Having been in country almost thirteen months now, our staging group had the opportunity to train the new Peace Corps trainees this weekend. We hosted the first Uganda Peace Corps “Education Fair” in which myself and 17 other education volunteers made the trek into Lweza (just outside of Kampala) to tell the new peeps about something we were doing.
As we arrived at the training center on Saturday, there was an odd feeling of nostalgia. I was taken back to the first night I arrived in country. I thought of the emotions I was feeling, the thoughts I had, the expectations I had already made that would be shattered later on, the immediate learning experiences and small culture shocks.
Volunteers talked about classroom discipline, conducting practicals, reproductive health, personal fitness, and learning aids. Another volunteer and myself hosted a booth called “Dude, where’s my car counterpart?” We described what it was like to teach at a “bad” school and what to expect if you arrive at a seemingly hopeless and troubling environment.
First of all, I don’t pretend to be an expert in the Ugandan education system. To be able to master the technique of teaching effectively in Uganda I believe would take years. And now I was supposed to explain it to the fresh blood. This is one of the reasons we chose the topic of dealing with a difficult environment.
The sessions went really well. It was great meeting the new trainees and finding out what regions everyone would be headed to in just seven weeks. And what a large group, 44 newbies. This was the first training our group could take part in so we were all really excited and eager to show off our knowledge.
The training session made me reflect on how our perspectives shift as volunteers as we progress through the different stages of the volunteer lifecycle. For instance, whenever you are training new volunteers, it is always important to stay positive and present an optimistic outlook on the work you are doing. However, as volunteers, we acquire a lot of knowledge over the year we’ve been here.
We present that knowledge as the facts and reality of the situations we encounter. To some of the newbies though, this open honesty can often times sound negative or pessimistic. I found the differences in perception very intriguing. I was also reminded of how optimistic and fast-paced we are when we come over from America. It was great to get a small taste of that, if only for a few hours.
Below are a couple pictures of my staging group after the training session on Saturday.
Do you remember looking at the PCVs who came in during training? I used to think, you've been here how long?! What a rock star!
ReplyDeleteHaha funny how un-rock star you feel when it's you that's been here for a year+.