10 months left!

Hi all! You prepared for another long one? I’m just gonna do what I usually do and start my rambling…..
Let’s see, what’s new? I am in Lamut still working in the SPED room and with my English students. For some reason, this past week has been extremely draining. I am getting very frustrated with teacher’s lack of motivation. It seems they only want to do the bare minimum. The result is that the children are suffering. The common excuse I hear from the teachers is that the students don’t understand what they are trying to teach them and they aren’t smart enough so they have to dumb it all down (eg tests made up entirely of multiple choice questions and worksheet after worksheet). I heard from one teacher this morning that she doesn’t make the tests hard because then they won’t pass and it will reflect poorly on her. What they don’t realize is that it’s not the fault of the students here, it’s their poor teaching! They are in need of some teaching seminars, maybe even some seminars to improve their English skills. Hopefully, when the library is finished, I can develop some that I can facilitate at my school. I can’t stand the thought of leaving them this way. Also, I have about had it with my counterpart. We have received a lot of toys for our class and I have made a lot of home made materials. I seem to be the only one to do routine maintenance and inventory of the class and supplies. There are so many things missing because people borrow them and never return them. Or they aren’t put back in the proper place and they are broken or destroyed. Right now we are missing dishes, chairs, cds, pencil sharpener, stapler, and the cd player. I don’t think we will get any of them back. I have been asking around and it turns out that when I do that it reflects poorly on me and my counterpart. I guess it’s shameful to be asking around. In my opinion, it’s shameful that I’ve brought in all of these things only to have them go missing. I am at the point where I feel like all my energy and work is being wasted. I need a motivator or need to have a sit down with the principal – something to work this out. It’s driving me nuts!
As for my students in English, I absolutely love them! Grade 5 and 6 had a cooking contest at the end of last month. I volunteered to be a judge. I went around to all the groups and was bombarded by the students shoving their samples in my face. I had fun being included in something new and they seemed to appreciate my involvement. It turned out my class didn’t get to participate and I was heartbroken. All the other children had so much fun. I was told that the teacher in charge of their class wasn’t interested in doing it. They are tagged as the remedial class and apparently no one at that school thinks they are capable of anything! It’s outrageous! They are all great kids. There are some that never showed up or never did an assignment. I’ve now removed them from class (sounds harsh I know but necessary). The rest that come really enjoy it and I enjoy spending the time with them. I finished my talks about SPED and sign language and they were the last class I visited. I was so excited to see them outside of our regular schedule. It was like these are my kids and I felt we had a special bond that I didn’t with the other classes I visited. It feels really good to feel like that again. I used to feel that way with the kids I cared for back in Iowa City and I miss it. I am so glad I decided to take this class on. I sometimes wonder if my time would be better spent training the teachers.....ya know for the sustainability and all that. But I think teaching this class keeps me sane so I love it! When classes resume in the US, I plan to work out a way to do a pen pal program with another class. I want to do a letter exchange with kids from Lucas Elementary, where I taught before. We could even do a class picture, artifacts, etc. – a whole cultural exchange.
Let’s see, third project? Library. Last week I joined the PTCA meeting. We talked about the needs and the lack of funds. By the end of the meeting, the principal of the PTCA came up with the idea for a local fundraiser. She wants us to have a family day where we sell food, used clothes and household items, play games, and I will sell the toys and things I brought back from the states. I am so excited, especially because it wasn’t my idea! Our school principal thinks we will be able to get all the money we need for the building repairs. I finally received an estimate on the repairs from the engineer at the municipal hall. When I first saw the final cost, I was stressed out. It was ridiculous. After reading more carefully the proposal, I realized that they made an estimate for an entirely new building! We won’t need near the amount it would cost to construct a whole building. We just need new doors and windows, paint, and some electrical wiring. This set us back a bit. We waited for over a month for this estimate and it wasn’t even what we needed. I am starting to feel a time pressure and want to get this going soon. When I get back from my mid service training and appointments I plan to sit down with the school principal and make a time line. We gotta get moving!
So now my life…..I have been doing really well lately. I feel happy about my work, my family, my site, all of it. I think I hit the low point of my service last month and I am coming back from it. I feel really good about the next 10 months of my service. I am feeling good about being on my own too. I’ve always dated someone and the more I put things in perspective, the more I am grateful to have the experience I came here for. I didn’t want to come here to date someone. I wanted to come here and learn about myself. Geez I learned so much last year even when I was dating someone I didn’t think I had more garbage to work through. Surprise to me! I still do! Also surprising is that I don’t feel that lonely any more at site. Sometimes I want someone to sit and watch a movie with or someone who enjoys my American cooking. Sometimes I want someone to complain to about all my frustrations but I’ve resorted to writing all that down. It doesn’t quite do the trick but it helps. I do have friends and family members here in Lamut that I can hang out with whenever I want. It’s just a matter of making the effort with texts or dropping by their houses.
Next week I am going to my friend’s wedding and then I have 2 weeks of dental/medical appointments and seminars. It was supposed to be last June but it was postponed due to the recent arrival of the new batch. I know most volunteers, including myself, are excited for the reunion. A one year motivator.
Oh and by the way, I’ve been researching nursing schools lately. I want to come back to Des Moines next year and get all the prerequisites for a BSN program. I am looking at the Peace Corps Fellows program at Johns Hopkins. They have an accelerated program that would only take me 13.5 months. And there are scholarships available for half tuition. I figure why not use this PCV title to my advantage and go for the best.
Nothing else to report. I was thinking the other day if any of you are into care packages……I would love to have some burned cds. I listed to them when I do my laundry. Country would be nice – new Kenny Chesney? Just putting it out there for those of you with extra time on your hands

Love you all

Eva