Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Today is the traditional Veterans’ Day and lately I’m always reminded of the trip to Washington,DC, with Colin when he won the Veterans’ Day poster contest. It was quite an experience to be part of the traditional ceremony at Arlington, and of course having breakfast at the White House was also awesome.
The weather here has turned colder. But I can’t complain as we had an incredibly warm October. We’ve been using the wood burning stove the last few nights. In fact for the past two nights I’ve been sitting by the stove and crocheting. Yesterday we didn’t have electricity from about 10:30 AM until 6:30 PM, so we all sat around the stove until the lights came on. I’ll have to make sure I have candles when I move. They don’t lose electricity a lot, but they are putting in new poles for the wires, so they shut it off occasionally. Just another reminder that I’m in the Peace Corps.
I will be moving this weekend into my own house. It’s a 2 bedroom house, but I’ll probably close off the bedrooms in the winter and use the living room, so I won’t have to heat the whole house. I’ll have a wood burning stove for heat, which will be an experience. But I’ll also have 2 electric heaters for help. The house is a lot closer to the school and will cut out the most “interesting” part of the walk to school. I have gotten used to my walk in the morning and afternoon, but I’ll find other times for walking. I’m especially glad to be moving before we have any snow. Some people have told me to expect to be snowed in a few times this winter. I can’t wait.
Next weekend all the PCVs in this country gather for a conference in the capital city. I’m looking forward to seeing some of the other new volunteers that I haven’t seen since coming to my site. It’ll also give me a chance to get some more yarn from this great yarn store I found on my last visit there. I want to stock up so I have something to do in case I do get snowed in.
The school here is still under the old Soviet style influence, which is rote memorization of the text, without any real comprehension. The students aren’t encouraged to use critical thinking or to think outside of the box. The teachers have very little in terms of outside materials or visual aids. It’s been interesting to watch their interest in the few things I’ve introduced here, like a graphic organization, Venn diagram, etc. And the students really get excited by them as well and look forward to their English lessons to see what new thing they’ll get. They only have English twice a week, and unfortunately none of their parents speak English so it’s not reinforced at home, so it’s a struggle for them, and us. But little by little they are beginning to use more English, at least in my class.
I have really been fortunate with my counterpart. Taguhie speaks very good English and is eager to try new approaches to teaching. We are very similar in our outlooks. She has also been a great help in arranging for my house, and in translating for me. I’m still struggling with the language, so I rely on her a lot.

This blog is being posted 2 days later because we haven't had electricity but there also wasn't any gas in the town for the cars or buses. Ah yes, life as a Peace Corps volunteer!!