saved by hope

11/9/2002:

"Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope."

-Reinhold Niebuhr

...a quote from CD Strauss' swearing-in speech in Dschang, 2002. that is what this - us being here, the peace corps - is about, isn't it? hope. for the future. what we ought to be working for.

he said he was asked why peace corps cameroon is still here after 40 years. the quote answers that. 40 years is short. not in our lifetime is anything worth doing achieved.

pleasantly surprised

11/8/2002:
good day today. feels like a pleasant summer afternoon back home. the last few days have felt like this, as we move into the dry season. these transitions between seasons here are great. such pleasant weather.

my APCD paid me a visit. a "how are you?" visit, as he put it. but we talked about quite a few things. in fact, i'm really very happy with the entire thing. go figure! between this visit today and my talk with the CD, our administration is actually being receptive/responsive.

i was pleasantly surprised by my APCD today. the things he said about the teacher training program i would've never expected from him. same man i had that conversation with in Yaounde a few weeks ago? it's like night and day.

i guess he'd heard it from enough people (and seen it himself in Nkambe, at least) that our teacher training program... well, sucks. to put it a little less than technically. i vented about students, teachers and school admin. he listened. talked, too, of course. and i even asked and got answers to long-time questions:

1. Q: why not primary school PCV teachers? A: because we're over-qualified, capacity building is low, and their needs too great or numbers too big.
2. Q: why not educational consulting PCVs working in an entire town at various schools? A: because we'd have to work with a local delegation office (Lord no!) and need PCVs with skills which aren't easy to find.

these aren't absolute/final answers... but they were good to hear, regardless. i still think we could diversify our approach, and take PCV placement case-by-case. placing some here, some there. according to their skills. that's probably tough to manage, though. they are thinking about placement in technical schools. SARs [i've forgotten what this acronym stands for?], too. but who'll have those skills coming in? anyway. at least i got decent answers. acceptable. and no doors shut.

i'm telling you! this was a different man. i wonder if the CD spoke with him? he even copied down the numbers i showed him on NW/SW TTC [teacher training college] admissions. he said he'd take them to MINEDUC [education ministry] in Yaounde and speak to the man in charge of TTCs/ENIEGs. ask him why they're so low and what they're going to do, if anything, to change that.

so he'll get it from the horse's mouth, instead of all this local speculation about whether the government will or will not do anything about our situation. no assimilation. low attendance. low motivation. if not apathy. too many teachers. i'd love to hear what this man in charge has to say about all that. i'll have to follow-up with my APCD.

hmmm... we also spoke about extension. transferring to Morocco, 1st. extending up North, 2nd. he'd hoped i'd entertain staying on as PCVL [peace corps volunteer leader] in Bamenda. ummm... no. i don't know??? all that - transferring, extending, etc. - seems distant now. a remote possibility. what changed? me, family, grad school? God knows.

get this. my APCD even told Auntie that if she didn't get more students next year, no PCV. i think she just won't get a PCV, regardless. we went out to visit GBSS [govt bilingual secondary school]. my APCD knows the principal there well. seems they were classmates. seems he had a PCV in Bafmen before. even asked my APCD to send another his way. good for him. i'm going to strongly recommend one. will fill out the site prospective form in december, insha'Allah. after i do some more research on the school.

i hope to be as blunt with Auntie as my APCD was today. should've seen how deferential she was to him! really, though... why do we humor her? protocol, yes. but i should just tell it like it is. i ain't gonna lose a job. she needs to hear why she (not she, our school) isn't getting a PCV. it's complicated. a shame, also. i don't want to see us pull out of training teachers completely. to lost that capacity building. maybe things will change? in other schools, if not ours.

so my APCD is leaving that option open. and the option for PCVs to teach at a TTC if they wish. he'll make a teacher training component available in PST [pre-service training]. albeit limited. i doubt secondary school teachers will look for more teaching hours at their local TTC, though. and vice-versa.

so... some questions answered. some questions remain. all in all, i'm quite satisfied.

