PC = Hair Dye

Last weekend, my mom and younger sister, Ellen, and I were driving to St. Louis. Ellen eventually sunk into the backseat with her iPod (up soooo loud) and some thread to make those bracelets where you like loop and knot it. She's 16 and still loves artsy stuff like that to kill time.

Something prompted me to bring up the Peace Corps to my mom (who knows what, it seems like everything these days reminds me of the Peace Corps). I said, "You know mom, being a nurse practitioner, you could join the Peace Corps once you retire and Ellen's out from under you." (you know, how you aren't supposed to join if you are a guardian or financially responsible for someone. Ellen is 16 and a Junior, so she has a year and a half of h/s, and 4 years of college. My mom is 50, so that'd put my mom at 56, just about to retire.)

She seemed to entertain the idea as a plausible one. Most people look at you or respond to you as if you are crazy when you mention that. However, my mom actually entertained it--she's always been one who's dreamed of traveling but never did, and she was (surprisingly, since we don't get along) the first to head over heels support my decision to join the Peace Corps. She said something along the lines that it was something for her to think about and could be fun to do.

I say, "Since you are a nurse practitioner, which to them would give you a really strong application, and would be considered a 'senior' volunteer (NO OFFENSE) and they especially value volunteers of that age and experience, and Health is something that's in every region, you could probably even request a region and get placed in it--something younger volunteers don't necessarily get the privilege of doing. Its not a guarantee, but probably much more so than someone like me. Of course, despite that, flexibility is key." This seemed to intrigue her, and she asked what the regions were, so I told her.

She immediately said "I want to go to the Caribbean and live on like St. Lucia or St. Kitts, and what about my hair--how will I dye my hair? I won't go anywhere that I can't dye me hair."

I took a moment, staring at her, mouth gaping.

I say, "Mom...when people join the Peace Corps, they aren't really worried about their hair...people who dye it stop dying it, if you want it cut usually another volunteer or a neighbor cuts it....even if you were in the Caribbean and went to a nice resort to get it dyed, you'd probably blow your monthly allowance. Is that SERIOUSLY what you are thinking of and would consider to be your prime concern about the Peace Corps? Where in the hell to get your hair dyed!? And Okay, there is nothing wrong with the Eastern Caribbean, people go there and love it, there are people there who need help, but to want to go there because you are imagining ritzy beachy stuff!? You have GOT to be kidding me."

I had been so impressed by my mother supporting my decision for the Peace Corps. I had been so impressed that she seriously entertained the idea of she herself joining. Then I was so appalled when she said her region depended on hair dye and comfort. I told her to go to EE and dye her hair East European red.

Just A Feeling

For all you RPCVs, PCVs, and applicants out there....did you ever have the feeling your invitation was going to be entirely different than your invitation? Like completely out of the region/placement office. And not just the feeling that "oh, well, placement change is likely with everyone, so I'm expecting whatever." More like a humungous, enormous, gigantic feeling that your invitation will be entirely different.

My nomination is for Youth Development in C/S America leaving in Mid-August 2008.

Logically, after looking at invitations, my suspicions point to Belize or Dominican Republic.

However, my gut and instinct and just "feelings" tell me my invitation will be wildly different than what my nomination is. I'm not entirely sure why, but there are 2 reasons I can think of, even though the feeling goes beyond them.  The first reason is that since I have a medical restriction for epilepsy and so few countries take us, I can more easily get bumped all around the world.

The second reason you will think is so silly, but to me it feels so real. Dreams. I have had 3 very specific dreams about getting invitations, and none of them were for even Latin America. One was still in the IAP office, but in no way related to my nomination.

• The first dream was that myself and a couple others from my nomination group got invited to St. Lucia in the Eastern Caribbean. It was great. We drove into the center on a bus after arriving...we got all our gear, introduced ourselves, a lot of PCVs were there to greet us and we paired off with them and they had us meet their host families and people they work with.
• Next I had a dream that my PO called me and asked me if I could leave a month earlier than expected, July instead of August. Absolutely! Where am I going? China, I'll be teaching English.  The next thing I knew, my group and I were on a train (like the one I took to the great wall from beijing last fall) to a smaller town.  We got off the train and meet some people we would be working with and were given Chinese names. (oddly enough, I believe there is a group departing for China in July)
• Last night, was a quick dream. It was sort one of those "flash" dreams, where it happens so quick. But basically, I felt like I was never going to get my invitation, when all the sudden through the mail slot comes the big Peace Corps envelope. I RIPPED it open--not even bothering to open it the proper way, it was in several pieces. I opened it up and read Armenia! The next thing I knew I was searching for things I would be needing to pack and take with me to Armenia.

Its just the fact that I keep having these dreams and they are so real and are all countries the PC goes to, and often are true to form about dates and programs. The only one though that is even in my region is the Eastern Caribbean, and Armenia and China are completely different.

I am completely open about being in a different region doing whatever I end up doing. I can't think of a country/region that I wouldn't want to go to! But this feeling, this feeling that my invitation is going to totally surprise me is just so big and won't go away.

So have any of you felt like this? What was your experience with invitation "expectations," so to speak?

Dream...

I had a strangely vivid and long dream last night.

I dreamt that myself and a handful of the other people with my nomination, including Cali, were invited to the Eastern Caribbean.  In the dream, we were just getting off a big bus at the training center on St. Lucia and meeting other volunteers.  They paired us all off with volunteers to visit with their host families and people they worked with.  One of the little daughters of my PCV's host family wanted to get my autograph because I was a PCV (in training of course) and the host mother kept feeding us to be polite "eat eat!"  Afterwards, we all went back and met up with the other volunteers and talked about what we encountered.  

That's just the brief version, but it was weird how vivid it was!!!