a review of the saga to this point ....

So I've decided to start a blog. Very techno-savvy of me, and perhaps a little vain, but oh well. I thought I'd be doing this later, once I left the country, so that all my loved ones could keep track of where I go and what I do ... but it turns out that it's become fairly complicated already, so rather than keep telling the story over and over, I'm thinking perhaps I can just refer people to my blog. "So what's new with the Peace Corps?" "Or are you going to Honduras instead?" "Are you really allergic to brazil nuts?" I can't take it!!!!! "Just check the blog." Of course I appreciate everyone's interest and support so much, and quite seriously could not be handling all this drama without it. It's just that I'm feeling a little wacky at this point. And it's kind of ridiculous to think about it all. At the very least, it'll be fun to have documentation of how this whole adventure has progressed, especially since the adventure hasn't even started yet. So a brief review of events to this point ....

October 23, 2004 - I took students on a field trip to the UN. We saw exhibits about the genocide in Sudan, nuclear proliferation, etc. Started thinking about perhaps the world has lots of problems and I could be doing more to help solve them than drill students on multiple choice questions. Also had dinner delivered that night, and tried to talk to the delivery guy in Spanish but couldn't, and realized I was just another stupid American with no language or cultural skills. Then the next day, I saw the movie "Garden State" and was inexplicably moved by the scene where the girl says that her family saw the ads on tv for "Save the Children" and realized "how can you just sit there and not do something." I was starting to feel the same way. Went to yoga, came home and applied for the Peace Corps.

November 2004 - With help from Joann, Sarah and Nicole, I completed the Peace Corps application and references. There was a bit of drama b/c Nicole's reference later was lost online and I got an email that said that if it wasn't received in the next week, my application would be purged from the system. Of course, that day Nicole's server broke and I freaked out and called her at 9am on a Saturday to ask if she had sent the reference. Which of course she had, but it hadn't gotten there yet. Luckily my recruiter understood (and so did Nicole!), and I was set to interview.

January 6, 2005 - Have my interview with Susan the recruiter. We have a great interview, I'm obviously a well-qualified candidate, and two days later she nominates me for a position teaching english in rural central asia/asia. I quickly learn that this includes places such as Mongolia, Nepal, China, and all the -stans, but of course this placement is tentative pending medical approval. I' m a little disappointed to not be in Latin America, but apparently my spanish skills aren't good enough, and I realize it'd be fun to go someplace entirely new that I can't even find on a map. Hooray! Peace Corps here I come .....

February/March 2005 - Medical forms. Spend several weeks at various doctors, physicals, eye exams, tb tests, blood work, yuck, yuck, yuck. Everything seems fine though, now we wait for the medical clearance, which takes 4-6 weeks.

April 27, 2005 - Out of nowhere, during vacation, in the middle of the Price is Right's first showcase showdown, Tula the Peace Corps nurse calls with bad news. It seems that my allergy to brazil nuts is life-threatening and they can't guarantee my safety in any placement. In all fairness, I knew I had an allergy but never though it would be an issue. After talking with Tula, I agree that it does seem that this allegy could get bad, but the last several times I've eaten brazil nuts I've taken benadryl right away and stopped the reaction. She says that's considered first aid, not medical treatment. There's an appeals process, but the chances are only 50/50 (which, my economist sister points out, are not very good). I go back to my doctor and to an allergist who basically confirm that there is a tiny chance of a very severe reaction, so they can understand why I'd be too risky to send to the middle of nowhere. Bummer.

April 27-30, 2005 - I consume more beer and ice cream than ever before in my entire life.

April-May, 2005 - Decide that I want to go abroad anyway, preferably in development but teaching could be a good way in. Begin looking for other jobs abroad. Spend hours on my resume with help from my dad. Look at fellowships and fancy development-type jobs, but realize I'm not qualified for those. Some of the jobs I want actually list "peace corps experience preferred." So I start looking for volunteer opportunities too, once I realize that if room and board are paid for I might not have that much in terms of expenses. After hours and hours spent online (and still eating ice cream), I find a cute school in Honduras (The Little Red House Bilingual School) and email the director, who actually emails back. They need an english teacher at the primary school there - no pay, but room and board are taken care of. It looks like an incredible experience. Things start looking up - who needs those annoying overly-cautious Peace Corps non-allergic people anyway???

May 17, 2005 - Dr. Axe, the allergist who I had picked randomly off a list, calls me back. Apparently as he's reviewing my paperwork weeks after our appointment, he has an epiphany. He thinks I don't have a serious allergy at all - he says I have contact dermatitis, also called oral allergy syndrome. It's not life-threatening, it's basically a rash whereever the brazil nuts contacts my skins (including in my mouth). I check it out online, it does sound like what happens. He says he'll write a brilliant letter and recommend to the Peace Corps that they accept my appeal. We decide to do a skin test next week to verify all these new ideas medically. I call Tula the Peace Corps nurse who says "if this is true, it changes everything."

May 21, 2005 - So now I think I'll go to Honduras anyway. The timing is a bit flexible, so this will be the perfect experience to have while this appeal process plays out. If it's successful, I can then leave Honduras when I go to the Peace Corps (which may not be for months and months at this point). If the appeal is not successful (which is still possible - we can't get our hopes up yet!), then I'll be in Honduras learning Spanish and can work my way in to the service sector there and try to do some good in the world.

Phew! Aren't you curious to see what happens next? Me too!!!!!!!!!!