Saturday, May 6, 2017

Week Eight



Oh my goodness, lordy lordy here we go! It has now been two months since I left California, and since for all intents and purposes I left my life. The (for back of better words) ordeal to get into the Peace Corps was in many ways a preparation for what was to come in terms of endurance to get through pre service training, which in turn is designed to prepare us for the path ahead. Week eight was basically tying up all of the different trainings, from safety and security, cultural understanding, language and our sector preparations. We spent one day this week presenting mini workshops from the Peace Corps Life Skills Training Manual. It really was like doing speed dating for encounter work in a TED talk format. I found it excruciatingly exhausting both to present and to participate. The Health Sector volunteers were troupers though, and we enthusiastically performed in 16 ice breaker activities. We were also preparing for our Language Proficiency Interviews, and in the spirit of completely and continuously to overwhelm us just when we think we are starting to get this ancient mysterious language, we  received  a grammar lesson on “clitics,” which just threw all of us off our game for some reason. I can not even begin to explain what they are, because there really isn’t an analog in English, other than it sort of explained why there are all these “i” & “ti”s and such in sentences when I am corrected, I have no idea how to use them but know I at least have a name for what I do not understand.

 The natives are restless so to speak, and getting a bit annoyed with the endless trainings and deadlines. I am witnessing personality clashes and such, which I am sure under normal circumstances would not occur, since everyone individually is quite delightful and kind. Most of the trainees, especially the younger ones, have not had the glories of graduate school, thesis preparation and board exams to contend with, because this really has been my experience of pre service training. The difference between PST and grad school/boards is the PST staff cares about our happiness and wants us to succeed, whereas grad school and boards do not care a whit about anything other than getting their checks, in fact they actually want you to fail so you have to give them more checks. It is hard to express to the younger ones how easy this all is compared to other things one has to endure in life without sounding condescending or patronizing. 

We were encouraged to pack our winter things into one bag and drop it off at the training center, where it will be delivered to us when we are visited by our director and sector coordinator later in the summer. I was hesitant at first to part with my things but the thought of lugging three bags, a water filter, sleeping bag and other paraphernalia around Albania soon illuminated me to the genius of this suggestion. I crammed my largest suitcase with as much as I could then I and my site mates braved the furgons with our bags to get to hub day. Of course the levity of purging was not to be enjoyed for long since we were given fire extinguishers and smoke alarms to take with us to our permanent sites. I am trusting the angels that I will be able to help get all this stuff to my destination.

I am still struggling in many respects with the language, but it never ceases to surprise me how I seem to be able to speak to random strangers in Albanian, but I can not spit out sentences to my host family and teachers. I was wandering the streets of Elbasan in search of an open market to buy some food, when I passed by a book store. Because I can barely read sentences, it never occurred to me to go into an Albanian book store before. I had walked past this store many times on the way to the market. Today I was looking in the window and spotted a book on “Mjeke Popullore” which is what natural medicine is called here in Albania. I had been made aware of the herbal knowledge and market here before I left the states, and my host family grows culinary herbs for a wholesaler. I can not seem to get names out of anyone about anything, and because I learned the Latin Binomials in Naturopathic School, this is how I identify herbs. When I spied the book, I knew that was what I would be spending my lunch money on later in the day. I went in during the break, picked out the book and the owner showed me an entire section of health books. I managed to tell her, and she understood me which is thrilling beyond belief, that I practice Mjeke Popullore nga Amerikë and will be going to teach health classes, she asked me if I was going to work or I was a volunteer…… oh my goodness, a conversation beyond “I had eggs for breakfast today and went to school…….”

