More waiting.

Teehee

2008-12-11T04:12:00.001+08:00

I got a letter today from the regional recruitment office. It was very friendly, advised me that my medical packet would be coming soon, and that I should go ahead and schedule the doctor's appointments.

Teehee...I've been medically cleared for a couple weeks now. I think the regional office should check in with DC before sending these out.

Contact from Placement Office!

2008-12-03T06:13:00.002+08:00

I received an email from my assistant placement officer today:

I’m writing you from the Peace Corps placement office and I’ve been reviewing your file. I just wanted to send you a reminder that upon your graduation in June we will need a copy of your final transcript. At that time, please send us a copy showing:

· your name

· the name of the institution,

· the degree you received and the date it was conferred.

It can be an unofficial transcript, as long as it reflects the required information. Please email or fax this document to my attention at the number listed below. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have at this time.

Regards,

His name

Excellent! I found out that my PO is on vacation until January when I called to see about submitting a transcript. At least I know my file's not being ignored in the meantime. I told him that I wouldn't be able to get that transcript til early July. I also asked about sending in a new resume, so we'll see what he has to say.

Medically Cleared!

2008-12-01T07:46:00.002+08:00

Hooray! I got the letter in the mail, and I am medically qualified. That was super fast- just ten days, even with mental health stuff.

The letter says that I will hear separately about dental qualification (which I actually already got) and that the Placement Officer will now begin reviewing my file. I need to call tomorrow and figure out to whom to send a resume so that they can see my new Kaplan teaching which will make me more qualified for the China job. Some invites have already gone out, so hopefully they'll think I'm a good fit and I will get my invite soon.

Hooray!

Holy Cow Batman!

2008-11-26T23:50:00.002+08:00

Medical (check mark): Complete. A decision has been reached regarding your medical review. Please look for a letter in the mail.

That was ridiculously fast. They got my kit on November 19th, and they reach a decision on the 25th? That's almost scary. But as I am perfectly healthy, I'm sure they just checked me off and moved on.

Yay? Can't wait for the letter. Since I'm going to be out of town, I might cave and phone the nurse.

Dental Dilemma

2008-11-25T16:27:00.002+08:00

The good news: PC responded faster than I ever thought possible. I heard info on my dental file a scant week after I mailed it in. Also, it will not delay my file and I don't have to get the treatment done until 30 days before departure.

The bad news: They want me to get five fillings. Five! My dentist was loathe to schedule the appointments for them...mumbling about excess treatment. Not to mention the cost of them. *sigh* I understand they don't want me to get to China and need a root canal or something, but please, this does seem excessive.

I heard about people being invited to my program today...I hope it doesn't fill before I'm medically cleared.

Thanksgiving for 25!

2008-11-25T16:17:00.002+08:00

I had a bittersweet time yesterday...I've always made Thanksgiving for my friends at school. This year, it was 25 people, one massive turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans, carrots, stuffing, cranberry salad, cheesecake, pie, etc.

I had a great time cooking, and the party was so much fun. But it was also a little sad that we probably won't all eat together like that, well, ever again. I'm more happy than sad about life moving on (beats dying), but college has been the best part of my life so far, and I'm a little teary that it's ending.

I have high hopes that we will all keep up with each other in the future- I'm sure I won't remain close with ALL 25 of the people who where there but I plan to keep in touch with 10-15 of them, and stay tight with 5-6. Especially with Gmail Video Chat, it'll be like we never left!

:-)

Peace Corps is currently reviewing...

2008-11-21T01:01:00.002+08:00

my dental and medical documentation. According to my toolkit, they received it on November 19th, two days after it got to their mailroom. Not bad at all. Hopefully they'll get me cleared in the next month or two and I can get an invitation in time not to worry about finding another place to live/job/food/life after June...

Packet Arrived

2008-11-18T06:50:00.003+08:00

According to the USPS tracking thing, my opus medical arrived at Peace Corps HQ (I love that they call it that!) at 11:37 this morning. Let's see how long their system takes to get through paperwork. :-)

Finished the packet!

2008-11-15T23:46:00.001+08:00

Hooray! I finally finished the medical packet and am on my way to mail it as soon as I finish this post. I had my eye appointment, physical, and last shot yesterday. My doctor was patient, but kept remarking how frivolous the form seemed. It was pretty funny.

I've read how important it is that every blank is either checked or explained, so when he left the prostate exam blank empty, I asked him to write n/a. He did, but he muttered under his breath, "Who are these people that they need me to tell them a woman doesn't have a prostate." heehee

I then drafted my mental health statement and spent two hours assembling, checking, running to the doctor for a lab report they forgot, and checking yet again. I was immensely pleased to have everything finally finished.

