PDM, GLOW, IST, & Whoa!!

I've got a plate full of projects and nothing but time
But with all these little tasks, the details are clouding up my mind
Its an adventure to make plans and a joy to see them through
But if I keep working so much my role might be misconstrued...

I'll work on that poem more later perhaps. However, for now I'd like to dish out some details to my lovely readers and let ya know what I've been up to lately. I recently attended a Project Design Management (PDM) Workshop with my counterpart who is simply amazing and dedicated and appreciative and kind to work with. The PDM workshop is put on twice a year by Peace Corps for volunteers and their counterparts to bring current projects to the table and have designated and structured time to work on the projects. Through PDM we used tools such as vision mapping, identifying assets, identifying objectives, planning timelines for tasks and projects, etc etc etc. It was all day Thursday and Friday and turned out to be quite a successful workshop.

The project (one of the many) we are currently working on at the Benque House of Culture is a youth environmental and gardening group, to be called "Amigos del Ambiente" (Friends of the Environment). I recently applied for a Kids2Kids Grant (www.kidstokids.org) to fund supplies to start a garden. Here is the project proposal as submitted in the grant app. I said it well once, I should spare myself a few strokes on the keyboard...

"The House of Culture will be designing and initiating a gardening and environmental club for the kids and youth of Benque. This club will focus on activities such as garden design and creation, composting, and the planting of vegetable, fruit, flower and medicinal plant species. Gardens will be planned, designed and built by kids and for kids. Group participants will have the opportunity to learn about plants native to their environment which can be used as food or for medicinal purposes. When plants are ready for harvesting, the group will meet to learn about how to cook foods in new ways and enjoy the fruit of their labor. They will be provided with recipes and information to take home and share with their family and will even be able to share in the harvests with family members. The group will also have the opportunity to hear from local guest speakers with expertise on various topics such as gardening, environmental conservation, medicinal plant uses and food nutrition. Through participation in this gropu, kids will be able to utilize their time in a fun and recreational way; they'll also have a unique opportunity to engage in positive, constructive, environmentally friendly activities. Overall this group will educate the kids and youth of Benque in a rich diversity of topics relevant to their environment and most important of all, they will be able to enjoy their environment in a hands on, interactive and fun way!"

More info to follow on that as the project develops. We should hear about the funding by July.

Next big project on my mind is Camp GLOW. Many of you received an email from me with information about the camp and a request for funding. Thank you to those who have already agreed to contribute. Every bit helps so much! Well, a bit of history. Camp GLOW is a Peace Corps initiative and this year will be the 3rd annual Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World). We will be hosting (Free of charge!) 30 girls ages 10-14 from all around the country who have applied for camp. Themes for the camp are self-reliance, self-esteem and self-expression; other areas of focus will include leadership skills, goal setting, how to be a positive role-model, healthy relationships, and on and on.  It is a week long ordeal that will be probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for some of these girls. I personally have taken on roles in fundraising, coordinating food details and securing catering, and I will also be presenting the first session of the camp (!) which is to be on Communication Skills and Trust. Don't ask me what we'll cover because right now I'm not sure. I have no doubts that the camp as a whole will be a wonderful success though. Other areas I'll be involved in include (but are certainly not limited to) organizing a scavenger hunt and relating it to the theme of self-reliance, organizing a mini-olympics event, leading a yoga class one morning and I'm sure much much more. If you'd like to check out a video on this - go to YouTube and enter "Camp Glow Belize Peace Corps 2009" - something should come up.

If you'd like to contribute to this event, we are still in need of at least $1,000 or more. (I'm not keeping the books but I'm pretty sure its around that figure.) The cost for each girl to attend is $150 Belize dollars which is $75 US. Contact me at my email to make a donation. < emily.white501@gmail.com > . I will certainly post another blog or two about camp once its done. The dates for the camp are July 20-24 and it will be quite the event! Already, planning is an adventure and sometimes a stress but worth it! I'm being pushed out of my comfort zone (aka - fund-raising) and actually doing a good job and enjoying myself. I've never been a camp counselor but it will certainly be a rewarding experience.

Next item up to fill you in on was Spanish In Service Training: 16 hours of intensive Spanish language training which took place at the frigidly air-conditioned Peace Corps office. The first day was amazing and I felt like my brain fired up excitedly to learn and speak and know more of this language I've spent so many years studying. There were only three of us with one wonderful teacher so the training was truly quality. Day 2... ? Well, it started off well but as the afternoon wore on we were disolving into fits of hysterical, I've-gone-mad sort of laughter, brains shutting down and communication skills evaporating into thin air. After lunch I simply felt like I couldnt'  go on. I wanted to revolt and leave. I'm a volunteer! I don't have to stay here! And by leave - I only meant leave the office, leave Spanish class. But again, we perservered because we're rockstars. And at the end of the day, sure my brain hurt, sure I couldn't hold a conversation in ANY language but I felt smarter and I'm sure the information will absorb into the holes of my brain and hopefully stay a while making me more apt to hold conversations in Spanish with my community members here. And, to compliment this training, I got onto the bus, heading home to Benque when a person I know from Benque boarded. We began speaking in Spanish and didn't stop much except when words wouldn't come to me at which point we'd revert to Kriol or English. It was an encouraging interaction that reinforced the fact that I do know some Spanish and I can use it!

So, PDM is done. IST is done. GLOW continues to develop and will be done soon. After that, I'll have a chess summer camp for a small group and then I'm taking a vacation for a minute or two. Summer is really flying by and I'm loving being busy, I just have to remember to breath sometimes, and always, to drink more water.

I hope you're all enjoying summer as it revs up in full gear stateside. May you have warm and sunny days of happiness.