This is our 7th week since arriving in Macedonia. We had one week of orientation for everyone combined and we have had 6 weeks of training in small groups composed of trainees who will be given similar work assignments. I am among trainees who will be working in community development programs, which includes business, youth, and agriculture development. All of the other trainees are going to be TEFL (Teachers of English as a Foreign Language). The weeks are beginning to be more intense with specifics regarding out work site assignments coming more frequently and more significant for our next two years. During this week, we will learn where we will be assigned to live in Macedonia and what program we will work with. We will also have an Interim Language Proficiency Interview that should help us understand what we will need to focus on in the next 3 weeks of daily language classes plus extra tutoring because before we can be formally sworn in as a PC Volunteer we must pass a final Language Proficiency Interview which will be recorded and reviewed in detail.
Today is scheduled to be the day when we each learn about our site assignments. Wednesday will be the day of our Interim Language Proficiency Interview. This coming Friday is a HUB Day during which all Trainees from all training sites gather for collective training on cross cultural issues, medical and safety & security considerations. We will also have to make presentations to the group about the Practicum Projects we have been working on back in our training sites. A fellow trainee and I have been assigned to survey three work sites (agencies) in my town, identify an unmet need in the community which one of the agencies might be able to address and then develop a Project Plan for that agency, including writing a funding proposal to implement the plan and conclude everything with a plan for the project to become self-sustainable beyond the funding plan.
Throughout all of these scheduled events, we will maintain daily 4 hour language classes, technical skills classes and scattered medical, cross cultural, and safety & security presentations. We also attend occasional presentations by Macedonian experts on topics such as health issues, historical information and political matters.
A beautiful, rainy evening in Kratovo after my PC Trainee colleagues treated me to a traditional Macedonian meal for my Birthday.
Next week we will travel to our planned site assignments and spend three days for orientation to the community and its resources, our agency and our future work colleagues. We will then have a Saturday scheduled for specific skills workshops. The following week will include our Final Language Proficiency Interview.
The following week will have another HUB Day and it will be our final week in Training. That is the week of our American Thanksgiving and, if all goes well, we will be formally sworn in as official Peace Corps Volunteers on Thanksgiving Day. The swearing in oath will be delivered by the US Ambassador to Macedonia. The day after that, we leave our host family homes and our training communities to move to and take up residence in or assigned communities. We will begin our two years of work commitment on the following Monday. We then have an additional 3 months during which we are not allowed to have any visitors. This is the PC Policy to help us become more acculturated to our communities by not having any distractions from our need to spend our time becoming acquainted with residents, businesses and the community in general.
