Monday, March 28, 2011

Help Me Out Here, PC

          So I haven’t heard from the PC in a month. And yes that is killing me. They said they received my medical paperwork March 1st. Then life happened, which I will explain later, so I was really really anxious to get things moving again and to see if the Peace Corps is even going to happen at all. I emailed the medical office over this past weekend and got a response today. The nurse said that my file was assigned to a nurse to start getting reviewed this week. If I'm missing anything in my file I should hear back in 2-3 weeks. Then I should know if I'm cleared in 6-8 weeks. 6-8 weeks?????? That is like such a long time! But at least I’m in the loop now. I know that something is happening.
          She also answered my question about whether or not I can go on to placement without having my wisdom teeth out yet. She said that I could, but definitely try to get it done ASAP. I wish I could just get it done now, but I can’t miss student teaching for that.

          So let me tell you about how life happened and everything has been turned upside down.
For those of you who may not know because you live under a rock, schools are seeing budget cuts like crazy. The first programs to go are the music programs. The first teachers to go are the music teachers. This is the worst time for music majors to be graduating because there are no jobs. People are being fired, not hired. So perfect time for me to join the peace corps and wait it out! That’s what I thought. But then I was basically offered a job. WHAT??? After student teaching only 2 and a half days with the high school, the faculty advised me to apply for a maternity leave position, saying that I would be a successful candidate for that position. And did I mention that this is at one of the top high schools in the nation. Do you know what this would do for my career?
          I was and still kind of am really confused about what I should be doing right now. I have been so set on the Peace Corps for almost a year now, but this is an option I never even considered. To be honest, I don’t even know what I want to do with the rest of my life. Do I want to teach music? Do I want to perform? Do I want to arrange music? Do I want to teach English? Do I want to live in a box on a street in NYC? I have no idea. The best answer that I have to the “what do you want to do question” is “I want to make my life worth something that I want to be proud of my accomplishments”. I want to leave this world in better shape than when I entered it. I also want to go far in whatever field I enter.
After a lot of thought, I decided that the Peace Corps is my top choice for short term goals. I spent a lot of time watching PC videos and reading blogs this weekend to remind myself of why I applied in the first place. But, there is still the chance that I could get medically deferred, or my departure date could be moved to a much later date, or they can just.. deny me all together. I need to know! If that is the case, then I need to be putting all my efforts into Plan B- which is the HS teaching job. It is crunch time. NOW is decision making time. Help me out here PC.

          P.S. Lets discuss Asia in August, shall we? Clearly there is a mystery departure date in August for what country? I dunno. My nomination was for Late July-early August. When the Philippines was put in early July, I just thought it would mean Cambodia, which leaves July 19th. However, I’ve noticed that other people have nominations for Asia in August. No one has an invitation yet though. Where could it be????

Monday, March 7, 2011

March has come, March is going...

On February 22nd I mailed in my Medical forms, jumped and clicked my heels, and started the real waiting game.
On March 1st (Peace Corps 50th Anniversary) I got every applicant’s favorite email saying “Your application status has been updated”. The update just says that they have received my paperwork. But they have not yet started reviewing it. I assume I’ll get another status update when that begins.
I’ve been feeling RAS (Restless Applicant Syndrome) for weeks now, but at this point it is more than ever. It is completely out of my hands. The ball is in their court and I just have to wait and see what happens.
I especially feel like I need to know because if the Peace Corps is not going to happen, I need to be making other plans with my life! I am graduating in less than 2 months without a job and without even a plan. If I wasn’t doing the Peace Corps, I would be applying for grad school NOW. I should be working on applications for graduate assistantship positions and such. The positions are going to close in like a month and if the Peace Corps doesn’t happen, I am out of luck.
It’s also weird for me because my friends are all making their plans. I am so proud of my friends. They are all going to be amazing, whether they get teaching jobs or they go off into the world of performing music. It is weird for them to tell me about their near future plans and then not have anything to offer in return other than- “I might be living in a third world country in four months. Would you care to visit?” Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE hearing about the futures of my friends. I just wish I also had some concrete plans that I can throw into the mix of my graduating class.
Cambodia leaves July 19th. So far, that is the closest departure date to what I was nominated for (asia late July-august).  Cambodia would be very very cool. I enjoy telling people that I’m moving to Cambodia. I wasn’t too thrilled with an Asia nomination, but Cambodia would be the best case scenario I think.
To sum it all up, life is pretty good. I’m about halfway done with student teaching. I am about to switch over to the high school to teach orchestra, lessons, and music theory there. ESL tutoring is going well. I enjoy working with students, especially as I start to see improvement from week to week. It is very satisfying. And last but not least, I am trying to get in as much quality time with music as possible. I am enjoying the 4 ensembles I am in, and I am constantly just absorbing myself with music whether it is alone in a practice room or with friends.
Don’t forget to stop and smell the Long Island roses.