Now, unless they want more information, I have done all that I can do. Time to sit around at wait!

Mouth? Check!

2008-11-13T13:55:00.000+08:00

I got my third and final filling done today. It was super quick (20 minutes) and very painless.

I also proactively picked up copies of my lab report before Friday's physical/massive form completing party. It's a good thing I did because my doctor mistakenly ordered a thyroid test instead of a Hep C test. Bonus points: My thyroid is just fine!

I phoned the office and the doctor himself (!) called back to apologize and say I could stop by anytime for the retest. I did, so it should be back before Friday.

So, assuming I don't have Hepatitis C, all my labs (including the formerly wayward urine) have come back clean. Always nice to know I don't have leukemia, HIV, tuberculosis, rare blood diseases, etc.

On a slightly different note, I reflected today that this medical process has been more intense and stressful than I had thought. It's due in part to my wanting to get the forms turned in under two weeks (which will be this Saturday). Also, it's a lot of little parts that I and I alone must keep up with, and I think that takes a good bit of mental energy.

However, it's much less stressful than teaching is, and I'm almost finished. Two more days!

Prophylaxis

2008-11-11T03:02:00.000+08:00

So I showed up to get my filling done, and I discovered that there had been some miscommunication. They had be down for a cleaning today. Oh well, I needed that done too.

I also had to wait thirty minutes past my scheduled time, which was annoying. Anyway, my teeth are nice and clean again. I then went back to the doctor, peed in a cup yet again, and dashed away to class.

Now, we wait some more...

Two fillings down, one to go.

2008-11-08T14:59:00.000+08:00

Went and had two fillings done today. Thought it would be all three, but they have a policy of not numbing both sides of your mouth at once. Okay...

Also my doctor called (at 7pm on Friday! Poor man needs a life). Apparently there were "irregularities" with my urine sample, but everything else looks great. I have to go retest Monday. He proposed that I have a urinary tract infection. Ick.

The Saga Continues

2008-11-07T00:28:00.000+08:00

I had my TB test checked today. I do not have tuberculosis, which is good. It's sort of funny how nice it is to get negative test results even when you already knew you didn't have it.

Also had the remaining blood drawn for the blood work. The phlebotomy tech raised her eyebrows looking at the list of 12 blood tests and asked "what the heck" was wrong with me. I told her the government :-)

Now, I just need my fillings, physical, and eye exam, all of which are scheduled.

I've been enjoying reading a Peace Corps yahoo group. It's exciting to hear from people getting invites, and it's a great place to ask questions and get them answered by folks in the know.

Obama won!

2008-11-06T00:22:00.000+08:00

...and I went to the dentist. I stayed up late waiting for the results. I thought both candidates' speeches were excellent. I always feel terrible for the losing candidate. You pour 110% of yourself into a single goal for two years, seven days a week only to have to announce to millions that you have lost when the defeat is still painfully fresh. Not to mention that phone call. (I've always wondered how the number swapping goes...)

And boo to California for passing Prop 8. I just heard. I was really hoping that reason would prevail over fear, but apparently not just yet. I'm not too worried though. Obama's election is proof that people overcome prejudices with time and hard work. It will happen someday soon, I hope.

But yes, the dentist. This was my first time visiting (I just got new dental insurance), and I was very pleased. They are not overbooked constantly, like every other dentist I know, and they are very friendly. The dentist did everything himself, and he didn't seem to mind spending the time with me that it took to get everything evalueated and filled out.

He took a full mouth series of x-rays and gave me the originals, then checked all my teeth for cavities. He also did the periodontal probing that I was so dreading. It doesn't hurt at all except for the front two teeth on top and bottom, and that's not so bad!

I have mild gingivitis, easily cleared up by prophylaxis (just a cleaning, it's been eight months) and two small cavities. I'm getting it all taken care of this week, and then my mouth should be ready for the Peace Corps stamp of approval.

Labs, Pt. I

2008-11-05T12:25:00.000+08:00

I went to University Health Services (UHS) today for the first bit of blood work. I got a little bubble of TB purified protein derivative injected under my skin quite painlessly. I have to go back in 48 hours to make sure it hasn't reacted. Looks fine so far.

I also had a five minute chat with my doctor to sign the HIV test consent form and have him order the rest of the blood work for me. He confirmed my suspicions that much of this is largely unnecessary. He actually called the PC office once and complained that they were over-testing healthy people! I love my doctor.

Some of the blood tests are fasting tests, so I'll go Thursday morning and get them done. Tomorrow morning is the dentist. Dreading the periodontal probe. That just sounds bad...

Medical Kit Arrived!

