Everything for a reason

I am a firm believer in karma because of days like today.

There were several things that happened today that just made a world of a difference to me. The most insignificant, but still amazing, was that my neighbor not only offered me a ride to work and allowed me to avoid being miserably sweaty when I got to work for a change, but to top it off....his windows were up and the a/c was blasting!!! (this rarely happens in grenada, which is why this is so amazing!)

Then, as I got to work I was able to have a meeting with the temporary replacement for our manager at PAM who is taking a 3 month sabbatical. Much to my surprise this temporary manager, Ms. Johnson, was very familiar with the goals and aims of Peace Corps. Come to find out, she is the daughter of our previous APCD. It was very comforting to be able to talk with someone who really understands my purpose here. She encouraged me to think about and write down my long term goals. She said we could look over them together and talk about ways to adapt my work here to benefit me so that I can achieve those goals.

And last but not least, today was my first day working at TAMCC (Community College). I met with my counterpart there, Mrs. Gordon, and she wanted to take the time today to show me around the campus and introduce me to some of the faculty, administrators and staff. She did a great job at making me feel very welcome there. I also feel like the office that I will be working in is going to be a very warm and positive atmosphere. I can't wait to get started on my projects there.

It was a good karma day!

TAMCC

In an earlier post I had mentioned that I may be starting an additional project at TAMCC (T.A. Marryshow Community College) helping with counseling. I finally met with Dr. LaTouche (our APCD aka my boss) and the director of Student Affairs at TAMCC to discuss what this project with entail.



When I had briefing discussed the idea of adding this project to my workload with Dr. LaTouche, he had me under the impression that this assignment would consist of helping the current counselor at TAMCC lighten her load of one-on-one counseling with the students; seen as how she is the only counselor for almost 3,000 students. Even though the assignment sounded like I would mostly just be sitting at a desk and waiting for students to walk in for an appointment, I was still eager to take on this project because I have a special interest in working with young adults in the area of social work and counseling.



After meeting with one of the directors of Student Affairs (who also happens to be the lone counselor), I realized the reason that they were so eager to have me volunteering is because there is a lot of work that needs to be done! Along with assisting in the one-on-one counseling, I was also start to assist with creating seminars that will address the topics of anger management, coping with stress, and improving self esteem. Additionally, I will also be assisting with improving the current peer pals program to hopefully increase student involvement and strengthen the existence of the program itself.



So, while this supplemental project was not entirely what I expected, I am even more excited about the idea of adding this onto my workload. I think that the work that I will be assisting with here will be very fulfilling. I'm excited to start!

Communication

During this week in my personal development class at PAM, we discussed the topic of communication. We spent most of the time thinking about positive ways to effectively communicate the messages that we are trying to say to others instead of coming across negatively. In trying to apply this idea to real life situations, one of the girls, Aria, volunteered an example of a conversation she might have with her child's father. I realized through our discussion that she has been struggling with him to take an interest in her and their child's life. We discussed different strategies and scenarios to be able to talk to him in a way that will get through to him about the importance of her feelings and what she has to say. I felt like the classroom discussion went really well. Then, today as I was finishing up with my reading class, Aria came up to me with a big smile on her face. She told me that she called him (her child's father)! And she asked him if she could schedule a time to meet with him because she had some things she wanted to talk to him about. She seemed so proud of herself that she had taken the step to open the communication between the two of them. And then proceeded to ask me how she should go about trying to talk to him about the feelings she has been having.

I feel very fulfilled knowing that the conceptual idea I picked for class this week is really having positive effects on these girls. I am glad to know that they are thinking about our classroom topics and applying these ideas to their lives.

Yay for this week's small accomplishment!

Books

So, as I begin to assist students with reading here in Grenada, it has made me realize how precious knowledge really can be. Just think about the idea of going through life without reading at all. I'm sure that we all could manage, but think about all the things that you would be missing out on. It seems like such a tragedy to miss out on such a basic element of life; written language. I hope that in my time here that I can give students a better concept of reading so that they can decipher words and learn to read on their own to help them with the words they see in their daily life.

Working with students to learn how to read has also given me a better appreciation for reading books myself. I think back to all the books in school that I was suppose to read that I just skipped over, because I wasn't interested. Wasn't interested?! I have this wonderful brain that can not only read the words, but can figure out complex ideas and concepts and yet what am I doing with it? Not reading all the materials available seems almost like a crime. I plan to start making more time to read and learn on my own through all the many resources that are available. You don't always have to go to the best college or university to get the best education. Learning can be done all alone with some determination, research, and some good ol' reading!

Breadfruit Salad

The past 2 days have been pretty successful for me!

On Wednesday I started my remedial reading groups at my primary school. I was a little nervous with the activities that I prepared, but all 5 groups responded really well and were paying attention and participating! So that was really encouraging to know that I can handle these groups with little to no experience.

