peace corps romania quarterly newsletter spring 2012

19
P orps omania eace uarterly ewsletter C R Q N Issue 6, Spring 2012 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Letter from the Country Director 2 Volunteer Stories PCV Justin Setty Comes in 6th at the Cluj Marathon 5 Skype Session with Senator Isakson 6 Environmental Project: Trees for Peace 7 Volunteer Voices PCRV Jennifer Brooks: Teaching Independent Life Skills 8 Volunteer Interview Peace Corps Volunteer Leader: Andrew Matusick 15 Farewell to PCV Group 27 3 Let’s Put On a Show! 12 Good Projects Spring Forward

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Page 1: Peace Corps Romania Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012

P orps omaniaeaceuarterly ewsletter

C RQ N

Issue 6, Spring 2012

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Letter from the Country Director 2Volunteer Stories

PCV Justin Setty Comes in 6th at the Cluj Marathon 5 Skype Session with Senator Isakson 6 Environmental Project: Trees for Peace 7Volunteer Voices PCRV Jennifer Brooks: Teaching Independent Life Skills 8

Volunteer Interview Peace Corps Volunteer Leader: Andrew Matusick 15

Farewell to PCV Group 27 3

Let’s Put On a Show! 12

Good Projects Spring Forward

Page 2: Peace Corps Romania Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012

Peace Corps Romania OfficeLetter from the Country Director, Sheila Crowley

Dragi Partners, Supporters and Peace Corps Community,

Spring, the season of rebirth and renewal has arrived bringing not

only the rains, and the flowers but many new exciting projects and a

busy work schedule for our Volunteers. From teaching independent

life skills, piloting non-formal educational activities, to planting trees

PCVs are making a difference in their communities and through their

partnerships they are inspiring more and more people to do the

same.

The people to people connection that Peace Corps Volunteers

promote in their everyday lives is at the core of volunteerism, they

give of themselves and strive to make a difference in the lives of

many. How do they do this? Through community empowerment,

skills exchange, collaboration and partnership. By listening and being

there for their friends, students and colleagues. By modeling the

essence of service that it is better to give than to receive and by

honoring Kennedy's vision that to achieve a world of peace you must

promote peace and friendship.

Across Romania, PCVs are teaching countless of hours in classrooms,

engaging in extra curricular activities and building relationships. I

admire their achievements and I am inspired daily by their

enthusiasm, optimism and desire to do more. In Peace Corps

Volunteers the spirit of civic responsibility lives on as each one of

them embraces the call to serve and one by one, hand by hand and

heart by heart, they leave their „world” a little better than when they

discovered it. This is something truly worth sharing.

So read and enjoy as we share and highlight the exciting things that

Peace Corps Volutneers are doing in their communities.

In Peace and Partnership,

Sheila

Page 2Director Sheila Crowley together with PCV Kevin Denunzio

Page 3: Peace Corps Romania Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012

Volunteer Stories

Page 3

It’s been almost 24 months since Peace Corps Volunteer Group 27 came to Romania with the task of sharing their knowledge and expertise with the Romanian people.

Over the past 2 years, Peace Corps Volunteers in Group 27 have taught English to more than 27,000 young Romanians. Not only that, they have helped to educate thousands of Romanian English teachers. They have also worked in many communities throughout Romania in environmental projects, while others have worked in small towns as community development advisors.

It was Shakespeare who wrote, "Parting is such sweet sorrow", and so it is. Many schools and small communities all over Romania will miss the help and guidance you provided as Volunteers over the past 2 years. But the legacy you leave behind goes beyond the knowledge of the English language; it’s a two-way cultural

exchange and a window opened to understanding the world. You will soon be gone but will certainly never to be forgotten for your hard work and unending efforts to serve others.

In your last moments as Peace Corps volunteers before your official split from Romania you say goodbye to Peace Corps, but not to your friends. Savor the time you have left in Romania and cherish both the goods and bad for they have made you what you are today: ambassadors of peace and friendship, role models and catalysts for change. All the good work you have done is truly inspiring!

So our message to you is to continue to try and make a difference. Give life nothing short of your best. Try your best in everything in what you do and what you say. Trust your decisions for YOU can be anyone you want to be, you just have to try!

Farewell to Group 27

“The biggest lesson I have learned thus far is just up and do it; try; go; do. Even if it seems hard or long or exhausting, new things, new activities, new experiences matter more here and teach you more here than in any other aspect of your life.”

