4 February 2009
Hey all! So it’s been a few weeks since I’ve updated this thing. Sorry about that, it’s not like there haven’t been things to update on it’s just that I’ve been a little busy actually working which is awesome.
Before I get into the work business though I want to give a huge thank you to my family and friends who contributed to my Christmas Photo Album and Notes. I just received it today and I can’t tell you how overjoyed, overwhelmed, and blessed I was to read all of the messages and see all of the photos. I’ll admit there were a few tears shed while reading it. I have said it many times; I am so blessed to have a supportive family and supportive friends. That book really put it over the top though; words truly cannot express how that made me feel. you so much for the wonderful messages, beautiful smiling faces, and just for the overall love you constantly supply me with. I’m a very lucky girl. God is so good to me.
Anyway, as I said I have been really busy for the past few weeks and it is a very good thing. I am finally teaching classes regularly and my counterparts and I are trying to set a good rhythm of team teaching and planning together. It’s an interesting process because some of my counterparts are really receptive to this idea while others just want me to teach for them so they don’t have to do anything (just to let you know that doesn’t fly). I also have a really good group of about 4 teachers that come out to my school once a week for a teacher’s club, which mostly turns into me trying to teach a complicated grammar lesson (emphasis on complicated) while they chat about the many things wrong with the education system (all in Turkmen). They are receptive to the lesson though and always appreciative of being able to speak a little bit of English weekly.
On top of the teacher’s club I also teach technically two students English clubs. I say technically because nobody comes to the first one. The first club I tried to start was designed for the older students (14-16) and for some reason no students show up to it. I don’t think it’s that the students aren’t interested in English or me, but I really think it has to do with educational values in a small village. Unfortunately, many of the kids in my village are very poor and will never be able to go onto university. Thus, education isn’t valued and the students feel an obligation to go home after school to help their parents instead of staying an extra hour to learn English. This is extremely unfortunate because what a lot of these kids and parents don’t realize is that if their child speaks English they have a better opportunity to get a job in a city like Ashgabat (only 30 mins by marshrutka from my village). So my goal is to try to get out in the community more and meet these kids families and talk to them a little bit about this issue, hopefully then I can actually get some kids to come to my English club. It starts with the parents though.
I absolutely love the one club where students show up though! I have a really good group of about 20 little 12 year-old-girls who come twice a week to my club and it’s so much fun. They actually enjoy spending time and learning (mainly because I trick them with grammar games). It’s cool because I can actually see a bit of improvement in their language abilities as they can now all sing the alphabet song by heart, greet one another with the proper greeting (good morning, ect), and introduce themselves. Two weeks ago I would say only half of them could master just one of those skills, but not all of them. Thus progress is being made there! I am putting my heart and soul into this club because these girl are so great and precious, they work hard and so will I.
On top of doing all the teaching I am also working on my own language and building some cool friendships with host country nationals. For the past three weeks I have gone into Ashgabat on every Saturday and played soccer with my PCV friends Tess and Andrea and a group of young Turkmen women with Tess’s Women’s Soccer Club. It’s fun to play soccer again, but it’s a ton of fun to watch the Turkmen girls learn how to play! I am building some good friendships with the girls that I am sure will last for a lifetime. The Soccer Club has also gotten me in contact with an awesome Turkmen Tutor, her name is Ayna. I met Ayna during PST because she was an LCF for a different training group, I thought she was a really cool person during PST, but forgot to get her contact info before coming to site. Fortunately, Tess, wasn’t that forgetful and had invited Ayna to play soccer, anyways, long story short Ayna is now helping me improve my Turkmen and I am helping her improve her English in exchange. I meet Ayna at least once a week (sometimes twice) and she teaches me Turkmen and I am helping her apply for grad programs in the US. It’s a really cool exchange and I am excited to just have a cool new friend (also a really cool friend who promises to eventually teach me Russian).
In closing I would just like to say that I live a really cool life. I am living in Turkmenistan teaching English and making a difference, I’ve got an awesome support system back home and am making a really cool support system here, and to put icing on the cake… I am actually getting paid to do live the life of my dreams! Wow… I am totally blessed. Thanks again everyone for everything. I love you all!