2008-11-02T03:22:00.001+08:00

And to say that it is extensive would be a gross understatement. The packet includes the following:

-Instructions and Checklist
-Report of Physical Abilities- Can you ride a bike? Lift 20 pounds? etc.
I. Introduction
II. Health Conditions Requiring Further Information from the Physician
--These are things I answered yes to on the Health Status Review bit of the application. For me, this means describing my "allergy to medication other than sulfa drugs," "other birth control method" meaning the pill, and having a high BMI.
III. Other things I checked yes to on the form- having visited a mental health counselor in the last ten years. Ten years?! Now I have to go track down the person I saw and get her to fill out a rather extensive form. I also have to write a personal statement saying how I plan to cope with the stress.
IV. A checklist of conditions that I have or haven't had in the last year.
V. Generic stuff, like height weight, BP, and pulse.
VI. Complete clinical exam- head, nose, mouth, thyroid, ears, eyes, lungs, breasts, cardiac, peripheral pulse, abdomen, anus, pelvic spine, musculoskeletal, neurologic, skin, scars and tattoos, psychiatric. Head to toe indeed!
VII. Labs- Have to attach copies of these reports: Urinalysis, PAP, TB test, HIV, CBC (complete blood count), Hep B, Hep C, G6PD (something with red blood cells)
VIII. Required Tests for older people- don't apply to me
IX. Immunizations- Have to get: tetanus booster, Polioi booster, MMR booster. Have to list whether I've had Yellow fever, Hep B, or Hep A vaccines.
X. The End! The doctor signs and dates

Also, the Dental Exam:
I. Check off location of fillings, check off teeth with abnormalities
II. Periodontal evaluation. According to Webster's, this means a gum evaluation. Gingivitis, etc. Very complicated. I hope my dentist can handle this.
III. Third Molar Evaluations- Yay no problems! Mine are long gone.
IV. TMJ evaluation- popping lock jaw
V. Bruxism- grinding the teeth
VI. Prosthesis
VII. Treatment completed after the evaluation.
I also need full mouth and bitewing x-rays. Yikes.

I learned a lot about dental health. I'm confused though...if I need to have cavities filled, can I still send the form in? Maybe I can get it all done before the 14th since my dentist appt is first.

Eyeglasses form- just the prescription and frame measurement.

And last but not least, a nice prepaid envelope in which to send it.

This is...intense.

IV.

Email Update

2008-11-02T01:55:00.000+08:00

I got an email at 5:15 this morning saying that my online account had been updated. I logged on, but nothing seems to have changed. I suppose there is a bit of lag in something changing and them telling me. At least I know they will email me if something happens!

Letter from DC

2008-10-31T12:11:00.001+08:00

Apparently they just figured out that I exist. I hope they aren't usually this slow! The Boston office was the one behind all the other work.

Anyhow, the central office in DC sent me a letter saying hello and telling my about the toolkit. Yeah, I already figured that out :-)

In other news, the website was updated to inform me that they mailed my kit on October 29th. Hope it's here soon!

Online Toolkit

2008-10-30T12:05:00.000+08:00

So they have a nifty thing that keeps you super-updated on your application status. It had a tiny bit of information before I was nominated, but it exploded overnight.

It tells me exactly what I still have to do. They haven't mailed my medical kit yet, but there is a checklist of all the things I am going to have to do. It's a ton! I may be able to use my physical from June, but I have to convince the doctor to transfer all that to the Peace Corps form as well as order all the bloodwork. It might be easier to just have a new physical. When I get the forms, I should be able to tell.

They reimburse you for the medical expenses, but only a little, like $200 for everything. I should be ok with student health center, but it's got to be tough for people without insurance. Or even with insurance- I doubt it covers all the extra bloodwork and shots.

The website also has a section to learn more about your region, ways to thing about how you'll adapt to the culture, and other neat exercises.

It also has a section of things you can print and send to your family. Like how safe and healthy and well-trained you'll be. Useful. Perhaps it will help set the parents at ease.

Nominated!

2008-10-29T13:59:00.001+08:00

J nominated me for the following post:

Program: English Teacher

Program #: 171 2009 3 J1

Region: Asia (China)

Addition Information: Post prefers (NOT requires) that trainees have Masters Degree. Post requires they have 6 months classroom teaching experience.

Date of Departure: June 2009

She recommended that I go ahead and make dentist and doctor appointments so I can get medically cleared ASAP. Done. Dentist appointment next Wednesday and eye and doctor appointments for the 14th. Not as soon as I would like, but what can I do? I think that should be quick enough.

Delay

2008-10-25T12:57:00.000+08:00

J is checking on the exact date of the China trip departure. She can't nominate me for it until I'm sure that I go.

