“It is with great pleasure that we invite you to …”

July 2, 2012

I woke up yesterday morning telling myself, “I don’t think I can take another day of waiting.”

By then, it was a week after my placement officer told me I was officially invited into the Peace Corps, and that I should get my invitation packet within the next 10 days. I didn’t want to believe it would actually take that long for mail to get to me from Washington, D.C., – even though the placement officer did say it was going on the slowest delivery system. I thought, I can probably drive across country faster to get the darn thing!

The day after I was officially invited, I started checking my mailbox anyway.

I really thought it was going to get here Friday, before the weekend.  But the packet didn’t come. So I went on about my day, as the anticipation continued to grow and grow inside me.

When I woke up yesterday, I just had a good feeling.  I brushed my teeth, while thinking about the arrival of the Peace Corps invitation. I showered, while thinking about the arrival of the Peace Corps invitation. I got dressed, while thinking about the arrival of the Peace Corps invitation. Everything I did was, “Peace Corps invitation! Peace Corps invitation! When are you coming?!” Finally, close to 3:00pm, I heard the doorbell ring.  I jumped up and peered out the peep hole and saw the UPS guy driving away; my gaze then drifted to the ground outside the door, and there I saw it, a large envelope.

Yes! Here it was! My Peace Corps invitation!

I was so nervous opening the envelope, my hands were shaking.  Despite that, I proceeded. After a few seconds, I finally got it opened and there it was — a thick blue folder with the words I’d been longing to read on the front: “Peace Corps invites you to serve.”

I located a light tan, card-like paper stuck next to the blue folder and read the following: “Congratulations! It is with great pleasure that we invite you to begin training in Cameroon for Peace Corps service.”  It was an unbelievable feeling to finally see those words. 

I thought to myself, “I did it! I did it!”