Week 7 & 8 — The Final Countdown

02-August-2011

The Final Countdown!

It is so exciting to note that one week from today (the day I am writing this-Tuesday August 2) we will be officially sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers.  [Rebecca points out that is only if everything goes according to plan, but I am still excited!]  We have just about completed  PST and have weathered the ups and downs of the initial adjustment to Swazi life.  We have enjoyed much of the time at our training site, but are so excited to move on to our permanent site (where it is warmer and we will regain control of our daily schedules). 

This past week, we got to do some work in a Swazi primary school.  Our  group of non-formal education volunteers broke into pairs and prepared ‘life-skills’ lessons to present either yesterday or today.  Tim and I were are pair and we designed a lesson titled ‘Healthy Bodies, Happy Bodies’ where we emphasized proper hand-washing and the importance of a balanced diet.  Rebecca worked with Emma and their lesson was focused on building English comprehension and social skills.  While we have not yet received the ‘formal’ feedback, both of our lessons were well received by the students and they seemed to have fun.  In addition to getting some experience in front of a Swazi classroom, the goal of this exercise was to incorporate the host of classroom management, lesson design, and other teaching techniques that we have been covering during the technical sessions over the past couple weeks.

On tap for this week are some medical, safety, and admin sessions along with the final Language Proficiency Interview (fingers crossed).  On Saturday, we will pack everything up and end our time here with an appreciation ceremony with our training site host families. 

Then the real adventure begins…

-Oliver

P.S. I have just received word that my first piece of mail has arrived at the training center, and I will be able to pick it up tomorrow!  The address listed will be our address throughout our service, so feel free to send mail anytime.

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We got the package and several letters this morning!  It is great to hear how everyone is doing back home…. please keep the letters coming (you wouldn’t believe how excited we get when the mail comes).