"the african way"

8/10/2002:
the CD passed by PST [pre-service training] today. he wrote me back in regard to the letter i sent him. interesting points. wants specifics. spoke a lot about HIV/AIDS in his "monthly mailing" and his talk with PCTs [peace corps trainees] and trainers.

i wondered how much sunk in today with the trainers. specifically with regard to one comment about jettisoning the parts of the "African way" that make HIV/AIDS such a problem. for me that translates into things like staying quiet about domestic violence, infidelity, sexism, etc.

i was talking to one of the PC trainers about all this on the ride back from Santa to Babadjou. about how we shouldn't be quiet or "indirect" about what happened happened [domestic violence at one of the trainee host-family homes] in Babadjou.

i know there are things like social norms, customs and community perception BUT all these need to take a back-seat. WHY? if those things keep us from tackling the vital issues (those stated above: HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, infidelity, sexism, etc.) head on, then they're just in the way.

yet part of me cannot deny the power of culture and, even more so, the hurdle of cross-cultural communication. often, "things just don't work that way" and if you try to force them (be it condoms or more direct communication) people and entire communities close up. it's counter-productive.

so where does that leave us? somewhere in the middle, no doubt. somewhere between beating around the bush and forcing it down people's throats. an art, if you will... subtle, flexible, courageous and compassionate. like giving your mother a condom and telling her to protect herself. ya Ilaah... [O Lord]

cycle of adjustment

8/7/2002:

Cycle of Adjustment

1. Intro & "Disclaimer"
2. Goals & Objectives
3. Processing (anecdotes, experiences, stories)
4. the Cycle of Adjustment...
5. Coping Strategies
6. Q & A

...had this [training] session at Ma Flo's in Santa, like last year. much the same format. presented the cycle, quotes, personal anecdotes, etc. it went well. PCTs [peace corps trainees] vented, asked questions, listened. nice. glad we did it.

i listened to fellow PCVs talk about going home and got lost in my head. thinking, with what i have to admit was some regret and doubt, "why didn't i go home?" all is well, though... i'll get back there soon enough, insha'Allah.

i just want to say that i miss home. i miss family. that's OK to think/say, no? i hope so.

go in search of your people

7/19/2002:



Go in search of Your People:
Love Them;
Learn from Them;
Serve Them;
Begin with what They have;
Build on what They know.

But of the best leaders
when their task is
accomplished,
their work is done,
The People all remark;
"We have done it Ourselves."

-Lao Tzu?



the wise words above are from a book [David Werner's "Helping Health Workers Learn"] that Traci used to end her training session today. her session with Mike. went well. funny–no, interesting that we, as volunteers, do truly take a vested interest in the concept of development; studying and discussing it, as well as working in it.

i'm listening to Youssou N'Dour. famous Senegalese singer. done a lot of work with international artists like Sting, Wyclef, etc. "How Come?" good stuff, West African music. i asked Sandy earlier today on the phone if she fell in love with West Africa? of course. me, too. was she down about coming back? of course. me, too. is she staying [here in Cameroon]? of course. i miss Sandy.

talked to Rama. all is well, relatively well at home. all is well with me, too. i should be happy. i am. tired, but smiling toujours.

dr. babila

7/17/2002:
Dr. Babila
Upper 6th Mathematics
Lesson: Differentiation

...so i'm not even going to pretend that i understand the #'s and symbols being put up on the board here [in the santa model school]. will also not copy them in here. just keep them on the board. at a distance

Dr. Babila is working with minimal notes. in fact, he wrote them out this morning, b/w 7:45 and 8am. the man has a brain on him! masha'Allah.

what an interesting mind it must be. not just the powerful, logical, mathematical foundation but also what's built upon that... culture, spirituality, mythology, sociology, psychology, etc.

it makes me regret my math ignorance. would be nice to see the world that analytically or have a mind that thinks things through with logic that sharp/clear... or maybe not? and maybe he doesn't?

maybe the math isn't the foundation. just another aspect. maybe one of the other fields – any of them – are a foundation? maybe all? maybe none?

Dr. Babila just made a joke about something no longer being mathematic after a certain point but "Chinese"... LORD! all this might as well be Chinese.

1st Aid

7/15/2002:

1st Aid Session (Tate & Eli, in Babadjou)

1. Story
2. Intro: Purpose, Goals and Objectives
3. Activity: Heimlich Maneuver and Abdominal Thrusts
4. Scene Assessment
5. Patient Assessment and Triage
6. Splinting: Hard, Soft, Anatomic; Sling and Swathe
7. Log Roll & Carry (moving a severely injured person)
8. Cross Culture (expectations vs. reality)
9. Q+A

...hey, EE training session went well! smooth. engaging. informative. good evaluation. i'll do the post-eval write up, insha'Allah.

