August has been busy. In the beginning of the month, the editorial group of Hajde Hajde, the Peace Corps Albania newsletter, met to put the Summer 2010 issue together. I’m very proud with what we’ve created. After the weekend-long meeting, it was off to Tirana for the conference I’ve spent the last two months planning. It was nice to see people getting something out of it as well as to be recognized for the work it took. Now that all these things are over, I can actually breathe a little bit and enjoy the rest of the summer. And then there’s the birthday celebration in Berat again this year.
Birthdays normally aren’t a huge deal for me. Yeah it’s nice to get together and have a party, is it that important that another year has gone by? I look at my birthday like I look at New Year’s: it’s a time to reflect on the past year and think about the changes that need to be made for the next. Well over the halfway point, I’ve made a list of things I’ve learned this year and what I want for my “new year.”
1. The best decision I’ve made all year was living in a host family. They have been good to me, they’ve taught me so much, and they’ve been my light in the dark.
2. What constitutes a good relationship and how to maintain them. This year has been full of interpersonal inconsistencies, ups-and-downs, distrust and irresponsible or unreliable people. Some of this is situational due to the stress and inconsistencies of life here. It has lead me to reassess my life here and the people in it, hopefully learn from my own mistakes, and make sure that my second year here is a bit more positive on the interpersonal front.
3. Responsibility. Peace Corps doesn’t hold your hand. For the most part, you’re by yourself. No real performance reviews and limited visits from Peace Corps employees to my site. It is up to you to make the most of your service since a lot of it is just on an honor system. This leads to lots of volunteers milking the lack of any oversight for all it’s worth.
4. Emotionally complicated people and poor communicators. I’ve learned a lot about dealing with these types of people, enough to know that maybe I shouldn’t take any of these things personally. People handle their emotions and how to express them very differently. I need to be more patient with people that are different from me and definitely more empathetic.
5. Rediscovering the magic of reading (and reconfirming what my professors always told me: “Sofie, you need to be with an intellectual.”) Physically, I’ve been in Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Egypt. Mentally and emotionally, I’ve been to: Africa; India; Barcelona; the Libyan Desert with Saint-Exupery; Uzbekistan; Chicago’s Wrigley Field; Italy; the Devil’s Highway; 1950s Iowa; and the former Yugoslavia. Not bad considering the flight to Egypt was $650 but all the other “travel” I’ve done was free.
6. Exercise. For the last couple months, I’ve done 30+ minutes of cardio and other exercise 5+ times a week. It’s especially helpful in dealing with stress, but sometimes it’s just a nice way to clear my head. I’ll probably end up with a gym membership (gasp!) starting in the fall to help with winter doldrums.
7. Simplifying my life. I think we’re all guilty of overcomplicating things, especially when it’s really unnecessary. Reassessing my life and relationships here combined with removing myself from negative, unnecessary situations has already gone a long way.
8. Not giving into the temptation of comparison. Everyone’s situation is unique. We aren’t in a competition to see who can do the most. We aren’t here to critique others who don’t do as much. We are just here and we’re responsible for our actions, and that’s enough to keep us busy for a while.
9. Looking at an international future. It’s time to start that job search again, and it seems like every article I read in The Economist is telling me more bad news about the American labor market. As much as I wish I could find a good job in the US, I’m not so sure it’s possible. In many ways I think the US is just done. Not that anywhere is perfect, but looking at numbers, cost of living, educational opportunities, etc., Germany still looks like a pretty great place. On paper it looks better than the US, without a doubt.
10. Not being able to please everyone. This is something I’ve always known, but never really had to learn like I’ve learned it here, especially in dealing with difficult people. Sometimes you just need to take a step back.
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
A Normal Day
I go to school every day but have written surprisingly little information about what it is like.
School is a bit different over here. First off, we have lessons from 8:30 – 1:30. There is no break for lunch but students have fifteen or twenty minutes to run out to the line of snack carts that reminds me of what I used to call “Tin Can Alley” on Drexel’s campus.
With few clocks throughout the building and no centralized bell, a student runs up and down the four flights of stairs ringing and actual bell when it’s time for teachers to rotate classes. There are about five minutes for teachers to stop off in the teacher’s room and pick up the class registers (a sacred book with the class roster and student grades for all subjects) before going to class. When they enter the classroom, wearing white smocks that look like lab coats, the students stand up. Students in my school also wear uniforms during the warmer months. When a student is called to answer a question, they may also choose to stand up to give the answer.
My favorite thing that students do is wiping the desks. When I go in for a lesson I usually sit in the back at an empty desk (if there is one, since sometimes three students have to share a single desk). But before I can sit down, students order me to stand while they clean the desk because it is “dirty,” or rather, dusty. At the mere sight of me getting ready to set my books down, an army of students rushes to the desk, tells me forcefully “NO NO” and, armed with tissues from individual packets, cleans the desk for me.
Albanian students are masters of rote learning, which means that their critical thinking and reading skills need a lot of improvement. Ask a student what they have read about Bill Clinton, a popular figure here largely because of Kosovo, and they can give you an entire string of information, perfectly memorized. Ask a student why Clinton is popular here and they have difficulty answering. Trying to break students of the memorization habit is something I will be working on for the rest of my time here. Memorization certainly has its place, but there are far more important skills to work on (like converting information students read to other areas).
As for the schools themselves, they do not have many amenities. I haven’t seen any heated classrooms and usually wear my coat every day, all day. The steps are treacherous because they are crumbling. I’m waiting for the day when I bite it and always make a point to be extra cautious. My school does have the internet, a computer lab, and two libraries (one for Albanian books and another foreign language library that I’m working on). These are resources that not every school has and are a good starting point for our students. By writing to an American organization called Darien Book Aid, I was able to add about 25 new books to our little English library and I hope to expand it in the future. There isn’t an overwhelming appreciation of libraries here, but it provides our students with authentic materials as opposed to inaccurate and outdated text books and is often the only source of English materials that they have.
The textbooks are another thing. Never in my life have I really paid any particular attention to the role of a textbook, not even as we (my parents and I) regularly shelled out $80 a book during university. A good text is everything; it’s the source of your lessons, information and discussions. There are two distinct types of books here: ones produced for the international market by English publishers and books produced by Albanians, for Albanians. There is a marked difference in price and quality between the two books. It’s safe to say that on almost every page of an Albanian text book, you can find a simple mistake that would have been noticed had it been spell checked. There are also other factual errors and omissions. I have been teaching a lesson on Hamlet this whole week. According to the Albanian-produced text, Hamlet was a “king” of Denmark (if that were true, then there really wouldn’t be much of a plot). After an elaborate and confusing summary of the play’s plot, it makes no mention of Hamlet’s death. On the bright side, the lesson did teach me the Albanian words for revenge and indecision as we talked about the play’s themes. It’s disappointing to see so many errors in an educational book, especially considering that many of them could be easily corrected if anyone bothered to edit anything.
