City Streets make me weep

Here’s an update on my life: So, it looks like there’s a high possibility that I’m going into the Peace Corps. I went for the interview yesterday (more on that later) and got my nomination today. For those who do not know, a nomination means that my recruiter found a spot for me in a certain region of the country that needs my skills. I’ve been told that I’ll be sent to sub-Saharan Africa to (country unknown for now) and the date of my departure is around mid-July. Although my exact job isn’t know yet, it will require biology skills that I’ve developed through majoring in biology. Of course, the dates, region, and job are tentative as of right now but there is a high possibility that I will be sent to do this. So really whether I get the volunteer position or not mainly depends if I get cleared medically and how fast I do this. So what’s next?: the intense and selective medical clearance. Their picky about who they select because they want to make sure that you’re healthy enough to live in a devolving country for two years and be able to survive getting sick many times over (it’ll happen). It’s know to be extremely time consuming. Yet it comes at a great time in the semester because I’ll have a month off for Christmas break soon to work on it. And to be honest I’m not too worried about getting medically cleared. C’mon I just biked across the country. I can handle it.

This next part will either make you laugh or make you think I’m the biggest idiot in the world. Or both. I think the actual job interview itself went well. I was pretty nervous this week because I’ve never been in such an intensive interview before. My past “interviews” went something like this: “You want to work here? You look normal. Ok cool you’re hired.” The PC interview lasted 1hr and 45 minutes and was more intense than I’m used to. But I didn’t get worked up and answered the questions well. Unfortunately, the job interview was the least stressful part of my day. The act of getting there made me want to shoot myself in the foot. I never have nor will I ever live in a city. Ever. It was estimated to be a 4 hour drive but I left 6 hours ahead of time just in case something happened. And something happed. Actually a lot of somethings happened. Of course I took a wrong turn and was completely lost. But no worries b/c I had hours to find the place. After a lot of yelling, close calls, dumb one way streets, and cursing of road signs, I finally found the address. And kept going. And going. Because where does one find parking in this place? A mile later I finally found parking in some sketchy part of town and then high-tailed it in my business suit and high heels through the ghetto…… ignoring the stares. Naturally I couldn’t find the building I was supposed to be in but after asking random people I finally found it. 5 minutes until interview time. I set off the security alarms. I ran into random people. I found the office! 1 minute until interview time. 1 minute! Never have I used the phrase “in the nick of time” and meant it more than I do now. As I was signing in the interviewer came to get me. To think if I had just one more red light I would have been late. Getting back home was easy compared to getting there. I just ended up in the car pool lane. No clue how I got there. I had no idea what the “hov” lane was. A lane for blind people? All I knew is I wasn’t supposed to be there due to the many car honks I received by those stuck in rush hour. After frantically calling my dad and asking what “hov” meant I then gratefully found an exit and escaped ticket free. What a day. But at least I can laugh about it (hysterically) which is one of the main traits they look for in the Peace Corps. Ability to laugh in tough situations. Maybe I’m meant for it after all.

In other news I’m starting my official marathon training on Monday because our last cross country race is tomorrow. I guess running cross country the past few months gives me a great base for starting. I think I’ll essentially just slowly double what I’ve been doing so I have enough endurance to finish. That’s my goal, to finish. Not to get an amazing time but to cross the finish line in one piece and mentally sane. And I think wanting to be mentally sane is pushing it. Ok maybe I’ll just hope to be in one piece. The more I think about it being slightly insane is a requirement if you want to run a marathon. Sane people wouldn’t really attempt to run 26.2 miles.