Model School

Model school has started! Basically, it's student teaching en Francais. For one hour each day, I teach geometry (again) to the troisieme class which is the equivalent of 9th grade in the US system but more like 11th/12th age-wise. I feel that I should have paid more attention in physics because I will be teaching vecteurs (vectors for you Americans out there) for about two and a half weeks. It's really hard to get excited about vectors but being enthusiastic in the classroom is basically what I have going for me right now. Donc, game on.

I'm actually really satisfied with my progress with French currently. I can teach an hour class without reading from my notes and have the vocabulary and ability to convey my meaning, at least for now. What I need to work on is getting the kids to talk more in the class. Despite my production of French, my comprehension is severely lacking. I find it really really tough to understand what people are saying back to me. Thus, in my real class in a few months, it will be so hard to understand and respond to questions. We'll see.

Today's lesson is on the definition of colinear, vector wise. I should probably be psyching myself up for teaching and not writing a blog post. Hmmm. Maybe. Peut-etre. Je ne sais pas. Meh. Ca va aller, am I right?

(Oh, and training is referred to as Stage here [pronounced stahhje] and there's a prom coming up. But I'm taking a break from committeeing this time after the July 4th blowout. Sooo there's that.)

Sick Pt. 2

So you might be wondering what a typical day is like for me right now. (Let you remind you that I still have five more weeks of training until I'm at my true site to work.)

Well! I wake up at 6 each morning well after the rest of my host family. This morning, my mother has been roasting peanuts outside my little apartment room for an hour already. I exercise a bit in my room and then head out to get water in my bucket from the giant pots in the courtyard. We always try to keep these full by using the pump, a five minute walk. I take a bucket bath and my sister brings me tea and bread and butter when I have changed. I brush my teeth, lock up my room, and I ride the 20 minutes to the FDC training center for classes. One day I did it during a torrential downpour. Rainy season!

At the center the 33 Education volunteers and sometimes the 10 daba peeps will sit in on a security lecture or other topic. There are also a ton of language classes. I was in Inter-low and have just moved up to Inter-mid in my French. Inter-high is passing for the peace corps by the end of training and frankly I'm impressed with myself about my progress. In these classes, we basically talk non-stop about various topics or play a game. We've done truth or dare and debated capital punishment. En Francais.

After 4 2 hr classes, we're free! Sometimes we'll hang out at a local restaurante, swap media, read, or go home to our host families. When we've done that, we bucket bath again, eat our riz sauce or riz gras and talk with our families until we pass out. I sometimes break out the harmonica. Yeah.

And that's a typical day! Next week I think I'll focus on the foods.                                                                          

Sick....

Well, I'm sick for the first time really since I've gotten here. It's... not pleasant. But others have it much worse than me. (Someone told me once, "Never trust a fart.") Anywho, enough toilet talk.

I have had to borrow an internet key every other week or so and thus updates have been scarce. When I move to my new site in the Cascades region, I will have electricity in-house and, thus, my priority is to pay for internet. And for a fridge. And for a blender. But that's it. Everything else I could possibly want is already at my house. I've got a large living room/ kitchen, a rec room, a study, my bedroom, and a shower room. (No running water though.) Also, when I say there's a rec room, I mean that I'm planning on building a ping pong table there. For rec. Comprends-tu?

Guys, (and girls), I am so utterly psyched for my site. I got the sweet hook-up fo' sho'. Although, it actually made me feel somewhat bad. Did the Peace Corps not think I could rough it? Cause I had resigned myself to a lot of struggles which I will NOT have now at site. I have a faucet and a water barrel just outside my house. I have the equivalent of a convenience store next door. There's a one-screen movie theatre in town. It's really impressive. I'm hoping I can really play this hand I've been dealt and do some amazing work.

Site Announcement!

AHHHHHH. We find out our sites tomorrow! There's a ridiculous diversity in site options here, with elephants to the south, desert to the north, and waterfalls out west. Then, it's two months left until I move out to my site and begin teaching Math. (I don't know what grade or anything like that either yet.)

