As a trainee, every weekday is scheduled and structured – Peace
Corps tells me where to go, when to be there, and what to do. (One trainee
skipped the first hour of training a few days ago, and Peace Corps flipped out
and contacted the police, looked for him at the hospital, and called Peace
Corps headquarters in DC – we’re on a very short leash!) This will differ
significantly from my schedule once I become a volunteer. So I thought I’d give
a little snapshot of my day as a trainee, and I’ll do this again in September or
so to contrast trainee and volunteer daily life.
6:30 AM – Wake up, take bucket shower, apply sunscreen (I
apply at least 3 times a day but I’m still getting red!), eat breakfast
(usually cereal, eggs, or spam)
7:30 AM – Walk to Ohmine School for training, which takes
about 30 minutes
The view on my walk to school!
8 AM – Morning training sessions begin (in theory – we
usually all arrive late and don’t get started until about 8:20)
Morning sessions are on teaching English as a second
language, particularly in the context of the Micronesian classroom. We have
this session with local Pohnpeian teachers that are taking the class to get
certified. This week we begin “model school,” which is basically a two-week
summer school program. More details on that next post!
Ohmine School with a RAINBOW!!!
12 PM – Lunch break! We only have a $6 daily stipend so we
have to find cheap food! Luckily there are lots of food stands that offer
chicken and rice for $2.50, fried bananas for $1, taro or breadfruit for $1,
etc.
1:30 PM – Afternoon sessions begin (again, we usually start
late)
Afternoon sessions are focused on safety and security,
cross-cultural issues, and medical care. After we get our site assignments we
will have language classes during this slot.
5 PM – Training ends for the day. I walk home with other
volunteers, but we usually stop along the way, so I don’t get home until 6
Dinner is sometime between 6 and 9 – we don’t have a
consistent schedule. My nohno typically makes fish, pig, or chicken with rice.
Sometimes we get some vegetables. I do the dishes when nohno lets me, but she’s
very resistant to the idea of me helping around the house.
After dinner I read, write in my journal, or play cards with
the kids (they LOVE uno). Sometimes I help Leitina with her math homework. A
few days ago they taught me “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” in Pohnpeian!
with Leitina and Galeb (not sure why the photo got stretched...)
Two more of Ruth’s kids have come back to live with her (I
swear, each time I come back to the house there are new children living here).
BJ and JJ are twins and are seven years old.
9-10 PM – I’m too tired to stay up later, so I take another
bucket shower (it’s VERY necessary to shower twice a day here) and go to bed.
The weekends are very long – I’m not used to having so
little to do! On Saturdays the trainees sometimes get together for hiking or
exploring more of the island. Otherwise I play with Leitina and Galeb, visit
the family relatives (they all live on the same street), write a blog post,
etc. The people here are very good at simply being – I haven’t perfected the art yet and I get bored easily!
When I can’t stand it anymore I trek over to an internet café for an hour to
send emails and post this!
No comments:
Post a Comment