Excitement!

Brittany just got her invitation today! Well, of course she's still waiting for the packet to come in the mail, but her PO emailed her she was invited!!! I'm so excited, so you can just vaguely imagine the excitement she's feeling!

The funny thing is that a few days ago, I said "Brittany, the reason the reason you haven't gotten it yet is because your PO is planning to invite you the day I get my letter!"

Today, I got my letter.

Today, Brittany got invited.

Awesome!

Hrmmm

I heard through the grapevine today that "at this time with the budget etc., it would be almost certain that if one declines an invitation there would not be another."

Hearing that come through the grapevine from the placement office is a little scary. Especially for me, someone who declined an invitation just weeks before the budget problem burst out, but will be reactivating next June when its quite likely the budget problem will still be going on.

Now, I know I made the right decision in declining El Salvador, but I also want to join the Peace Corps more than anything. Unfortunately, El Salvador wasn't the right program for me, but I am certain that I want to join and will be a great volunteer. I'm up for the challenge and am looking forward to helping those in my future Peace Corps country. I know the next country and program will be great for me, and I'm excited. Its going to be the longest wait, but I'll get there and it'll be worth it, and more importantly, it'll be right when I get there.

Naturally, hearing that, it just scares me that "oh, well...I declined an invitation....does that mean they won't extend me another one?" My decision to go to China for a year to teach English is in part for that reason. To help strengthen my application and experience for the Peace Corps since my application will now have a negative taint to it. 

Just scary stuff to hear.

If You Didn't Know...btw....

Many of you know that I had a couple loops (nothing too bad tho) before I got my invitation, and to El Salvador on September 14th. What many of you may not know, and to my shock, as well as my family and friend's shock, and all my PC acquaintances, I declined the invitation.

On the surface the assignment seemed absolutely wonderful--perfect. But I won't lie that something felt wrong or out of place. So I declined. I didn't want to accept such a serious commitment when I was so unsure. I still can't put my finger on what felt wrong, but something did, and I've learned to trust my gut instinct.

I asked to "withdraw" my application for the time being, and that I wanted to reapply later, and I was asked to write a personal statement about my reasoning to not accept. Supposedly I have a year to "reactivate" my application, if I wait longer than that, then I will have to reapply, start from scratch.

However, I almost feel like I'm "not allowed" to reactivate it so close to when I declined an invitation and withdrew--that it'd be fishy, but I'll tell you what, I desperately want to reactivate it and have them look at me for Eastern Europe, Africa, or Asia. Desperately. But I feel like I have to wait, show them I've done something else, and thought about it, and then reapply. She wasn't happy I declined and did state it would be a lot harder for me to reapply because of this.

Its sorta a touchy subject for me still, which is why I haven't brought it up before. But I realized I needed to ask and start looking for an answer. Since I'm my sister's maid of honor, I now won't be able to leave until after June 20th 2009 (because of the no-traveling rules at beginning of PC service)--which sucks. I withdrew on August 8th, so I have til next Aug to reactivate if I understand everything correctly.

I guess basically I'm asking if anyone has any insight on this--after you decline an invitation, what's the appropriate way of going about re-activating your application later? When should I if I want to leave July-later? What am I not thinking of? I know this is sorta the "taboo" topic sorta like ETing.....but it became a reality for me. Something wasn't right, even tho I couldn't identify it, and I just couldn't commit to that particular program unfortunately :-/

EL SALVADOR

Today at CMOE camp, we went to Angel Mounds, an old Indian.....well....an area of land preserved by the state because Indians used to live there and so there are artifacts there. Whatever the official name would be. My sister texts me "Its here! Peace Corps stuff is here! Can I open it!? Please!? Does it say where you are going!?" I text her back yelling no no no don't open it! That's my thing! That's like opening my Christmas presents! Back at CMOE, we get a 30 minute lunch, so I rushed home.

I open the package, and tadaaaaaa!!!! 