What was particularly fun was I showed my host mom and sisters my books as a way to show them how I spent the day beyond saying “School was long and I am tired..” I hope to get them back before I leave they are so absorbed by them. I may buy a copy as a thank you gift. The family are all lost in reading the books, taking notes, asking questions. Because I know the Latin Binomials, I actually understood many of the herbs that were presented in the books. My host sister asked about Plantain, she wanted to use the herb after reading the description. I told her it is everywhere, which it is, and she said she had never seen it. I tried drawing a picture, then I had the bright idea to look on her iPhone to google a picture. When I showed it to her, she then expressed, “that is what that is?” I replied in Shqiplish “I told you it was everywhere, it is what your mom goes and picks in the fields and feeds the goats,” to which she replied, “and they are very healthy.” 

Our trainings on Friday were to prepare us for transitioning to our sites and working with counterparts. Our counterparts are the Albanian teachers we will be working with in our assigned schools. We were told they were as nervous about us arriving as we were going. I am to work with a biology teacher in a grade school, and hope to network with the biology teacher at the high school. Our stated purpose is to integrate into the community and try to initiate activities. For me personally, I plan to work with the Girl Scout Troupe leader and concentrate on language and getting to know the community rather than dive into creating clubs and so on. There is a private health science university where I will be going and I hope to network with the students there as well. 

On Friday we also received a training on the WASH project, which has to do with water and sanitation. When I was in grade school, I found the bathrooms disgusting, but I at least had running water, flushing sit toilets, trash cans, soap and towels. In many of the schools in Albania and around the world, this simply is not the case. Boys and Girls bathrooms are not a concept they have here, and often the stalls do not have doors. Children are forced to relieve them selves in teams, one in the stall and one guarding the open door. The WASH project encourages community involvement through grants and education curriculum to create restrooms with running water, doors on stalls, hand washing facilities and such to improve the health and hygiene of school children. 

Imagine if you will, how young girls experiencing menstruation would suffer in such facilities, and you can gather the importance of these projects. Peace Corps worked with the newly defunded Let Girls Learn project started by Michelle Obama and the Water Charity to get grants to build sanitary functioning restrooms for children where needed. With such facilities, bacteria and viruses are less likely to spread and children will be more healthy, not missing school because of illnesses spread by lack of adequate facilities during precious school time. It was inspiring to hear of the Albanian Health Sector’s experience of getting her community to rally to create a new bathroom for the children at the grade school.

Since this is the 20th anniversary of Peace Corps in Albania our swearing in will be in Tirana at the US Embassy, instead of at hub in Elbasan. The last time I had anything to do with a US Embassy was when I was in Bulgaria in the early 80’s. My American companion at the time was having issues with traveling out of the country, and the staff person said to me as if informing us of some deep dark secret only apparent to people with clairvoyant abilities ,”Well you know, this isn’t the states.” I replied that all the signs in Cyrillic were a dead give away on day one. 

My host mom has been formally invited to attend the ceremony, and it will be quite the big to do apparently. She is so sweet, I am truly sorry my language has been a barrier to getting to know her better. She seemed truly excited about the prospect of going to Tirana. I am her third volunteer, so it is fitting for her to be present at such a celebration. The safety officer warned us gals to avoid wearing heels to the ceremony as they might prove daunting while climbing up a grassy hill. We also need to bring ID with us so we can pass the security guards when entering the facility. We were told there are 300 guests coming to the event, where we will meet our counter parts at a reception afterwords. We will not be told who we will be living with until the day before the swearing in. It seems a bit more real to me,  this living in Albania as a volunteer, now I have a smoke detector, more manuals to read and a fire extinguisher, but it still feels like it is miles away in other respects.


The weather has been spectacular, warm breezes, big puffy clouds and everything is in full green. The vineyards are filling out and one can see the baby grapes jutting out, that will be ready in about four months. This evening, we had a thunder storm and rain at dusk, and now the crickets are singing their evening song. I will miss this valley, not sure when I will return, but for now, it is sweet to drink in the spring and enjoy the wamth of my family and the sun. The next week will be daunting to say the least, I am trying to enjoy the calm before the transition storm. So far, everything has been wonderful in terms of the people, so I am trusting this will be the case the the days to come.

No comments:

Post a Comment