October 4, 2010
School has been in session for just about a month and it feels as if we never left. This second year is so much easier than the first. For one thing, I know all the students by name as well as the faculty. I also know what is expected of me, the routine of the school and the curriculum. I can anticipate what’s coming up in the lessons and prepare for that. I also have my notes and lesson plans from last year. Of course, I continue to buy resource material to use, especially grammar exercise books. My counterpart loves when I go up to Yerevan since I always come back with new material.
I do have some new projects that I’ll be working on this year. The first one, which I’m really excited about, is putting together an on-line teacher training course. The British Council, which is the educational arm of the British Embassy here, put one out last year, which I took and was terribly disappointed with. So I talked to my Program Manager about it and she agreed that it’s worthwhile pursuing and she asked me to be the project coordinator. I have gathered a team of 6 other PCVs, including 2 IT people. We hope to have a pilot up and running by April. Most of the team consists of the new volunteers, since they will be the ones using it the most. Besides that, we will also put together a manual of all the teacher training courses that are being done in country now by the different PCVs. This will have a short summary of the course, who has taught it and other relevant information. Hopefully this will enable more PCVs to do training courses without having to reinvent the wheel.
I am also helping to re-organize the Peer Support Network here in Armenia. In the past it seems to have been a loosely connected support network. This year we hope to have a more formal group, including having some in-service training and other professional development meetings. There will be 6 of us on it for now, again heavily loaded with the newer volunteers. I’m hoping our first gathering/training will take place this month. In this area, at least, I’ll be able to use some of previous experience and background. Of course, both of these projects will mean frequent trips up to Yerevan at the beginning, but I think they are both worth it.
About 3 weeks ago I learned that the man who delivered my firewood last winter is moving to Russia at the end of this month. Luckily this is not my first winter here so I know about how much wood I’ll need. He has promised to try and have the 8 meters I want to me before he moves. Of course, then the problem became where to store it. Last winter he stored it and delivered it to me monthly. I have only so much storage space that is covered on my deck. So last week I had about 6 of the boys from school stack some of the wood in my basement. They will also bring it up during the winter as I need it. They love doing things for me and made a real contest out of it to see who could carry the most. I hope their enthusiasm doesn’t wear out!
I have noticed this year the rhythm of this village and the sights, sounds and smells that accompany each season. Since they are mainly subsistence farmers, they really do live off the land. For the past few weeks the village resounds with the buzz of saws cutting wood and the braying of the donkeys carrying the wood down from the hills and mountains. The women and children are busy gathering the crops of fall vegetables and then canning them or making jellies and compote. And even though we had an incredibly dry summer, the leaves are beginning to change colors, which only adds to the beauty of this village.
But my big news, which didn’t even happen here in Armenia, is that my youngest daughter, Kerin, got engaged last week to Chuck. I am very happy and excited about this. I had told my children that there were to be no weddings while I was gone, but engagements were fine. They hope to have an October wedding next year. It will make a nice symmetry to my Peace Corps service. My oldest daughter, Kristin, got married a few weeks before I left, and now Kerin will get married a few weeks after I get home.