Looking back on my public education, I’d say that discipline also played a big part. Kids continue to get surlier and surlier, but even when I was in school you could have a certain fear about the repercussions of your actions. Mouthing off would get you sent to the principal’s office, and the possibility of detention was very real for any number of offenses. Not to mention that I could also count on getting it at home for any indiscretions. We don’t have a distinguishable, clearly defined discipline system here. Sometimes kids will get kicked out of the lesson, but I haven’t seen anyone being sent to the principal’s. As a result, class is often chaotic, with students talking at regular volume over fellow students and teachers. That is, when they aren’t busy with their phones or causing other forms of general disruption. It is a difficult environment to teach in, combined with the sub-par textbooks, and I really have to tip my cap to the teachers that I’ve seen in action. They are people who somehow overcome the normal wear and tear on one’s nerves and do the best they can—because they believe in what they do. It definitely shows in their work and I look forward to our future working collaborations.
At the beginning of this entry, I wrote that school ends at 1:30. Thanks to a new initiative from the Ministry of Education, lessons in my school will now finish at 2:15 with the addition of a seventh instructional hour. It’s kind of a mixed bag, where a few teachers every day will run supplementary courses. Out of a staff of almost thirty, five or so teachers will teach an extra lesson each day a week. During this time, I will hopefully work with gifted students four times a week. My other colleagues in the English department have done the best they can with these students—and I’m lucky enough to reap the rewards of their previous work by stepping in as a native speaker to teach them. The students don’t know it yet, but I have got so many things lined up for them and I have some high hopes about what we can all achieve in working together.
School is a bit different over here. First off, we have lessons from 8:30 – 1:30. There is no break for lunch but students have fifteen or twenty minutes to run out to the line of snack carts that reminds me of what I used to call “Tin Can Alley” on Drexel’s campus.
With few clocks throughout the building and no centralized bell, a student runs up and down the four flights of stairs ringing and actual bell when it’s time for teachers to rotate classes. There are about five minutes for teachers to stop off in the teacher’s room and pick up the class registers (a sacred book with the class roster and student grades for all subjects) before going to class. When they enter the classroom, wearing white smocks that look like lab coats, the students stand up. Students in my school also wear uniforms during the warmer months. When a student is called to answer a question, they may also choose to stand up to give the answer.
My favorite thing that students do is wiping the desks. When I go in for a lesson I usually sit in the back at an empty desk (if there is one, since sometimes three students have to share a single desk). But before I can sit down, students order me to stand while they clean the desk because it is “dirty,” or rather, dusty. At the mere sight of me getting ready to set my books down, an army of students rushes to the desk, tells me forcefully “NO NO” and, armed with tissues from individual packets, cleans the desk for me.
Albanian students are masters of rote learning, which means that their critical thinking and reading skills need a lot of improvement. Ask a student what they have read about Bill Clinton, a popular figure here largely because of Kosovo, and they can give you an entire string of information, perfectly memorized. Ask a student why Clinton is popular here and they have difficulty answering. Trying to break students of the memorization habit is something I will be working on for the rest of my time here. Memorization certainly has its place, but there are far more important skills to work on (like converting information students read to other areas).
As for the schools themselves, they do not have many amenities. I haven’t seen any heated classrooms and usually wear my coat every day, all day. The steps are treacherous because they are crumbling. I’m waiting for the day when I bite it and always make a point to be extra cautious. My school does have the internet, a computer lab, and two libraries (one for Albanian books and another foreign language library that I’m working on). These are resources that not every school has and are a good starting point for our students. By writing to an American organization called Darien Book Aid, I was able to add about 25 new books to our little English library and I hope to expand it in the future. There isn’t an overwhelming appreciation of libraries here, but it provides our students with authentic materials as opposed to inaccurate and outdated text books and is often the only source of English materials that they have.
The textbooks are another thing. Never in my life have I really paid any particular attention to the role of a textbook, not even as we (my parents and I) regularly shelled out $80 a book during university. A good text is everything; it’s the source of your lessons, information and discussions. There are two distinct types of books here: ones produced for the international market by English publishers and books produced by Albanians, for Albanians. There is a marked difference in price and quality between the two books. It’s safe to say that on almost every page of an Albanian text book, you can find a simple mistake that would have been noticed had it been spell checked. There are also other factual errors and omissions. I have been teaching a lesson on Hamlet this whole week. According to the Albanian-produced text, Hamlet was a “king” of Denmark (if that were true, then there really wouldn’t be much of a plot). After an elaborate and confusing summary of the play’s plot, it makes no mention of Hamlet’s death. On the bright side, the lesson did teach me the Albanian words for revenge and indecision as we talked about the play’s themes. It’s disappointing to see so many errors in an educational book, especially considering that many of them could be easily corrected if anyone bothered to edit anything.
Looking back on my public education, I’d say that discipline also played a big part. Kids continue to get surlier and surlier, but even when I was in school you could have a certain fear about the repercussions of your actions. Mouthing off would get you sent to the principal’s office, and the possibility of detention was very real for any number of offenses. Not to mention that I could also count on getting it at home for any indiscretions. We don’t have a distinguishable, clearly defined discipline system here. Sometimes kids will get kicked out of the lesson, but I haven’t seen anyone being sent to the principal’s. As a result, class is often chaotic, with students talking at regular volume over fellow students and teachers. That is, when they aren’t busy with their phones or causing other forms of general disruption. It is a difficult environment to teach in, combined with the sub-par textbooks, and I really have to tip my cap to the teachers that I’ve seen in action. They are people who somehow overcome the normal wear and tear on one’s nerves and do the best they can—because they believe in what they do. It definitely shows in their work and I look forward to our future working collaborations.
At the beginning of this entry, I wrote that school ends at 1:30. Thanks to a new initiative from the Ministry of Education, lessons in my school will now finish at 2:15 with the addition of a seventh instructional hour. It’s kind of a mixed bag, where a few teachers every day will run supplementary courses. Out of a staff of almost thirty, five or so teachers will teach an extra lesson each day a week. During this time, I will hopefully work with gifted students four times a week. My other colleagues in the English department have done the best they can with these students—and I’m lucky enough to reap the rewards of their previous work by stepping in as a native speaker to teach them. The students don’t know it yet, but I have got so many things lined up for them and I have some high hopes about what we can all achieve in working together.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
My Office
All four of the foreign language teachers at my school share an office. Normally, our classes start at 8:30 (but we get here around 8:00) and run until 1:30. The Ministry of Education will require an additional hour of teaching starting in the New Year, meaning classes will finish at 2:15. I’m not exactly sure how this will work, but two other teachers re-arranged the office to make room to work with students in our office.
This re-arranging meant that the library bookshelves that I obsessively organized had to be gutted to put the shelves on top of a cabinet to gain more floor space. It certainly looked a lot nicer before they did that. Somewhere in the move a shelf got broken as well, so I’m afraid what that bottom shelf will soon look like (probably filled with junk).
It’s difficult for me to work in the office. We only have one computer and one power outlet. I’ve taken my laptop with me on some days, but there is only so much I can do without internet and only running in battery power. For these reasons, I do most of my written and research work at home because it’s easier. Also, now that it’s winter and the window in the picture is perpetually open, it’s even hard to type because my hands get so cold and you can see your breath indoors. It’s to the point where it doesn’t even matter what I wear to school anymore because I just keep my scarf and coat on all day anyhow.