EL SALVADOR, Youth Development
Staging: Sept 14th-16th
Training: Sept 16th-Nov 15th
Service: November 16th, 2008-November 16th, 2010

So that's my invitation! And really, its sorta perfect because of the 100% Spanish speaking society and food. Haha. Training is for 2 months in San Vicente, near the capitol San Salvador. As the text they gave me say, it is "HOT" there.

ToolKit Update!

My toolkit updated today, I'm officially invited and my invite was sent out in the mail!

Update: people on "future peace corps volunteers" are taking bets on which day my invite arrives!

6-wk's

With the 6-wk rule and today's date being July 24th the remaining possibilities are: Panama, Guatemala, Philippines, Belize, Dominican Republic, Eastern Caribbean, Nicaragua, Peru, El Salvador, Macedonia, Ukraine
(most likely in bold)

yeaaaaaah, and other than those listed--its only Africa & Pacific leaving that I've found invites and nominations for....I haven't seen any other regions after September....uhhhhh its REALLY not looking good right now....

Talked to my PO! WooHoo!

Yay! My PO, Amanda, called me today. I was in the middle of a conversation, saw the 202 area code, and sprinted out of the room to a quite place while saying "sorry! this is very important! brb!" Hehe :) She had said today, so I knew knew knew it was her. And it so was her.

First, she had some questions for me. Some of those questions that we hear people get asked just before being invited. You know, the ones that you are answering for the third time...first your recruiter, then your assistant PO, and now your PO. At least, I have the hang of it by this point, right? She asked about my relationship, my grandmother's death last year, my relationship with my youngest sister who I have helped out a lot, my family's thoughts on the PC, and my thoughts on some of the things people sometimes tend to not have in the PC (ie. not having running water or electricity).

Then she said she had a placement in mind that she thinks is absolutely perfect for me. Don't worry, she took plenty of time getting to telling me the actual placement (which is hilarious...simply because I do that, save the most important "needed" piece of news until last).

She said she had found this placement, and spoken to the woman in charge of that specific program in that country about me (yay!), and the woman specifically wanted me. She wanted ME! Since my TEFL certificate is about to come through, and I have experience working with Youth, she said that I am absolutely perfect for this position and she really wants me. My recruiter then said that this country has a history of accepting people with medical conditions (excellent bc of my epilepsy...I like how she thinks!) 

She said if this all sounded good to me she would put my name in to reserve this placement spot for me. Of course, it sounds great! I believe that I originally had TEFL in my top 3 choices. Asked if I had any questions about that part, no not that I can think of...still can't think of any hours later. SO. She said this placement spot was reserved for me. She was sending it to medical for them to tell her if I can go there or not (but she seemed to expect it to be okay) and said it could be a few days to a couple weeks, but if they said all was a go, then she would officially be inviting me! 

Its still a lot of work, but it is a HUGE step and I'm so excited. It sounds like she really worked hard for me, and even mentioned me specifically to someone, who now in turn WANTS me! Wow!

So yes, are you sitting there yelling at the computer, asking where I'm going? I hope so, because the best part is finding out.

First it was Community Development in Africa. Then it was Youth Development in Latin America.

NOW:

TEFL in Eastern Europe departing in late September 2008!

wheeeeeeeeeee! :-D

Scoobie Doo

So, did everyone read the post about the missing dog I found? If not see below. I found the owners, and talked to them, but wasn't able to get back to them immediately. By the time I did call them back, only 1 day later, they had called my cell, my sister's cell, my home number, and my dads office 30+ times. The ONLY way they could've gotten the numbers besides my cell would have been to use the system at the prosecutors office, where the mother works, to illegally look up and use those numbers to harass me and my family. They left messages over and over saying we had to call them back, they didn't appreciate this, they would do anything to get the dog back. Finally they started leaving message after message that they had contacted a lawyer. There were going to call the police. They would be filing charges against me for theft.

