I'm feeling extremely discouraged again this week for several reasons. As I posted earlier, I was promised that my invitation to leave Oct 5 was going to be sent the last week of May. It never came so I called my placement officer last week and left a message asking what was going on. I never got a response from her but did get an e-mail from another placement officer two days ago. She said she's taking over my file and will begin to look at it in several weeks. If she has any questions, she'll call me then. In other words, I shouldn't call.
Well, I also realized this week that I only have about a month left in New Orleans and there are several things I need to get done before I leave and all of them are dependent on receiving my invite. I have one credit left and my advisor agreed several months ago to let me do an independent study where I will analyze data from my PC country using SPSS (a statistical software). I also need to talk to him about my practicum which I will do in Peace Corps. Its important for us both to be on the same page about when and what I am going to try to do in order for me to be able to graduate. Finally I need to meet with the Master's International Coordinators at Tulane to fill out paperwork and go through program requirements.
I decided to call this new placement officer anyways to explain my concern about getting these things done. She called me back today and seemed somewhat understanding about my need to know before I leave but also said that it would probably be two weeks before she sends it and knowing New Orleans postal system, probably two weeks until I receive it. She said that she had briefly looked at my file and needs to review it more but that she will have several things to discuss with me. She started out saying she'd call tomorrow or early next week to discuss this but at the end of the conversation said it would be end of next week at the latest. The other discouraging news is that I'm only being considered for the Oct 5 program and that might not be the "best fit" and I might get an invite for a different program instead that leaves earlier. She said I'm not suppose to make any plans past my availability date (Aug 18) until we talk again. Almost two months ago I was told that I could make plans for Aug & Sept since I was definetly leaving in Oct. I feel like I can't believe anything I'm told anymore! I guess all I can do is wait now though and continue to be patient.
One other thing is really bugging me: today is exactly one year since I've been nominated. Thats one hell of a long time if you ask me!! When I had my interview last April I was told I should know where I was going by early fall. This was then pushed until after Thankgsiving followed by January, February, March, April, and May. Everytime I'm told a date that I will know by, I'm able to calm down and wait the extra few weeks or months but once it comes and goes, I'm even more frustrated to find out that I'm still waiting. I never would have believed last summer if someone told me that I wouldn't know a year later. I've always heard applying to the Peace Corps is a long process but I wish they would be more clear from the beginning instead of continually raising my hopes about getting an answer soon!
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