January 19, 2009
Hey,
I
was in Bishkek last week for PC meetings and didn't have access to a computer,
nor time to write. Back in Bishkek this week for a drama workshop at
American University of Central Asia. As you might guess, it's a treat to
be here because everybody at the school speaks English. Well, almost
everybody. More on that when I write the recap this weekend.
In-Service Training
(IST)
Last
week I didn't have access to a computer because I was at IST, one of the
mandatory trainings of our service. The first two days we worked
with our counterparts (CP), our teaching partners. Since I'm at a
new school, with a new CP, a school that's never had a volunteer, it was
essential she attend. I can always use more teacher training and she
definitely needed it because the PC system was totally foreign to
her. She left on Wednesday and I wish I could have gone with her.
If
I were never to see my fellow volunteers ever again, save two or three, it
would be all right with me. I'm kidding, but being around them is like
taking a trip to 30 years ago. I see them and I'm looking into a
human mirror. I've written about this before, but their behavior, well
maybe I'm just gettin' old and cranky. Actually, it's hard to admit that I
know now what I was like at 22. I was doing the same stuff they
are. Ain't pretty now and I'm sure it wasn't then,
either. For example, I walked past the same volunteer every morning,
on purpose, just to smell if he reeked of the previous night's
revelry. There wasn't a single morning he let me down. At least
he wore a sport coat and tie every day in an effort to distract people from
looking at his Rand McNally eyes. I really do like most of my peers and had
some wonderful conversations last week; and as long as they don't intrude into
my space with their youthful frivolity, I say let them live and learn like I
did. Hopefully, it won't take them as long as it took me.
That
said, maybe this puerile behavior has its plus side. Both our Country
Director and Program Training Officer mentioned we are a special group of
volunteers, having lost only 3 since swearing in. Outside of medical
or disciplinary separation, I don't see us losing many more over the next 19
months. In truth, I'm proud to be a part of such a group; the
service part.
Holy man, another entry related to age. Reading
these emails for the first time since I wrote them, I’ve been repeatedly
surprised at the frequency with which the subject affected my PC life, not always
in a negative way, but to the point I felt the need to write about it. I’m
suffering from serious brain strain in an effort to stay original regarding this topic as
I lost copious amounts of cerebral matter when I was the age of my young
compatriots. Well, let me have a try, anyway.
Also in the book: what being around young volunteers taught me; why we were one hotel away from sleeping in tents.
President Obama
By
the time many of you read this we will officially have a new president. There
has to be an optimistic aura enveloping the entire country. As one
volunteer, who's been away from America since 2005, told me, “For the
first time in four years, I don't have to pretend I'm
Canadian.” Now, if he can create good paying jobs for all those who
have lost theirs recently, including some people close to me, I'll be a happier
man. The eyes of the world undoubtedly will monitor Obama's first
100 days with more scrutiny than any president in my life
time. I believe he's up to the task, although as my students
say, “Time will show.” And just in case you think I'm not doing my job over
here, they used to say that. Now they say, “Time will tell.”
Barack Obama has less than a year left in his
second term as I write this and it’s pretty incredible that he has accomplished
so much in the face of unprecedented obstruction from an opposing party. Hail
to the Chief!
