My Way To Handle REJECTION

January 12, 2015 by Sonia Marsh 9 Comments

Saturday afternoon, after a pleasant lunch with a friend, I checked my phone and found an e-mail from the Peace Corps, with the subject line:

“Peace Corps Application Decision.”

My fingers trembled as I tapped the screen anticipating good news.

I’ve been waiting to hear back since I applied in July 2014.

Imagine how I felt when I read:

“Thank you for your application to the Peace Corps. We regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you an assignment at this time. Each year, the Peace Corps receives many more applications from qualified individuals than we have assignments available.”

Shock, anger, and every other emotion you can come up with, hit me at that moment.

So I decided to call my Peace Corps recruiter to ask, “WHY DID THEY REJECT ME???”

I’m the Gutsy one who wants to help people and serve in another part of the world. I’m over 50, speak fluent French, have leadership skills, a Bachelors degree in Environmental Science, and I’ve expressed my enthusiasm at every Peace Corps social event in my area.

SO WHAT HAPPENED?

I knew I wouldn’t get an answer over the weekend, so I did what I always do when I’m rejected:

I GET STRONGER AND

KEEP MOVING FORWARD.

Thankfully, I have a back-up plan which is to take the Cert-TESOL course in Greenwich, London, so I can teach English anywhere in the world. That’s my Plan B, and it’s an added credential for MY NEXT PEACE CORPS APPLICATION.

My wonderful recruiter called me on Sunday night. We had a long chat and she recommended I reapply ASAP. She took the time to read through my resume, and give me some tips on how to improve it, and customize my skills and experience to the positions that are available on the Peace Corps website.

My mistake, now that I look back on my resume, is that I made a bullet point list of past jobs and volunteering experience rather than explaining my ACCOMPLISHMENTS in EVERY role. I guess my resume is outdated, and today’s resumes need to be specific.

As an example: “delivered 2 key-note addresses as well as 10 additional public speaking engagements” and “consistently initiated weekly blog posts with fresh content twice weekly”.

Apparently the Peace Corps wants a more focused approach from each applicant, rather than stating, “I’m available to do anything, anywhere.” In the past they wanted this flexible attitude, so I guess now, with the increase in applicants, it’s become more competitive and you have to show them how you can be of maximum benefit to the Peace Corps.

When I got rejected by a publisher, my adrenaline kicked in and I said, “I’ll start my own publishing company and promote my books with all my energy.”

Now it’s time to use my “gutsyness” and move ahead. NOTHING WILL STOP ME.

HAVE YOU BEEN REJECTED? IF SO HOW DID YOU COPE? Please let me know in the comment section below.

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“My New Life” Chapter One

January 2, 2015 by Sonia Marsh 18 Comments

I am turning a new chapter in my life prompted by my divorce after a 28-year marriage.

Instead of feeling “sorry” for myself, I’ve opted to view this as an opportunity to explore new avenues and adventures. As I often say to others:

“There are always options in life. View setbacks as opportunities to do something new and don’t be afraid to take a risk.”

Baby boomer women are taking charge of their life and according to: New York Times “Divorce After 50”

“So much for “till death do us part.” For the first time, more Americans 50 and older are divorced than widowed, and the numbers are growing as baby boomers live longer. Sociologists call them gray divorcees.”

SONIA’s 2015 Gutsy Adventure:

Cert-TESOL certificate in London in May 2015, a one-month course. This is the “Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages,” course which is respected and recognized globally by language schools. I have always wanted a qualification I can use anywhere in the world, and thanks to Rebecca Hall, who writes about “Life Beyond Borders” blog, I was guided to this specific course. Watch my interview with Beccy here. Another interview with her on January 24th, 9 a.m.
I signed up for the Peace Corps, and have followed numerous PC social gatherings during the past year.