I called them back when I got off work, and I told them nicely, but made it obvious that I was not happy with them, that I did not appreciate them calling me and my family 30+ times between 8am and 3pm, harassing us, and threatening to charge us with theft. I said that it had been 24 hours since I had talked with them, and while I understand they are eager to get their dog back, they don't know what is going on in my life, and that in fact, I had an emergency last night that prevented me from calling them, and then had to work all day. I said this was the first chance I could contact them. I reminded them that I found their dog, took their dog to a vet, fed and watered their dog, and even carried the dog to the yard to go to the bathroom since she couldn't walk at first. Finally, I said that this was in NO WAY considered theft, they should be thankful I took care of their dog, and it had only been 24-hours since I'd spoken with them and they had no clue what was going on in my life. I said I didn't appreciate the harassment or the illegal finding/using of my numbers. Then I took the dog to a public place to give back to them.

In PC news, I still haven't heard. I should be hearing literally any second! Hopefully tomorrow. If not, I'll call back Friday afternoon. So I'm pretty much nomination-less, stuck in priority limbo with a restriction, and going crazy waiting to hear about an invite! :) Its great. I actually sorta secretly like the fact that I have absolutely NO CLUE where I'll end up now. Of course, Latin America is most likely since its my region, but now it could literally change to any other region! Excitement!!!

Talked To My PO

I called IAP today and got in contact with my PO, Amanda, right away. Despite the news, she was absolutely great with everything. 

She said that unfortunately, my program filled up right when I was medically cleared, so she would have to start looking at other placements. She asked if I was open to different regions, and I said I was absolutely open to all the other regions, even different work areas if that would help at all.  I also told her that I wasn't sure if she knew, but I am expecting a TEFL certificate and First Aid/CPR certificate in a couple weeks in case that helped my placement at all. She thanked me for being so open to everything.  Amanda said that my file was in her priority stack, and since I have a medical restriction, its even more prioritized than the others.

WOOHOO PRIORITY FOR ME.

I also asked about the 6-week rule rumor, and said that if possible, I was willing to leave slightly under 6-weeks. She said that the 6-week rule is indeed true, and they try to stick to it strictly and never invite people after 6-weeks.  Of course, we've all seen people get invited under 6, but usually its the people in the most need and stuff--ie. program got canceled, they are a couple, medical botched up and they actually can't go there...you know, stuff like that. I'm sure that's not something a PO will tell you, that there are exceptions, they don't want that officially out there and everyone flooding them to leave tomorrow.

Anyway, I'm on my POs super priority list. She said to call back Friday if I haven't heard by then, and she gave me her direct line. WOOHOO!  Back to semi-square one on the nomination front though.

Nomination: Unknown.

Oh Invite, Where are You?

Okay, really getting nervous, PO...PO...where are you and where is my invite? Nerves are kicking in!

Okay, Seriously.

I know that most people have to wait months on end for Medical Clearance, but the fact remains that my departure month is set for August.  That said, I won't be waiting too long for medical clearance. They've been "reviewing" (according to the ToolKit) my medical for over 2 weeks now. I really really did think it would be cleared this week. I am going to have a medical restriction that dramatically reduces the amount of countries I can go to, not to mention that gets cut down even further when you take into account that I can only work in certain work areas.

I truly hope to have as many options open as I can in case my nomination must be moved around, as is very likely. A lot of July is already not an option due to the 6-week rule, and of course not all those are epileptic countries! There is August, and of course September, but after that they send very very few people out until Jan/Feb...and I must leave before December. I want to get cleared ASAP. 

That said, for my actual nomination and looking at a couple of the dates, I must get invited by about July 6th. That's exactly a month from now. So really!? Where is my medical clearance!?!? I need it badly! I need options open!!!! I NEED TO GET IT AND FIND OUT WHERE I AM GOING! Please medical office please god clear me!!!!

Does anyone think I should send Lisa Backstrom, my medical screening assistant, an e-mail like hey hey, where is that clearance? If so what should I say!?

