So, now maybe you’re wondering what exactly the Peace
Corps is or what my life is possibly going to look like during the 27 months
I’ll be in Madagascar. To be honest I don’t know a whole lot. I’ve read
everything the Peace Corps has given me and I’ve read plenty of other blogs but
I’m trying to go in without too many expectations and I’m just going to do my
best to be flexible and go with the flow. So as far as my assignment goes here’s
what I know thus far:
Primary
duties:
As an TEFL English teacher, your primary assignment will be to teach English at a lycée (high school) and/or at a CEG (middle school) for a minimum of sixteen (16) hours each week. Eighteen hours is the maximum for Malagasy high school teachers. You will also work with local English teachers at your school or surrounding schools for six hours each week so that they can improve their English and learn different teaching techniques from you. You will be asked to identify a counterpart, another English teacher, with whom you can work closely to make sure that you are covering the required course content. Additionally, you may organize evening English classes for interested community members and work with other English teachers on developing these classes into income-generating activities. Several Volunteers broadcast English shows on the local radio stations, combining a mixture of music and simple English lessons for the community at large. Another of your responsibilities will be to get to know the local communities and help with extracurricular activities that will strengthen students’ understanding of community and their future roles in the community. Through activities such as AIDS awareness, girls’ empowerment, and environment clubs, students can be encouraged to go out and help in the community and bring their learning back into the classroom. In the interest of community engagement, you will also encourage involvement of students’ parents and other community members in school improvement and student learning. Education Volunteers are also required to do summer vacation activities when all the Malagasy schools go on break from late July to early October. This time will be an opportunity to follow up on your primary assignments by linking them to more hands-on activities, like organizing field trips with counterparts and students or teaching English to national park workers. Some Volunteers will be called upon to help with pre-service training sessions. You will be asked to submit not only a vacation plan but also a consistent work plan for summer projects.
As an TEFL English teacher, your primary assignment will be to teach English at a lycée (high school) and/or at a CEG (middle school) for a minimum of sixteen (16) hours each week. Eighteen hours is the maximum for Malagasy high school teachers. You will also work with local English teachers at your school or surrounding schools for six hours each week so that they can improve their English and learn different teaching techniques from you. You will be asked to identify a counterpart, another English teacher, with whom you can work closely to make sure that you are covering the required course content. Additionally, you may organize evening English classes for interested community members and work with other English teachers on developing these classes into income-generating activities. Several Volunteers broadcast English shows on the local radio stations, combining a mixture of music and simple English lessons for the community at large. Another of your responsibilities will be to get to know the local communities and help with extracurricular activities that will strengthen students’ understanding of community and their future roles in the community. Through activities such as AIDS awareness, girls’ empowerment, and environment clubs, students can be encouraged to go out and help in the community and bring their learning back into the classroom. In the interest of community engagement, you will also encourage involvement of students’ parents and other community members in school improvement and student learning. Education Volunteers are also required to do summer vacation activities when all the Malagasy schools go on break from late July to early October. This time will be an opportunity to follow up on your primary assignments by linking them to more hands-on activities, like organizing field trips with counterparts and students or teaching English to national park workers. Some Volunteers will be called upon to help with pre-service training sessions. You will be asked to submit not only a vacation plan but also a consistent work plan for summer projects.
Living
Conditions:
Volunteers are posted throughout the country and are usually clustered in certain regions. Housing conditions vary from palm huts to modern cement houses with running water and electricity. Education Volunteers generally live in areas of greater population density. Most Volunteers have only a pit toilet and an outdoor shed for taking bucket showers. During the first two-thirds of training, you will live with and have most of your meals with a host family. A homestay is considered one of the most important aspects of the training program and is required for this period. All trainees stay in a town close to the training center, so you will not be far from your fellow trainees. And although the homestay experience can be challenging at first, it is an invaluable resource for language and cultural learning. Volunteers often form strong and lasting friendships with their host families, and many continue to visit their host families during their service. During the last third of training, you will live and attend training sessions at the Peace Corps training center, located on beautiful Lake Mantasoa.
Volunteers are posted throughout the country and are usually clustered in certain regions. Housing conditions vary from palm huts to modern cement houses with running water and electricity. Education Volunteers generally live in areas of greater population density. Most Volunteers have only a pit toilet and an outdoor shed for taking bucket showers. During the first two-thirds of training, you will live with and have most of your meals with a host family. A homestay is considered one of the most important aspects of the training program and is required for this period. All trainees stay in a town close to the training center, so you will not be far from your fellow trainees. And although the homestay experience can be challenging at first, it is an invaluable resource for language and cultural learning. Volunteers often form strong and lasting friendships with their host families, and many continue to visit their host families during their service. During the last third of training, you will live and attend training sessions at the Peace Corps training center, located on beautiful Lake Mantasoa.
The staple food in Madagascar is rice, which is eaten
with vegetables, beans, or meat. In fact, rice consumption per capita in
Madagascar is the highest in the world. Many fruits and vegetables grow in
Madagascar, and the coastal regions boast an abundance of delicious,
inexpensive tropical fruit and seafood. Most Volunteers prepare their own food.
Meat and dairy products are available in the larger towns, but they can be
expensive. Beans, lentils, eggs, and peanuts are all widely available, even in
small towns.
In just six months this is a glimpse of what some of
my life is possibly going to look like!
The Peace Corps mission is: To
promote world peace and friendship by fulfilling three goals:
- To help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
- To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
- To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
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