Before I head overseas, the PC wants me to at least know the alphabet. I think I'll try to learn a bit more than that, but right now, learning a whole new way of seeing words naturally seems somewhat strange. Before I move on to anything more complicated like... words, I'm just trying to get used to the sights and sounds of the language itself.
Bulgarian uses a modified version of the Cyrillic alphabet, similar to the one used in Russia and other similar countries. Apparently, from what I read, this alphabet was actually created in Bulgaria, and it is a part of their history that the people there are very proud of.
As you can see from the image below, it is somewhat similar to the Latin alphabet. Unfortunately I think this visual similarity makes it a bit more difficult for me to get a grasp on sounding them out. There are letters that are identical in both languages (like the "A"), and there are characters that are unique to Bulgarian (such as the letter that makes the "D" sound). Finally, there are characters that are similar but that sound different. This third group is the hardest - getting used to reading "B" and making the "v" sound, reading "H" and making the "n" sound, etc. There's also characters that are backwards forms of Latin letters, which just adds to the craziness.
Anyway, just wanted to give the readers out there some insight into what stage of preparations I'm at. I'm still waiting for my staging information, and so am again in a sort of holding pattern until I am contacted again by the Peace Corps. Until that time comes, I'm still trying to gather whatever information I can.
I made it onto http://www.peacecorpsjournals.com/! I am pretty much addicted to this site. It's a huge collection of blogs from volunteers serving in every country the Peace Corps is posted in. I've provided a link to the Bulgaria section of the site in my links section ("Other Peace Corps Bulgaria Blogs") so anyone interested can get some other perspectives on life in Peace Corps Bulgaria. It's weird seeing all these other people who have been over there in BG for one or two years (or longer!), sitting right there next to my brand new blog... not even over there serving yet...
Also, the other day I found the first other person that will be serving with me in my group. The person posted on the yahoo peace corps group. It's starting to come together... exciting!
It's been a long road up to the point I'm at right now. I started the whole process of joining the Peace Corps over a year ago. To keep track of the process, I documented each step I took and every update I got. And yes, that makes me a bit of a nerd. If you're interested in the process of becoming a Peace Corps volunteer, or if you just want to see what I had to put myself through to get to this point, here's how it all went down:
11/3/06: APPLICATION STARTED. I planned on graduating college a semester early, so I started this whole process 2 years ago. However, I got an opportunity to double major by staying an extra semester, so I took that. The application sat untouched until July 2007, when I picked it back up again. I had all my recommendations in by the middle of September.
Note: The application is a ridiculously long ordeal that seems to be designed to weed people out and leave the people who are really committed to joining. It took me several months to complete the whole thing. With it, you have to send 2 essays (which I may post later), and acquire 3 recommendations.
9/30/07: APPLICATION FINISHED and submitted. My 3 references were sent out with the application, so every part of the application has been completed.
9/30/07: HEALTH STATUS REVIEW received in an email link, completed and submitted. This is a checklist of medical conditions that might disqualify a person from being able to serve, or limit the amount of places to which a person could be assigned. I didn't have any of these conditions, and so it was pretty quick for me. Also, this is not the same thing as medical clearance, which is another step that comes later...
10/1/07: Received email confirmation of complete application submission. I have to fill out extra information regarding financial obligations.
10/5/07: Received My Toolkit (program to keep track of your application status) access information in the mail, along with 2 fingerprint forms and a background check form.
10/12/07: Called my recruiter (the person who reviews your application and assesses whether or not you would be a good candidate to serve) to set up an interview. Established an interview same time next week.
10/19/07: Had an INTERVIEW with the recruiter. He discussed nomination options on the spot. The recruiter and I decided to work on a nomination for Youth Development in Asia in August 2008. (This was my original nomination).
10/25/07: Got an email notifying me that My Toolkit had been updated. My Toolkit now reads: Peace Corps has received all of your required forms and completed your interview. We are currently reviewing your application. Peace Corps received your Volunteer Application form on October 1, 2007. Peace Corps received your Health Status Review form on September 30, 2007. Peace Corps received your two fingerprint cards on October 24, 2007. Peace Corps received your National Agency Check form on October 24, 2007. Peace Corps has received all of your Reference forms. Your interview with Peace Corps has been completed.
11/2/07: Contacted my recruiter for a status update because I hadn’t heard anything in two weeks. I have to come in for a second interview because apparently his desktop crashed and all my information was lost. Also, I was informed that I wouldn’t be able to receive a straight nomination because I don’t have enough volunteer experience yet.
11/7/07: My recruiter emailed me saying that I will redo my interview in two days. He also informed me that my nomination has been changed. I will now be provisionally nominated to Eastern Europe, leaving in July 2008 (contingent on acquiring more volunteer youth work experience, a requirement I fulfilled in April 08).
11/9/07: I had my second interview. My Toolkit was updated. It now reads: Congratulations! You have been NOMINATED to serve in the Peace Corps.” Nomination means that my recruiter has determined that I would be a good candidate to serve in a certain region and with a general program, but does not mean that I am actually in. My Toolkit now also contains tons of information about things that I’ll have to do in the next few weeks, including medical and dental clearance, as well as the procedure my placement officer will be following. There is a checkmark by “Legal Clearance,” so I guess that means I’ve already passed one of the 3 clearances needed. Good stuff.