Even more depressing than the constant rain outside is that it’s usually warmer outside than it is inside. I can see my breath. In the past couple weeks, while it’s been about 50 degrees in my room when I go to bed, I still have to sleep inside of my mummy bag with a ton of other blankets on top of me.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The Lost Lesson
Last Friday was going to be the day. I would finally get in front of a class and be able to teach a lesson. In honor of European Day of Languages (26 September every year), I was going to teach a special lesson to a pre-selected group of students. The director signed off his approval to pull students out of class.
“Supposed to” are the keywords here.
I had just finished creating my teaching aides when my phone rang. It was a volunteer from Durres telling me we were having an emergency drill and I had to leave for Durres. Emergency plans are in place in every Peace Corps country in the event of disaster and political and social upheaval. In the event of an emergency, groups of volunteers travel to centralized locations and wait for direction.
There went my lesson, up in smoke.
The good to come out of it was that we got to talk with some Peace Corps staff responsible for safety and security, and they are two of the most awesome people in the Tirana office. I also got to network with another volunteer about potential projects in Durres, which comes at a good time because I am starting to get a little antsy.
“Supposed to” are the keywords here.
I had just finished creating my teaching aides when my phone rang. It was a volunteer from Durres telling me we were having an emergency drill and I had to leave for Durres. Emergency plans are in place in every Peace Corps country in the event of disaster and political and social upheaval. In the event of an emergency, groups of volunteers travel to centralized locations and wait for direction.
There went my lesson, up in smoke.
The good to come out of it was that we got to talk with some Peace Corps staff responsible for safety and security, and they are two of the most awesome people in the Tirana office. I also got to network with another volunteer about potential projects in Durres, which comes at a good time because I am starting to get a little antsy.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Back to School, Back to School
Last week was the first week of school. On the first day, I saw male students hanging curtains up in their classroom and heard “Take My Breath Away” as a ringtone on someone’s cell phone. The first week was relatively uneventful and I haven’t had very much formal classroom work just yet. That will pick up once lessons start and all the organization, logistics, registration and getting to know you things are over. So far, I’ve been doing research on grants and thinking about needs assessment and project planning.
And again, it becomes very obvious to me that PCVs cast very long shadows. In my first weeks in Golem, I was told and often directly compared to the two previous volunteers. In the beginning, I thought a lot about how the other volunteers would influence the way people think of me. People here remember them so well that I feel like I almost know them, even though they’ve been gone for some years. Luckily, the comparisons made directly to my face have been favorable, and I get the feeling that I am very different from them both in personality and ambition.
As the year began, it was also time to reflect on the fact that I’ve been here for six months already and am rapidly approaching the ¼ pole of my service. Mostly when I think about all that’s been happening, it feels like it’s gone by so quickly. But when I think that I’ll be staying here for two whole school years, it seems like it’s going to be forever until my service is finished. Of course the reality of time and how it elapses is somewhere in the middle. There is reason to believe, however, that if the summer went by at lightning speed and I wasn’t working the entire time, now that I’m working full-time it is really going to fly.
On the six-month anniversary of my departure, I thought about that day and what I was doing in the days leading up to it. I thought a lot about my parents. You’d think, at this point, that I’d be used to being away. I lived in Germany twice and studied away from home, and I never felt a particular sense of homesickness. What I’m feeling now isn’t really homesickness either, but more like peoplesickness. I miss the people in my life more than any particular place. Living all over the world drastically changes your concept of “home.” Largely because the people are spread out and not concentrated in one specific place and neither are you.
I miss, in no particular order: strawberries; roughhousing with Fernie; dinner and hockey games and any subsequent screaming at the television, good or bad, emanating therefrom; eating steaks and Dad’s barbecued chicken from the grill on the back porch; movie nights, borderline-obsessive amounts of telephone calls with the only person that I’m ever on the phone with (ever); being told the same stories about taking the academic course when Grammy should have taken the homemaking course; being able to know exactly what a store has and knowing things will be in stock; meals that don’t require hours of preparation, i.e. things you can just serve from the freezer or a can after heating; real book stores; sidewalks; and ground beef.
Things that I have learned and loved, in no particular order: balconies; sea breezes; listening to music with the bus or furgon windows rolled down; bean byrek; Red Bull; my students and their dreams and inspirations; the Albanian language; drinking high-test coffee with my mom / colleagues / friends; the simple joy of shopping at EuroMax and finding things that remind you a little bit of home (wherever or whatever “home” is); $3 pizzas; petulla (it’s kind of like funnel cake, but better); and the ability of Albanians to do so much with what they have: some of them make their own cheese, yogurt, grow their own chickens, hatch their own eggs, and make their own bread. Although many people want nothing more than to come to America, there is so much to be said and appreciated about life here, and self-sufficiency is but one aspect of my admiration.
It’s also time to reflect about our purpose and our goals, professional and personal, and the progress that we’ve made on them. At this point, I recognize that I have a lot to learn and a lot I want to give, but I am very pleased with the experience so far.
And finally, I think about my parents. It’s hard for me to talk about them without getting overly emotional. The only difference between now and the other times I was away is that it’s for a long time and that I’m older. I had initially planned to go right from university into Peace Corps—and was crushed when my departure date got pushed back not once, but twice. But with the perspective that time provides, I can look back on those six months that I spent at home and be grateful for the blessing in disguise. I met a whole group of new people at my job at an afterschool program and I got to spend some additional time at home. There is no saying what the arrangements will be when I go home, and it’s very certain that I won’t be spending such a long clip of time at home again. But it’s only now until I can look at that experience and really appreciate it. So thank you.
And again, it becomes very obvious to me that PCVs cast very long shadows. In my first weeks in Golem, I was told and often directly compared to the two previous volunteers. In the beginning, I thought a lot about how the other volunteers would influence the way people think of me. People here remember them so well that I feel like I almost know them, even though they’ve been gone for some years. Luckily, the comparisons made directly to my face have been favorable, and I get the feeling that I am very different from them both in personality and ambition.
As the year began, it was also time to reflect on the fact that I’ve been here for six months already and am rapidly approaching the ¼ pole of my service. Mostly when I think about all that’s been happening, it feels like it’s gone by so quickly. But when I think that I’ll be staying here for two whole school years, it seems like it’s going to be forever until my service is finished. Of course the reality of time and how it elapses is somewhere in the middle. There is reason to believe, however, that if the summer went by at lightning speed and I wasn’t working the entire time, now that I’m working full-time it is really going to fly.
On the six-month anniversary of my departure, I thought about that day and what I was doing in the days leading up to it. I thought a lot about my parents. You’d think, at this point, that I’d be used to being away. I lived in Germany twice and studied away from home, and I never felt a particular sense of homesickness. What I’m feeling now isn’t really homesickness either, but more like peoplesickness. I miss the people in my life more than any particular place. Living all over the world drastically changes your concept of “home.” Largely because the people are spread out and not concentrated in one specific place and neither are you.