1st Aid Session [outline above] went well, as well. i paid close attention for future reference. they spoke about the accident to close the session. powerful, moving experience.

i'm still ill.

a day or 2 in the life...

7/13/2002:
it's been a long day. in fact, 2 long days. we've not accomplished everything on our site-visit agenda, but came close. here and there, a little bit at a time. i'm comfortable saying lisa and mark experienced a day or 2 in the life of a PCV:

teaching...
lisa seems to have learned much about the TTC [teacher training college] program. which is good, b/c thus far it's been vague in PST [pre-service training]. we saw the school. met administrative staff. our principal, included. even a fellow teacher. quite informative.

we also visited the delegation [of education]. met many a teacher. and, of course, my friends around town. unfortunately, paul isn't around. up in Bali [his hometown]. too bad. they would've learned much from him.

mark may not be as satisfied with his 2-3 days here. i cannot really relate to secondary and high school info... we passed the GHS, but did not meet or speak with any teachers. should've arranged for that. he's been sick, too. stomach issues. a good sport, though.

patience...
both mark and lisa have been such good sports on this trip. both such nice people. glad they came! both bright, motivated and positive people. already patient and understanding. a 7-hour Bamenda-Wum journey will do that!

we walked a lot yesterday. today, too. yesterday, to school and back... in the sun. today, out to Lake Wum and back... through the market and up to Maggie's.

food...
we had ice cream on both days, vanilla and strawberry! good stuff. they were impressed. tuna salad and corn last night. pesto tonight. more good stuff.

friends...
glad they met Maggie, as well. she did most of the cooking this evening. Lisa helped, too. Muhammadu and Ibrahim came to visit.

illness...
Mark and i are still small sick... he with those stomach issues. me with what we all think but don't want to say is malaria. we'll see tomorrow.

site-visit

7/11/2002:
back in Wum. with Lisa and Mark. my 2 site-visit buddies... future PCVs. both very cool. in fact, their whole stage [training cohort] is a great group. i'm impressed... especially b/c i kinda underestimated them on teaching experience. they can teach. know their science and math.

it's been a looong day. met @ 6:15am in Babadjou. went to Mbouda. then a bush-taxi to Bamenda. then it took us 7 hours and some change to get here [to Wum]. bad tire... first we fixed a flat. then all the bolts fell off the hub! but we were all patient (especially Lisa and Mark), and we got here.

tomorrow we sleep in... i'm a little cold/fevery/achy (c'est normale?). then we do protocol: the Delegation [of Education]. GTTC/GHS and Auntie. the market. prayer for me. pesto for all. insha'Allah...

back in Babadjou

7/9/2002:
in Babadjou. got a "guest room" at the staff house by ADP [the local bar/restaurant]. good to be back here... stepped out to get bread and couldn't stop smiling. WOW!... 1 year. back in Babadjou.

talked to Jean for a little. just he and Pa Simon [peace corps drivers] here. Francois, Michelle and Jeane [peace corps trainers] upstairs. PCT's [peace corps trainees] at home... in bed?

finally got my package. a lot of music from OMZ. including his 2 singles with T. kinda cool... though i can't here it well. he's got a smooth/funky style. kinda funny... Omar Curly rapping!

by the way...

• that to do list in Bamenda... came close. close enough. will do more later.
• and the ups and downs "roller-coast" on.

things to do in bamenda

7/7/2002:
things to do in bamenda [tomorrow]...

• email: Boniface about 1st Aid Project in Wum, APCDs/CDs about EE work in Limbe
  
• letters: Sue Martin [former boss @ USNA], Dr. Yeide and Dr. Wells [former profs @ GWU]
  
• forms: quarterly reports to APCD, and EE application [not sure what this is?]
  
• misc: pack up stuff at the Slum, gas cooker and food (veggies, basil, yogurt and cheese)
  
• talk to Mike & Shanna about EE session! (GLOBE video, evaluation and resource update)
  

problems seem smaller

 
7/6/2002:
in bamenda. 2 nights in a row in the same bed... a recent record! haven't done that or eaten more than one meal a day for the past week or so. all this traveling!

in other news... spoke to family last night. Rama and the kids are moving to Dubai. which came as a surprise. a little sad. talking to OMZ made me lighter, though. he cracked me up. he's doing well.

kristen is here... good to see/talk to her. both b/c it's her and b/c i really need someone to vent to. about a lot of things. she's going home, of course... i'm not. not right now. not for another year, insha'Allah. things i want to do here.

kristen and i also spoke about EE in Limbe... b/w the botanic garden and the WLC there are legitimate and exciting volunteer opportunities. will see if we can help get them connect to PC.

thank God kristen was here! and that i talked to OMZ, mama and rama... they all helped me put my problems in check. funny how problems seem smaller when you just tell someone.

need to go to Wum. back here in Bamenda by Monday. then off to training in Babadjou.

peace
love
smiles :)
mohamad

teaching 'teaching practice'

5/30/2002: TOT Day 3

Teaching Practice Session
Traci and Mohamad... intros!

