In the Peace Corps you have good days and bad. Good weeks and bad. Good months and bad. Lately I've been having a rough time of it. I've been homesick, got bronchitis, the food hasn't been that good lately, the weather is trying to hold on to winter, and I'm at the point in the year when most first year teachers start to burn out. Then you add on top of this that you're in a foreign country and your usual Ben and Jerry's pick-me-up is unavailable, and all this can make for a cranky Jessie. Actually, I've heard that a lot of volunteers have been having a rough time lately, so I guess it's just that time of year.
Teaching yesterday was hard, I hadn't slept well and was in a bad mood. My partner criticized me for drinking water in front of the students (I still haven't figured that one out). And our school director is in some sort of a funk that has put all the teachers on edge.
Yesterday was also a religious holiday. There are so many here that I don't keep track. But it was something to do with being the first day of spring. I got home and one of my host mom's friends was waiting there with a towel and home-made bread as a present for me. I thanked her profusely, went to my room and ate the bread with the peanut butter I just got in a care package from my mom. Some how that righted things. That and the Girl Scout cookies. Things are looking up.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Vice Presidental Visit
Yesterday Vice President Joe Biden visited Moldova. He gave a speech that was open to the public in front of the Opera House. The lines started early in the morning. Most of the volunteers ended up clustered in groups throughout the crowd to wait out the "line". Lines in Moldova tend to be more of clusters.
I like this picture of Mia popping up through the crowd. She's in the gray hat in the lower right.
Security was tight.
And Erin ended up carrying a lot of other people's stuff in her purse. Thanks!
Once we finally got into the event, most volunteers ended up on the stage behind Biden. Here are some shots from the platform. Although we weren't allowed to take pictures once he took the stage.
More security.
We all hung out for a few hours waiting on the platform. Lots of hurry up and wait.
Afterward we were happy to be able to sit down and get off our feet for a few minutes. Isn't that a lovely line of Americans?
After the public speech, Mr. Biden gave a private speech for just the Americans (the Embassy, Foreign Service, Peace Corps, etc.) We had to go through security again and Marlene told the nice secret service men that she couldn't find her cell phone. Their response was "don't worry, we'll find it for you" and they did (in her purse). Thanks guys!
He invited the children up on the stage with him. It reminded me of the childrens' sermon at church.
He also gave a talk just to the Peace Corps volunteers. My favorite quote was "If there was ever a time to be really engaged in world... this is the moment."
And I got a picture!
If you would like an interesting analysis of the political nature of the speech, Professor Rod Garnett has a great blog post: http://rodneygarnett.blogspot.com/
I like this picture of Mia popping up through the crowd. She's in the gray hat in the lower right.
Security was tight.
And Erin ended up carrying a lot of other people's stuff in her purse. Thanks!
Once we finally got into the event, most volunteers ended up on the stage behind Biden. Here are some shots from the platform. Although we weren't allowed to take pictures once he took the stage.
More security.
We all hung out for a few hours waiting on the platform. Lots of hurry up and wait.
Afterward we were happy to be able to sit down and get off our feet for a few minutes. Isn't that a lovely line of Americans?
After the public speech, Mr. Biden gave a private speech for just the Americans (the Embassy, Foreign Service, Peace Corps, etc.) We had to go through security again and Marlene told the nice secret service men that she couldn't find her cell phone. Their response was "don't worry, we'll find it for you" and they did (in her purse). Thanks guys!
He invited the children up on the stage with him. It reminded me of the childrens' sermon at church.
He also gave a talk just to the Peace Corps volunteers. My favorite quote was "If there was ever a time to be really engaged in world... this is the moment."
And I got a picture!
If you would like an interesting analysis of the political nature of the speech, Professor Rod Garnett has a great blog post: http://rodneygarnett.blogspot.com/
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
I don't think that word means what you think it means
Because both English and Romanian are Latin based languages, they have some words in common. For instance "responsabilitate" is Romanian for "responsibility," "creativitate" is "creativity". There are also words that are similar, but a little different. The word "loc" in Romanian means seat or place rather than location and a library is actually what we would call a bookstore.
Then there are some words in Romanian that are obviously taken from English because they are modern and there was no term for them in Romanian. For example: seminar, laptop, and weekend. So when I find myself stuck not knowing a word, I use a trick that was taught to me by my mentor. Say the English word with a Romanian accent and ending, and it just might work. So that's what I've been doing for the last few months when I come up not knowing a word in class. And it was only a matter of time before this strategy came back to bite me on the ass.
Yesterday in class we were discussing cancer and its various causes. I was trying to explain how chemical pollution, like mercury in the water or an incident like Chernobyl, can cause some forms of cancer. I described this as "polutia chemice." Unfortunately for me the correct term was "polluare chemice." Today, while we were writing lesson plans, my partner explained to me that "polutia" is actually the Romanian term for ejaculation.
.
.
.
.
Damnit.
Then there are some words in Romanian that are obviously taken from English because they are modern and there was no term for them in Romanian. For example: seminar, laptop, and weekend. So when I find myself stuck not knowing a word, I use a trick that was taught to me by my mentor. Say the English word with a Romanian accent and ending, and it just might work. So that's what I've been doing for the last few months when I come up not knowing a word in class. And it was only a matter of time before this strategy came back to bite me on the ass.
Yesterday in class we were discussing cancer and its various causes. I was trying to explain how chemical pollution, like mercury in the water or an incident like Chernobyl, can cause some forms of cancer. I described this as "polutia chemice." Unfortunately for me the correct term was "polluare chemice." Today, while we were writing lesson plans, my partner explained to me that "polutia" is actually the Romanian term for ejaculation.
.
.
.
.
Damnit.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
English Club
Three weeks ago I started teaching English Club one a week for an hour. I only have eight students, which is great because things stay under control and we can get a lot done. I have two students in attendance who already stood out to me in other classes as very dedicated to their studies and who want to learn English for advancement in life (Verionica told me she wants to be a lawyer), some who are normal students who just want to learn English because they feel like it, and one kid who is a bit of a pain in other classes who showed up for the first time this week. Actually, he really isn't that bad. I have the feeling that he acts out to get attention and if he were a student in the States he would have been placed on a school sports team by now to give him some direction.
Today we were finishing up and I gave homework since I have a training next week and there won't be club. The assignment is to write a short introduction about yourself. What's your name, where are you from, how old are you, and what you like. As soon as I wrote "I like" on the board the one boy who can be a pain starts singing "I like to move it, move it". It made my day. Best lesson ever in the past six months. I laughed so hard I started snorting. So in honor of that student, I am posting this video.
Today we were finishing up and I gave homework since I have a training next week and there won't be club. The assignment is to write a short introduction about yourself. What's your name, where are you from, how old are you, and what you like. As soon as I wrote "I like" on the board the one boy who can be a pain starts singing "I like to move it, move it". It made my day. Best lesson ever in the past six months. I laughed so hard I started snorting. So in honor of that student, I am posting this video.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Children in Moldova
Some days here are really difficult. Especially when the kids are acting up. I have to remind myself that some of these kids are acting up because they have no parental supervision and no one at home to teach them better. I've posted a news article before about the "lost generation" in Moldova; here's a video about the situation.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A scene from class
This is a scene from one of my classes today. We were talking about the differences between viruses and bacteria and the treatments for them.
Me: What's the result of Tuberculosis?
Student: Bye bye!
Well, I guess if nothing else, he understands that TB is a serious disease.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go eat potatoes for dinner.
Me: What's the result of Tuberculosis?
Student: Bye bye!
Well, I guess if nothing else, he understands that TB is a serious disease.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go eat potatoes for dinner.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)