I miss, in no particular order: strawberries; roughhousing with Fernie; dinner and hockey games and any subsequent screaming at the television, good or bad, emanating therefrom; eating steaks and Dad’s barbecued chicken from the grill on the back porch; movie nights, borderline-obsessive amounts of telephone calls with the only person that I’m ever on the phone with (ever); being told the same stories about taking the academic course when Grammy should have taken the homemaking course; being able to know exactly what a store has and knowing things will be in stock; meals that don’t require hours of preparation, i.e. things you can just serve from the freezer or a can after heating; real book stores; sidewalks; and ground beef.
Things that I have learned and loved, in no particular order: balconies; sea breezes; listening to music with the bus or furgon windows rolled down; bean byrek; Red Bull; my students and their dreams and inspirations; the Albanian language; drinking high-test coffee with my mom / colleagues / friends; the simple joy of shopping at EuroMax and finding things that remind you a little bit of home (wherever or whatever “home” is); $3 pizzas; petulla (it’s kind of like funnel cake, but better); and the ability of Albanians to do so much with what they have: some of them make their own cheese, yogurt, grow their own chickens, hatch their own eggs, and make their own bread. Although many people want nothing more than to come to America, there is so much to be said and appreciated about life here, and self-sufficiency is but one aspect of my admiration.
It’s also time to reflect about our purpose and our goals, professional and personal, and the progress that we’ve made on them. At this point, I recognize that I have a lot to learn and a lot I want to give, but I am very pleased with the experience so far.
And finally, I think about my parents. It’s hard for me to talk about them without getting overly emotional. The only difference between now and the other times I was away is that it’s for a long time and that I’m older. I had initially planned to go right from university into Peace Corps—and was crushed when my departure date got pushed back not once, but twice. But with the perspective that time provides, I can look back on those six months that I spent at home and be grateful for the blessing in disguise. I met a whole group of new people at my job at an afterschool program and I got to spend some additional time at home. There is no saying what the arrangements will be when I go home, and it’s very certain that I won’t be spending such a long clip of time at home again. But it’s only now until I can look at that experience and really appreciate it. So thank you.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Summer English Courses!
I’ve spent the month of July getting additional teaching experience and meeting my future students. After registration, I had about eighty students. Now, in the final week of lessons, I have a fraction of that number. I’m still impressed considering that it’s summer in a beach town and attendance was pretty solid up until last week. I’ve enjoyed getting into the classroom and I hope students enjoyed the classes as much as I did. In the end, I had three classes. One class of three high schoolers and two classes of students from the 9-year school (ages 8 – 13). I had a lot of fun with the advanced learners of the neighboring 9-year school and will be seeing them once the school year starts up and I pursue projects at their school.
I was particularly pleased after a lesson where we talked about rooms in a house and objects found in the rooms. I gave the students the assignment of creating their dream homes. It’s very interesting to see what lengths students will go to, so I try and give as little restriction as possible. I had some incredibly elaborate submissions, including a floor plan created on poster paper. Over the next two years, I want to make a portfolio of my students’ work so that I will always have it to remember. I already copied some of the floor plans and the elaborate family trees they made yesterday.
The enthusiasm of the students and their dedication to learning are the best aspects of being an educator here. Rampant academic dishonesty is the worst.
Cheating is something that we were warned about and discussed countless times during training. Until you encounter it, it still remains an abstract thought. Already, just a few months on site, I’ve been asked to help students cheat three times. One instance was on a test equivalent to the SATs. It’s something that I want no part of. Students try to help each other and teachers think they are helping students. But in the end, no one benefits from cheating. If teachers or students do work for others, they are harming themselves and those they are trying to “help.” It’s such a mainstay in the system, but the Ministry of Education is attempting to eliminate it. Cheating comes at a high price: it affects the reputation of students, teachers and schools and can be punished administratively. It’s hard to correct such a prevalent aspect in Albanian education, but it’s a dishonest plague that I will certainly try to set a good example about. I might have little power in the choices that teachers and students make, but I do have the ability to refuse being any part of it.
I was particularly pleased after a lesson where we talked about rooms in a house and objects found in the rooms. I gave the students the assignment of creating their dream homes. It’s very interesting to see what lengths students will go to, so I try and give as little restriction as possible. I had some incredibly elaborate submissions, including a floor plan created on poster paper. Over the next two years, I want to make a portfolio of my students’ work so that I will always have it to remember. I already copied some of the floor plans and the elaborate family trees they made yesterday.
The enthusiasm of the students and their dedication to learning are the best aspects of being an educator here. Rampant academic dishonesty is the worst.
Cheating is something that we were warned about and discussed countless times during training. Until you encounter it, it still remains an abstract thought. Already, just a few months on site, I’ve been asked to help students cheat three times. One instance was on a test equivalent to the SATs. It’s something that I want no part of. Students try to help each other and teachers think they are helping students. But in the end, no one benefits from cheating. If teachers or students do work for others, they are harming themselves and those they are trying to “help.” It’s such a mainstay in the system, but the Ministry of Education is attempting to eliminate it. Cheating comes at a high price: it affects the reputation of students, teachers and schools and can be punished administratively. It’s hard to correct such a prevalent aspect in Albanian education, but it’s a dishonest plague that I will certainly try to set a good example about. I might have little power in the choices that teachers and students make, but I do have the ability to refuse being any part of it.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Smile like you mean it
I’ve been here for just about three weeks and I am still trying to find my place. It’s hard to arrive on site as a teacher when the school year is almost over, which is something that I hope the Peace Corps will consider in the future. School is over tomorrow, and there haven’t been formal classes for the last two weeks. The students come to school for a couple hours, help clean the school and organize the classrooms for next year, and then leave to go to the beach. While I’m waiting to be productive in my own sense of the word, I’ve taken time to introduce myself and continue meeting people. I smile a lot and am friendly… but not too friendly. Greeting people is very important here, so I make sure it take it seriously. It’s kind of funny because I haven’t done anything concrete here just yet, but people will tell me how nice and good I am. I don’t know how to handle that because compliments make me feel awkward, but I just say thank you. Also, my Albanian is getting good enough for me to start being as silly as I am in English, and I’ve really been making my host mom laugh these past two weeks.
I go to school every day, even though there isn’t any formal work for me. Last week, I spoke to the students of my school and the neighboring 9-year school about offering summer courses. At this point, I have over eighty students enrolled for my lessons. That might seem like a huge roster since there is only one of me, but many students will not show up or will stop coming. I’ve tried to break the students up into manageable groups, but it is not very easy. I’ve spoken with the English teachers of my school about the students on my roster to try and break them up into the appropriate levels. With the students of the 9-year school, I will have them all report to school next Tuesday, where I will administer a brief test to try and organize them by level. Even between the ages of 11 – 14, there are huge divides in linguistic ability. This is largely because some parents send their children to private English courses. Because of this, it’s impossible for me to organize 9-year students merely by age.