6 Week Rule

The rule with the Peace Corps is that you must be invited 6 weeks before the country departure date. Today is Wednesday the 4th, so assuming I get cleared this week and invited next week (this is just ever hopeful) That would put me up to the very middle of July, the week of July 13-19 as the "earliest" July programs I could be invited to if that were to be the case.  Those last July programs I could possibly be invited to are Cape Verde, South Africa, Bulgaria, and Zambia. While I'd naturally be loving any one of them....I know S. Africa accepts epileptics, but I'm actually not to keen on going there. I don't know if Bulgaria does, but since its in Europe, it is more likely to accept epileptics. So out of the last July possibilities, sadly Honduras is now out of the running most likely, I'd hope for Bulgaria--there ARE Youth and Community Dev projects there, which are the 2 I'm most qualified for.

Next up comes the month of August. Time wise, I could still be invited to any of those countries. Panama, Uganda, Guatemala, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Belize, Dominican Republic, Eastern Caribbean, Kiribati. Again, any would be great! Panama seems out because it seems to be business, not youth (or community)...I doubt they accept epileptics in Uganda, Kazakhstan, or Kiribati. But Guate, Belize, Dom Rep, E. Caribbean are all likely epileptic candidate countries, and Philippines, tho I'm not sure, is a possibility. Dom Rep doesn't seem likely b/c of the work areas, E. Caribbean is possible but less likely. Assuming Guatemala, Belize, and Philippines all accept epileptic, they all have Youth. Belize is most likely, but I'd LOVE to go to Guatemala to work in their brand new Youth program. 

If I can't get in for August, then comes September. The only countries that could possibly accept epileptics (just off my guesses usually) are: Peru, Macedonia, Azerbaijan (maybe), & Ukraine. I know for a fact Macedonia accepts epileptics, and while they don't have Youth, they do have Community which I could do, or possibly education since I'll have a TEFL certificate by the time I leave (but no classroom experience :-/ ). Peru, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine are all maybes as far as I can see on the epilepsy end. The only "possibility" I'd have in Azerbaijan is TEFL, Ukraine has TEFL and Youth...and Peru has Community Health Promotion & Youth.

Okay, so basically...to sum it up...I cannot be invited to a program less than 6 weeks away from departure. In July this leaves South Africa & Bulgaria. In August, the possible countries are Guatemala, Belize, Eastern Caribbean, & maybe Philippines.  Finally, in September, most likely possibilities are Macedonia, Peru, and Ukraine. Of course I have my favorites, but I can't get my hopes up for anything.

I predict that tomorrow morning I awake to find a ToolKit update stating that I'm medically cleared.

Lame

Nope, no ToolKit update. Saddness. Maybe tonight.

On the flip side, I did have another Peace Corps invitation dream. Let's see, how did it happen. I was actually located at my old house in this dream....I forget the people in it. I got a phone call saying that my invitation was on the way and it was not for Latin America. I asked if they could tell me what region it was for. They could, it was for the Pacific! Wow, that's quite a change, but I figured it was still in the same placement office, so technically, not that big of one at the same time. Next thing I knew I was pulling the package out of the mail box and ripped it open. "You have been invited to served with the Peace Corps in Kiribati." At first, I was really excited, then later realized I didn't want to accept it because it was too dramatically different than what I was supposed to have been doing and working towards while waiting, and I was actually worried about having to island hop to get places. I never declined it, but I talked to some friends and family...I think Cory was there, that's the only person I can remember....about if I should decline it or not and see if I got offered something else.

Personally, I don't think I'd decline any invitation without an insanely good reason...like...surgery....or they wanted me to do business which I'd be awful at. But what makes the dream really interesting is that not only have I not been thinking about the Pacific region lately, but I wouldn't have been able to name Kiribati if i tried. I could've told you the Pacific region consisted of: Fiji, Vanatu, Samoa, Micronesia, and Tonga. But I never for my life would've been able to remember Kiribati, its the one that always has escaped my mind, yet in my dream, I remembered it and that's where I was invited to. Kiribati.

