Camp GROW 2015

Camp GROW is similar to Camp GLOW but the focus is more agriculture and environment oriented.  At the end of August, I helped with a Camp GROW in Fitche (located in Oromia Region).  I also brought two students with me to this camp.  I did not take students with me to the Camp GLOW in Debre Berhan, so it was a very different experience, but a good one too.

This camp included both male and female students.  We had about 40 students total.  Almost half of the students were from Fitche.  The rest came from different parts of Oromia and Amhara regions.  We had a handful of junior counselors from Fitche (primarily 11^th and 12^th grade) and university girls from Addis Ababa who helped a lot with sessions, translations, etc.   About 13 Peace Corps volunteers came to help and participate in camp.

The Peace Corps volunteers facilitated various sessions for the students that came, including the importance of and how to create a permagarden, the importance of recycling, a nature walk, a nutrition session, a few English sessions, the importance of goal setting, etc.  I facilitated the nutrition session (as I had during the camp GLOW in Debre Berhan).

A few sessions that stuck out to me in particular included the permagarden, the recycling session and the English session that focused on dramas.  I was extremely impressed with many of the students for being so interested in the permagarden session and getting very involved with the whole process of creating a permanent and sustainable garden.  During the session that focused on the importance of recycling, students were put into groups and as teams competed to fill up bags with trash.  I loved to see how competitive they could get, especially when it meant that they were also learning.  During the English drama session, students were put into groups again and within their groups were given different topics.  Each group was expected to create a drama (in English of course) that was based on their given topic.  It was so fun to see how creative they were able to be with their dramas and it was cool to see how much fun they had in presenting them.

It was a long, hard week that left me completely exhausted by the end.  But it was very worth it.  I was able to get to know many students and see their growth throughout the week.  I was so happy to get to know the two students whom I brought with me better and to see their growth throughout the week.  It was so cool to see the connections and friendships made between students from different towns who would not have ever met without having attending camp. 

I have actually been asked if I like camp GLOW or camp GROW better.  In all honesty, there is no way for me to choose one over the other.  There was really no fair comparison because both camps were so different in content, experience sharing, highs and lows, etc.   I was also able to work with two separate groups of people and as a whole the two groups functioned differently because of the difference in people.  In that sense, both camps were such great learning experiences because I learned so much about myself in how I work with people and how to work with different people around me.  Both camps were such great experiences for me.  Because of this, as I mentioned in my camp GLOW post, I would recommend every Peace Corps volunteer help in at least one camp during their 27 month service if possible.

Time for permagarden!

Getting In and Out of a Funk

Lately, I have occasionally been getting into funks.  These funks vary from work related funks, funks in which I just can’t seem to stay in site, and other funks in which I seem to question myself.  Some funks you just got to let pass.  Sometimes, I have to just rely on keeping myself as busy as possible and often need to also rely on my coping mechanisms.

The work related funks often happen when I am feeling as if the work I am doing is not impactful (or successful) at all, if I am finding it difficult to find work, and/or struggle to find the motivation to work.  In regards to this, I have found that I need to remind myself that even the smallest amount of work is worth something.  Despite how challenging it can be to find work and to find people who are actually very willing to work with me that when I do find these things, it can be extremely rewarding.  I have realized that in order to avoid these types of funks or getting out of these types of funks heavily rely on me reminding myself that I am ultimately doing all that I can do with what I have available and that I should be happy with the work that I do.  Even the smallest amounts of work can be the most impactful and the longest lasting.

Funks in which I just can’t seem to stay in site… when I say this, it means that that are periods in which I constantly have different programs, trips, etc. that for some reason tend to fall into periods of time where there are quite a few scheduled close together.  Sometimes I will have programs such as camp, training, or some sort of meeting that will take up either a full week (for a program like camp) or a weekend.  Or there are times where I take some vacation time.  For example, my parents came to visit last January (2015) and they were here for three weeks.  Sometimes I travel to my hub town (Addis Ababa) or to another town to visit a friend for the weekend.  Sometimes these types of funks happen because I have a legit reason for coming and going from site constantly and sometimes it might just happen because I become so used to being out of site so often.  I hate to admit it, but sometimes these funks do affect the work related funks.  But I have learned that if I fall into one of these funks in which I am out of site a lot, I need to try to adjust projects if possible.  For example, for one of my programs in which I meet with youth on a bi-weekly basis, I will give them homework and other assignments to work on while I am gone.

Then there are those funks in which I question myself and who I am.  I think that I have changed so much throughout this experience as a Peace Corps volunteer that it is natural for me to reevaluate who I am.  It can be easy to doubt myself though when I begin to ask questions of myself.  Sometimes when I question who I am, it takes on a negative connotation.  I think that many volunteers have in some shape and form have faced this.  I think that it especially within a context like this one, it can be a good thing to reevaluate and question yourself.  I have found myself occasionally question myself in negative ways.  But when this happens, I really try to find all of the positives rather than the negatives. 

iI think that with all of these different types of funks, I find myself struggling at times.  I know that I have already put up a couple of posts addressing the struggles that I have dealt with since being here, so I won’t really go into them.  But something that I have found is necessary are my coping mechanisms.  As I have mentioned before in another post, some of my coping mechanisms include exercising, reading, listening to music, and journaling.   One thing that I have come to appreciate the most in this country, especially when it comes to the various funks and struggles I have dealt with are the friends that I have made here.  My closest friends that I have in this country have helped me the most when I am having a hard time.  Some of these people have helped when I have struggled the most.  And I am extremely grateful for that.  If not for them, I would not have grown in the ways that I have and wouldn’t be who I am today.

*Two recent coping mechanisms:

Found a pool!

Sometimes cuddling helps!