Purpose:
To familiarize PCTs with the structure of teaching practice at TTCs [teacher training colleges] and their duties/role therein.

Objectives:
By session end, PCTs will be able to...

1. Describe how a typical teaching practice operates at a TTC... skit!
   
2. Mark student-teacher lesson plans (and guide student-teachers in developing lesson plans?)... Traci!
   
3. Observe, evaluate and give feedback on student-teacher lessons... Mohamad!

Material:
Flip chart, brown paper, markers, e.g. lesson plans, TTC evaluation forms and teaching practice schedules.

Procedure:
-Traci and Mohamad perform skit with assistance from 1 PCT
-Process skit after going over the purpose then objectives of session (objective #1)
-Traci leads exercise on marking lesson notes w/Mohamad writing on flip chart (objective #2):

• review SMART objectives, lesson plant format, etc.
• use Mme. Pafe's TELE-aid [teaching-learning aid]
• handout e.g. lesson plans to be marked

-Mohamad leads exercise on observation/evaluation of lessons w/Traci writing on flip chart (objective #3):

• Dos and Don'ts of lesson observation
• handout e.g. evaluation forms and discuss
• discuss feedback techniques and ask 2 PCTs to critique both facilitators as practice

Conclusion:
Review and asses objectives and questions...

learning styles...

5/28/2002: TOT Day 1

Learning Styles

i prefer to learn by doing, thinking through concepts and trying things out myself. so that makes me a...

• type 4: common sense learner
  
• type 1: imaginative learner
  
• type 2: analytical learner
  
• type 3: dynamic learner
  

Catering to different learners...

1. imaginative – drawing/music/poetry
2. analytical – theory... the rules or grammar
3. dynamic – talking, work and/or movement
4. common sense – examples and real life application

...so people process in different ways and someone drawing or talking to themselves may be actively learning in their own style:

• students learn in their own style 25%
• schools validate the way type 2s learn
• ~70% of learners are not type 2

Four styles can correlate to 4 stages of a lesson:

1. motivation (imaginative): who are my students?
2. information (analytic): what am i going to teach?
3. practice (common sense): how am i going to teach?
4. application (dynamic): have i reached my goals?

...therefore, if lesson plans incorporate these 4 stages you will (more or less) cater to the 4 styles of learning.

Teaching is...
-art... style
-science... methodology
-skill... must be done

now... how do we introduce learning styles to PCTs? and how do we apply it in training the PCTs?

scabies?

5/25/2002:
saturday morning. yet another [TDW] session today. insha'Allah only in the morning. going to Dairou's for lunch. gotta develop films and buy plane tickets. as well as a few other added times to my "to do" list... noting that none have really been crossed out yet.

spoke to the embassies today... the USA folks will send me the application for Paul. KSA people are all gone except the Big Cheese and he's not available. i'll try to see him or send him the letters/photos.

what else?... that's it for now...

5/26/2002:
tech [TDW] sessions were taking a lot out of me. all of us were getting silly at the end of the day yesterday... didn't get to do much on account of ending later than expected, ~1:30pm.

i did buy a spotting scope from Chris [a PCV leaving the country] for 35,000cfa [$55-60?]. didn't make it to Dairou's, though. it rained. didn't buy tickets, either. they closed.

i did manage to send 2 emails in 45 minutes... and i'm worried i may have gotten scabies here at the volunteer house [in yaounde]! :(

5/26/2002:
same day... quick note. according to our PCMO [Peace Corps Medical Officer] i can't have scabies. at least not from the volunteer house. incubation is 2-6 weeks. so she thinks it's something else. unless, of course, i got scabies before i got here!

always work

5/24/2002:
another long day. we worked throughout: early morning. break. late morning. break. afternoon. break. evening. over? PCVs... always working. or talking about work. always work.

