The Legal Kit Post

I got my first piece of Peace Corps mail a couple of weeks ago! YAY! It was nice to have something tangible to look at and prove that I was doing this. In it was my nomination letter, I held it like a newborn baby up to my chest. I can't even imagine the excitement I will feel when I finally get my invitation! Part of my first Peace Corps mail was my first task. I had to complete my legal kit so the Peace Corps could complete an extensive background check.

So I spent the week figuring out where I could get fingerprinted. Luckily, I live in a college town and the University Police Department was nice enough to handle it for me. If you live near a university, I would strongly recommend you go there. It was $5.00 and a lot less creepy than being in a county jail. So then, the fingerprints and forms sat in my Peace Corps folder for a week as I had a minor panic attack thinking about what the NSA could pull up on me. I do have outstanding debts which were addressed in my Financial Obligations letter. But what if they find something I didn't address and think I'm trying to hide something? What if someone stole my identity? What if... what if.. what if... was the question of the day. I feel like everyone does this in some capacity when they're told someone is going to do a background check on them.

If the legal kit is any indication of what's to come, I better mind my Ps and Qs.

After I had reassured myself that no one had stolen my identity and started a rebel war using my name and social security, I proceeded to finish the background forms and mail the joker off. I had at this point decided that the rest of my Peace Corps tasks will not proceed in this manner; I would finish them in a timely and orderly fashion. I was at work in my cubicle filling out all the paperwork whne I realized, I had made a huge error. When filling out my fingerprint cards, I had just assumed they wanted my current employer in the "employer" box. WRONG! They wanted me to fill in Peace Corps. This made no sense to me. The Peace Corps application process is daunting, it takes months. In all technicality, I am not employed by the Peace Corps yet. Frantically, I called my recruiter because I knew she could help. She returned my call in ten minutes to reassure me that everything was ok. "Just white it out and send it on. The worst they could do is ask you to send another one. Meanwhile, you can move on to the next step." Have I mentioned that I have the best recruiter ever before? Well, she is. So, this afternoon I am going to send my Legal Kit packet via UPS. Then, I will be anxiously awaiting my medical kit which will prove far more daunting than the legal kit ever was.

In the mean time, I have been working as usual but also trying to figure out what my living situation will be like come July when my lease runs out. I have lived with my boyfriend and puppy for two years now but in July I will not be able to sign another lease as prospectively I am set to leave in October. I also don't want to be paying a lot for bills as I have loose ends that need to be tied and money that needs to be saved for my service. Currently, my living situation is what seems to be occupying the most of my time. I have had friends offer to let me couch surf so I can stay in Tuscaloosa and work but I would hate to be a burden on anyone. Obviously this issue is going to consume a great deal of time and effort.

I've also been giving a lot of thought to some obligations I am involved in now. I am a committed person. When I am invovled in something, I am involved 100% so come October it will be really hard for me to leave Rosen Harwood and Kozy's. I love my jobs. The people I come in contact with everyday are fun and lighthearted but work diligently. I couldn't ask for better co-workers. While I am leaving to go off and follow my own dreams, I am also leaving a hole in the staffs I work for. Everyday I encounter new implications of my decision to leave that I never considered before. I'm just taking them day by day and know that when October gets here everything will be sorted out.

So any RPCVs or current PCVs reading this... did you encounter any issues like the ones I've mentioned? What about other issues that I've probably not even come across yet?