Back from Plovdiv.
I was in Plovdiv Monday-Wednesday for PDM. It was nice to see everyone, I hadn't since IST. And now I won't again until MST in June.
Ages ago, I remember saying something to a friend whose sister had been a Volunteer about how much paperwork was involved in Peace Corps and how it served to remind us that PC is run by the federal bureacracy. She said that based on her sister's stories, it's impossible to forget that, and you know what? She was right. If you're interested in Peace Corps, or possibly stalking me, this is what I'm talking about.
1. Staging. This is when all the members of your group arrive in the city in the US from which you will depart for your assignment. Mine was in Washington, DC (really Arlington, VA) and we sat around in a hotel conference room for two and a half days talking about expectations and doing skits and making lists.
2. Pre-Service Training (PST). The biggie. Ours lasted for ~10 weeks. This was when I was in Boboshevo. We had 5 hours of Bulgarian a day, practiced teaching at the local elementary school, and did (largely silly) community entry assignments. My group of B19s was seperated into eleven towns and village surrounding the city of Dupnitsa, and every two weeks we gathered there and talked about how we were doing.
3. In-Service Training (IST). We had this back at the end of November, in Kazanluk. Which was great for me, since I live about 25 minutes from Kazanluk and stayed at home instead of the hotel. More talking about teaching and community entry and Bulgarian. My counterpart had to come, too.
4. Project Design Mamagement (PDM). This is what we just had. Most Peace Corps Volunteers work on projects to improve their school and community, and write grant proposals to get the money to do this. We just had a three day workshop on how to get this done. My school director accompanyed me this time. I like my director, but I was pretty nervous about spending three days with her. I hope she doesn't think I'm awful for sometimes working with my Bulgarian flashcards during deadly dull seminars. (Can we just ban Power Point already? Gee whiz.)
5. Mid-Service Training (MST). This is in June, right after the school year ends. Included in MST is the Experience Exchange Conference, during which we, the now-veteran B19 TEFLs will give our advice to the now only hypothetical B21s, who are due to arrive on April 16.
Then, we are free, free, FREE of conferences for months and months! Yay!
6. Close of Service (COS). This will take place, I think, in March or April of next year. Obviously, I haven't been yet so I don't know exactly what we'll all be talking about. I guess it's more complicated than just saying adios.
In Pavel Banski news, we have a carnival this weekend. I am looking forward to it. Expect pictures soon!
Ages ago, I remember saying something to a friend whose sister had been a Volunteer about how much paperwork was involved in Peace Corps and how it served to remind us that PC is run by the federal bureacracy. She said that based on her sister's stories, it's impossible to forget that, and you know what? She was right. If you're interested in Peace Corps, or possibly stalking me, this is what I'm talking about.
1. Staging. This is when all the members of your group arrive in the city in the US from which you will depart for your assignment. Mine was in Washington, DC (really Arlington, VA) and we sat around in a hotel conference room for two and a half days talking about expectations and doing skits and making lists.
2. Pre-Service Training (PST). The biggie. Ours lasted for ~10 weeks. This was when I was in Boboshevo. We had 5 hours of Bulgarian a day, practiced teaching at the local elementary school, and did (largely silly) community entry assignments. My group of B19s was seperated into eleven towns and village surrounding the city of Dupnitsa, and every two weeks we gathered there and talked about how we were doing.
3. In-Service Training (IST). We had this back at the end of November, in Kazanluk. Which was great for me, since I live about 25 minutes from Kazanluk and stayed at home instead of the hotel. More talking about teaching and community entry and Bulgarian. My counterpart had to come, too.
4. Project Design Mamagement (PDM). This is what we just had. Most Peace Corps Volunteers work on projects to improve their school and community, and write grant proposals to get the money to do this. We just had a three day workshop on how to get this done. My school director accompanyed me this time. I like my director, but I was pretty nervous about spending three days with her. I hope she doesn't think I'm awful for sometimes working with my Bulgarian flashcards during deadly dull seminars. (Can we just ban Power Point already? Gee whiz.)
5. Mid-Service Training (MST). This is in June, right after the school year ends. Included in MST is the Experience Exchange Conference, during which we, the now-veteran B19 TEFLs will give our advice to the now only hypothetical B21s, who are due to arrive on April 16.
Then, we are free, free, FREE of conferences for months and months! Yay!
6. Close of Service (COS). This will take place, I think, in March or April of next year. Obviously, I haven't been yet so I don't know exactly what we'll all be talking about. I guess it's more complicated than just saying adios.
In Pavel Banski news, we have a carnival this weekend. I am looking forward to it. Expect pictures soon!
Labels: bureacracy
posted by Blogaria at 12:46 AM
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