Spontaneity

Every now and then I'll think, I wish I hadn't "researched" possible countries so much, now it leaves no surprise! Othertimes I'll think, I'm just certain I'm going to Belize, now there is no exciting surprise! Or I don't want to get my invite and just think "yep that's what I thought" I want to squeal in excitement! But I JUST realized something. A good point really.

Even though I am sort of expecting Belize, Cali did too and was invited to Guatemala, Richie did and was invited to Dominican Republic, and another girl expected Africa and was invited to Belize!  Furthermore, I tell people everyday that it could be anything because my medical restriction could move me to any Latin American or IAP country or Europe even!  So, while I expect Belize in technicalities...I could get bumped a month sooner to Honduras in July, a month later to Peru in September....or even Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, or Macedonia!

So while I may sorta expect Belize, no matter what I get...Belize or any other country, it really will truly be a surprise! I just realized that!!

Country/Month '08 Invites

A girl on Facebook's "Future Peace Corps Volunteers", Bailey, had the (brilliant) idea to compile all the upcoming departures by country and date. Not like the unofficial departure dates, but this only lists what we know is leaving THIS year, and when.  Some of the June ones are to close to get invites to anymore, but I imagine a couple technically could. Helps give me, and others, and idea of where you could be heading, even if your region or country gets moved! Love it! I'll be updating if I need to! Mike just added this to the Peace Corps Wiki--great!

June 2nd = Lesotho
June 2nd = Samoa
June 3rd = Togo
June 4th = Cameroon
June 4th = Peru
June 7th = Ghana
June 8th = Ecuador
June 8th = Burkina Faso
June 8th = Madagascar
June 8th = Moldova
June 8th = Tanzania
June 11th = Lesotho
June 15th = Georgia
June 16th = Ecuador
June 18th = Mauritania
June 23rd = Swaziland
June 28th = Jordan
June 30th = The Gambia
June = Armenia


July 1st = Benin
July 1st = China
July 3rd = Jamaica
July 3rd = Kyrgyz Republic
July 6th = Mali
July 7th = Honduras
July 7th = Niger
July 14th = Cape Verde
July 17th = South Africa~
July 19th = Bulgaria~
July 23rd = Zambia
July = Cambodia
July = Guinea

August 3rd = Panama*
August 3rd = Kiribati --indefinitely suspended
August 4th = Uganda
August 11th = Guatemala*
August 13th = Philippines~
August 18th = Kazakhstan
August 18th = Belize*
August 18th = Dominican Republic~
August 25th = Eastern Caribbean~

September 1st = Nicaragua*
September 5th = Morocco
September 8th = Senegal
September 10th = Peru*
September 14th = Tanzania
September 16th = El Salvador*
September 19th = Macedonia~
September 20th = Ghana
September 20th = Cameroon
September 21st = Azerbaijan
September 26th = Malawi
September 29th = Mozambique
September = Turkmenistan
September = Ukraine~
September = Togo

October 12th = Burkina Faso

November 3rd = Kenya

January = Rwanda

* biggest possibility for me
~ could be a possibility
>>>With the 6-wk rule and today's date being July 24th the remaining possibilities are: Panama, Guatemala, Philippines, Belize, Dominican Republic, Eastern Caribbean, Nicaragua, Peru, El Salvador, Macedonia, Ukraine</span>
(most likely in bold)

Tidbits of News

Well, I didn't get to call my screening assistant at the medical office on Friday because I got a major head cold that completely put me out of commission for the weekend. So hopefully I can call tomorrow to make sure she got my fax, that my medical kit is there, when will they get to it, am I still in line with an August departure, and double check that they will give me my last Gardasil shot. When I wrote my last post, I thought that the PC said they would not give any Gardasil shots AFTER March 31st of this year, but I went back and read the information again, and it says anyone who recieved their first shot before March 31st will be able to get their last shot in country if necessary, but if you got your first shot after that date, they won't supply it. I'm glad to say that I got my first shot on March 14th, but I still want to make sure!