Emily Franzen

“The most recent lesson I have learned is relatively simple: try everything at least once. This is directed toward the dinner table more than anything else. Food is an excellent way to experience a culture. Metaphorical ly speaking, exper ienc ing a n o t h e r ’s fo o d i s l i ke receiving nourishment from their culture/heritage”

Marco Rufolo-Roger

“In teaching, one must be patient. Sometimes it takes t i m e a n d r e s p e c t f u l persistence, but finally, suddenly, even a half-attentive student can amaze you by what he or she has picked up in your hours together”

Kristi St. Amant

“There is only so much preparation for things you can take into account for until you actually arrive and settle in at post, but now I can easily call Romania home.”

Christopher Williamson

Page 4: Peace Corps Romania Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012

ARON

ASHLEY

REBECCA

AMANDA

ANASTASIA

JULI

JOCELYN

KRISTI

EMILY

BRAD

CHRIS

ELLIS

EVELYN

FREYA

JAMES

BEN

BREANNA

ALLEN

NICK

TESSY

MARTA

MIKE

SARAH

MEAGAN

SARA

MARISSA

TARA

RYAN

MARCO

STEPHANI

JULIE

KYLE

In just 2 years, Peace Corps Volunteers have worked with:

Organizations

Service Providers (e.g: teachers, health care

educators, community leaders, peer educators)

Students

32

144475

26,463

Volunteer StoriesGroup 27 Statistics

Page 5: Peace Corps Romania Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012

PCV Justin Setty Comes in 6th place in the Vodafone Cluj Marathon

PCV Justin Setty came in 6th place in the 2012 Vodafone Cluj Marathon. The second edition of the marathon took place on April 22nd and it comprised 5 races: Marathon (42.195 km); Half M a r a t h o n ( 2 1 . 0 9 7 5 k m ) ; Marathon Relay (4x10,55km); Popular Race (6 km) and Kids Race (2 km). 91 male and 11 female crossed the finish line at the end of the race.

Justin started his 14 year distance running career when he joined the cross-country team in the 7th grade. “Luckily this is a sport you can continue your whole life and the marathon is one of the steps you come to after finishing college. Three of my former teammates and I completed our first marathon in Ohio in 2008. I finished in 2 hours and 59 minutes. I remember it as one of the most satisfying days of my life. When I joined the Peace Corps, I found myself putting running on the b a c k - b u r n e r . I p l a y e d f o o t b a l l / s o c c e r w i t h m y colleagues at site for over a year, which prevented me from running seriously due to a persistent knee injury. I eventually decided to stop playing and focus on rehabilitating my knee. After a year of rehabilitation and building knee strength, I was ready to train for my second marathon.” Justin said. Racing another marathon during his Peace Corps service had always

Page 5

Volunteer Stories

been a goal for Justin. “I happened to sign-up for the Cluj Marathon because it was at the right time for when I would be healthy enough. I was hoping to run faster than my personal best of 2:59 by about 10 minutes but it was too lofty of a goal. I maintained a pace at the beginning that would eventually tire me out and I hit the proverbial wall around the halfway point. When I crossed the line, I was surprised I finished 6th in 2:57 since I had slowed down so much toward the end. Being a distance runner in my town is lonely because this isn't a sport that is well understood or well recognized by the general public. On the other hand, I've

made a few really good friends here at site that I wouldn't have made if I hadn't decided to come back to running. I'm glad I had the opportunity to compete in Cluj because it helped validate what I do. Placing well in this marathon helped my friends and students understand why I run. I'm currently training again for a trail m a rat h o n i n t h e A p u s e n i mountains in July. Fortunately when I tell people now that I need to go run they understand exactly what I mean.” Justin concluded.

Justin Setty is a 3rd year TEFL Volunteer currently serving in Romania

Photos by: Dalina Borcan

Page 6: Peace Corps Romania Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012

THLast Thursday evening, May 24 , four hours after their normal classroom hours had ended a group of twelve eighth grade students gathered together, along with their English Professor, Lizeta Ducec, and Peace Corps Volunteer, Melissa Royer, for a very special event at Scoala cu Clasele I-VIII, Nr. Suceava. Dressed in their best, participants from class 8A, were afforded the opportunity to speak with S e n a t o r J o h n n y I s a k s o n , a representative from the state of Georgia in the Senate of the United States of America. Using the internet program called Skype, Senator Isakson and the students were able to see each other through a webcam and to speak with each other via microphones.

The Senator gave a short 2-3 minute introduction about himself and his work as a Senator to begin the session. Afterwards, the Senator opened the floor for Questions and Answers, led by

Volunteer StoriesSkype Session with Senator Isakson

the students themselves. Topics that were discussed were decided upon by the students and included public service, government, ambitions, goal setting, environmental health and economics. The experience afforded both parties the opportunity to communicate in English, exchange cultures and ideas about the world. “It was a joy to not only see our students speak confidently in English to a widely respected politician, but also to see their faces fill with joy and optimism, and to see their minds hard at work, analyzing the responses they were given,” said Melissa after the meeting had taken place. Both groups were extremely pleased with the success of the collaboration and hope to continue collaboration efforts in the future.

