Greetings!
It's been a long month since my last post, but I've been busy finishing a report on my village (VSA) for In-Service Training (IST) in Bagamoyo. I've been at IST the last couple weeks and haven't really had time to post.
It's been great to see everyone from my class after an interesting first three months at site. The first week of training consisted primarily of presenting our VSAs (mine was 39 pages - absurd) and technical training. We chose our own schedule and attended classes that will help us more effectively raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention, mother and child health, environmentally-friendly farming and development as well as how to design sustainable programs that will survive after our service ends next year.
This second week, our counterparts - villagers each of us chose to bring to Bagamoyo for training - arrived. The counterparts received technical training and learned to teach to secondary school students while we got to practice working as facilitators. They'll be the first people we work with in our village, although we'll be working with additional counterparts as we become more active with projects.
The social aspect of IST has been interesting. Some highlights included going to a local professional soccer match, attending a faux wedding set up by Volunteers and visiting a coffee shop in Bagamoyo town that served iced coffee.
I'll probably do a post later on Mkululu, which will give you a better visual of the village where I live. For now, you can finally see my house!
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| My house. Not my chickens. |
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| My living room after a couple weeks. |
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| My living room just before leaving for In-Service Training (IST). |
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| One of my spare rooms after a couple weeks. |
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| That same spare room now. |
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| The utility side of my spare room. |
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| The jiko side of my spare room. |
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| My other spare room after a couple weeks of nothing. |
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| I turned that room into a small classroom. |
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| My back yard. |
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| My choo, now with toilet paper and a mirror! |
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| My bedroom a couple weeks in. |
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| One side of my bedroom just before IST. |
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| Sean Connery just before IST. My bedroom is in the background. |
Overall, I've got a pretty nice house. When I came here, I was expecting a couple small rooms (which is all some Volunteers got). If you look closely at my bedroom, you can see I've added a solar panel (50W), which allows me to charge my laptop about once a day, and that's been a tremendous stress-reliever.
That's all for this post. Hopefully I'll get another post up within the next few weeks.
Until next time, all the best!
hey,
ReplyDeletegreat talking to you yesterday!
i'll get your info from your dad and maybe we can call or skype occasionally.
sitting here at home waiting to hear some word about Beth's surgery. i did not go to the hospital yet today. i think i'll try to call Van soon or maybe even go up to the hospital.
we had a late march snow fall last night. about 3-4 inches but a warm up is on the way. you know ohio!...what's the temp there...like 90 degrees?
like i said on the phone, i'll get a few basketball games on DVD's for you. let us know of anything else i can send you to help you get through the days,weeks,etc...okay?
Kory, i truly cannot say it enough, but i think what you are doing is nothing short of incredible!
without a doubt, your bravey and courage is certainly manifesting itself as you continue your tour and your job of "good doing" and helping the people there.
as i said before...stay positive and focused as you move through this episode of your life!
talk or blog you soon...and by the way...your house is beautiful!
john clifford
Thanks for everything! Love the games!
DeleteEnjoy the snow. My site is 70-90 degrees all year round with virtually no breeze because I'm right under a plateau.
Good to talk to you and feel free to throw me a line anytime!
i'm putting some bball games on dvd's for you as i'm typing this. buckeyes were doing great for a while but poor shooting and lack of a dominant big man in the middle finally caught up with them. oh well, matta has the program to where they'll be very good again next year.
ReplyDeletebut spring football practice has begun and now its time to start getting excited for football I guess.
how about some pictures of your area or landscape? that would be neat I think.
I like the chickens....are you sure you can't keep them? Stay safe!!
ReplyDelete