Official: More Waiting

Just got a phone call from my Placement Specialist. He said the Placement Office is doing somewhat of an internal audit. Basically, he said that this means I most likely won't hear anything regarding an invitation until early January. This really spoils my holiday season. I was really looking forward to being able to tell family and friends about where I'd be going to in March. So much for that. I really just don't like having my life dangle on a string held by the PC. It's so annoying. January isn't too far away, though, and my holidays are relatively planned out anyways. It's just annoying. Ha, at least they didn't tell me I suck and that I'm never getting an invite.

Waiting...

I was supposed to talk to my Placement Specialist on Friday. Left messages, emails..still didn't hear back. I called the main desk and left a message today. Got a call back from Imani...ha. She put me on hold to go talk to my Placement Specialist real quick. Basically, she told me that he said he hasn't heard anything from the country yet so that's why he hasn't been in contact. So now I'm just waiting. Yay... I'm okay with that for now, I guess. No matter how much anxiety I may get from this lovely waiting game, a phrase from a manga/anime that means a lot to me keeps coming up in my head: you can give up on me giving up! That's basically where I stand with that now. Good luck, applicants! Keep up that PMA and things will start working out! BELIEVE IT!

In-Class Phone Call

I was sitting in ethics class when my phone rang with the 202 number (I had been waiting on this all day). I literally ran out to answer. It was my Placement Officer. He decided that he wanted to have a final interview with me. :D :D :D

The interview was about an hour and a half of intense conversation..mainly about my tattoos. Long and incredibly scary story short, he said that I was a special case, as they've never had anyone apply with as many tattoos as me. Ha, he also asked about my hand and neck tattoos. I said "I have black X's on my hands, a blue bull (like Paul Bunyan) on my left neck, a gryphon on my right neck, and a cartoon symbol behind my left ear." When he asked what the symbol was, I bashfully said it was the Hidden Leaf Village symbol from the anime Naruto. FYI guys, I'm a huge nerd. Haha. He also decided that he didn't like the program I was originally nominated for since my skills weren't so great for Community Development with a focus in Environmental Education (found this out the day before via email with him). Instead, he finds me much more suited for a Youth Development project with a focus in At-Risk Youth. This is perfect for me. He said he needs to contact a few countries to see if they want me even though I'm covered in tattoos. He said he was pushing my file foward for an invitation based on my skills and experience. He said if I don't hear back from him by next Thursday to call him on Friday. I believe next week I will be told whether I'll be getting an invite (or not) and to where it may (or may not) be.

Overall, great conversation. Very informative. So I guess now I have a week to do more research and spaz out. Keep up the PMA everyone! It's working well. BELIEVE IT!