The Beginning . . . kinda

I actually started by application process into the Peace Corps over two months ago, but I finally found some time between studying for finals, applying for the Peace Corps (and other temporary jobs to hold me over), and up-keeping something of a social life in order to begin a blog about my experiences with the application process and, hopefully, an invitation to serve overseas. But lets not get ahead of ourselves.

As I stand now I have already been nominated for an environmental program in Sub-Saharan Africa and began the medical application process which is way more in depth than I expected. (if you want to catch up on what has happened up till now check my timeline on the 'pages' in the box to the right). Currently I have a few concerns which, no matter how much I search, I can't find direct answers for. These are as follows:

1. I am underweight according to Peace Corps BMI requirements. A doctor can sign off on this after some lab work is done, but I'm going to try to gain weight in the meantime to be a bit more preventative just in case.
2. I have a fixed lower retainer which the Peace Corps seems to be a bit vague about. I can have it removed, but I just would like to know one way or the other. 
3. This is expensive for a college student! Even with some reimbursement I'm still gonna be out of pocket a couple of hundred of bucks, but I guess that's one way to separate out those who aren't serious about service.
4. Finally, the Peace Corps just went through budget cuts and therefore are being much more selective about applicants. I am highly competitive as a science major, but still... I'm a little concerned. 

Overall, I'll be much happier once the medical and legal clearances are out of the way. Speaking of which my legal clearance says I'm already good to go, but this can't be right cause they didn't even have my fingerprints at the time. I'm going to have to contact them soon to make sure any issues are cleared up before they become more of a problem. Hopefully there aren't any, but better safe than sorry.

Finally, I'm signing up to learn French next semester to help maintain my competitive edge by the recommendation of my recruiter. Apparently this is a very in demand language for my program areas so, C'est reparti ! (here goes!)