And then today, I had 3 classes at the Programme for Adolescent Mothers (PAM) that all went very well also. In the class where I teach personal development, one of the girls came up to me at the end of class and said, "I really enjoyed class today!" That made me feel really great to hear that. And I really felt like I was getting through to the girls today. They were actively participating in the lesson, giving feed back, and sharing some of their own personal stories!


On another note....since I have moved down here, my cooking skills have been beginning to develop! I'm not much of one to follow recipes, so almost all of my creations are experiments. I haven't had any complete failures yet, but some things do turn out better than others. Today, I decided that I wanted to try to make potato salad, but instead of using potatoes I wanted to replace them with breadfruit. I just threw a few things in with the cooked breadfruit and it turned out pretty awesome. And tonight, I am going to try to make meatloaf for the very first time. Wish me luck.

A Fresh Start

This week has made a complete 180 degree turn for the better! Talk about being on a roller coaster!

So, the teachers and staff at PAM have finally got their gears up an running on full speed now this week. I am feeling like the classes are starting to take off and the days there feel much more productive. I have meet with my personal development class 2 times already, and I can already tell that this is going to be a good group of girls to work with. And I have picked back up helping one of the girls in a remedial reading class that meets every day. So, good things are starting to happen.

On another subject though, I was in the peace corps office yesterday and the APCD (aka my boss) asked to speak with me for a moment. He was telling me how there was a severe need for a guidance counselor at the community college in St. George's. Currently, there is only one counselor for over 2200 students. He was asking if I had any background in counseling and if I would be interested in helping. While I only have a minor in social work, I feel like I could be of some assistance at the school because I have a great interest in that area of work and really enjoy working with the young adult population. So, Dr. LaTouche is going to speak with his point person, and hopefully by next week I will also be volunteering at T.A. Marryshow Community College!

At the end of the day

whew...it sure seems like this week has been long. With the start of school this week, I have been finally putting all my planning from the summer into place, but I hadn't prepared for how much work it really would be. What I did this week: at PAM, I started teaching my 2 new classes for this term; personal development and remedial reading; at my school attachment I met with the principal and we chose the students that I will be working with in the remedial reading program. We also put the students into groups, picked times for the groups to meet each week, discussed it with all of the teachers, and sent letters home to the parents; with Dwayne (who is the boy I am also helping with reading), I met with him this week at the public library and we picked out a novel to start working on; and then tomorrow I will have my first day back helping with the learn-to-swim lessons at the swimming pool. So, like it said...whew....it has been a busy week. But I am also getting pretty excited that I am starting all theses new classes and programs. It is definitely time for the weekend though :)

First Day Back at School

So today I successfully completed my first day back at school this term. There was a teachers meeting yesterday with all of the staff at PAM where we discussed the schedule of classes and who was going to be teaching what. I am going to continue on with a personal development class that another peace corps volunteer had started, and then I am also creating a new remedial reading class for a few of the students who need some extra assistance. All of the girls showed up this morning for the first day, and I must say that I was getting more and more frustrated as the day went on due to the lack of structure and organization from the staff and teachers. There were multiple times throughout the day when there were no teachers in any of the classrooms and the girls were just walking around the building. This may be a typical first day at PAM, but from what I know of going to school....the first day of class normally means that there are actual classes, right? None of the teachers were familiar with the schedule yet and I found them turning to me and asking where they were suppose to be at...

I hope that after this week is over, that everyone knows the schedule and there is a more structured school day with actual learning going on.

Into the swing of things

So, it has almost been exactly 6 months since the last time I have written on here, but I thought now that I have settled in and have the time, that I would finally get back to writing on this more regularly. Better late than never, right?!

In the last 6 months, I have experienced a lot here in Grenada. In March and April, I was completing my Pre-Service Training that lasted for 7 weeks while I was living with my homestay family. On April 20th, the EC79 Peace Corps Grenada group completed our training with a Swearing-In Ceremony. That same day, I also got to move into my independent housing (which I absolutely love).

Since then, I have began my work in youth development by volunteering my time with 3 different organizations. The first, which is my primary worksite, is called the Programme for Adolescent Mothers (PAM). The second, working at a primary school called J.W. Fletcher R.C. And the last, helping teach swim lessons for a learn-to-swim program.

The school year ended on July 3 and will be starting back up again this coming Monday (Sept. 7). During the last 2 months, I was trying to keep myself busy by volunteering at a summer camp called Camp Tufton and a retreat for the girls at PAM.

In August, my fiance Ernest, came down to visit!! We went all over Grenada to see the many beautiful beaches and waterfalls. He was also here to celebrate Carnival with me. Grenada's Carnival consists of several concerts with soca, calypso, and steel pan drum music, and many street festivities.

Here are some pictures to see what all I have been up to in the last 6 months:

Swearing-In Ceremony

Service-Learning Activity at J.W. Fletcher R.C. Primary School

Women's Retreat at the Heritage House

PAM Graduation

PAM Retreat

Camp Tufton

CARNIVAL
Panorama - Steel Pan Drum Concert

CARNIVAL
Monday Night Mas