Melissa Royer is a 1st year TEFL

Volunteer currently serving in

Romania

Page 6

Page 7: Peace Corps Romania Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012

Volunteer Stories

When asked at the 2011 all-TEFL conference to think about projects that could celebrate the 22 years of peace and friendship promoted by Peace Corps in Romania, a group of Peace Corps Volunteers came up with the idea of planting one tree in each PCV host community. Trees have been a long-time symbol of life and growth and, as Peace Corps Romania comes to a close, a tree seemed to be an appropriate symbol for the sustainable development that is central to the organization’s role around the world. Even though the agency’s work in Romania is coming to an end in 2013, the impact will continue to grow in those communities where volunteers have served, with seeds planted not only in the projects that volunteers have completed along-side their Romanian counterparts, but also in their countless interactions with Romanians.

Peace Corps placing one tree in each host community would have not only installed this symbol in a community that has worked hand-in-hand with Peace Corps, but it would have also been Peace Corps way of giving thanks to those

communities that have helped it prosper in Romania. “The idea and t h e s y m b o l i s m represented in the project were important but it would have been logistically inefficient to plant just one tree in well ove r 2 0 0 d i f fe re nt communities. For that purpose the project was changed so as to keep the meaning of the project but to make it

more efficient given the resources available.” said PCV Andy Matusick, the coordinator of the project.

Peace Corps Romania has teamed up with the United States Embassy,

Asociatia MaiMultVerde (MMV) and local communities to plant 22 trees in 10 communities throughout Romania. The project’s aim is to promote volunteerism at schools where Peace Corps volunteers are serving as English teachers. The students were directly involved in a beautification of either their school or other parts of their community. The project’s sustainability will be evident in the growth of the trees that will be seen

for years to come, the sense of accomplishment that the students will be continuously reminded of and the community’s capacity to conduct this easily replicable project in the future. At the same time the project brings to light e nv i ro n m e nta l i s s u e s , s u c h a s deforestation and littering, that NGO’s l i k e A s o c i a t i a M a i M u l t V e r d e continuously work to address“ PCVL Andy Matusick says.

The 10 Peace Corps Volunteers involved in the project worked with their counterparts to organize small tree planting projects in their communities. Using funds from a mini-grant provided by the US Embassy they acquired the trees while other necessary materials where either acquired with the funds or donated locally. In addition to gathering

all necessary materials, the PCVs, together with their counterparts selected volunteers from their classes to plant the trees. MMV provided instruction on proper p l a n t i n g t e c h n i q u e s a n d organization so as to educate not only the planners of the project but also those students with shovels in hand on how to properly develop and implement this kind of project. Additionally, seven of the 10 communities involved in the project worked with American Corners to organize a field trip for their students to visit the closest

American Corner to their site. Transport for the students was acquired locally and the PCV worked with a representative from the American Corner to develop an educational program related to volunteering for the environment. This not only gave the students a chance to see a new place and learn about available resources but also acted as a reflection of the volunteer activity that they participated in.

Environmental Project: Trees for Peace

Page 7

Page 8: Peace Corps Romania Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012

Volunteer Voices PCRV Jennifer Brooks: Teaching Independent Life Skills to the Blind

Page 8

Continued on page 9...

This series of spring visits took us to Targu Frumos, a small town in the northern part of Romania, to visit Jennifer Brooks, a Peace Corps Response Volunteer (PCRV) currently working at a highschool for children with visual impairments. A former Youth Development volunteer, Jennifer started working at Liceul Moldova back in 2007. Founded 45 years ago, the school offers a harmonious education for visually impaired children and youth, helping them both to properly integrate into society, as wel l as to be as autonomous as possible.

Soon after her arrival at site, Jennifer

began looking at ways to implement

projects focusing on teaching

students with visual impairments

daily living skills, such as teaching

kitchen skills through a series of

techniques specially tailored for the

blind. “Although Romania had made

great strides in transitioning into a

democratic society, there still remain

portions of the population that

continue to need assistance from

civil society organizations, including

children with visual impairments.”

Jennifer says.

Acknowledging the need to integrate

teaching of independent life skills

into the curriculum for children with

visual impairments, School Director

Margareta Pristavu welcomed the

idea to create a kitchen lab furnished

with kitchen appliances for teaching

life skills to visually impaired students.

At the time, the school had no

equipped facilities to properly teach

the students these skills.

The hope was that through the

provision of this facility and the trained

teachers, students would be able to

transition from an institutional setting

and a dependent lifestyle to a life of

independence. ”Teaching basic life

skills can easily improve a student's

quality of life. It can allow them to be

self sufficient and therefore be able to

attend to other needs such as

employment and giving back to their

community” Jennifer adds.

