Adam Ventures

Here’s the story.

In order to be a good candidate for the Peace Corps you have to prove that you are in good, stable health and, as part of the Peace Corps application process, you have to visit an optometrist, dentist, and physician. From those examinations the Peace Corps medical office decides whether or not you are fit to serve.

I received the necessary medical forms in late January and had them completed by mid-February. There they sat for four months on the desk of my medical screening nurse who. Through no fault of her own her office was understaffed. My files sat on her desk for four months because she was busy working on the files of other applicants who left before me and, therefore, took precedence over my application.

At the tail end of June I receive a call from my screening nurse requesting one more test since the results in my files were 4 months out of date. At this point I’m ecstatic because after I get this test done I should be cleared medically and then after that all that is left is placement, where I receive an invitation!

I scheduled an appointment with the lab to check my thyroid levels, the test that the screening nurse requested, and had my blood drawn. After the results came back I was out of range on one of the tests but thought that if this is an issue then I can schedule another test later on without it being an issue.

Again, though, my results sat on my screening nurse’s desk for 3 weeks whereupon I’m told that I’ll need one more thyroid test to come back within range before I am allowed to be cleared medically. Within the following days I had another lab appointment where my levels come back as being in-range. Fantastic! I thought, but by the time my screening nurse looks at them and clears me medically it is too late for the program that I was nominated for.

I was originally nominated for a September departure which would have me leaving in a month. However, due to the understaffing in the medical office, I lost my chance at leaving in September.

After speaking with the placement officer, the person who ultimately decides where an applicant will go, I was offered two choices: either I could start teaching myself French and serve in Sub-Saharan Africa or I could wait until January for another chance at getting into a program in my geographic preference of Central or South America.

I chose the latter a because part of my desire to go into the Peace Corps is to help with my Spanish comprehension and speaking ability. In the meantime I have been renominated for a Central/South American country leaving in early January 2011. Having to wait another 4 months does feel like a setback but, as I have to constantly tell myself, nothing worthwhile is easily achieved.

Also, after speaking with the placement nurse I found out that my geology degree also opens up opportunities for environmental education positions.

Taking a look at the image below from Mapping My Futures, redux I can presume that for a January departure it will be either Guatemala or Nicaragua. You can disregard the numbers in the second column as they are only for Agriculture and Forestry Extension positions.

Approximate Agriculture and Forestry Extension positions available in Central & South America sorted by month of departure. The "#" indicates the number of positions in the AgFo program for that country. Data from Peace Corps Wiki's Timeline and Placement Calculator.