IMG_20141208_220907 — Julia Caipizzi, Orange County Peace Corps Recruiter, Sonia and Theresa Elders (RPCV)

PEACE CORPS: I am currently serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho, a tiny land-locked country in southern Africa.The good news is that the PC wants to recruit more people over 50, so if you’re looking for another adventure, here are some people over 50 serving.
MY TIME NOT SOCIAL MEDIA’S TIME: I’m going to do things according to “my time,” not according to social media expectations. So what if I don’t post exactly at the same time each week. Will I get punished by Google, SEO, Twitter, FB, etc.
“GUTSY” INTERVIEWS: I shall keep interviewing “Gutsy” people, and my first interview in 2015, is the talented, Rebecca Hall. Click here to join this live awesome interview on Saturday, January 24th, at 9 a.m. PST. Please tune in and listen to my friend who lives in Athens, Greece. We shall discuss:
- Her new site, “Life Beyond Borders” originally called Leaving Cairo, and why she changed it.
- What Beccy does, her travel work (especially Rough Guides), why she started a blog, and what she hopes to achieve from her blog in 2015
MY GUTSY STORY® ANTHOLOGY: I submitted the “My Gutsy Story®” Anthology for another Award and plan to attend the IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association) conference in Austin, TX, April 10-11th, 2015. Hopefully all 46 authors who contributed their story, will win this Award.
WORK ABROAD: I plan to volunteer in Spain again in May-June 2015, with Vaughan Volunteers, speaking English to Spanish business people for one week. Last year I was in Torrecaballeros, (see my post here.) This time I shall be in a 13th Century village called, Pedraza. I also hope to work either with the Peace Corps, or as a teacher of English, abroad in 2015.
PUBLISH 3rd MY GUTSY STORY® ANTHOLOGY IN 2015. Please submit your stories for our next Anthology. It’s FREE on GUTSY LIVING® site, and only $79, to be considered for publication in our 2015 Anthology.
CONTINUE HELPING AUTHORS PROMOTE THEIR BOOKS. See what I can do for you HERE.

(WE NEED MORE STORIES, SO HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO GET PUBLISHED IN THE AWARD-WINNING ANTHOLOGY.)

HAPPY NEW YEAR with fresh flowers from Amsterdam market where I was on December 30th, 2014

Submission guidelines here

Every Monday, we shall feature a short story on “Gutsy Living” about something Gutsy you have done in your life that either:

Changed you.
Changed the way you think about something.
Made your life take a different direction.

You can check out all the details on the Join the “My Gutsy Story” contest page.

Each month, the winner gets to pick one prize.

Here is the link explaining what it’s about and what we do for you.

It’s FREE to have your story published on Gutsy Living® website and if you would like to be published in our 2015 (award-winning Anthology), there is a fee of only $79, to cover professional editing, cover design, and formatting.

Staying in the “Red Light” District of Amsterdam

December 29, 2014 by Sonia Marsh 5 Comments

old nickel photo — Old Nickel Hotel, Red Light district, Amsterdam. Click on photo.

The youth hostel I booked for my 20-year-old son, Jordan, and myself, is located in the heart of the red light district of Amsterdam.

What an experience walking through the streets at midnight, and seeing beautiful young women in minuscule bikinis, standing behind glass windows offering their services.

As a mother, I couldn’t help but think:

How sad for young women to sell their bodies
How sad for the mothers of these young women
I hope they’re warm behind these windows. It’s freezing outside

It reeks of weed everywhere, especially in our hostel. The narrow, winding staircase, proved to be a major workout with my 50- pound suitcase, and a backpack. I asked for a quiet room, and was allocated one on the 3rd floor, with a shared toilet and shower.

It wasn’t quiet all night. I guess, I’m roughing it, as far as a middle-aged, western woman, however, I keep reminding myself how lucky I am to have a twin bed and central heating.

We checked in the “Old Nickel” youth hostel at 4 p.m., after our 3-hour train ride from Paris to Amsterdam, on the comfortable, Thalys train from, Gare du Nord, Paris.

Amsterdam is quite the booming city, and our ten-minute walk from Central Station to the hostel–with suitcases and backpacks–proved to be quite a “gutsy” adventure, especially timing the crossing of the streets, attempting to avoid trams, bicyclists, cars, and people.

I should have read the “Lonely Planet” description of the hostel, before booking it.

“Location, location: the Nickel will appeal to everyone looking for a simple place to crash after a red-light romp. Go up (and up and up) the steep stairs from the historic, well-stocked pub, and you’ll find clean no-nonsense rooms, all bathrooms shared. Rates include a big cooked breakfast and drop sharply during the week.”

