Joy on a Rainy Day

True joy has left me wiping away tears. I opened my email late last night and found a letter from my recruiter telling me that unfortunately my application did not make the cut for the community development sector leaving for Eastern Europe Mid-June of 2010. She closed the letter by asking me if I would be interested in teaching English in Eastern Europe or Asia. I responded immediately saying I would be willing to go wherever my skills would be most useful and went to bed unable to sleep.
When I awoke to another day filled with humidity and rain I hoped that my inbox would have a response from my recruiter but alas nothing at 9:a.m. When I checked my email again just now I had the following message in my inbox:

Laura, I will be working on your paperwork today. I want to congratulate you on your Peace Corps nomination before your official letter arrives in the mail. I have nominated you to a SecondaryEducation - English/TEFL teaching position in Eastern Europe, to leave mid-June 2010. The program does require teaching/tutoring experience.Thus, I highly recommend that you continue to gain additional teaching/tutoring experience.Continued success and learning!

Words can't begin to describe how I feel so I think I will just smile and watch the thunderstorm through my window.

Peace Corps Interview

I had my Peace Corps interview this afternoon. I consider it a phenomenal success! My recruiter and I got along like old friends which helped my nerves immensely. I can still hardly believe that all of this is happening to me but it is and with a little luck I will get that nomination for Eastern Europe that I want so badly. The community youth development spot always fills up quickly but my recruiter is going to try and get me in to this batch of volunteers for summer 2010. Another unexpected but nevertheless welcome surprise is that I qualify to teach English because of my B.A in English. If the community development falls through or fills up I will be nominated to teach instead. Either way I'm thrilled and looking forward to the adventure.

Waiting...

I submitted the Peace Corps application and the health status forms 2 days ago. Now I wait. And I wait... And I keep waiting... The phone call and toolkit information should come in the next 2 weeks.
I procrastinated on my homework the other day and have come to the conclusion that I'd like to serve in Guatemala, The Pacific Islands, or in Eastern Europe somewhere. Order does not reflect preference in this case.
Off I go to pay attention in class and try meditating to releave this mountain of stress.

Submission Day Looms

I'm literally less than 48 hours away from submitting my Peace Corps application! Other than incredibly excited I'm nervous but ready to see what comes of this endeavor. I'll keep everyone posted.

V Day

I spent this last weekend performing in the Vagina Monologues. The word incredible can't even begin to explain the experience. To be surrounded by women who are proud of being feminine and committed to seeing the violence stop is amazing. The proceeds went to V Day which was started by the author of the monologues; Eve Ensler and they also went to the first ever sexual assault awareness and prevention program for my campus. It truly was a fulfilling weekend.
I'm just about done crocheting another pair of mittens this time in a pretty navy blue. I think I finally have the pattern figured out now. Hallelujah! When i go home I plan to ask my local yarn shop if they will sell my mitten pattern and maybe even let me teach some crochet classes.
I'm off to finish homework and to work on my Peace Corps application. The recruiter is paying my campus a visit before the month is out and I want to get my interview out of the way.

Mittens at last

I finally finished crocheting myself a pair of mittens. I deviated from my original pattern to come up with something that is much better. One mitten is just a tad wider than the other but it works out well as it will end up being worn on the hand that carries my cane so I needed a little extra wiggle room anyways. Besides its not like most casual observers are going to notice that one mitten is literally two stitches wider!
Tomorrow is knit night at the local yarn shop and I can hardly wait to go! I need help fixing a mistake I made on my blanket and its a nifty opportunity to ask the owner if she will sell my pattern for mittens. I am so incredibly proud of that pattern despite its simplicity. My doubt in myself tends to screw me over at times and I took initiative to create something out of two skeins of yarn and my own imagination. Feels pretty damn good if I do say so myself.
In other news I poked around the Blogs of those who are currently serving in the Peace Corps and found some amazing experiences to read about. The blogs from Palau, Romania, and Costa Rica were my favorites so far. With the time for graduation coming ever closer I'm feeling the crunch not only to perform admirably in my academics but to have a plan for after graduation day. I may never serve overseas but i plan to finish my application for the Peace Corps, apply to graduate school and check out a possible job opportunity working for the government. The important thing is that I have options and as much as i know it is true and a positive thing I feel like these options are not enough. I keep having to remind myself that I can't possibly fail at all three options because failure is only how much success that I choose not to find from a situation. I swear I need to tape a mantra to my bedroom door that way I can read it everytime I go in to my room. "Failure is not a lack of success." I'll just keep telling myself that and maybe I'll believe it.