Ok, in case you haven't noticed, I've fallen off the writing wagon…very sorry!! I've been going through phases of what I do in my free time: crafting, furniture refinishing, painting, writing (stories, not blogs), Lost-watching (most recently), and, as always, visiting. But the good news is I'm back to updating my blog!
The school semester is about to end this week, so I'll update you all on what it is I've been doing. I've taken on the position of art, music, and sport teacher at my center. Every week, I come up with activities to do with my students, and go into each of the classrooms to present the activity with the help of the teachers. Sundays we do sports, like variations of tag, bowling, and bean-bag toss. I see each of the six classes for 40 minutes each. Mondays are art days, and we do all kinds of projects. Some of my favorites have been "stained-glass" from colored tissue paper scraps and contact paper, mosaics, coffee-filter and cloths-pin butterflies, and toilet paper roll bracelets. I've learned to be a bit creative with art projects, coming up with ideas quickly if need be, with easy to come by materials. Nothing is wasted here, and I find myself saving packaging, cereal boxes, soda bottles, and every scrap paper I come across. I'm lucky that at my center we can afford to by things like paint, markers, paper, and contact paper, and I don't take that for granted. On Tuesdays we do music, though I'll end up doing art with the kids a lot. On account of the fact that I know no Arabic children's songs to teach, and we have no instruments save a few drums, we do a lot with shakers and coffee-tin drums about keeping rhythm and imitating a beat. On Wednesdays, I've been going to a school nearby to co-teach English for elementary aged students. We follow lessons dictated by the ministry, so instead of coming up with material, I make up activities that engage the students and allow them to practice what they are learning. On Thursdays we tend to go on field-trips to the local youth-centers or on picnics, and either way, snacks and debka are always involved.
On the weekends I visit a lot, as there are several families I see on a pretty consistent basis. Sometimes I'll have friends of mine stay the weekend with me, or will go to visit them on the weekends. I'll also go into Amman with everyone quite a bit, sometimes just for the day (I'm only about 50 minutes away), and sometimes overnight. We, until recently, were playing in a football league in Amman every Friday, and I learned that I really like playing defensive line and receiver. Most of the Department of Defense guys and Marines we played didn't ever want to hurt a girl, so I ended up doing pretty well! It's always nice to go into Amman and see everyone in town, even if I always end up spending half my monthly allowance on Starbucks and Blue Fig!
We've had a few conferences and events with the Peace Corps. We had a language training in Aqaba, a counterpart conference where we brought partners from our work-sites to discuss projects and activities, and a project design conference, where we learned the nuances of implementing a large-scale project at site. My mudeera (director) accompanied me, and together we came up with a plan to start a speech-therapy clinic at our center. Hopefully it will all come together, but for the time being, I'll be putting in a lot of work on this over the summer. We're also hoping to put on a summer camp for our kids during the last week of July, but need to secure funding and make sure everything is a go.
I've also been doing some projects with other volunteers and organizations. In late February I volunteered with Operation Smile, an organization that provides surgery to children with cleft-lips and palates. As a volunteer, I helped to watch the kids at the hotel they were staying in, and assisted with the coordination of getting the patients to and from the hospital for their surgeries. I even got to go to the hospital once to keep one patient company, and went with her to a speech-therapist based in Amman the next day. This experience coupled with my centers plans for a speech therapy clinic have been great in keeping me on course for Speech-Language Pathology when I get back to the States someday…because with every day with my kiddos, a Master's Degree in Special Education is looking better and better.
Another project I helped with was putting on an event for children with special needs. During the end of May, many of us PCVs collaborated to make a carnival for the children at our centers. When it was all said and done, I think that things went really well. The day kicked off with a talent showcase, where kids got to sing and show off their debka moves. One of my students with autism got loose on the gymnasium floor, so, lucky for him, he was in about 7 or 8 different performances. Each volunteer was responsible for putting on one activity, and with the help of my center, we did balloon animals. I learned that making 150 balloon hats it pretty tiring work, but it was worth it, as all the kids we're beaming with joy whenever I put a hat on their heads.
Most recently, I did a teleconference with the Lucia Mar school district about 21st Century Learning Skills. I was able to share my experience as a Peace Corps volunteer with educators in my hometown district, and tell about what skills are most important in my day to day life. Apparently there was even an article written about it in the local newspaper, Santa Maria times, which was brought to my attention by my country director.
All in all, I'm excited for this summer! Hopefully I'll get the chance to help out some of the other volunteers with their summer camps, will be putting on one of my own, and will be working on some other projects along the way. Also, Justin is visiting in less than three weeks, and I can't wait!! It will be so good to see him, and we have big plans through Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan! I can't wait to show him what my life is like here, and think it will bring us even closer together!
Anywho, I promise to write more during the summer months!! I'm sure that I'll have lots of adventures to write about!!
Best,
Stephanie
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