2005.09.13: September 13, 2005: Headlines: COS - Mauritania: Blogs - Mauritania: Personal Web Site: Mauritania Peace Corps Volunteer cailinakafatou writes: this news-free zone
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2005.09.13: September 13, 2005: Headlines: COS - Mauritania: Blogs - Mauritania: Personal Web Site: Mauritania Peace Corps Volunteer cailinakafatou writes: this news-free zone
Mauritania Peace Corps Volunteer cailinakafatou writes: this news-free zone
"i really liked it because i got to be reminded of how strange and enthusiastic we americans are, how we like to do wacky shit in front of people we don't know. i must be so entertaining for my students to watch... a product of the american ed system where good teachers are engaging, make facial expressions and bring in stuff like it's show and tell. (flashback to my second-year class where, early in the year, i brought in four or five boutique-bought items for the sake of vocabulary and an exericise. a bag of sugar? whoa, havoc.) ...observing it all made me realize i learned how to teach in the last year, which is reassuring."
Mauritania Peace Corps Volunteer cailinakafatou writes: this news-free zone
this news-free zone [13 Sep 2005|04:52pm]
i'm back in kaedi reliving last year's training with the advantage of being a Second Year in capital letters (officially as of 9 sept). rather than being on the receiving end of two-hour long training sessions that begin with the all important "Objectives" i'm on the giving end. well, i helped present one or two of these sessions. mostly i stayed in the back of the classroom during the first week of model school, observing and writing Helpful Things on a sheet of paper to discuss with the teachers-in-training, all of whom want to kill themselves on the first day. did i ever get to describe model school last year? it's kind of like teacher boot camp, with emotional trauma only. in the last month of training, english ed volunteers find themselves in front of real live mauritanian students who they are supposed to motivate and control and... teach. it's scary but effective. and honestly it's a pretty gentle introduction: the kids who enroll sign up voluntarily, and for most of them the material is a review of what they learned in class the year before. these ones are the good kids.
i really liked it because i got to be reminded of how strange and enthusiastic we americans are, how we like to do wacky shit in front of people we don't know. i must be so entertaining for my students to watch... a product of the american ed system where good teachers are engaging, make facial expressions and bring in stuff like it's show and tell. (flashback to my second-year class where, early in the year, i brought in four or five boutique-bought items for the sake of vocabulary and an exericise. a bag of sugar? whoa, havoc.) ...observing it all made me realize i learned how to teach in the last year, which is reassuring. i also liked model school because i got to sit in the back row and doodle, make lists and elaborately fold notes. oh, good times.
clearly, nothing much is happening right now. no trips, no coups or armed rebellions, nothing good on TV... (not that i have one, although i hear the theme song to the argentinian soap opera and wonder how much i've missed since i've been away from site). we are just trying not to move in the kaedi heat and watching the sky for a sign of rain, which would at least provoke some relocation indoors and maybe allow us to breathe again. i haven't listened to the radio or used the internet much in days. it's a self-imposed news-free zone. the anniversary of 11 sept came and went almost without mention; it sounds like new orleans is still a loss, but i don't know. i get most of my news lately from emailed articles and the bi-weekly phone calls to mom/dad/meg, during which time we update each other on a)natural disastors b)work c)pregnancies/ family scandals/ things of interest and d)news of mom/dad/meg, because everyone is so busy over there it's hard to stay in touch. good thing i'm not busy. school will start in a few weeks and with it the 844 things i plan to do that i've detailed so carefully on all these lists, inshAllah. i think it might be raining by now.
When this story was posted in September 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
| Chris Shays Shifts to Favor an Iraq Timetable In a policy shift, RPCV Congressman Chris Shays, long a staunch advocate of the Bush administration's position in Iraq, is now proposing a timetable for a withdrawal of American troops. How Mr. Shays came to this change of heart is, he says, a matter of a newfound substantive belief that Iraqis need to be prodded into taking greater control of their own destiny under the country’s newly formed government. As Chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on national security, he plans to draft a timetable for a phased withdrawal and then push for its adoption. A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War who said that if drafted he would not serve, Chris Shays has made 14 trips to Iraq and was the first Congressman to enter the country after the war - against the wishes of the Department of Defense. |
| Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process. |
| The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace. |
| Chris Dodd considers run for the White House Senator Chris Dodd plans to spend the next six to eight months raising money and reaching out to Democrats around the country to gauge his viability as a candidate. Just how far Dodd can go depends largely on his ability to reach Democrats looking for an alternative to Hillary Clinton. PCOL Comment: Dodd served as a Volunteer in the Dominican Republic and has been one of the strongest supporters of the Peace Corps in Congress. |
| Peace Corps stonewalls on FOIA request The Ashland Daily Tidings reports that Peace Corps has blocked their request for information on the Volkart case. "After the Tidings requested information pertaining to why Volkart was denied the position — on March 2 — the newspaper received a letter from the Peace Corps FOIA officer stating the requested information was protected under an exemption of the act." The Dayton Daily News had similar problems with FOIA requests for their award winning series on Volunteer Safety and Security. |
| PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come. |
| History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
| RPCV admits to abuse while in Peace Corps Timothy Ronald Obert has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor in Costa Rica while serving there as a Peace Corps volunteer. "The Peace Corps has a zero tolerance policy for misconduct that violates the law or standards of conduct established by the Peace Corps," said Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez. Could inadequate screening have been partly to blame? Mr. Obert's resume, which he had submitted to the Peace Corps in support of his application to become a Peace Corps Volunteer, showed that he had repeatedly sought and obtained positions working with underprivileged children. Read what RPCVs have to say about this case. |
| Why blurring the lines puts PCVs in danger When the National Call to Service legislation was amended to include Peace Corps in December of 2002, this country had not yet invaded Iraq and was not in prolonged military engagement in the Middle East, as it is now. Read the story of how one volunteer spent three years in captivity from 1976 to 1980 as the hostage of a insurrection group in Colombia in Joanne Marie Roll's op-ed on why this legislation may put soldier/PCVs in the same kind of danger. Latest: Read the ongoing dialog on the subject. |
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Story Source: Personal Web Site
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