Joining the Peace Corps

Joining the Peace Corps is not as simple as one might think.  The application itself is more like that of a top-rated college.  It asks for a complete history of the applicant's education, employment, and volunteer activities.  Two essays must be written, three references given, and transcripts provided.  Because we are a married couple and will serve together, we had to answer additional questions, and write a third essay.

Then, there is an interview with the recruiter.  Ours was in-person, and lasted 2+ hours.  Applicants who pass all of this scrutiny are "nominated" for service in the Corps.

Then comes the medical review.  Honestly, this was my biggest concern.  After all, even the healthiest people our age have had health problems of some sort during their lives.  The preliminary questionnaire asked if we currently had or had ever suffered from 60+ conditions.   Every divergence from perfect health must be explained to the satisfaction of the medical office.  Of course, it makes sense--they don't want a volunteer to have a foreseeable medical problem when posted hours--or days--away from adequate care.  So, we saw our family doctors, dentists, and optometrists.  Then there were the labs--the blood tests required 10 vials of blood.  (Ugh.  I've always hated blood tests.  Going through this experience is making me a lot tougher, and I haven't even arrived in Africa yet.)

This is our medical paperwork, ready to mail:

Well, we passed the medical review, and went on to placement.  The placement officer looks at the applicant's total profile, and matches it to upcoming openings.  Placing a couple is more challenging, as they have to match two people to two openings in the same community.  After that is done, an official invitation is sent.

Then the waiting begins.  We originally applied in April 2011, were nominated in June, invited in November, and will leave for Tanzania in June, 2012.  We're anxious to go now.

So, what is this blog about? And, who is "Bibi"?

I started this blog in order to keep our friends and family updated on our experiences in the Peace Corps.  When my husband, Mark, decided to retire, we had to address the question of "What's next?"  We are both youngish retirees (well, under 65, anyway) and healthy.  Joining the Peace Corps is something we've kicked around since our college days.  So we applied, and began this journey. 

After going through a long and arduous process (more on that in another post), we find ourselves on the verge of leaving for Tanzania.  Mark will be teaching secondary math, and I will be teaching English.  Swahili is the official national language of Tanzania, and we will have to learn to communicate in it during our 3-month in-country training period.  Happily for us, English is the second official language, and is used in higher education and commerce.   

"Bibi" (pronounced BEE-bee) is the Swahili word for "Ms." or "Ma'am", and is the female equivalent of "Bwana".  Bibi is also one of the words for grandmother.  Since that's what I am, you can just call me Bibi.