Dear Kimberly,

Greetings from the Peace Corps Placement Office. I am writing to update you on the status of your Peace Corps application.

As you are aware, you were originally nominated for a Computer Science/IT program departing in February.  Due to a variety of factors including but not limited to: programmatic changes, changes in departure dates, competitiveness for programs, medical accommodations, and timing of medical and legal clearances, your program and all other remaining Computer Science/IT programs departing between January and March of 2011 are almost completely full at this time.

If we are not able to place you in the program to which you were nominated, you will be considered for similar programs departing in April and May of 2011. Please remember that it is very important that you remain as flexible as possible at this point in terms of geographic preferences, since the primary objective of our office is to place skilled individuals in the programs where their experience and background is most needed in order to serve the needs of our partner countries.

During the next 3-4 weeks your Placement Officer, M***** H*****, will conduct a final suitability review of your application and contact you to discuss your application.  Kindly note that, while we will try to accommodate preferences for all qualified, competitive applicants, we cannot guarantee any placement will reflect any or all of these preferences.

Your patience and commitment to serving in the Peace Corps are greatly appreciated. We thank you for your understanding as we continue to work diligently to qualify applicants and place them in suitable programs.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Ms. H***** at *******@peacecorps.gov.

Best regards,

this was the email I’d been waiting 4 months for. I wonder how many volunteers received the same forwarded email. this is working for the government I guess. my first reaction was anger. I read through it three times wondering what the heck I was going to do, but also wondering what the other volunteers who’d read the same thing were going to do. I’m extremely lucky my parents were willing to take me in during this wait period. I have food and a room that I don’t have to pay rent for. some people surely have given up the same as me—apartment, car, steady job) in the expectations of leaving at their promised departure date.

no use in dwelling.

I spent the rest of the day brainstorming with my parents all of the possibilities of filling this extension of time with productive activity. i came up with a few solutions.

• start a class teaching computers in the neighborhood and/or neighborhood across the street
• get an internship somewhere
• get a job at the sign shop in stuart where my dad has connections
• move back to lawrence, see what i can do there
• move to my dads apt in dallas and get a job or internship
• do something awesome to make peace corps use me to change that “almost” to just “completely” full (see the first option)

last night my uncle had heard the news through the grapevine that is my dad and grandmother and sat down with his family doing a little brainstorming of their own. he called me with exciting news that i could live with them in oak park, chicago right on the blue line and work for the ABA doing marketing materials and possible website stuff as a non-paid intern. add that to the list plz.

• live in chicago and work in the justice system doing awesome things where i have not only family but FRIENDS!

things are looking up, but i’m still waking up with my stomach in knots from dreams about organizing boxes, packing up random crap and other stressful non-dreamy dreams. let’s hope this improves after i talk to the office lady of the neighborhood on the 3rd and she says yes to my teaching proposition. I even made flyers and lesson plans already. first class: mousercize!

aside from this not so positive update, i’m excited for this new year. even though everything’s been thrown off from plan a little, I love not having so much stuff. I have just the basics. all the clothes, belongings and memories i love in a trunk. surrounded by my family that I love dearly and options to go anywhere with enough money to take me. not many people get such a fresh start.

i love all my friends, and i got to have a wonderful goodbye and the best closure before leaving my home of the past four years.

cheers to new beginnings and new adventures.