BAM!

Dear Natalie,

It was great meeting you the other day. After careful assessment and consideration, you have been nominated to the following program:

Program: English Teaching
Region: Sub Saharan Africa
Program Info: Post requires that trainees have English degree or Secondary Education degrees or certified in any subject at the secondary level.
Stage Range: September, 2008

Post Interview Musings

Right, so I talked up the interview quite a bit, I figured I owed you all (you one or two) an explanation of what went down.


My recruiter was quite friendly and down to earth, which greatly put me at ease. I always sound a little like a stuttering robot in job interviews, though, and hopefully she just chalked that up to nerves. It was a little weird that it was less like a discussion and more like an interrogation because she would just ask me a question, then type everything I said onto her computer. The silence that ensued between the end of my answer and the beginning of her next question was painful! The questions were what I was told to expect, such as what my motivations for joining PC are, what worries or concerns I have, my experience with leadership, education, inter personal skills, learning a new language. yadda yadda, yadda yadda. I'm sure that's what you all expected, too.


She told me at the end of the interview that by today, Thursday, she should be getting in touch with me about whether / where / what program she is going to nominate me for. I am in F-E-A-R, as this is an essential element to the PC experience. Things on my mind:

• She said that sometimes if a candidate isn't really qualified for anything, PC suggests that they spend a few months volunteering here and there to beef that up. She mentioned that twice. In my mind, that's her feeling like she's grasping at straws to nominate me for anything.


• The second thing is also concerning. However, I think / hope that it's just the "canned" speech we've discussed before. She was super super insistant about my having to be flexible about my placement. I told her "Sub-Saharan Africa, PLEASE!" and while she understood my desire for Africa, she insisted that I could be asked to go anywhere. This is when I mentioned that my departure date is flexible - a couple months in either direction - if that would help to get me into a program I'd be most effective in and excited about.

Argh. I'm hoping she is going to follow through with what she said. Today could be such a great day, or I could spiral into oblivion if I'm not nominated.

Anyways kiddies that's the good word for now. I will, of course, post again once I receive word from my recruiter and react accordingly.

nothing much

There's not really anything new to report. Just that I'm about two weeks away from my interview and I'm totally clueless as to how to repair. I've been through just about every nook and cranny of the PC website and believe that I'm familiar with the application / hiring process. I know from reading PCV blogs and from the PC website what to reasonably expect once I get over there, wherever there is.

As a side note, if any of my readers are in the Albany area, please come to the uptown SUNY campus this Friday, 10/12 at 6pm for a screening I've organized with Invisible Children. You know who they are! They were even on Oprah! We're going to watch the short (45 min) film then discuss the issues and what we can all do to help. There's going to be some really cool merch there too, which I know because they had it all shipped to me at work. So come on out! Business Administration Building, Room #130. It's free, fun, and fabulous and your presence will make me happy!

Interview!!!

Well, this is happening more quickly than I ever anticipated! My recruiter called me this afternoon to schedule an interview. Apparently despite my screw ups I mentioned in the last post, she's all set with my paperwork. Phew! It's 3 weeks away, on October 23rd. Luckily she is coming to Guilderland, which is a suburb of Albany, so I don't need to travel to the city just for the interview. It would be cool to have another excuse to get down to see Rick and Daisy, but they'll just have to come up here! (hint, hint!) Alright so that's the news. Nobody leaves me comment love anymore, do I still have readers?! Also if by chance some PCVs or RPCVs happen to be reading this blog, please let me know what your experience of the interview was. I like to be prepared :) peace out.

quick progress

Well! They gave me six weeks to complete the legal kit and get it back to them, so I did it in six days. This will hopefully demonstrate my dedication, determination, and ability to get shit done. Of course, after it was sealed and mailed off, I reviewed the directions and realized that I filled a bunch of shit out wrong on the fingerprint cards. Ooops! I also didn't make copies to keep for myself. Oops! I'm also not sure if my SUNY transcript actually says SUNY Albany anywhere on it. Ooops! So perhaps this will demonstrate my ability to rush through shit, disregard instructions, and waste other people's time. But that's okay. Worst case scenario is that I will have to get fingerprinted AGAIN next week. *sigh*
On a different note, I am thrilled to be going to VT next weekend. We are renting a car (yay! I get to drive a teensy Yaris!) and heading up Friday afternoon. I get to see my parents, the beautiful colors of autumn in my homeland, my friend Lisa, and our Plattsburgh-area friends, Erica and Monyette. I also get to show Shameen the notch, and Stowe for the first time. It's going to be a fast weekend, but then we both get Monday off for Columbus Day - god bless working for the government.
Now I wait for the phone call telling me to re-do the fingerprints and transcript. Sawa Sawa. After that, I wait for the interview.
Peace out :)

