July 29, 2008
Permanent
Site Interview
This afternoon all the TEFL volunteers (Teaching English as a
Foreign Language) had a chance to voice their concerns and preferences, and ask
questions concerning our permanent site placement. I was interviewed by the
Program Manager from the North region of the country, as were two of my peers;
the fourth trainee in the university group was interviewed by the PM from the
South. It lasted about 10 minutes.
The importance of this interview is based entirely on whether or not the Peace Corps already knows where they're going to place us. Many trainees have said this interview was just a formality because the Program Managers have already seen our resumes and read our aspiration statements, so they have a pretty good idea of where they want us. I mean, what more could we tell them? The cynical side of me tends to agree with this sentiment. Still, I reiterated my two main desires: to be placed in a university that has a drama club or is open to starting one; and live in an area where fruits and vegetables are plentiful (that is code for South Kyrgyzstan). Which of these desires takes top priority, you ask? Well, for the sake of discussion, let's say my permanent site has not been decided. I believe it's more important to be in a good working situation than have a cornucopia of fruits and veggies, because a bad work environment will make for a loooooong two years, while I can work with the local food supply. I also want to be in an area where independent living is an option and being in a city (where all the universities are located) will afford me that. Now, it's the waiting game with everybody putting out their positive vibes to the universe in the hopes of landing in the best situation possible. For those that don't, I can see our numbers dwindle. (After almost three weeks, we've only lost 3 of 63. While there will be others that leave early, I think we're doing amazingly well!)
The importance of this interview is based entirely on whether or not the Peace Corps already knows where they're going to place us. Many trainees have said this interview was just a formality because the Program Managers have already seen our resumes and read our aspiration statements, so they have a pretty good idea of where they want us. I mean, what more could we tell them? The cynical side of me tends to agree with this sentiment. Still, I reiterated my two main desires: to be placed in a university that has a drama club or is open to starting one; and live in an area where fruits and vegetables are plentiful (that is code for South Kyrgyzstan). Which of these desires takes top priority, you ask? Well, for the sake of discussion, let's say my permanent site has not been decided. I believe it's more important to be in a good working situation than have a cornucopia of fruits and veggies, because a bad work environment will make for a loooooong two years, while I can work with the local food supply. I also want to be in an area where independent living is an option and being in a city (where all the universities are located) will afford me that. Now, it's the waiting game with everybody putting out their positive vibes to the universe in the hopes of landing in the best situation possible. For those that don't, I can see our numbers dwindle. (After almost three weeks, we've only lost 3 of 63. While there will be others that leave early, I think we're doing amazingly well!)
Also in the book, the Peace Corps interview process, How I came to be placed as a University TEFL, and the story behind why one of our village trainees left after only a couple of weeks.