I’m interested to see how the students react to me. They have already been exposed to two Peace Corps volunteers that taught English, so they might know a little more about the methods. However, they were surprised to find out that the courses were free. When they could get past that, they were confused when I said there was no course book. I plan on doing lectures and activities completely through the use of the school’s technology: using overhead projectors, PowerPoint-based classes, pictures and sound and video clips. If I’m being giving complete control of the resources, I’d be silly not to use them.
Since last week, I’ve been really busy with lesson planning. I started by making a long-term plan of the topics I wanted to cover, organizing the groups of students and coming up with a schedule, and now I am working on the individual lessons. You have no idea how much work a teacher does until it’s you on the other side of the desk, until it’s you making the plans. Although it’s a bit taxing, I want to create lessons that will interest and encourage students.
Aside from teaching four days a week, from 8 – 11, I’ll spend the afternoons on the beach. My site is really beautiful, even for a person that doesn’t care much for the beach like me. I’ve been there twice this week. I remove my shoes and walk on the edge of the dark sand where the water is just barely touching. I watch the sunset, and am struck with such a sense of serenity as the orange sphere disappears from the pink-purple sky and its last rays disperse over the sea. I can’t stop staring. I love those final minutes of daylight. Aside from working on my tan (!), I’d like to do some traveling as well during the summer. I have friends dotting the country that I already miss terribly. The slow pace of summer work in Albania creates in me a sort of Sehnsucht nach der Ferne. I’ll be getting to know Tirana, since there’s a Fourth of July event at the embassy and a VAC meeting later on. I’ve been elected by the volunteers in my sector to represent them on a committee that works as a liaison between volunteers and the Peace Corps. It involves fielding complaints, working to resolve them and working on policies that effect volunteers. It’s a tremendous honor and I’m grateful that my peers chose me to represent them.
Summer is also a time to think about what I want to do in the long-term. I’d really like to involve the students in staging an adapted play, some music history courses and perhaps a film club once school returns in September. My colleagues and director have requested all kinds of materials for the school, so I will also explore grants and funding options. I’ve already secured a shipment of 30 pounds of donated books and I’d like to continue working on our school’s fledging foreign languages library. Borges, an author who has weighed so heavily on my mind these past months, would be pleased. “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library,” he wrote.
It’s been hard for some people to understand why I am here. “Why are you here?” is one of the most popular questions from Albanians besides whether or not I will marry and Albanian. I’d like to say it’s because I’m just here to help others, but that is only part of the truth. I’m here to help myself, too. There are things that I want to change about myself and things that I know that I need to improve on. I’ve always wanted nothing more in my life to learn and to work hard to become the best possible version of myself. Coming here was a way for me to have an adventure (since feeling bored with my life is my biggest fear) and learn more about myself in the process. Gone are some distractions that may have kept me in a permanent state of veering off the path. I want to experience so much personally and professionally over these next two years; I don’t just want to grow, I want to blossom.
I go to school every day, even though there isn’t any formal work for me. Last week, I spoke to the students of my school and the neighboring 9-year school about offering summer courses. At this point, I have over eighty students enrolled for my lessons. That might seem like a huge roster since there is only one of me, but many students will not show up or will stop coming. I’ve tried to break the students up into manageable groups, but it is not very easy. I’ve spoken with the English teachers of my school about the students on my roster to try and break them up into the appropriate levels. With the students of the 9-year school, I will have them all report to school next Tuesday, where I will administer a brief test to try and organize them by level. Even between the ages of 11 – 14, there are huge divides in linguistic ability. This is largely because some parents send their children to private English courses. Because of this, it’s impossible for me to organize 9-year students merely by age.
I’m interested to see how the students react to me. They have already been exposed to two Peace Corps volunteers that taught English, so they might know a little more about the methods. However, they were surprised to find out that the courses were free. When they could get past that, they were confused when I said there was no course book. I plan on doing lectures and activities completely through the use of the school’s technology: using overhead projectors, PowerPoint-based classes, pictures and sound and video clips. If I’m being giving complete control of the resources, I’d be silly not to use them.
Since last week, I’ve been really busy with lesson planning. I started by making a long-term plan of the topics I wanted to cover, organizing the groups of students and coming up with a schedule, and now I am working on the individual lessons. You have no idea how much work a teacher does until it’s you on the other side of the desk, until it’s you making the plans. Although it’s a bit taxing, I want to create lessons that will interest and encourage students.
Aside from teaching four days a week, from 8 – 11, I’ll spend the afternoons on the beach. My site is really beautiful, even for a person that doesn’t care much for the beach like me. I’ve been there twice this week. I remove my shoes and walk on the edge of the dark sand where the water is just barely touching. I watch the sunset, and am struck with such a sense of serenity as the orange sphere disappears from the pink-purple sky and its last rays disperse over the sea. I can’t stop staring. I love those final minutes of daylight. Aside from working on my tan (!), I’d like to do some traveling as well during the summer. I have friends dotting the country that I already miss terribly. The slow pace of summer work in Albania creates in me a sort of Sehnsucht nach der Ferne. I’ll be getting to know Tirana, since there’s a Fourth of July event at the embassy and a VAC meeting later on. I’ve been elected by the volunteers in my sector to represent them on a committee that works as a liaison between volunteers and the Peace Corps. It involves fielding complaints, working to resolve them and working on policies that effect volunteers. It’s a tremendous honor and I’m grateful that my peers chose me to represent them.
Summer is also a time to think about what I want to do in the long-term. I’d really like to involve the students in staging an adapted play, some music history courses and perhaps a film club once school returns in September. My colleagues and director have requested all kinds of materials for the school, so I will also explore grants and funding options. I’ve already secured a shipment of 30 pounds of donated books and I’d like to continue working on our school’s fledging foreign languages library. Borges, an author who has weighed so heavily on my mind these past months, would be pleased. “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library,” he wrote.
It’s been hard for some people to understand why I am here. “Why are you here?” is one of the most popular questions from Albanians besides whether or not I will marry and Albanian. I’d like to say it’s because I’m just here to help others, but that is only part of the truth. I’m here to help myself, too. There are things that I want to change about myself and things that I know that I need to improve on. I’ve always wanted nothing more in my life to learn and to work hard to become the best possible version of myself. Coming here was a way for me to have an adventure (since feeling bored with my life is my biggest fear) and learn more about myself in the process. Gone are some distractions that may have kept me in a permanent state of veering off the path. I want to experience so much personally and professionally over these next two years; I don’t just want to grow, I want to blossom.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Off the Radar
One of the things you’ll have to get used to, dear readers, are the periods of time when I disappear. It’s not intentional, it’s usually do to the fact that I am overwhelmed in some way. The past couple weeks have left me with little time to think; let alone to write.
Cliff’s Notes: three weeks ago, I went to a conference in Tirana with all the other volunteers to meet my future counterparts. Immediately afterwards, I spent three days in my future site doing some assessments and meeting people. Then it was back to Elbasan to finish up training, and everything was capped off by a huge ceremony featuring the US Ambassador to Albania. Two days later, I was packing my bags again and trying not to think too hard about the distance of my friends who were once so close or about how much I’d miss my host family.
