Placement Interview is now complete

So, for the past two nights my sleep has been limited to about five hours. I have trouble going to sleep and then I have trouble staying asleep. This morning was no exception. Sokol woke me at 550A, ten minutes before my 6A alarm…and I just laid there willing my apprehension to dissipate. On a positive note, apprehension for my Peace Corps Placement Interview means that my house is really clean.

Well my Placement Officer called right on schedule at 630A today. I knew going in that the call was basically a review of my file. I was asked questions about what I have been up to since my interview with a recruiter eighteen months ago, what I feared most about the Peace Corps, and I was asked to explain one of my answers during my recruiter interview. I knew going into the interview that this was my last step for placement and that if the interview did not go well, the Peace Corps could revoke my application.

Luckily, all the questions were harmless and easy to answer; this is not the case with all applicants. I am very comfortable with who I am, what I have done with my life to get to this place, my reasons for wanting to serve in the Peace Corps and my placement officer was great at putting me at ease All of those pieces made for a fairly low key 30 minutes.

The result is that I will be placed by the end of this week. I still have the same preference of Eastern Europe, so my placement officer will start with Eastern European countries with a Business Development assignment and see what she can find. She will notify me via email what region I will be invited to serve and what date I am departing by Friday. FINALLY!!!

And since it is fun to speculate...here are the Easter Europe countries who other Business Development assignments and leave during the first quarter of 2011.

Albania.....17 Mar
Bulgaria.....28 Mar
Ukraine.....28 Mar