But here's some tidbits on how life is different here in the Faso, just in case you were interested.
1. I take bucket baths under the stars.
2. Lightning here is pink.
3. I've seen a cow head split open and butchered.
4. Rain here is always accompanied by a MASSIVE dust storm immediately before.
5. I ride my bike maybe 4km each day?
6. No English when I'm at home. French and Moore only.
7. I pump water each day with my host sisters.
8. It's HOT.

Oh! And I taught my sisters how to say "Ain't nuthin' but a thang." Let's hear it for Peace Corps goal #2!

Touchdown

So Matt, (I'm assuming you're asking), what is the process like to apply to the Peace Corps? Well, I won't tell you. Yet. I'm much too tired and it's a loooong process. What I will tell you is that I'm here, in country, and life is swell. La vie est belle. At this hotel compound, they feed us, there's showers, we got free bug spray. Seriously, the good life. I got fitted for my bike which is replacing my trusty 95 Jeep Cherokee steed. No thoughts on a name yet though. I'll take suggestions.

I'm learning French slowly. I need to develop the ear for it and then I'll take off. I trust. I KNOW. Definitely one of the great trials. At least I could say that the curtains were grey in my language evaluation. Well, I think they were asking what color they were... Doesn't matter!

La vie est belle.

Goodbye my Dowry, goodbye my friend.

I got my tent and my 220V converter and it's on. It's on, it's on, and I'm home. And I'm waiting to go. Seriously  though, it has been a one month long waiting room here in NY. Although, there always seems to be a new loose end which pops up every time I think I've finished all of my work.

Speaking of! I only have two weeks to sell my car. Anyone want a cheap Jeep? You only need to water her once a month and she's ever so loyal. Usually. Shh.

Accountablity

Hello and welcome to my blog! The real introduction is coming; however, felt moved to include this as my first post. When I was first accepted into the Peace Corps, I was asked to send an aspiration statement to my host country. You can find the first section from this statement blow. These are my preliminary thoughts about the challenges facing me and a brief history of how I came to apply for this job as well as my preparations for it. By revealing this to you, I can be held accountability for my goals and attitude while overseas. Please enjoy.

At the beginning of 2011, I resolved to be bold and take chances. I never would have dreamed, at the time, how my life would change so dramatically as a result. After spending a month with my college in Costa Rica, I decided to pursue service in the Peace Corps. Once I graduated in May, I worked with Habitat for Humanity and at a factory, gaining valuable experience riveting, hammering, and drilling. This led me to an opportunity to help manage flood relief for a small town in the Catskill Mountains. Here, I was thrust into a chaotic environment, knowing no one, with destruction all around me. I planned on staying for five days and ended up committing to three months of work. Although the town will not recover fully for years, I was able to see it begin to stabilize before I left. Of course, during this time I was also taking French classes and completing my Peace Corps requirements. I am currently teaching Math at a high school in Pennsylvania and will do so until I leave for Burkina Faso.

Looking back at this year, I realize that I have already begun my pre-service training (in a way). In Costa Rica, I became more comfortable attempting a second language, even when I was not proficient, and improved greatly as a result. In the factory, I learned skills that will help me deal with any problems I may face when living on my own. Through working with flood relief, I gained experience with dealing with loss, taking initiative for projects, working with organizations and seeking funding, and working as a team. Finally, I am developing my own teaching abilities for when I have classes in Burkina Faso. Overall, I feel that I have truly been pushed and pulled in many different directions, allowing me to become more flexible and ready for the challenges that service abroad will present me.

I plan on using my organizational skills, creativity, responsibility, and willingness to go the extra mile to serve others throughout my assignment. I have a strong work ethic and do not give up easily. However, I just cannot foresee what my service in Burkina Faso will require of me. I understand that it will be a unique challenge to determine what my role will be and what I can undertake on my own to better my local community. At the very least, I know I will be using my past experiences as a template for how to continue serving and interacting with others abroad. I trust my ability to adapt to any situation will allow me to be an effective member of the community at which I will be stationed.

Also, I recognize that sometimes the fruit of one’s labor is not immediately visible. I seek to make a difference in at least one person’s life during my service. Ideally, I hope to bring relief to my area in Burkina Faso by supplying education for its children. Nonetheless, I aspire to excel in all I do and to learn just as much from the Burkinabe (if not much, much more so!) as they will hopefully learn from me.