VERY Last Phase… Placement!

Well we were contacted by the Education Department of Placement and asked for updated resumes and skills.  We also had to answer some questions about why we want to teach in other countries.  I thought this was going to be the last stage, and we could expect an invitation really soon.  However, they said that our files were now transferred to another placement official and were waiting another review. I know we are qualified so it can’t be that, its just timing I guess.

What do we do!?  I am getting so antsy and just want to know details.  Especially because people are receiving invitations for May, June and July!!! I am so happy for them, but we are supposed to leave in April and have gotten nadda as far as details. Any encouragement would help… Should I call them in a week or so? Or should I just wait patiently?? I do understand the greatness to being patient I am just so ready to start the next phase of life :)

Thanks for your help!

I Plagiarized This – Don’t Judge

Ten Rules for Being Human

by Cherie Carter-Scott

1.	You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it’s yours to keep for the entire period.
2.	You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, “life.”
3.	There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The “failed” experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately “work.”
4.	Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5.	Learning lessons does not end. There’s no part of life that doesn’t contain its lessons. If you’re alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6.	“There” is no better a place than “here.” When your “there” has become a “here”, you will simply obtain another “there” that will again look better than “here.”
7.	Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8.	What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9.	Your answers lie within you. The answers to life’s questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10.	You will forget all this.

Some things just make you happy.  You must copy those things and spread the word :) This gave me a brief Ah-Ha moment ( the Ah-Ha moment is not over quite yet, but I am human so I’m sure it will be by tomorrow ) … Enjoy it, Spread it, Believe it and make greatness come out of it!

Even if it’s hard. Do Life…

Most of the time I notice that people, all people, make life harder than it should be.  Lets look at the basics.  Basically, you are born and need to eat, breathe, drink, and sleep. That is it… Honestly at the basics that is all you need to do until you die, hopefully at the ripe old age of 75-100.  Now, that is a lot of mundane and to balance this out with excitement people start playing and making friends.  Then we grow up a little and we go to school and realize how fun learning can be… Knowledge is exciting.  After school (Sometimes 30 years of it) we start working.  This is where we as a human race start failing.  Some realize that work = power and control and they run with it no matter who they hurt.  Some realize that work = money and “things” and they run with it and have all the best, greatest and newest “things” out there.  Some realize that work = work and they quite and sit around all day.  Some realize that work = food, water and shelter and they do what they need to do.  The problem is that we make life to hard and forget that we can grab the essentials and then use all of our free time to do what we love with the people we love.  Why is that so hard these days?  Life is too fast.  Why waste it on working too much and on “things” that are not essential and that won’t really make you as happy as hobbies, travel and friends? I hope in the decades to come out of my life I have more happy memories of excitement, friends and family and I will give up money any day to smile more often, travel more, and play.

Its back to the basics for me.

Medical Clearance

Well, can’t say they didn’t warn us! Medical Clearance is just what they make it out to be – long, tedious, and sort of redundant.  Here is the run down:

October 27th, 2011 : We both received a letter (via snail mail) from the medical team requesting additional information.  I needed to repeat my Comprehensive Metabolic Panel due to abnormal values and attach the original labs from my OBGYN. Brett needed to write a personal statement about a kidney surgery he had as a newborn. SO we get to it and I make an appointment with my physician for the next day!

October 31st, 2011:  We faxed all of the necessary paperwork back in to the RN on our case.

November 1st, 2011:  Get a call from our RN that says my physician didn’t run the right test (well he did, just left part of it out – the necessary abnormal part).  So I immediately get on the phone with him and we talk about the mis-communication and luckily they were able to catch the lab and add in the test before the sample would be thrown out – or filed – or whatever they do with peoples blood.

November 3rd, 2011: I grab my test results and personal statement and email them to our RN. Almost at the same time she calls Brett and tells him that now HE has to get a repeat Comprehensive Metabolic Panel to test his kidney function.  SO he has an appointment on the 4th, and I will be waiting on a call to make sure I have done everything right. My results still came back low so its very likely I will have to get more tests done.  Along with my blood results I had to have my physician attach a letter explaining why he thought my TSH was low and whether or not I needed to go through any treatments.  Dr. Iwata has been amazing through this whole ordeal and I couldn’t be happier with him as our doctor so it didn’t surprise me when he already had the letter written and signed saying that I do not need further tests or treatments; that he believes I am healthy as can be! I just hope the Peace Corps doctors think the same thing. Please, Please, Please :)

November 7th, 2011:  Brett got his results back! YAY! Of course, he is perfect :) I heard back from our RN and she said that the PC doctor is fine with my low results for now but I need to have them re-checked in 3 months and then we will figure it out from there.  At least I am cleared… whoosh! Brett emailed his results to the RN and we should know by tomorrow whether or not we can start talking placement!! YAY!

November 8th, 2011: We are in the clear! Wow I feel like that was so stressful but we are finally finished with this stage.  I just have to go back in February and get my TSH re-tested but I am still cleared!! Big Relief.

Now, we wait again for placement to call us… So close!