Training

So training is very interesting….some fun….some not so fun…. But it is what it is and we are almost done!!! I feel like it had been forever, but at the same time the time just flew by. I loath the longs days of sitting in training listening to unorganized lectures, doing 5 million skits because that is supposedly more interesting than the lectures!?! And tons of group work that none of the trainers even listen to when we present…I LOVE TRAINING! So other than that fun…what is training really like? Honestly, it reminds me of the days when I was pledging my sorority. No, there is no hazing involved! Basically they give you tons of group projects to make you go crazy, then keep you in class so late that you don’t have time to work on it and you have to be in your home-stay by dark (6pm). Oh by the way, transportation stops at 6pm too. They also like to play the game “we will only tell you a day or two before you have to present the information” or “ by the way, you also have three more very meaningful assignments to do tonight that are due tomorrow morning.” Also, a lot of the projects include working with community members. This would be a good thing if we were staying here and could start something sustainable or meet with the groups again, but we are leaving soon. Therefore, they just have to be kind and let us use them to get our projects done for class. Peace Corps also loves acronyms- all PCT’s learn to adore KEEPRA and PACA. I do believe that some of the trainees really are getting a lot out of training in all honesty, especially the people who are not used to teaching or speaking to groups of people. Essentially that is what all PCV’s will be doing. I have to say I really like our Education Trainer! He is very experienced, does experiential learning activities, and provides us with a great deal of resources. I know that I complain, but overall it is a good experience I suppose. I think it is funny though, at first I was assuming that the reason they gave us so much to do was an attempt to stress us out and teach time management skills. The reality of it is that after training a big issue with volunteers is the lack of activity and how to manage a massive amount of down time. Everyone from home kept saying that I would be less stressed when I got here and it would be a nice relaxing change from the crazy classroom I had in the states. As it is definitely not stressful in the same sense here, there are different stresses. A CRAZY Peace Corps statistic that they keep reminding us is that the stress and adjustment that a PCV goes through is equal to that of going through a divorce or losing a family member….crazy right?