Time to Get to Work!

It has come to my attention that by following this blog or looking at my facebook, it would be really easy to think I'm on an extended vacation here in Albania.  It is true that as PCVs we have more flexibility in our work than we're likely to ever have in another job but we still get things done, I promise!  And with tax season upon us, I think I owe it to you all to show you what amazing work your tax dollars are doing.  So I thought it was time to share with you some of the projects I have going on here!

Primary Assignment

My primary assignment is to work as an English teacher at 'Shefqet Guzi' High School in Gramsh.  I'm partnered with my amazing co-teacher Laura and together we teach all 8 classes in the 11th grade, which comes out to 21 classes a week.  Laura has acted as my guide to the school and to the Albanian system and has been an excellent support during my service so far.  Teaching in school can be difficult though.  In each class there is a huge learning gap with students who can barely say their name and age and students that are practically fluent expected to learn in the same classroom.  Add on top of that the fact that as much time as I've put into learning Shqip, I still don't have the confidence to discipline in Albanian.  Needless to say it can be a struggle but working here has allowed me to meet some amazing people and truly given me a new respect for the work teachers here (and worldwide) do!

Secondary Projects

A huge part of a PCVs work comes from secondary projects.  This is where we are free to do the things we are passionate about and expand our work to meet the specific needs of our community.

That being said, most of my projects focus on English education as well!  I have two English Clubs, one for students at the high school and another for students at the middle school.  They are both full of kids who inspire me everyday and give me hope for the future of this amazing country.  Both groups recently took part in the Write On! Albania competition, an international creative writing competition between PC countries in Eastern Europe and Asia.  

My most recent project is a class for 3rd grade students which I like to call English Kindergarten.  Kids here start learning English in the 3rd grade but oftentimes their teachers aren't trained to teach English, they don't get enough instruction during the week and their textbooks aren't meant for young learners.  So my idea was to start a class where they could learn English in a more natural way, like you learned when you were in Kindergarten.  So each week we have a simple topic like colors.  We learn the vocabulary with pictures or objects and then we play games or learn songs to reinforce what they've learned.  So far it has been a huge success.  The first week I had 7 students and now in the third week I'm up to 15!

The winter has been a slower time as far as youth groups go (I mean who really wants to meet in a freezing cold class room to play games) but I'm hoping that with the Spring coming Outdoor Ambassadors will be able to get going again!

I'm also lucky enough to have the chance to work with two Peace Corps Committees, the Gender Equality Committee (Barazia Gjinore) and the Language and Cross Cultural Committee.  PC Committees allow interested volunteers to work on projects that have an impact beyond their communities.  

With Barazia Gjinore I am responsible for sending out the quarterly newsletter to all PCVs and staff.  We highlight a different issues every edition, providing resources as well as contacts to organizations in Albania who are involved with that issue, and highlight the work of volunteers in the field who are doing gender related projects.  We currently have a few projects going on but the one I am most excited about is a new program that would allow us to travel and support PCVs who are interested in holding gender related events and/or trainings in their sites.  If you're interested in more information check out our awesome new website.

The Language and Cross Cultural Committee has been keeping busy as well.  We have been working on updating all of the materials trainees get during PST as well as developing some new language learning tools which they'll hopefully be able to use.

Upcoming Projects

With Spring on its way, I'm hoping to finally get some youth sports activities going on here in Gramsh. So far the ideas of a Girls Soccer Team, a Zumba class and a Running Club have all been floated around.  I'm excited to see if any of them stick!

That is all I can think of for now!  But stay tuned because some big things are coming up!  This week is not only Summer Day but also THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF MY GROUP BEING IN ALBANIA!!!!!