And that brings us to now. I’ve been in my permanent site for a few days. It’s such a disorienting feeling, being in Albania for two months and knowing places and people, and then being taken out of your element and asked to do it all over again. This usually involves looking weird and/or doing weird things, and being confused about the most simplest of things most of the time. It’s actually kind of hilarious; if not a little depressing considering the fact that it makes me feel like a child all over again. I’m enjoying unpacking and thinking about staying in one place for (gasp) TWO years and the comfort it will afford me. Getting comfortable is not something I’m familiar with, especially since these last few years have been spent all over the place.
I’ve spent two days at work so far. Perhaps the only real adjustment that I’ll have to make is to the pace of life and the pace of work. Things just go a lot slowly here, and I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing either. As volunteers we have to realize that we can’t come in and immediately implement a zillion projects. Everything takes time. It also takes a lot of coffees to get the ball rolling and getting to know people. All too often the pace of life in America has seemed overwhelming, bewildering even, to me. All we ever want to talk about is business. You spend so much time at work and barely know anything about the person that sits next to you eight or more hours a day. Some aspects about the way we choose (or accept) to do things seem so dehumanizing. Although there are certainly issues with the hours and output of work here, it’s nice to know that it’s not always about being fixated on instant results. As Americans, the Albanian attitude of “avash, avash,” (“slowly, slowly”) might be a little hard to adjust to, but understanding and adjustment are going to be necessary if we want to work within the established system. I’m looking forward to all the ups and downs that will come over the next two years because they will present me with all kinds of learning opportunities.
Provided I can ever get better. I have had a head cold for two weeks. I got some heavy antibiotics and they are assaulting my stomach. Throw in severe coughing that keeps me up at night and it has been a rough couple weeks, healthwise.
Cliff’s Notes: three weeks ago, I went to a conference in Tirana with all the other volunteers to meet my future counterparts. Immediately afterwards, I spent three days in my future site doing some assessments and meeting people. Then it was back to Elbasan to finish up training, and everything was capped off by a huge ceremony featuring the US Ambassador to Albania. Two days later, I was packing my bags again and trying not to think too hard about the distance of my friends who were once so close or about how much I’d miss my host family.
And that brings us to now. I’ve been in my permanent site for a few days. It’s such a disorienting feeling, being in Albania for two months and knowing places and people, and then being taken out of your element and asked to do it all over again. This usually involves looking weird and/or doing weird things, and being confused about the most simplest of things most of the time. It’s actually kind of hilarious; if not a little depressing considering the fact that it makes me feel like a child all over again. I’m enjoying unpacking and thinking about staying in one place for (gasp) TWO years and the comfort it will afford me. Getting comfortable is not something I’m familiar with, especially since these last few years have been spent all over the place.
I’ve spent two days at work so far. Perhaps the only real adjustment that I’ll have to make is to the pace of life and the pace of work. Things just go a lot slowly here, and I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing either. As volunteers we have to realize that we can’t come in and immediately implement a zillion projects. Everything takes time. It also takes a lot of coffees to get the ball rolling and getting to know people. All too often the pace of life in America has seemed overwhelming, bewildering even, to me. All we ever want to talk about is business. You spend so much time at work and barely know anything about the person that sits next to you eight or more hours a day. Some aspects about the way we choose (or accept) to do things seem so dehumanizing. Although there are certainly issues with the hours and output of work here, it’s nice to know that it’s not always about being fixated on instant results. As Americans, the Albanian attitude of “avash, avash,” (“slowly, slowly”) might be a little hard to adjust to, but understanding and adjustment are going to be necessary if we want to work within the established system. I’m looking forward to all the ups and downs that will come over the next two years because they will present me with all kinds of learning opportunities.
Provided I can ever get better. I have had a head cold for two weeks. I got some heavy antibiotics and they are assaulting my stomach. Throw in severe coughing that keeps me up at night and it has been a rough couple weeks, healthwise.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Community Service
Today marked another key milestone in pre-service training: the implementation of our community projects.
During the last several weeks, we’ve received some classes about project planning, needs assessment, and IRB (“intentional relationship building,” or the polite way of saying making friendships that are first and foremost for your benefit). We originally planned on doing a hike, but ending up changing our plans out of practical consideration. Apparently, some parents might not want their children wondering off into the mountains with strangers from another country. Hiking isn’t the easiest sell here either considering the forced activities in the mountains during communist times.
As volunteers, we have our Albanian lessons at a local high school. During practicum, we also taught at the same school. In an effort to give back to our host community and get to know the students better, we opted instead for an activity day at our school.
There was quite a bit of planning involved and we put a lot of thought into what we would do. Luckily we had the support of the school director and translation help from our teachers which made our work a lot easier. We settled on a date and took care of all the arrangements. In the end, we took 60 of the best students and did two hours of activities. We broke the students up into groups and set up different activity stations. After twenty minutes at a station, students rotated to a new station with a new activity. We did face painting, martial arts, English-language games, musical chairs and a balloon toss. The director supplied us with some plants that we planted together.
I was in charge of having students trace their hands and write things about themselves in English. I have sixty hands in my room right now until we try and figure out what we will do with them. They make great reading because they inspire me about the work I will be doing in the future. Afterwards, we did a scavenger hunt. Although we laughed about it in advance, one of the items on the list was 'something living.' We assumed that would mean a leaf or something. Two minutes into the hunt, a few students started chasing chickens. A few minutes after that, the students brought me a stone, a leaf, a flower... and a chick. A live one. I guess they were right when they told us to give very clear instructions during our technical training sessions.
The hard work is now behind us as the weeks of training continue to wane. In some ways, it seems like it has flown by. In other ways, time has dragged. Next week we will go to the capital for a conference. We will meet our future counterparts at the conference, then we will go to our future sites and spend a few days meeting stakeholders and students, teaching classes, and starting community assessments. I can’t wait.
I am very pleased with how our group has performed as professionals and as language and culture students. I was nervous about how the community project would turn out, but I think it’s safe to call it a success. The students are receptive to us. For the most part, they are eager to learn. Although I will really miss my host family, there is a large part of me that is getting antsy to get in the classroom.
During the last several weeks, we’ve received some classes about project planning, needs assessment, and IRB (“intentional relationship building,” or the polite way of saying making friendships that are first and foremost for your benefit). We originally planned on doing a hike, but ending up changing our plans out of practical consideration. Apparently, some parents might not want their children wondering off into the mountains with strangers from another country. Hiking isn’t the easiest sell here either considering the forced activities in the mountains during communist times.
As volunteers, we have our Albanian lessons at a local high school. During practicum, we also taught at the same school. In an effort to give back to our host community and get to know the students better, we opted instead for an activity day at our school.