Eli, Mike, Shanna and i worked out the EE session. gotta type it up tomorrow. have not done much marking [grading exams] or letter writing.

gotta call 2 embassies tomorrow (during 10am coffee break):

• USA Embassy: speak with Cultural Attache about the cultural exchange program.
• KSA Embassy: speak with the 2nd Secretary and set up an appointment.

OK... just talked to Sandy for a while. she's fine and it looks like i'm buying my tickets [to Mali] on my own. will check direct flights and thru Dakar w/Ivorian Air. gotta get my credit card.

on training...

so what is TDW?... it stands for Training Design Workshop (which comes before TOT, but that'll come up after a few more posts). TDW is several days worth of meetings b/w peace corps' lead (in-country) trainers and a few volunteers who'll be involved in training the next batch of trainees-soon-to-be-volunteers.

we're basically outlining the incoming peace corps trainees' (PCTs) pre-service training (PST) schedule, making sure we hit all the competencies they need in each of the 5 training components...

1. language
2. personal health
3. safety & security
   
4. cross-cultural
5. technical

...and in an integrated way. i.e. in such a way that these various components reinforce and strengthen each other. this, along with community-based training (CBT) or learning/living with a host-family in-country, is supposed to make training more realistic and relevant. less abstract.

i share all this as insight into how PCVs are trained. a lot of theory goes into this, and much experience and learning on the part of trainers and the peace corps in general. so is this enough?... are PCVs well trained?

i think so. if you come in with the right mindset and skill-set – though what these are is an entirely different, yet very important and relevant debate – i think peace corps training is more than adequate.

but i also think there are things peace corps simply can't train you for. nor can they be realistically expected to. there is a basic set of skills (or, if you like, KSAs... knowledge, skills and abilities) that you need, and peace corps offers them to you in training... but beyond that, each volunteer's experience will be different. that's obvious, right?... life can't be predicted or controlled.

so at some point, being a peace corps volunteer at post – or being human, really – becomes less about control and more about clarity of mind in response to the unpredictable. granted, training people to be better decision-makers can help in those situations. in any situation. but no matter how well you've been trained, they'll always be something you just aren't ready to handle...

that's where this story starts:

in this town. on this hill. in the middle of this road... since the Germans first opened it. if not since the Lord first put it there. there has been this rock...

TDW Day 2

5/23/2002: TDW Day 2

Writing Integrated Competencies (with David)

Integration across language, personal health, safety & security (S&S), cross-cultural (X-C) and technical components of training:

• Health/S&S: risky behavior (HIV/AIDS, alcohol and drugs)
• Lang/X-C: cultural notes w/in context of lesson
• Tech/X-C: context of work (info on ministries/politics)
• Lang/S&S: survival language skills
• X-C/S&S: culturally appropriate behavior
• Lang/Health: survival language skills

Definitions:

• task: an action (many = activity) towards achieving an objective
• competency: a desired level of KSA (knowledge, skills and abilities)
• integrated competency: one that involves attaining level in more than one component
• learning objective: specific level to be attained after a session/activity (many gained = competency)
• activity: work towards achieving objective
• session plan: (many = activity) lessons that, after achieving objective, lead to competency

TDW Day 1

 

5/22/2002: TDW Day 1
...ton of handouts today. a lot of arguing about small points like how many HCN [host country national] teachers at model school and whether the trainees' cross-cultural presentations should be in French of English. the usual dynamics... or politics.

seems like i'll be helping with the EE session... gotta plan it.

Session Objectives: (Santa/Babadjou, 7/15/02 from 8am-12:30pm)
To create awareness of environmental issues present in Cameroon and to encourage integration into lesson plans and secondary projects.

1. What is EE about in PC Cameroon?
2. What does that mean for me... as a PCV, personally & professionally
3. What EE activities can i do?
4. Who/what can help?
   

day after national day

 

5/21/2002:
back in Yaounde. at the volunteer house again. spent yesterday in Bamenda. National Day [May 20th] was uneventful. i made no attempt at catching any events, that is. 6 of us took a van down from Bamenda today... Liz, Todd, Eli, Tucker, Traci, Mike and me. funny ride. goofy.

can't figure out what i'm going to do for the 2-3 days b/w TDW [training design workshop] and TOT [training of trainers]. Douala with Sandy? here? no, not here... Kribi? i don't know. we'll see what the others want to do. and if i get things done over these next few days...