PST is coming to a close fast. I can't believe that I am heading to my host site in about a week on August 8th. Like I have mentioned before the days of PST are heavily scheduled. I think it is going to be very hard to get used to a much slower life when I arrive in my new village.
On Wednesday my collages and I had a bbq up on a hilltop. There we made a fire and roasted pork and chicken that was seasoned very well. Some of us stayed the night, but I went home late in the evening because I wanted to sleep in my bed. The bbq was great though because we had a fire, our three language teachers and we all brought a bottle of our host family's house wine. The view from the top of the hill is awesome because we can see our whole village below, as well as the neighboring village which is about three miles away. Also, from there it was great because we brought blankets and could lay and check out the stars.
One thing that we have been doing in training is practicing traditional Moldovan hora dance. This is actually kind of hard. We have lessons a few times a week. Not to mention again, in general, I'm taking dance lessons, which is ridiculous. Honestly I don't think I'm that great at it but I give it my all anyway. I feel like I'm in music class in 5th grade sometimes, but it is sweet. We have also been practicing a songs. We are going to perform both of these for our families that hosted us during training during a party. My host family for training is awesome, and I am very grateful to them for all that they do. Sometimes I will come home later than I expected and my host mom will run to the kitchen because she thinks that I am starving to death. Then she heats me up grub, it is awesome.
Furthermore to do with my host family – my host dad got back from the hospital last week. He had been in the hospital for about 25 days I believe. He seems to be in good spirits, but can't eat much since he had an operation on his stomach. My host dad is really cool, and I only wish that he would have been around longer during my training.
Because my training is coming to a close that means that I will be 'sworn in' as an actual volunteer for the U.S. Of A. After I travel to my host site I will work there for about two and a half months. After this they send us back to our training host families for two weeks to continue training. (I know that may sound confusing). But they send us back so that we can receive further training for two weeks after we have a taste of what we will be doing in our mayor's office and organization. I think this will be much more helpful, and that we will all have much more applicable questions than if we had a bunch of trainings now. I also think it will be fun to be in our original village, with our original host parents and other volunteers that we spent our first two months with. I am sure we will have a bunch of stories to tell about our village/city/new host family.
In my new host village I will have a tutor to help me with the language about 16 hours a month. This is cool, but I think I will honestly need more time. The village I will be in for two years has never had a Peace Corps Volunteer, so the community, and organization does not know what to expect from me. I also think that the transition into a village without any English speakers is going to be a challenge because right now we all have the luxury to call one another after a long day and go hang out somewhere and either vent, or discuss life in general for fun. In our new villages we will have to do this in Romanian, and also to make friends. I look forward to getting to know people in my new village, I just think I will have to be confident and outgoing when I see people in passing. I also think it will be beneficial to stay active with children by playing games in the stadium, such as frisbee. I also think I am lucky because I have host sisters who can help me get in touch with other kids around their age. But I will only be able to use them for about a month because they will be going off to Chisinau for college September 1st.
Over all I am a bit nervous on what my future will hold. I just know that I need to stay positive, focused, and motivated. I know it will be easy to lay around in my new room, rather than going out and trying to meet people. If I don't get out into my village and show my face they will not even know what it is I am doing there. I think that I will have to focus on clear communication with all people I encounter if I want to be successful, and if I get an invitation to anything I think that I should go in order to meet others. I emphasize all of these things because the COD assignment relies heavily upon networking.
I'm feeling pretty good about it all at this point. I expect there to be a lot of “high highs and low lows” while I get used to my new site and my new life. I know that my dad sent me a care package that has some black licorice in it but it still has not arrived. I am looking forward to that because it will be a nice taste of America.
On Wednesday my collages and I had a bbq up on a hilltop. There we made a fire and roasted pork and chicken that was seasoned very well. Some of us stayed the night, but I went home late in the evening because I wanted to sleep in my bed. The bbq was great though because we had a fire, our three language teachers and we all brought a bottle of our host family's house wine. The view from the top of the hill is awesome because we can see our whole village below, as well as the neighboring village which is about three miles away. Also, from there it was great because we brought blankets and could lay and check out the stars.
One thing that we have been doing in training is practicing traditional Moldovan hora dance. This is actually kind of hard. We have lessons a few times a week. Not to mention again, in general, I'm taking dance lessons, which is ridiculous. Honestly I don't think I'm that great at it but I give it my all anyway. I feel like I'm in music class in 5th grade sometimes, but it is sweet. We have also been practicing a songs. We are going to perform both of these for our families that hosted us during training during a party. My host family for training is awesome, and I am very grateful to them for all that they do. Sometimes I will come home later than I expected and my host mom will run to the kitchen because she thinks that I am starving to death. Then she heats me up grub, it is awesome.
Furthermore to do with my host family – my host dad got back from the hospital last week. He had been in the hospital for about 25 days I believe. He seems to be in good spirits, but can't eat much since he had an operation on his stomach. My host dad is really cool, and I only wish that he would have been around longer during my training.
Because my training is coming to a close that means that I will be 'sworn in' as an actual volunteer for the U.S. Of A. After I travel to my host site I will work there for about two and a half months. After this they send us back to our training host families for two weeks to continue training. (I know that may sound confusing). But they send us back so that we can receive further training for two weeks after we have a taste of what we will be doing in our mayor's office and organization. I think this will be much more helpful, and that we will all have much more applicable questions than if we had a bunch of trainings now. I also think it will be fun to be in our original village, with our original host parents and other volunteers that we spent our first two months with. I am sure we will have a bunch of stories to tell about our village/city/new host family.
In my new host village I will have a tutor to help me with the language about 16 hours a month. This is cool, but I think I will honestly need more time. The village I will be in for two years has never had a Peace Corps Volunteer, so the community, and organization does not know what to expect from me. I also think that the transition into a village without any English speakers is going to be a challenge because right now we all have the luxury to call one another after a long day and go hang out somewhere and either vent, or discuss life in general for fun. In our new villages we will have to do this in Romanian, and also to make friends. I look forward to getting to know people in my new village, I just think I will have to be confident and outgoing when I see people in passing. I also think it will be beneficial to stay active with children by playing games in the stadium, such as frisbee. I also think I am lucky because I have host sisters who can help me get in touch with other kids around their age. But I will only be able to use them for about a month because they will be going off to Chisinau for college September 1st.
Over all I am a bit nervous on what my future will hold. I just know that I need to stay positive, focused, and motivated. I know it will be easy to lay around in my new room, rather than going out and trying to meet people. If I don't get out into my village and show my face they will not even know what it is I am doing there. I think that I will have to focus on clear communication with all people I encounter if I want to be successful, and if I get an invitation to anything I think that I should go in order to meet others. I emphasize all of these things because the COD assignment relies heavily upon networking.
I'm feeling pretty good about it all at this point. I expect there to be a lot of “high highs and low lows” while I get used to my new site and my new life. I know that my dad sent me a care package that has some black licorice in it but it still has not arrived. I am looking forward to that because it will be a nice taste of America.