There was quite a bit of planning involved and we put a lot of thought into what we would do. Luckily we had the support of the school director and translation help from our teachers which made our work a lot easier. We settled on a date and took care of all the arrangements. In the end, we took 60 of the best students and did two hours of activities. We broke the students up into groups and set up different activity stations. After twenty minutes at a station, students rotated to a new station with a new activity. We did face painting, martial arts, English-language games, musical chairs and a balloon toss. The director supplied us with some plants that we planted together.
I was in charge of having students trace their hands and write things about themselves in English. I have sixty hands in my room right now until we try and figure out what we will do with them. They make great reading because they inspire me about the work I will be doing in the future. Afterwards, we did a scavenger hunt. Although we laughed about it in advance, one of the items on the list was 'something living.' We assumed that would mean a leaf or something. Two minutes into the hunt, a few students started chasing chickens. A few minutes after that, the students brought me a stone, a leaf, a flower... and a chick. A live one. I guess they were right when they told us to give very clear instructions during our technical training sessions.
The hard work is now behind us as the weeks of training continue to wane. In some ways, it seems like it has flown by. In other ways, time has dragged. Next week we will go to the capital for a conference. We will meet our future counterparts at the conference, then we will go to our future sites and spend a few days meeting stakeholders and students, teaching classes, and starting community assessments. I can’t wait.
I am very pleased with how our group has performed as professionals and as language and culture students. I was nervous about how the community project would turn out, but I think it’s safe to call it a success. The students are receptive to us. For the most part, they are eager to learn. Although I will really miss my host family, there is a large part of me that is getting antsy to get in the classroom.
Out of the frying pan
On Thursday, I completed my two-week practicum. I taught in three different schools and to several different classes. I also observed a lot, too. I felt relief once the practicum was over considering that we planned classes, taught lessons, and then had language classes all afternoon. It was incredibly tiring. I’m glad that we got the opportunity to do it but I’m also happy it’s over so I’ll have time to focus on other things.
As a group, we were exposed to a lot of different situations that could be our realities once we get on-site. Between the four of us, we taught a few lessons without having the books, without knowing what lesson we were going to teach until we got to the class (meaning we had about five minutes of preparation), minor inconveniences when it came to class planning and communication, and general confusion. Like so many things in life, you plan and plan and then something completely different ends up happening. The other day in language class, our teacher told us an Albanian saying: “God laughs when we make plans.”
But it’s not all negatives. The practicum and the hurdles we had to jump to keep things running as smoothly as possible make me certain that I will be able to do well here. It’s just nice to have some reassurance.
I had a great conversation with my host parents completely in Albanian. It’s hard to express the frustration of having so much to say and having such a limited way of saying it, but sometimes there are just moments of clarity where it seems like you understand everything and can say exactly what you mean to say. It was just one of those moments and I ran with it. It was nice to expand the conversation into something a little deeper. I asked them more about themselves and they asked more about me and my family. I could explain in more detail about my parents and about what my plans for the future are. I could answer their questions about what my expectations of Albania were. They suggested that I stay here in Albania, find an Albanian husband, and teach English in Tirana.
They asked me what is different here than at home. At this moment, I can honestly say I haven’t had to make many adjustments on an epic scale. It goes back to expectations. I don’t even remember having much of a picture in my mind of what it might be like. The first day or so, I was a little shocked because it was all so new. Now it is all normal. The only thing that is really that different is that sometimes we don’t have power or we won’t have hot water. These are incredibly minor things. I’ve been lucky to land in a great family, first and foremost. Although I am tired almost all of the time and too busy to really think about anything outside the professional realm, all of my needs are being met and I’m doing the things I need to be doing.
In fact, morale is so high that during my mid-training interview/review, I was actually told that my “positive attitude” has really been appreciated. At that moment, I had to cover my mouth to hide a grin that could have easily turned into a chuckle. Or an outburst.
As a group, we were exposed to a lot of different situations that could be our realities once we get on-site. Between the four of us, we taught a few lessons without having the books, without knowing what lesson we were going to teach until we got to the class (meaning we had about five minutes of preparation), minor inconveniences when it came to class planning and communication, and general confusion. Like so many things in life, you plan and plan and then something completely different ends up happening. The other day in language class, our teacher told us an Albanian saying: “God laughs when we make plans.”
But it’s not all negatives. The practicum and the hurdles we had to jump to keep things running as smoothly as possible make me certain that I will be able to do well here. It’s just nice to have some reassurance.
I had a great conversation with my host parents completely in Albanian. It’s hard to express the frustration of having so much to say and having such a limited way of saying it, but sometimes there are just moments of clarity where it seems like you understand everything and can say exactly what you mean to say. It was just one of those moments and I ran with it. It was nice to expand the conversation into something a little deeper. I asked them more about themselves and they asked more about me and my family. I could explain in more detail about my parents and about what my plans for the future are. I could answer their questions about what my expectations of Albania were. They suggested that I stay here in Albania, find an Albanian husband, and teach English in Tirana.
They asked me what is different here than at home. At this moment, I can honestly say I haven’t had to make many adjustments on an epic scale. It goes back to expectations. I don’t even remember having much of a picture in my mind of what it might be like. The first day or so, I was a little shocked because it was all so new. Now it is all normal. The only thing that is really that different is that sometimes we don’t have power or we won’t have hot water. These are incredibly minor things. I’ve been lucky to land in a great family, first and foremost. Although I am tired almost all of the time and too busy to really think about anything outside the professional realm, all of my needs are being met and I’m doing the things I need to be doing.
In fact, morale is so high that during my mid-training interview/review, I was actually told that my “positive attitude” has really been appreciated. At that moment, I had to cover my mouth to hide a grin that could have easily turned into a chuckle. Or an outburst.
Monday, April 20, 2009
A Big Day
Friday was a huge day, probably one of the single most important days I will have over the next two years: site placement announcements. After attending several sessions at a conference for English teachers, the big moment finally came.
Let me preface this by saying that my only concern about placement was how far I’d be from my family. I’d say that in four weeks here, I’ve grown closer to my Albanian family than I ever did in eleven months with my previous host family. So although I tried to be at peace with whatever was in my envelope, I was worried how I would react if I would be far. In bed the night before, I tried to convince myself that everything would be fine even if I wasn’t close to them… that going through PST and moving out was just the natural progression of things, and that even if I would be far, I could always visit.
With these thoughts in mind, I opened up my placement envelope and nervously looked inside. A wave of relief swept over me when I figured out that I would be about an hour away. As I continued to read the details of my placement, I became more and more at ease. On paper, it looks great: very close to Durres, a large city; teaching at a technical high school focusing on business and tourism; close to another very cool volunteer; and a 5KM-long beach. I don’t want to get too excited, but I see a lot of potential and the ability to use my skill set to really serve my community and my students. The site has had two previous volunteers and I would like to continue with some projects that they have started. In a few weeks, I will meet my future counterparts, students and community stakeholders and see my future site. I can’t wait!
We had mid-training reviews in language and technical aspects, and they told me I might as well go home and pack my bags immediately. Kidding! They went great. I appreciate that our teachers and training managers are always giving and asking for feedback. The team has done so much work to help us learn the language, culture, and customs. Another part of the team looks for our housing and identifies placement sites, which oftentimes involves multiple visits to the sites and frequent contact with community leaders and counterparts. It’s a lot of logistics and organization and it is greatly appreciated.
