Team EVIL

In preparation for the incoming class of education volunteers, our Literacy Coordinator brought a bunch of us together to be on the planning committee and train them when they arrive and learn how to be volunteers. Needless to say she is a plotting genius and gathered some of the wildest personalities we have in our group. All together, it is composed of some of my best friends here and boy do we get crazy when we are together, it is like we have known each other for years. Not only that, but we deliver!

We have been working endlessly to make sure this pre-service training is the best yet, combining all of our experiences and expertise and designing a very new type of training. Everyone has something different to bring to the table and it all comes together seamlessly, having fun the whole way. We decided to name our group Team Education Volunteers In Literacy...hehe. Of course there were tons of hiccups and frustrations, but we really managed to design a great and comprehensive training.

Right now we are with the trainees and things are going extremely well. They are a fantastic group of people with tons of knowledge and experience in education, which is super exciting. Sessions are being delivered and it seems they are learning really quickly. I can't wait to see how it turns out when they are at school and teaching here for the first time. Being involved in training is a great experience because it gives me the chance to alleviate the anxiety they have and give them some great advice on how to approach Peace Corps. I realized by biggest lesson I have learned so far is that I had such giant expectations coming in, to the point they were not realistic. I did not actually grasp what development was or what my role would be until a few months in. Of course that is to be expected and they will need to go through this too, but I am happy to be here to prepare them and help them along the way. Not to mention their energy and excitement is contagious and I am that much more excited to do work at site next year, now that I know what to expect and have a better idea where I want to go with my work.The thing I love about this service is that it has taught me you never stop learning and by putting yourself in new situations and constantly getting out of your comfort zone, you really grow as an individual.I used to think Peace Corps was not for me and I belonged in inner-city schools teaching. I still believe that is where my life is taking me, but that does not mean PC is not for me. I am here because I have things to learn and more to grow before I can continue in teaching and going on to be an administrator. I just have to keep reminding myself to be open to growth and to see what is in front of me...every challenging situation is an opportunity to learn something about myself or about humanity, and that is such a great thing to have. 

Big shout out to my friends and co-trainers. They work so hard, they know so much, and they care so deeply about this work. I love working with them and love working when I am with them. I am blessed to have them and can't wait to bring them in on work at site!   

Well, it's been a year

So our one year mark in country just passed...woohoo!!! Everyone who has been serving before us told us that it is a huge milestone and things really feel differently after; I did not believe them but they certainly were right. It is so strange, the first few months dragged on day after day, but the last few months have flown by. As you can tell I have not been posting on this because I have been so busy, which has been wonderful.

Finished up Term 2 successfully by getting a few of my kiddos to read CVC words! It felt so great to have something tangible and in my sphere of control to work on. I got a grant for a fence around my school approved and started work on that. It was a super long ordeal, but I can officially say now that my school is safe and secure! That means no more pooping in the classrooms by people in the community, no more stealing of teacher resources, we can fix the water storage tanks, and start a ton more development projects next year. We even had a big PTA meeting about it and many parents came out and were so excited about our work. I just hope we can carry that excitement forward. I worked at camp again, where I had the greatest night of my life dealing with amoebas and parasites coming out both ends =). Decided that I loved camp so much that me and some of my best friends out here are going to direct a camp in my part of the country next May; I can't wait! Leadership is really the way to go in this country and we can do so much with the youth. I helped to organize the All Volunteer Conference this year, big success!

This past term I have been mostly involved in preparing for trainings and the incoming group of education volunteers. I am super excited to be doing more with PCVs and helping pass on some knowledge to new volunteers. I definitly have reached a point in my service where I feel very comfortable in my community and know what I can and cannot do, but I also still love working with volunteers. I have oodles of ideas for what to do next year at site and can't wait to carry them out. Peace Corps is totally a hot mess, but you really do learn about yourself and push your comfort levels, often learning how to live uncomfortably. It is not ideal and I still feel passionate about what I did at home rather than development work, but it is also a lot of fun. My lifestyle out here, traveling around and always doing something new, is not something I will have the time to have at home. I have made some amazing, life-long friendships out here and love the work we do when we get together. My goals for next year are to still work on reading and decoding with small groups, but also to build my own professional skills by working on some teacher development. I really have learned to love living in Uganda. There are still days when I just shake my head and wonder why I am here, but then someone I don't know will go completely out of his way to help me with something and give me the biggest smile ever and I remember why I am here. There is something beautiful that happens when two people from two totally different places can communicate, understand each other, and work together. Uganda has some real issues that really need to change, I am here to empower people to stand up and make those changes.