6/15/11: Training Continues
So, I have been in Moldova for a week. I have been super busy so far. We have language class every day from 8:30 until 1pm. Afterwards, we have technical sessions where we learn how to teach English. On Tuesday we observed two demo classes with Moldovan students. One was taught by a Peace Corps volunteer alone. The other was team taught. There was one Moldovan teacher and one Peace Corps volunteer. It was interesting to watch the different teaching styles of the two Peace Corps volunteers. When we returned to our village, we went home. On my way home, I pass a cemetery and a gorgeous view of the countryside. I can see Chisinau in the distance. In between are fields and some bigger houses off in the distance. Hopefully I will post pictures of it soon.
Today, we had language class in Chisinau from 8:30 until 10:00. Afterwards, Peace Corps staff went over expectations and how we will be evaluated. We also had a food and water safety session. There are a lot of things we are supposed to do in order to have clean food and water. After the training, several of us Peace Corps Trainees (PCTs) hung out in Chisinau and had a drink. It was nice to relax after such a long day. When I returned home, I ate dinner. Then, I helped pick cherries in the backyard. My family has several cherry trees. They keep some of the cherries for themselves, but I think they sell the majority. I'm sure they probably also preserve some for winter. My host brother climbed up one of the trees, cut one of the branches, and with a hook-type tool, lowered it to the ground. My host sister took it and then the two of us started removing the cherries from the trees. We put the good ones in a bucket and put the bad ones on the ground. It was interesting to see the work that went into harvesting cherries. Overall, today was a tiring but good day.
So many interesting things to comment on! I am curious about the teaching tactics that you have learned so far, and about the styles that you observed and how team teaching works. Also--evaluated? How/when are you evaluated, and what are the evaluations used for? And is the water unsafe--will you always have to purify it to drink it? How will you do that? And what do you do with the food to sanitize it?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of food: fresh cherries!! That sounds delicious. Does the host family do all of the harvesting themselves? What is their primary source of income? And did you have to do anything to the cherries to make them safe, or could you just devour some? :)