It's quite common to be slapped/smacked by people down here. Mid-conversation, mid-silence, sometimes you see it coming, other times it's out of the blue. Sometimes it stings and makes a resounding SMAAACK!, other times, it's a more humble tap. It can be on your leg, your arm... even your forehead. After you feel and hear the seemingly non sequitor tap, you look down or at your assailant, and realize they are swatting at or away mosquitoes, caborra or black flies.
oh. um, thank you.
On a side note, have you ever considered the Meaning of Life for a fly? I mean, what incorrigible little pests are they?! "I'm touching you, I'm touching you - HA! you can't get me, you can't get me!" *nibble, nibble* "Ha! You can't get me!" Besides frequenting the local dung heap, and then later your food, that's about it for them. I bet they find their irritations to be quite satisfying. What sadists.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Confessions of a PCV:
I think this is one of the more typical 'confessions' of PCVs around but...
I sometimes feel guilty for getting more out of this than I feel I am giving. It feels like I am truly getting so much more. Seriously. It's like I don't even want to divulge how I'm benefitting because Peace Corps would pull me out or shut down if they realized how much fun I'm (we're) having.
Do people know how fun it is?
Do people know how much I am learning? How HANDS-ON I am learning and doing?
Do people know how close I become to people, how they are regarded as dearest friends?
Do people know how much freedom I have to work with people? I can be a nursery teacher, a librarian, a coach, a fisherwoman, a hostess, a cook, a drama teacher, an MC, a computer techie, a writer, a photographer...
Do people know how many exotic animals I get to see and touch?
Do people know that a hammock is a major part of my day?
Do people know job satisfaction is considered reading to a child, seeing a child read to themselves, having a child produce artwork, seeing someone speak up when it's needed, watching a co-worker take initiative for the first time, singing with children?
Do people know how self-esteem boosting it feels to have people tell you every day how they want you around and are helping?
Do people know how laughing has become as natural as breathing?
Do people know how provided for I am?
If they only knew... You won't tell, will you?
I sometimes feel guilty for getting more out of this than I feel I am giving. It feels like I am truly getting so much more. Seriously. It's like I don't even want to divulge how I'm benefitting because Peace Corps would pull me out or shut down if they realized how much fun I'm (we're) having.
Do people know how fun it is?
Do people know how much I am learning? How HANDS-ON I am learning and doing?
Do people know how close I become to people, how they are regarded as dearest friends?
Do people know how much freedom I have to work with people? I can be a nursery teacher, a librarian, a coach, a fisherwoman, a hostess, a cook, a drama teacher, an MC, a computer techie, a writer, a photographer...
Do people know how many exotic animals I get to see and touch?
Do people know that a hammock is a major part of my day?
Do people know job satisfaction is considered reading to a child, seeing a child read to themselves, having a child produce artwork, seeing someone speak up when it's needed, watching a co-worker take initiative for the first time, singing with children?
Do people know how self-esteem boosting it feels to have people tell you every day how they want you around and are helping?
Do people know how laughing has become as natural as breathing?
Do people know how provided for I am?
If they only knew... You won't tell, will you?
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Sunday, Funday
I get "left behind again" on a trip to Shulinab and I couldn't care less. CH crew has been out and about lately and I've either missed the ride or didn't look for the ride. I don't like being overlooked, but I don't mind being left behind. For one, there's a delicious quiet time when everyone is out. But, also -
Can they understand how rewarding, enjoying and just plain FUN it is to hang around in the village?
Games on the sandbank of the Rups River this afternoon. Fifty people, more or less, all around, bathing, washing and sports - East side vs. West side. Taking in the water, sun, the landscape; watching people enjoying themselves; reveling in the fact that we have this all the time; PARTICIPATING in the activities and laughing, running and playing...
I tried to take it all in - Clifton with his busted knee giving me and Franzea a ride down, Oswin wearing Delene's tights to bathe because he only walked with long pants, Cindy with her mass of long, thick hair wound up in a massive bun, Dillon in his Dolce & Cabana t-shirt that beautifully clung to his ripped upper body; Oren, Myron and other young boys donning sage branches as hats or cammo and dancing and maneuvering the river; Vaughn swimming all decked out in long pants, shirt, jacket, had and shades; Mark sitting in the water with HIS chiq shades; Novellena bathing and playing in her cubbing-like top, and tons of kids running all over in excitement and energy.
A CD player was brought down and music was playing. The water at the river is low, has been lately, low enough to have ample sandbanks and mostly effortless to swim/wade across. Volleyball net was set up and girls played first: Cindy, Delene, Florencia, Franzea and me making up East side and Juliet, Lornita, Kelly, Alice and someone esle for West side. Oh, we had some great volleys! I forgot how fun it is to play in the sand. It was relaxed, yet serious at the same time. Easy to play with these girls. We lost, 1 to 3. My arms got red from the hard ball, got sand all over, but I hardly noticed. Games finished and the girls walked into the river to rinse off and cool down.