Interview

2008-10-25T11:49:00.002+08:00

I agonized over what to wear...how formal of clothes do you wear to an important interview for a very crunchy type group? I decided on a nice blouse and jacket with brown slacks. It was perfect; my recruiter was in a simple sweater and skirt. I love the professional relaxedness of the Peace Corps!

The interview itself was surprisingly easy. We just chatted a long while about how and when and where I could go- a little tricky because of graduation, etc. There's a chance I could go for the China program. Usually, they just slot you for a region, but with China, South Africa, Paraguay, and Mongolia, they put you on country tracks. The China program sounds perfect, but it leaves the first week of June. Commencement is June 4th. That could be a problem...

The other interview was just basic questions: Why do you want to do the Peace Corps? Are you worried about food? Housing? Are you romantically involved? How will that affect you? Etc.

J (recruiter) was friendly and easy going. She ended up the interview by saying that she planned to nominate me that afternoon! I was expecting a bit of delay, at least, but I guess not! Yay!

Packet is Here!

2008-10-22T01:40:00.000+08:00

The packet arrived today with a friendly letter from the Boston recruiting office. Glad I'm applying, etc, etc, turn these forms in pronto.

- The skill addenda was easy- filled out whether I could do a list of tasks in Spanish or French. also listed my teaching experience.
-NAC form- authorizing a background check. In triplicate.
-Fingerprint cards- I had to go to the police department to get these done. I was expecting messy ink, but they have a nifty digital machine. Downside: I had to pay $20 bucks for the two cards.

The packet also had information on the assignment area (education) I picked, medical conditions that preclude service, etc.

I got all the forms together, and I will pass them off to the recruiter at my interview Friday.

And we have contact!

2008-10-21T11:33:00.001+08:00

Today I got an email from my recruiter J. I've met her once, and she was very nice. Today she emailed me saying she'd mailed a packet of more forms to complete. She also offered some times for an interview. I emailed back, set up an interview for Friday, and starting scrambling to find some nice clothes for the hour and fifteen minutes (gulp!) interview.

Outstanding forms:
-College transcript
-Skill addenda (in packet)
-NAC form (in packet)
-Fingerprint card (in packet)

Application Complete!

2008-10-17T10:54:00.001+08:00

So I finally worked my way through the entire online application. Be warned, it is extremely picky about logging out. If you close the window without logging out, it won't let you access your application again until quit the browser, then empty your cache and clear your cookies. Annoying.

The sections on the application:
--Personal Information- Name, Address, Race, SSN, etc.
--Application Information- Date available, previous application, etc.
--Legal Information- Are you a criminal? Drunk? No? Good good.
--Financial Information- Do you have any debt?
--Intelligence Activities- Do you work for the CIA?
--Military Status- Are you in the army? [Why would you apply if you were?]
--Family Information- Spouse? How's that going?
--Dependents- Are you going to be leaving a kid (or brood) behind to go globe-trotting?
--Job Preference- What do you want to do for the Peace Corps? Pick from these.
--Post-Secondary Education- College stuff.
--Language Skills
--Licenses and Certificates- Teaching, First Aid, etc.
--Employment History
--Community and Volunteer Activities- It was confusing for me to figure out what was employment and what was volunteer since I get a stipend for a lot of volunteer work...
--Geographic Preference- How flexible are you? Where do you want to go? Where will you not go? Why?
--Practical Experience- Just in case we missed something in the last fifteen sections.
--Essays- Cross Cultural Experience and Motivation Statement. Like college essays but scarier.
They also want a resume.

You also have three recommendations: one friend, one volunteer supervisor, and one boss.
They fill them out online.

Also, you have to submit the Health Status Review in order for the application to be complete. I didn't know this. It's quick though, as it's a bunch of yes or no questions. "Do you have diabetes? Parkinson's? A funny shaped nose?"

Whew! Finally complete. Submitted at 11:53 on October 15th, 2008. Now we wait.

How it all began

2008-09-02T09:18:00.000+08:00

I've always wanted to do some sort of public service. I plan to do it as a career. Also, I want to travel between college and grad school.

Public service + travel = Peace Corps

So, my motivation was pretty straight forward to start with, but the more I found out about the program, the more I liked it. I like the well-organized structure, the guarantee of safety, the in-country medical staff, etc. I also like its full disclosure of its goal to improve the US image abroad. Nearly all NGO's have some sort of goal beyond public service, but few are willing to talk about it.

So, I decided to apply. I met people who were returned volunteers, and I realized that I wanted to be them when I grow up. They go on to have the careers that I want, the lives I'd like to have. Thus the journey begins...