On Tuesday, our teaching practicum begins. During the next two weeks, we will teach classes and observe many more in the mornings. In the afternoons, we will continue with language study and spend Fridays at the central training hub. It’s really going to start picking up around here, but I’ll try my best to update with all the news.
Today we had a cultural day where we made American food and our families brought Albanian food. The food turned into a giant dance party later. My teacher liked the pierogies I painstakingly made and gave me the “may your hands be blessed,” compliment. I’ve cooked a few things for my host family and so far they have been well-received. It’s no small feat given that I have to incredibly alter my recipes through conversion and lack of ingredients. Creativity is key! Tomorrow I’m going to a wedding with my host parents, so I’ll be getting a bite from the dancing bug again tomorrow.
Let me preface this by saying that my only concern about placement was how far I’d be from my family. I’d say that in four weeks here, I’ve grown closer to my Albanian family than I ever did in eleven months with my previous host family. So although I tried to be at peace with whatever was in my envelope, I was worried how I would react if I would be far. In bed the night before, I tried to convince myself that everything would be fine even if I wasn’t close to them… that going through PST and moving out was just the natural progression of things, and that even if I would be far, I could always visit.
With these thoughts in mind, I opened up my placement envelope and nervously looked inside. A wave of relief swept over me when I figured out that I would be about an hour away. As I continued to read the details of my placement, I became more and more at ease. On paper, it looks great: very close to Durres, a large city; teaching at a technical high school focusing on business and tourism; close to another very cool volunteer; and a 5KM-long beach. I don’t want to get too excited, but I see a lot of potential and the ability to use my skill set to really serve my community and my students. The site has had two previous volunteers and I would like to continue with some projects that they have started. In a few weeks, I will meet my future counterparts, students and community stakeholders and see my future site. I can’t wait!
We had mid-training reviews in language and technical aspects, and they told me I might as well go home and pack my bags immediately. Kidding! They went great. I appreciate that our teachers and training managers are always giving and asking for feedback. The team has done so much work to help us learn the language, culture, and customs. Another part of the team looks for our housing and identifies placement sites, which oftentimes involves multiple visits to the sites and frequent contact with community leaders and counterparts. It’s a lot of logistics and organization and it is greatly appreciated.
On Tuesday, our teaching practicum begins. During the next two weeks, we will teach classes and observe many more in the mornings. In the afternoons, we will continue with language study and spend Fridays at the central training hub. It’s really going to start picking up around here, but I’ll try my best to update with all the news.
Today we had a cultural day where we made American food and our families brought Albanian food. The food turned into a giant dance party later. My teacher liked the pierogies I painstakingly made and gave me the “may your hands be blessed,” compliment. I’ve cooked a few things for my host family and so far they have been well-received. It’s no small feat given that I have to incredibly alter my recipes through conversion and lack of ingredients. Creativity is key! Tomorrow I’m going to a wedding with my host parents, so I’ll be getting a bite from the dancing bug again tomorrow.
Monday, April 13, 2009
I am learning!
We are coming up on the end of week three, almost one-third of the way through PST (that’s “Pre-service Training” to those of you not in tune with Peace Corps abbreviations). At this point, we continue to have language lessons 4 – 5 hours per day, Monday through Saturday. We have also begun our community service projects. My group would like to organize a hike/picnic/game day. So we will see how the project continues to develop. One day a week, we get to observe classes in local schools. It’s been quite an eye-opener and has given me a chance to see the rewards and problems of teaching.
This past weekend, I visited the port city of Durres. It has everything a nerd like me could need: history, archaeology museum, a Roman amphitheater, and more history. The visit to Durres was part of a larger weekend that I spent visiting a current volunteer who lives close to the city. The “volunteer visit,” as it is called, gives us an opportunity to see what our lives may be like as volunteers. My volunteer has really created a nice life for herself here. Some of her activities include: teaching at a high school, tutoring her school director and supporting teachers at a private foreign language school. We spent this past Monday following her throughout her daily activities and it has given me a lot to reflect on.
Things are really starting to pick up here as far as work is concerned. Our teaching practica start in just two weeks. During those fourteen days, we will teach, co-teach and observe each others’ classes. It’s a bit of a dry run where we can get some practical experience and some feedback. I am a little nervous, but most of me thinks that just rolling up my sleeves and getting in there is the best approach.
Family life continues to go well. I am integrating into my family, picking up more and more of the language, and I feel supported by the PC staff and by my family. This feeling of comfort has made the adjustment painless for me. I am very grateful and I always make sure to show it.
The people here are amazing. They have shown us guests so many kindnesses, from the most minute to the largest. On our way home from the volunteer visit, our volunteer told two women (a grandmother and granddaughter with baby) where we were going and to look after us. The women engaged us in conversation and lead us by the hand to where we were going when it came time to change furgons. This kind of thing literally happens all the time to us here.
I am meeting many people here, too. Most of the time, I don’t remember their names, but everyone certainly knows who I am. Today I went to a neighboring village to observe a class. A young boy knew who I was, but I didn’t know him. He then told me that I went to a party at his uncle’s house. This kind of thing also happens all the time, but when you’re one of six Americans in a village, you aren’t usually surprised when it does.
This past weekend, I visited the port city of Durres. It has everything a nerd like me could need: history, archaeology museum, a Roman amphitheater, and more history. The visit to Durres was part of a larger weekend that I spent visiting a current volunteer who lives close to the city. The “volunteer visit,” as it is called, gives us an opportunity to see what our lives may be like as volunteers. My volunteer has really created a nice life for herself here. Some of her activities include: teaching at a high school, tutoring her school director and supporting teachers at a private foreign language school. We spent this past Monday following her throughout her daily activities and it has given me a lot to reflect on.
Things are really starting to pick up here as far as work is concerned. Our teaching practica start in just two weeks. During those fourteen days, we will teach, co-teach and observe each others’ classes. It’s a bit of a dry run where we can get some practical experience and some feedback. I am a little nervous, but most of me thinks that just rolling up my sleeves and getting in there is the best approach.
Family life continues to go well. I am integrating into my family, picking up more and more of the language, and I feel supported by the PC staff and by my family. This feeling of comfort has made the adjustment painless for me. I am very grateful and I always make sure to show it.
The people here are amazing. They have shown us guests so many kindnesses, from the most minute to the largest. On our way home from the volunteer visit, our volunteer told two women (a grandmother and granddaughter with baby) where we were going and to look after us. The women engaged us in conversation and lead us by the hand to where we were going when it came time to change furgons. This kind of thing literally happens all the time to us here.
I am meeting many people here, too. Most of the time, I don’t remember their names, but everyone certainly knows who I am. Today I went to a neighboring village to observe a class. A young boy knew who I was, but I didn’t know him. He then told me that I went to a party at his uncle’s house. This kind of thing also happens all the time, but when you’re one of six Americans in a village, you aren’t usually surprised when it does.
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