July 26, Charentsavan.
I was able to get home for about 10 days the beginning of this month. I didn't realize how much I missed the sights, sounds, and smells of my village. Being in Vachagan really did feel like home, and it was good.
Since there aren't any screen doors in this county, I made a curtain for my door so I could have some air in my house. THis is what all the houses have. I'm glad I made it because it was very hot in Vachagan, over 90, and there isn't any airconditioning. Having my door open also let the people in the village know that I was home. It wasn't long before some of the school kids came to exchange books. They had taken some of the English readers I had at the end of the school year, and I had told them they could exchange them when I was in the village. It's nice to know that they are reading during the summer. Some of the teachers, who were still working, also called up to me as they passed my house.
While I was home, the trainees went on their site visits. There will be 2 trainees coming to Kapan, the town near me. One is a TEFL and will be working at the Teacher's House, a resource center for teachers, and a part of the National Institute for Education. It will be good to have a contact there so I hear about any workshops that are going on. I may also give a few workshops. THe other trainee is a business person and will be working with a non-profit organization. It doesn't quite make up for the 4 PCVs who are finishing up their service and will be returning to the States, but at least we have a few new people.
The weekend after I returned to Charentsavan, we had our Mid-Service Conference. It was held at a sports complex that used to be used to train Olympic athletes. The facilities were great, as were the rooms. On Sunday night we had a kickball against the trainees, something that's a yearly event. My group won, which we also did last year, so we are undefeated. It was fun and a good way to mix with the trainees. For some reason both years I have been the coach of my team, so I don't have to play. The next night some of us went swimming. It felt so good to be swimming and the pool was clean, yet didn't have a chlorine smell.
Prior to going to MSC, we were all given a book, Strength Finders, and asked to do the online survey to find our strengthes. We then had a session on this which was very good. The idea is to work from your stengths and the book gave some tips on how to do this. There are about 30 strengths that they highlight and they give you your top 5. At the session, we met with the other PCVs who had the same strengths in the same order. Four out of the 5 of my top strengths were no surprise, but I'm still thinking about the 5th.
Another session that was good, was our sector session. We focused on the various challenges we have overcome in the past year in the classrooms. It was interesting to see how many of us had the same challenges, as well as some of the different one that had come up. We also talked about some challenges we hope to overcome this year. My biggest challenge is to get my counterpart to stop using so much Armenian in the classroom. This doesn't help the students with their speaking or listening. Another challenge is to get the students to do creative thinking and writing. I'm going to do a writing club after school this year to help with this.
THere is only another week and a half of training left, which means I get to go back to my village very soon. Most of the A16s have already left country, although a few are staying until Aug. 15. It's hard to believe that we will be the "seasoned" PCVs here in Armenia and only have a year left. I must be having fun because time is certainly flying.