Endless Possibilities...

A few of you have asked over the past few weeks where I might go? Which countries are departing in the next months? This list will give you an idea of what the next six months look like. I was originally assigned to Eastern Europe and that area of the world is still my preference. I know I will not go Spanish speaking. It is required that most Spanish speaking volunteers have a background in Spanish. And I would prefer not to be in a hot country, thus the reason I chose the Eastern Europe region.

Mozambique ........ September 27
Paraguay ............. September 29
Turkmenistan ...... September 30
Costa Rica ........... October 04
Samoa ................ October 05
Tonga ................. October 05
Kenya ................ October 11
Burkina Faso ....... October 13
Niger ................ October 18
Rwanda ............... October 19
Jordan ............... October 23
Lesotho ............. November 02
Guinea .............. December 04
Guatemala .......... January 04
Thailand ............. January 16
Nicaragua .......... January 19
South Africa ........ January 28
El Salvador ........ February 02
Paraguay ........... February 08
Uganda ............. February 08
Guyana ............. February 09
E. Caribbean ....... February 15
Ecuador ............ February 16
Namibia ............ February 16
Zambia ............. February 17
Honduras ........... February 22
Rwanda ............. February 23
Malawi ............. February 24
Costa Rica .......... March 01
Madagascar ......... March 01
Morocco ............. March 01
Dominican Rep ..... March 02
Senegal ............. March 08
Indonesia ........... March 15
Albania ............. March 17
Jamaica ............. March 17
Turkmenistan ....... March 23
Belize ................. March 24
Kyrgyz Republic .... March 26
Ukraine ................ March 29

There is a ‘standard rule’ in the Peace Corps called the 45-day rule. This rule is somewhat mythical and with all things Peace Corps related, it is always subject to change. The 45-day rule is the period in which invitations are finalized, which means that all invitations are given prior to 45 days prior to departure.

For example: 45 days from today is September 27th, so by tomorrow Mozambique will be closed to further invitations.

Of course there are exceptions and I have heard of invites going out inside this mythical 45-day rule, but they are rare.

I, like many others, have my file sitting on the Business Desk at the Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C. I feel lucky that I have a job I love and just get to keep working while I wait. The summer has passed in a blur with not much slow down until October, so if I must wait to move forward with the Peace Corps, I can wait.