Boys played - Dillon, Vaughn, Oswin and Abla for East side, Roland, Mark, Andrew for West side. The guys are GOOD. Oswin, though short, packs a lot of energy, muscle and precision. Then came football, which I initially said I'd just watch, but then joined in anyway. It was surprisingly exciting. Though there was the hazard of sand in your eye/mouth and there was a strict hands-off rule, it was somehow easier for me to jump in there for kicking, chasing and trying to steal the ball. Musta been the sand. It definitely is a contact, coordination and endurance sport. I think these periods only lasted 20 minutes long, and I was grateful for that. I kept up well enough. Franzea said after "I didn't know you could move like that!" We tied, then did a shoot out thing and eventually, West Side won.
Boys started playing, but Frannie and me crossed back over, bathed (it started to rain, just adding to the beauty - and of course, everyone carried on as normal), and we got another ride up from Clifton. It was just... great. I felt happy, light, connected, in the moment, appreciative.
I know I wouldn't have had much of a chance to feel that way had I gone to Shulinab with "the crew." Speaking of crews, Dillon mentioned a trip to Mapari over Easter! That'd be GREAT! The best of both worlds, right? Getting out and about, and doing it with a village 'crew.' I'm quite excited for it, and this time, I'd walk much more prepared than last time.
Can they understand how rewarding, enjoying and just plain FUN it is to hang around in the village?
Games on the sandbank of the Rups River this afternoon. Fifty people, more or less, all around, bathing, washing and sports - East side vs. West side. Taking in the water, sun, the landscape; watching people enjoying themselves; reveling in the fact that we have this all the time; PARTICIPATING in the activities and laughing, running and playing...
I tried to take it all in - Clifton with his busted knee giving me and Franzea a ride down, Oswin wearing Delene's tights to bathe because he only walked with long pants, Cindy with her mass of long, thick hair wound up in a massive bun, Dillon in his Dolce & Cabana t-shirt that beautifully clung to his ripped upper body; Oren, Myron and other young boys donning sage branches as hats or cammo and dancing and maneuvering the river; Vaughn swimming all decked out in long pants, shirt, jacket, had and shades; Mark sitting in the water with HIS chiq shades; Novellena bathing and playing in her cubbing-like top, and tons of kids running all over in excitement and energy.
A CD player was brought down and music was playing. The water at the river is low, has been lately, low enough to have ample sandbanks and mostly effortless to swim/wade across. Volleyball net was set up and girls played first: Cindy, Delene, Florencia, Franzea and me making up East side and Juliet, Lornita, Kelly, Alice and someone esle for West side. Oh, we had some great volleys! I forgot how fun it is to play in the sand. It was relaxed, yet serious at the same time. Easy to play with these girls. We lost, 1 to 3. My arms got red from the hard ball, got sand all over, but I hardly noticed. Games finished and the girls walked into the river to rinse off and cool down.
Boys played - Dillon, Vaughn, Oswin and Abla for East side, Roland, Mark, Andrew for West side. The guys are GOOD. Oswin, though short, packs a lot of energy, muscle and precision. Then came football, which I initially said I'd just watch, but then joined in anyway. It was surprisingly exciting. Though there was the hazard of sand in your eye/mouth and there was a strict hands-off rule, it was somehow easier for me to jump in there for kicking, chasing and trying to steal the ball. Musta been the sand. It definitely is a contact, coordination and endurance sport. I think these periods only lasted 20 minutes long, and I was grateful for that. I kept up well enough. Franzea said after "I didn't know you could move like that!" We tied, then did a shoot out thing and eventually, West Side won.
Boys started playing, but Frannie and me crossed back over, bathed (it started to rain, just adding to the beauty - and of course, everyone carried on as normal), and we got another ride up from Clifton. It was just... great. I felt happy, light, connected, in the moment, appreciative.
I know I wouldn't have had much of a chance to feel that way had I gone to Shulinab with "the crew." Speaking of crews, Dillon mentioned a trip to Mapari over Easter! That'd be GREAT! The best of both worlds, right? Getting out and about, and doing it with a village 'crew.' I'm quite excited for it, and this time, I'd walk much more prepared than last time.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Bared Beauty
I've considered myself an optimist, a lover and Laugher of Life. Most of the time, anyways.
But - being down here has sort of made it even easier to see the beauty or humour or goodness of a situation much more. I find myself looking at so many people adoringly, appreciating how unique and special and fitting they are. (Maybe this is because it's so much easier to see the ugliness and harshness of certain things, too.)
