Friday, March 27, 2009

Wow, today marks the day when I just have four months to go as a Peace Corps volunteer... It doesn't seem like it is possible that I have been gone for over two years!!!!! What an amazing experience I have had (and will have for the next four months!). I have actually managed to get some internet wireless access for my laptop (it's a flash that gives me access to the internet through the cellular network!), so I am going to try and update pretty frequently for the last few months that I am here. (My official day to leave is the 27th, but I won't be home until the 29th. I am going to stay over for a couple of nights in Istanbul again. It was gorgeous and I barely scraped the surface of seeing what I wanted to see while there over Christmas!)

Most of the news I have right now is teaching related. I am winding things up with my fourth year students this week and next, so things are pretty hectic right now... But when are things NOT hectic with me? I have the feeling that things will only get even more hectic over the next few months as I try to wind things up at the university and with Peace Corps. In early June I will be helping to train the new group that is coming in and I will be wrapping things up down here in Cahul at the end of June. This means I will most likely move in closer to the capitol (a town called Ialovani) to help with the trainings of the new volunteers before I leave Moldova. I am already having nightmares about saying goodbye to my host family. It is going to be awful!!!!


The rumor is that Spring is on the way to Moldova, but there hasn't been a lot of evidence of that yet. Wednesday it snowed, but at least the last two days have been sunny even if it has been pretty cool. I am ready for some extended sunshine and some warm weather!!!!! Judy, Millie... any chance you guys might be up for a poker party on the boat when I get back? I never realized living in Arkansas how much gray days and icky weather can wear on you. Let me assure you... It does! When I got back from the US in January I didn't see the sun for 32 days. Yuck!!!!



What have I been doing that is fun? Well, I staged a kidnapping with a group of students that are reading a mystery novel.... We talked about the principles of investigation, the difference between hard evidence and circumstantial evidence, learned about fingerprinting and ransom, and have been following the evidence trail for about 4 weeks now. Tuesday a group of my students were able to get back the kidnappee (a stuffed cow named Botswana Bill!) without incident and are putting the finishing touches on their case for presentation next week. Poor Botswana Bill went through a lot while he was with the kidnappers, as you can see from the pictures. The whole town was involved in the case, so it was a great lesson all the way around.
I am really going to miss these amazing young people and the wonderful people of Cahul.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

How am I not suprised? New continent, same tricks! It sounds like you are having a blast with your class - as usual!

I can't wait to see you when you get back. Stay safe, and keep changing lives!

martha said...

Hi, Jen! Welcome back to the airwaves, I missed you. Looking forward to more frequent posts in your wind-down time. I can only imagine how sad you'll be to leave all your friends and family there, and my heart aches with yours...but I am SO counting the weeks until you'll be back in Arkansas.

Jennifer said...

Martha,
When does the fall semester begin? I am going to be back at the end of July, but have some travelling to do at the beginning of August. If I remember correctly, the classes begin for the fall semester sometime in August.... I can't wait to get my hands back in some clay! I miss all of you fabulous ladies...
Jennifer

martha said...

Jennifer, classes usually start for fall after Labor Day, but that's late this year. I think you're safe to assume after September 1 sometime. Still have that piece you wanted! Would you like to help me mount a show & sale for my stuff when you get home & have time? Love!

Maria said...

Jennifer:
It sounds as though you may very well want to teach college students when you get back. Look into it-although I want to say that High Schools need motivated teachers like you too!!! It is just that at the high school level, there are sooooo many un-motivated students ----or students with hormones gone wild----or students who get distracted by the drama presented by the other students with hormones gone wild (my ADD ninth grader would fit into this category altho she has done very,very well academically so far). I get frustrated with the non-teacher teachers that my kids sometimes get and wish they could be cool and full of energy like you and then I remember : OH yeah, Jen got pretty burned out in the public school settting. Hmmm. Something has got to happen to get young people to engage and be excited about learning-but I don't know what. I'm frustrated with my daughter's Spanish teacher but then he has a class composed of mostly 11th and 12th graders with a few 9th and 10th graders sprinkled in on a 4th block. DUH-No wonder not much gets accomplished! I can tell you that in 1 short summer those apathetic seniors turn into some very dedicated freshmen. Do you think that having to pay for it all has something to do with it---or realizing just how terrible the job market is with only a high school diploma? Then again, college does give a lot more flexibility and choice to students-and treats them like adults to boot.
Don't know -these are just a few thoughts on education as you wind down your months of teaching. Good luck, and I echo Martha's sentiments-I can't wait to see you too.
Maria

Jennifer said...

Maria,
You know, I am not sure what I am going to do when I get home. Right now I am looking hard at two avenues. #1 is a paying job working for the Peace Corps. They pay pretty well, but I would have to convince my husband to quit his job and come live in a disadvantaged country and I am not sure if that is going to be his idea of fun. My second serious option is teacher training. I want to see what I can do to affect the quality of teachers in the classroom. I firmly believe that we have some amazing teachers in public schools, but we also have a lot of teachers that are tired of the system and have just laid down and died rather than fight to change things.
You know what I think the difference is between those high school seniors and the entering freshman? The respect factor. In high school, students don't respect teachers (even the good ones) for a large number of reasons. (They know how poorly paid they are, some are not respected because they truly are bad teachers, other students know that there really are no consequences for their bad behavior-so why bother putting effort into their education, and on and on!) I think that the best way to help students in the public schools is to stop behaving like we are giving away for free something that isn't worth much. Make consequences for behavior- fail students that don't perform,
fire teachers that don't perform, etc. I don't mean to sound heartless, and I don't mean to say that there should not be avenues for students who change their behavior to get back into schools, but there have to be consequences put back into the system. No one really likes or respects something they get with no effort. Put some consequences back into the system and you will see people on all rungs of the educational ladder have more respect for the system as a whole!
... Sorry for that diatribe! I just feel so passionately about this issue. I think students deserve the best education possible. Whether it be in America, or Moldova or Botswana. We have to do a better job!
Thanks for getting me going! I miss you and can't wait to do this in person with you (maybe with a glass of wine in my hand!).
Jennifer

Maria said...

Oh, definately!!!
We need to continue out conversation with a glass of wine (or more) in our hands and you have just got to come to my house and help me cook. I have new counters and GAS burners and new pots and I am having FUN!!! (forget that liquid diet stuff--we're going to do some serious cookin' and invite the pottery people!).

martha said...

Jen, are you OK in light of the election demonstrations & what Western media is calling riots? What's going on where you are??