1 year mark
It’s been a year and a day since I arrived in Tanzania. A lot has changed since then, especially myself. With only 1* year left of peace corps service, this might as well be my personal new years day, and I might as well set forth some new years resolutions…
I’m going to try to be at site more, although there REALLY isn’t much to do when we go on break. I’m told that BTPs are changing formats, which means more instruction time in school, which implies longer terms, which ought to help me with this goal.
I’m going to start working out again.
I will balance better my time between my primary and my secondary projects.
I’m going to actually do something for PEPFAR. I hope…
I’m going to improve my Swahili, especially since I’m supposed to be using it to teach some of my classes.
*: I’m thinking about extending (70/30), either at my site or at a different TTC (K’nyembe?).
Reasons for staying at site (aka consolation prize): If MoEVT does change BTP and break schedules so that teaching is possible, I want to stay another year and actually teach, as that activity this first year was mostly a bust. I also want to finish with my group of first year dip students.
Reasons for moving site: There’s a need for Solaris administration training at all of the TCs. This is the root problem between ICT departments at the TCs and PCVs: if counterparts knew how to do it, they wouldn’t depend on the PCV who may or may not actually be proficient, causing the PCV to take on another full time job. There seems to be 3 possible roles for a PCV ICT volunteer at the TC: 1) ICT Tutor [aka what we're supposedly here to be] 2) PC repair technician [fundi for the town as well as the school, I think this is what the volunteer at K'nyembe currently does] and 3) System administrator. Doing one of these is primary project worthy, in terms of time and energy required. Doing two is akin to having a primary and a secondary project. Doing all three (as I’m doing now) is crazy and leaves me with no time to work on other PC goals.
If HCNs could do the Solaris part, then the ICT project would be far more sustainable. It’d also allow volunteers to focus more on one job, do a better job of it, and have time for meeting other peace corps expectations (aka HIV/AIDs, gender empowerment, etc). So, that’s what I want to do, I want to train HCNs to do that work.
Also, I want to be able to have time to pursue Moodle-izing the other TCs and provide training for ICT tutors on how to use it, with the idea that they can then go and train others at their institutions… This could be in the form of a 2 week addendum to the Solaris stuff.
Also, I want to do in service trainings for current secondary school teachers in computer literacy during the times when the students are on BTP or break (secondary project?). Unfortunately, Mpw is simply not accessible enough during most of those times (rainy season).
Reasons for not extending: Bado (can’t think of any)