Every day, I see someone or something that makes me sit back, contented. The breeze, the wide expanse of savannah, the flowers, the fruit trees, the colourful macaws. I get excited over water flowing through the taps, over sun-dried bedsheets.
I look at the people around me and endearingly notice both their similarities and differences and adore them for it, appreciating their different life forces.
Words like "love" and "beautiful" - I find myself using and feeling them so much more now, realizing it's so easy to find, if you're looking for it. I know that just as much beauty and love can be found back home...
... and I hope I will carry this even greater appreciation for life when I go back home. Same and different types of both.
What a wonderful thing, isn't it? To notice the beauty and love all around? What things do you look at each day and think "Hmmmmm. Beautiful." ??
But - being down here has sort of made it even easier to see the beauty or humour or goodness of a situation much more. I find myself looking at so many people adoringly, appreciating how unique and special and fitting they are. (Maybe this is because it's so much easier to see the ugliness and harshness of certain things, too.)
Every day, I see someone or something that makes me sit back, contented. The breeze, the wide expanse of savannah, the flowers, the fruit trees, the colourful macaws. I get excited over water flowing through the taps, over sun-dried bedsheets.
I look at the people around me and endearingly notice both their similarities and differences and adore them for it, appreciating their different life forces.
Words like "love" and "beautiful" - I find myself using and feeling them so much more now, realizing it's so easy to find, if you're looking for it. I know that just as much beauty and love can be found back home...
... and I hope I will carry this even greater appreciation for life when I go back home. Same and different types of both.
What a wonderful thing, isn't it? To notice the beauty and love all around? What things do you look at each day and think "Hmmmmm. Beautiful." ??
Nature's Little Snack Packs
For $100 GYD (about 50 cents, US) you can buy 10 tangerines here, which pack more juice, more flavor, more goodness than any snack food back home, and are locally grown, picked and sold.
The $100, is, of course, when you aren't given them for free, which happens more often than not.
The $100, is, of course, when you aren't given them for free, which happens more often than not.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Another shining PC day:
Thursday is Teacher Meeting Day... wooo........... yeah, not so much. GUY22 has arrived and I hosted a PCT for the week. Kate came on Monday, and I took her through what I do on a normal basis. I told her Thursday was the best Peace Corps example I could give her.
It's been three weeks since our last teacher's meeting. Last week was Mash activities, the week before was prep for Mash activities. The week before that, we had talked about questions. The differences between open-ended and close-ended questions, and using the 5W's (and H) to get your students to express more, verbal and written. We tried organizing the answers the the questions in brainstorm webs. We worked on one as a group, then I asked the teachers to bring one of their own for our next teachers' meeting.
I was all ready to continue with our "Questions" sessions, I had creative activities to do, etc. And, as Peace Corps requests, Kate would help facilitate that meeting. I looked forward to the collaboration.
Except, Thursday at lunch (about 3 hours before the meeting), our HM asked for help with explaining how to do components of the teachers' Notes of Lesson (lesson plans). She equipped Kate with a handbook and suggested we look at the grade one teacher's Notes of Lesson for Science or something. Um, ok.
We both were a little unsure, and didn't really have much time, but we said we'd do what we could. So, after lunch, we sat down, poured through the handbook, the Notes of Lesson and the textbook. The HM wanted help with showing teachers how to better write the Specific Objectives of their lessons. We sort of paraphrased our interpretation of the handbook's instruction on writing Specific Objectives and then threw in there our creative ways for doing a lesson, too. We turned our brainstorming into a handout for the teachers as well as an exercise with the science lesson. We printed it out and finished with a couple minutes to spare. The snacks were ready, we were prepared. I was pleased with ourselves and optimistic.
Then, Toshao comes and asks if he can use the upstairs in the library for a meeting for 30 minutes. Well, we have the teachers' meeting up there at 3.... he says it won't take more than 30 minutes, that'll give us time, plus the HM was in the meeting. News to me. Ok... It turned 2:45, and the HM and some other teachers still hadn't reached yet, so the meeting hadn't started yet, and when it DID start, the HM would be still occupied... Then the other teachers reached, and one brave spokesperson said the teachers wanted to go get vaccinations for their babies at the health post. That could take all afternoon...
Well, there's no arguing with that! Mentally, I throw my hands up in the air in exasperation and resignation. Out loud, with a laugh, I say then we'll have to reschedule it for the next afternoon. I was SO prepared, and SO optimistic for how it would go, thinking maybe this would be a breakthrough on working WITH the teachers, on truly integrating the library and creativity with the school and formalities, but then thing after thing got in the way to change things. Kate good-naturedly said this sort of thing always happened at her old job. (Which tells me she'll do fine here as a PCV.)
