Busy, Busy, Busy

The Peace Corps is serious about making sure volunteers are in good health before being sent off to a third world country. To prove it, in true government style, they sent a large package of forms to be filled out by my doctor, dentist and optometrist.

This week I started the process of getting poked and prodded. It's only Wednesday and so far this week I've been to the doctor twice, the lab twice and the dentist once. I still have four more appointments with the doctor, dentist, lab and optometrist.

The good news: I have a new doctor and she was fabulous and tossed in a free TB test and Tetanus booster. Normally I prefer gifts of flowers and chocolates but what the heck.

Also, met a nice guy from Colombia at the lab. He told me about a beautiful beach town called Santa Marta in Colombia. I Googled it and now have a new destination I want to visit.

Another plus was that I was able to get in to see the dentist so quickly.

The bad news: I'll be back at the dentist's office tomorrow for a few hours. Handing him almost $4,000 will likely be the most painful part of the visit. Who knew that you could outlive your crowns? I keep telling myself that it's better to get everything taken care of now, by a dentist I know, rather than by a dentist in a third world country.

Once I send all the completed paperwork to Washington, doctors and dentists there will review everything and decide if they want more information/tests. Fingers crossed that my contributions of blood and money to the local medical community are almost over.

On another front...I was notified this morning that my application is on hold for legal reasons. Made me nervous until I read the fine print, which explained that it just means that they're reviewing my file to make sure I have no legal issues, such as student loans, divorce/separation, dependents, etc. Phew. Nice to know that my file isn't buried in a dusty cabinet and that it's actively being reviewed.

If all goes well, I'll be medically, dentally and legally cleared by the time I get back from Vietnam in March. The next step, then is further review of placement options. That could mean confirmation of the September departure to the South Pacific, or placement in a different job somewhere else in the world. Who wants to visit me in a yurt?

I'm joining the Peace Corps because it's an adventure and challenge to give up control and trust that wherever the PC sends me will be exactly the right place.