Next, someone got an invitation to PANAMA! I believe it is for August 2nd and for Community Economic Development. So there is yet anoooooooother option!  However, I'm still leaning towards Belize because it is the country that seems most...youth/learning oriented, while the others seem more business/health oriented. Plus, a girl got a Belize Youth invite. Ah well. We will (hopefully) find out soon enough! The PC keeps throwing loops out at us!

Oh! And before I forget, one girl had a note that her PO called saying her August Latin America program got CANCELED! She got moved to the Eastern Caribbean! So yes, yet another loop for all of us Latin America August nominees who are still waiting. Its funny because I've associated myself with the idea that some people I've talked to I'd definitely be serving with, but it seems like now I probably will only be with 1 or 2 of them! But hey, that's the PC surprise right? Plus, since we are still in the same region, it gives us all a great excuse for travel and a place to stay!

Whine Time

I just wanna knowwwwwwwwwwww!

I just wanna know where I'll be gooooooooing!

Will I be going to Guatemala on August 11th? Belize or Dominican Republic on August 18th?

Will I still be in the Latin American region? Will my region completely change--Europe, Africa, Asia, etc? Will my assignment completely change?

I just wanna know know know! I can wait. I can wait as long as I have to. It'll be some type of torture, that's for sure, but I know I can wait. I'll just be thinking about it the whole time. I see why people say the wait to find out is intense. I just want to know where I will be living and working for the next 2 years of my life!

Waiting Game

Now that my Medical Kit is off to DC, all I have to do is wait. Hopefully it won't be too much waiting since my nomination is August. Either way, I have to wait for my ToolKit to say its been received, that its being reviewed, that dental is cleared, that medical is cleared, about the holds, that I've been invited and the invitation is on its way.

I sent it at 3pm on Wednesday...and really hope it got there Friday, thought maybe not still Monday. Either way, even if it got there Friday, it would sit in the mailroom, probably til Monday. Although, maybe, just maybe, I'll be that lucky person who freakishly gets cleared on the mysterious Saturday and gets a mysterious toolkit update at 4am on Saturday night/Sunday morning!? Okay, I'm really reaching aren't I. I'll be lucky to be cleared by the end of this coming week. I'm just scared I'll have something wrong with it! Though I do need to call my medical screening assistant back and ask if I should send the updated vaccine form of my 2 Gardysil shots, and also ask about how I will get the 3rd one abroad if I leave as planned.

Now that Cali has her invite, I also have a new country option! Now the options are:

Guatemala leaving August 11th

Belize leaving August 18th

Dominican Republic leaving August 18th

Eastern Caribbean leaving August 25th

Guatemala and Belize are most likely, followed by DomRep, and finally E. Caribbean. It all depends on what happens with medical, and how my epilepsy restriction plays out!

Keep your fingers crossed for me. I am stuck in the final stretch of the PC waiting game!

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?

Recent Push

I feel like there has been a recent push of invitations lately--more people getting them. At least that's what it seems like to me. I wonder if that is true, they've gotten more out lately, or just that I've noticed since I'm getting closer and closer.

Also, I really hope I very quickly get medically cleared without any hitches! It seems they are very quickly medically clearing the summer nominations.

Two nights ago, I had a dream that my PO called me up asking if I'd be willing to leave about a month early--July instead of August. I said sure, of course! And asked where they'd be sending me, she said to China for teaching English. (With my love of China imagine my wild joy at that announcement!) The next thing I knew I was on an old train arriving in China (A train like the rickety old one I took from Beijing Bei Station to the Great Wall)......it was a very interesting dream! So now I've had a dream that I've been invited to the Eastern Caribbean and China...neither of which are similar to my nomination like Belize and the Dominican Republic would be (they are both at least mid-Aug, are or have some spanish speaking, and one is latin america, both have youth, etc)....funny eh? Wonder if the dreams are a hint of anything to come!?