Instead, I focused on the fact that the hostel is, supposedly, only a 3-minute walk from the Central Station of Amsterdam. I guess if you have no luggage, and know where you’re going, you can jog in 3-minutes.

One of the reasons I picked Amsterdam, was to meet my friend, Ubit. I have not seen Ubit since 1974 when we were at boarding school together in the UK.

Ubit hasn’t changed, and we reconnected instantly. She said a couple of things that made me happy, as I had forgotten what I was like in boarding school.

“Sonia, you were always the one who asked the teacher questions. None of us had the courage to ask the strict teachers what you asked.”

I took that as a compliment, and it reinforced the concept of being “gutsy,” even when I was seventeen.

Ubit took us to her friends who have a bike shop called, Starbikes rental. Dan from Australia, and his partner, Linda, from Holland, specialize in bike rentals, and even offer a way for people in wheelchairs to ride a bike.

Dan demonstrating an engine to hold on from a wheelchair

We decided to take a bike rental tour of Amsterdam. I think this may be a fabulous way to see the city, as long as I follow the Dutch bike rules. At least we’re not in the U.K. where they ride on the left side of the street.

More news later….

“Joyeaux Noel” from France and “God Jul” from Copenhagen

December 25, 2014 by Sonia Marsh Leave a Comment

Copenhagen Airport Christmas Tree — Copenhagen Christmas Tree

“Joyeaux Noel,” or Merry Christmas to all my friends from Paris.

We arrived in Paris yesterday from Copenhagen. My son, Jordan, was surprised that he didn’t need to show his passport or stop for customs in Paris. We walked straight through and avoided those who guided us towards their taxi service. I wasn’t sure if they were legitimate taxi drivers, so we followed the arrow to “Taxis,” where several cars were waiting.

Everything is closed on Christmas Day, except for the bakers. We bought several loaves of fresh bread this morning for our French Christmas dinner tonight.

Dad and Jill offered champagne and canapes (small appetizers) to celebrate our arrival in Paris.

I’m getting used to youth hostels, however something strange happened in Copenhagen. I booked a double room with a shower. The bathroom had a baseball-cap sized sink, and I didn’t realize the shower was attached to the ceiling. You were supposed to turn on the faucet and pull on the pop-up drain stopper to make the water spray from the shower above us. This meant that the entire bathroom became the shower.

front part of the Copenhagen Youth Hostel

Our Copenhagen Downtown Youth Hostel was located in the perfect place to walk on Stroget, the famous pedestrian street in Copenhagen, Tivoli, and the little Mermaid.

Sonia enjoying Danish wienerbrod (Danish pastry)

Lilian on Stroget (The pedestriaan street in Copenhagen)

A fish spa, where tiny fish clean your feet

I hope you have a lovely Christmas and holiday with your family and friends.

Christmas Time in London, Suffolk and Copenhagen

December 22, 2014 by Sonia Marsh 6 Comments

100_2714 — Santa and his elf at Heathrow Airport, London

After a couple of nights in our first youth hostel, close to Paddington Station in London, Jordan and I took the train from Liverpool Street station to Stowmarket in Suffolk.

The train was full of commuters heading back to the countryside after a days work in London. My friend, Sallyann, picked us up at the train station, and drove us to her charming, countryside farm house where they raise chickens and grow their own vegetables.

We visited the seaside resort of Southwold, on the Suffolk Heritage coast. Although quite cold in December, with one “gutsy” surfer trying to catch waves in the North Sea, Southwold is booming with tourists in the summer.

After catching up with Sallyann, and a fun evening at a local village pub, we caught the National Express bus from Ipswich to Heathrow airport. It took three hours on a comfortable bus, then we headed to Terminal 2 for our SAS flight to Copenhagen.

Heathrow airport has personality. It’s one of my favorite airports, and as soon as we passed security, we were welcomed by Santa and his elf. I could not resist a photo opportunity with Santa.
Families traveling to Copenhagen for the holidays, or ending their vacation in London, brought a festive atmosphere to the flight.

Jordan and I showed our American passports and received a warm and welcoming smile from the customs agent. The woman before us, dressed in a burka, was told to step aside; she did not have a visa to enter Denmark.

My Danish friend, Lilian, and her husband, met us at the airport and drove us to our second youth hostel in downtown Copenhagen called CPH Downtown.