11/10/07: Received another email informing me of another My Toolkit status update: “Peace Corps mailed you a Medical Kit on November 9, 2007. Be sure to schedule your medical appointments immediately so you can submit your medical forms as soon as possible.”
11/16/07: MEDICAL KIT RECIEVED in the mail. Made doctor’s appointment for a physical – the earliest possible date I could get in is December 11. I also got an appointment for a dental exam on November 30.
11/30/07: Had my dental examination. Results were not good. I have to go in 3 more times to get some work done. On the bright side it looks like I’ll be keeping all my wisdom teeth. Appointments made for January 9 and 23 and February 6. I’m going to look into the process of getting provisionally cleared so I can get all my stuff in and hopefully get invited on schedule.
12/11/07: Had my physical examination. 4 shots and 5 vials of blood later, it looks like I’m going to be good to go. I have to go in again in 2 days to confirm my TB test, then again in a week to get my blood-work results.
1/4/08: Physical exam form completed by doctor and blood test results given back. TB test negative and all blood tests seem normal. No problems to report. There was a slight delay on picking up the results because I was out of town for winter vacation. Pleasantly surprised at how easy that turned out to be after reading all the horror stories about long and complicated medical processes. Now I just have to finish the dental packet and I’ll be set to turn everything in.
1/9/08: First appointment at the dentist.
1/23/08: Second dentist appointment. I’ve decided I will not seek provisional clearance and will just wait the extra 2 weeks so I can get everything in at the same time. This will also give me a chance to go back to the doctor and get some paperwork fixed that I noticed he filled out wrong.
2/6/08: Third and final dentist appointment. MEDICAL AND DENTAL PACKET SENT. I checked, rechecked, and triple checked the packet to make sure I have everything. Put into the mail (via the post office) at approximately 3:50pm.
2/13/08: Made a call to my medical officer to make sure everything was received on the other end. Apparently as of today I was dentally cleared. They are currently reviewing my physical results, and I will hear from them in a few days. This is not official information since My Toolkit was not updated, and the medical officer kept saying, “it looks like…” and, “my best guess is that…” but the call was very reassuring and relieved some of my anxiety about the process.
2/14/08: The medical officer was right. I got a My Toolkit status update email today saying I had been DENTALLY CLEARED. “Complete: Peace Corps has completed your dental review. There are no dental holds on your account at this time.” Waiting to turn in the packet paid off…
2/16/08: Received a My Toolkit update saying: “Peace Corps received the results of your physical exam on February 15, 2008. In some cases, Peace Corps may request additional medical information. Please respond quickly to these requests.” My guess is that this means they’ve just now started to review my physical. Hopefully it gets cleared soon with no problems…
2/22/08: Received additional confirmation that I was dentally cleared in the mail.
2/29/08: Received a My Toolkit update saying: “Peace Corps has completed your medical review. There are no medical holds on your account at this time.” I believe this means that I have MEDICALLY CLEARED. That was much quicker than I expected, and they didn’t request any additional information. All that’s left is placement review, and then invitation! Woohoo!
3/1/08: Received final confirmation in the mail that I was both medically and dentally cleared. Part of it reads, “Your application will now be considered by the Office of Placement, which matches the experience of medically qualified applicants with their requirements of available assignments. They will notify you directly of their decision.”
3/11/08: Got a call from my placement officer regarding some confusion about what my recruiter had told me my nomination was for. I confirmed that we had settled on the Eastern Europe nomination in July, rather than the Asia nomination in August. He told me that was good, and that he definitely wanted me to leave with the earlier group. Later that day he called again and said that he was going to go ahead and invite me soon, but that I needed to update my resume and, when it becomes available, send a copy of my updated college transcript to prove that I graduated.
3/24/08: Called my placement officer to see if everything was going OK, since I hadn’t heard from him in a while. He said that he had qualified my file, and that all he needed was the updated resume and I should be good to go. I sent it to him via e-mail right after the call…
3/26/08: Received a My Toolkit update saying: “Congratulations! You have been INVITED to become a Peace Corps Volunteer!” My official invitation packet will have all of the details about exactly when and where I will be headed. That apparently was sent out yesterday, so the packet will be arriving (hopefully) in the next few days. But for now, I can take solace in the fact that after college I will, in fact, be doing something, somewhere, at some time…
3/29/08: Received my OFFICIAL INVITATION to Bulgaria in the mail.
The FUTURE: (I have since gone back and added the actual dates as they occured, since they were different than the ones included in the original invitation packet) Orientation/Staging (in America): 7/18/08 - 7/19/08 (later changed to 7/25/08 – 7/27/08). Flight to Bulgaria: 7/20/08 (later changed to 7/28/08) Pre-Service Training (in Bulgaria): 7/21/08 – 10/1/08. (actual dates 7/29/08 - 10/9/08 Term of Service: 10/2/08 – 10/1/10 (actual term of service 10/10/08 - 10/13/10) Return from Bulgaria: 10/2/10 (actual date of return: 10/14/10)
I'm a youth development volunteer serving in Bulgaria with the local дом за деца (orphanage). Before all this I graduated from Florida State and lived in Tampa, FL...
The contents of this website are my personal opinions and do not reflect any position of the United States Government or the Peace Corps. Everything I write is based on my personal experiences alone. Please do not take my words as final in regards to Bulgaria. Similarly, please do not judge or make conclusions about Bulgaria or Bulgarians based on what is written on this site.