*** PS - I throw swahili words in here from time to time, since I'm always thinking about Kenya when I'm writing in here. I'd be happy to translate and might put up a post about my most commonly used swahili / swinglish phrases just for your entertainment.***

Here it is, because I'm bored now that it's afternoon.
Sawa (also sawa sawa) - okay (question or state of being)
poa - cool (same)
kupe moyo - literally to give heart, but means 'give strength.'
sasa - literally 'now,' but a greeting for younger people (response: fit, pronounced feet)
mara moja - at once!
pamoja - together
sms/flash - a text message
Habari - news / 'what's up'
pole - sorry
pole pole - slow / slowly
haraka! - hurry up
matatu - mini bus
kuku - chicken
kali - vicious
paka - cat
mbwa - dog
mbuzi - goat
chakula - food
viazi - potatoes
pombe - beer
mchi - people of the country; Kenyans
mjinga - idiot / fool
mzungu - european / white person
chai - yes it's tea, duh, but it's also "bribe"
kidogo - a little / small
whey! - not a swahili word, but a common expression of surprise or a way to get somebody's attention.
ugali - a food, like thick, heavy grits. basically I think it's ground corn meal boiled w/ water
sukuma wiki - collared greens!
githeri - another dish. rice and beans, etc.
mama - what a lot of grown women are called
mzee - elder - respectful name for grown men.
askari - guard
mtoto - child
shags - like "the sticks" - rural areas.

I can't think of anything else right now short of giving you all lessons in conjugation. I am B-O-R-E-D!!!
Anything else I might throw in that you're not sure of, ask me.

eekin' by

Yup, I have to do the whole background check again. Yay. However! After getting the notarized letter from my mother (today, hopefully) and getting my fingerprints taken tomorrow, I can send the pack out on Friday. woo hoo! I filled out the addenda about my education experience in as much detail as I could without seeming ridiculous. I'm still hoping they see potential in me for a different assignment, but even if I spent my time teaching over there, I'd still feel I was making a difference.
I read in a couple of Kenya PCV blogs that they feel like they're unnecessary - they say that any KENYAN could be teaching these students English or Kenyan Sign Language or Math. That's true, but Kenya's teacher shortage is well known as corruption and graft steadily drain the government coffers. At least a PCV is a steady presence for two years, and will more than likely be replaced with another steady presence when they depart. Giving these kids, so many of whom are orphans or in otherwise challenging home situations, a trustworthy adult is important in and of itself. It's also useful to educate them in the PCV role of ambassador - they need to know that America is not the land of milk and honey, that they will not be instantly rich if they make it over here, and that they may just be best off staying in country and improving their own Nation. Too many educated people focus on getting out of their country, out of Africa, and the brain drain that results is yet another ingredient in the toxic stew of heart breaking circumstances for the continent. *deep breath* Anyway. There probably won't be another reason to post until after I send in the packet and get a response from my recruiter in New York City.

Recieved: One Legal Packet from PC!

Yay! On Saturday I got my legal kit from PC. It has all sorts of fun stuff, like how I'm going to take care of bills while I'm gone, asking for more details on my experience with education, more information on references, fingerprint cards, background check information... I have to get unofficial transcripts from both SUNY and SLU. SUNY charges for that, did you know that? Damned state schools. I also emailed my recruiter and told her she should be getting everything back in the next week to two weeks, and wondered if the fact that I'm already employed by the Federal Government means I don't have to undergo another background check. Getting to the Police Station to get those prints done is a gargantuan pain in the ass, because Albany cops only dig on that once a week, in the middle of the day.
In other news, I do not qualify for any Spanish speaking assignments :( oh darn! Guess they'd better keep me in KE/TZ, eh? I speak mighty fine English and a mean Kiswahili.
More to come as I discover the joy of hoop-jumping for PC. <3