So, we held it on Friday. Some teachers still didn't show (like the one in particular our HM wanted to benefit from the session), a lot didn't participate in our interactive parts, and almost no one gave feedback as to how the session went. But, we assisted our HM with something she wanted the teachers to work on, AND - one teacher asked "What about my composition notes of lesson? Could you help with that?" So, next teachers' meeting, we will use Miss' grade 3 composition notes of lesson as an additional exercise. That's cool. A step.
We are here to for specific and non-specific reasons. We are here because we feel we can facilitate improvement to not only our specific projects (such as health and education) but living habits and life skills. We are here to explicitly facilitate development in an environment foreign to our one back home. Projects, setbacks and satisfactions like these happen back home, as well, but it seems more vivid here, for some reason.
So I was thinking about it and I decided that besides a passion to help, and technical skills, there are three qualities I feel are most important to be a (good, successful) Peace Corps Volunteer:
1) Flexibility.
2) Diplomacy.
3) Creativity.
They are, as they say down here, "a must." Otherwise, your passion and skills won't mean anything. (An ability to laugh helps, too.)
It's been three weeks since our last teacher's meeting. Last week was Mash activities, the week before was prep for Mash activities. The week before that, we had talked about questions. The differences between open-ended and close-ended questions, and using the 5W's (and H) to get your students to express more, verbal and written. We tried organizing the answers the the questions in brainstorm webs. We worked on one as a group, then I asked the teachers to bring one of their own for our next teachers' meeting.
I was all ready to continue with our "Questions" sessions, I had creative activities to do, etc. And, as Peace Corps requests, Kate would help facilitate that meeting. I looked forward to the collaboration.
Except, Thursday at lunch (about 3 hours before the meeting), our HM asked for help with explaining how to do components of the teachers' Notes of Lesson (lesson plans). She equipped Kate with a handbook and suggested we look at the grade one teacher's Notes of Lesson for Science or something. Um, ok.
We both were a little unsure, and didn't really have much time, but we said we'd do what we could. So, after lunch, we sat down, poured through the handbook, the Notes of Lesson and the textbook. The HM wanted help with showing teachers how to better write the Specific Objectives of their lessons. We sort of paraphrased our interpretation of the handbook's instruction on writing Specific Objectives and then threw in there our creative ways for doing a lesson, too. We turned our brainstorming into a handout for the teachers as well as an exercise with the science lesson. We printed it out and finished with a couple minutes to spare. The snacks were ready, we were prepared. I was pleased with ourselves and optimistic.
Then, Toshao comes and asks if he can use the upstairs in the library for a meeting for 30 minutes. Well, we have the teachers' meeting up there at 3.... he says it won't take more than 30 minutes, that'll give us time, plus the HM was in the meeting. News to me. Ok... It turned 2:45, and the HM and some other teachers still hadn't reached yet, so the meeting hadn't started yet, and when it DID start, the HM would be still occupied... Then the other teachers reached, and one brave spokesperson said the teachers wanted to go get vaccinations for their babies at the health post. That could take all afternoon...
Well, there's no arguing with that! Mentally, I throw my hands up in the air in exasperation and resignation. Out loud, with a laugh, I say then we'll have to reschedule it for the next afternoon. I was SO prepared, and SO optimistic for how it would go, thinking maybe this would be a breakthrough on working WITH the teachers, on truly integrating the library and creativity with the school and formalities, but then thing after thing got in the way to change things. Kate good-naturedly said this sort of thing always happened at her old job. (Which tells me she'll do fine here as a PCV.)
So, we held it on Friday. Some teachers still didn't show (like the one in particular our HM wanted to benefit from the session), a lot didn't participate in our interactive parts, and almost no one gave feedback as to how the session went. But, we assisted our HM with something she wanted the teachers to work on, AND - one teacher asked "What about my composition notes of lesson? Could you help with that?" So, next teachers' meeting, we will use Miss' grade 3 composition notes of lesson as an additional exercise. That's cool. A step.
We are here to for specific and non-specific reasons. We are here because we feel we can facilitate improvement to not only our specific projects (such as health and education) but living habits and life skills. We are here to explicitly facilitate development in an environment foreign to our one back home. Projects, setbacks and satisfactions like these happen back home, as well, but it seems more vivid here, for some reason.
So I was thinking about it and I decided that besides a passion to help, and technical skills, there are three qualities I feel are most important to be a (good, successful) Peace Corps Volunteer:
1) Flexibility.
2) Diplomacy.
3) Creativity.
They are, as they say down here, "a must." Otherwise, your passion and skills won't mean anything. (An ability to laugh helps, too.)
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