Jennifer applied for a SPA grant and

with the money received, the idea of

the kitchen lab turned into reality. The

lab was equipped with all the

appliances and tableware that one can

find in an ordinary kitchen: gas stove,

electric plate, microwave, plates,

cutlery etc. During the first week, the

students were taught basic orientation

of the room and the appliances: where

the fridge was located in relation to

the stove; exploration of shelves,

drawer; exploration of the oven to

understand where the gas is lit and

w h e re t h e f l a m e i s l o cate d ,

manipulation of the items while the

oven is cold so that it can be easily

done when home. As students became

more and more familiar with the new

lab, they were then taught how to turn

on the stove, how to cut, peel, and

slice, how to measure and weigh

liquids and dry ingredients and

properly boil fry and bake.

Almost three years later, the students

are now able to move around the

kitchen independently and perform a

variety of tasks with minimal

Page 9: Peace Corps Romania Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012

teacher the need for his mother or

sister to cut his finger nails as he had

never learned due to fear of hurting

himself. All of these events came to the

attention of one professor of the school

who, after seeing the success of the

previous independent living skills

activities began to set in motion

alongside Associat ion 'Respect

Diversity' the idea of a hygiene studio.

Typically, students with disabilities-

e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e w i t h v i s u a l

impairments- tend to be less

knowledgeable about their bodies and

sexuality. This lack of knowledge can be

a direct result of their visual

impairment: they do not have the

typical visual input that most children

have (of bodies changing, of physical

differences between boys/men and

girls/women), or it can stem from

cultural taboos or misinformation. For

example, parents can be reluctant to

discuss these topics of sexuality and/or

not know how to explain them to their

blind child.

Due to a student's visual impairment,

he or she may need more specialized

supervision. Due to the availability of

the lab and proper instruction the

students now have the necessary life

skills to live independently and when

they finish school, they will have a

greater chance of becoming active,

contributing members of society due to

the independence that they have

acquired through these classes.

In the spring of 2011, experts from

various other European countries

visited schools and organizations

throughout Romania, including

Moldova School, to learn about the

state of special education in Romania.

The visitors were impressed by the

kitchen lab and the progress made by

students but one of these visitors

mentioned a school for the blind in their

own country also having a special place

for students to learn how to take care of

themselves.

Immediately following this, there were

incidents between students that

resulted from lack of knowledge and

curiosity towards their sexuality. In that

same year, a ninth grade visually

impaired student expressed to his head

...Continued from page 8

Page 9

instruction in the areas of sexual

education, hygiene, and self-care. This

specialized instruction includes specific

or adapted equipment as well as

instruction in methods that have been

proven efficient for those with visual

impairments.

The creation of a special studio where

this equipment can be used as well as

where these, perhaps delicate,

discussions and lessons can take place

on a one-to-one or small group basis

was ideal. Together with her colleagues,

Jennifer applied again for a grant, this

time a VAST one.

With the money received from the

Peace Corps, a hygiene lab was created.

The studio consists of separate work

areas for boys and girls. Each area is

equipped with a vanity style desk with a

sink, mirrors, magnifiers, shelving for

intimate items, adjustable mirrors

which magnify, Braille and large print

labeling, and special lighting which can

be adjusted per student visual

preference.

It is truly remarkable what the small

group of professors at Scoala Moldova

and one PCV were able to do for these

students. Being the first school in the

region committed to teaching these

skills, Scoala Moldova has the potential

to become a resource center for other

schools and organizations in the area

e i ther by shar ing the wr i tten

information, materials, or the actual

two labs. Moreover, the successes,

struggles, and results can be shared with

other schools for the blind who can then

use the model as a starting point for

their own kitchen and hygiene studios.

See page 10 for a one on one interview

with Response Volunteer Jennifer

Brooks.

Continued on page 10...

Page 10: Peace Corps Romania Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012

PCRo: Many volunteers worry that they may not have the correct skills to add value. Was this one of your concerns when you started working in Targu Frumos?

JB: Actually it wasn't- I was very pleased with the placement. It seemed, and has proved to be, a perfect match. I have m u c h t o o f fe r t h e teachers and students here and they are more

than willing to take advantage of my help- the only thing missing is enough time! :)

PCRo: What are some of the most common challenges children with visual impairments face in Romania?

JB: I believe the largest obstacle that these children face is the mentality that they are incapable and should be dependent on others. Many people, sadly, feel sorry for the 'poor blind child' and therefore do everything for them or expect less from them than they would from other children of the same age. However, everyone, regardless of their circumstances, needs to feel useful and to feel that they have something that they too can offer others. By providing these children with life skills, we take a step in that direction. We are telling the child, “Yes, you can” rather than, “No, don't”.

PCRo: Where did the idea of the cooking class come from?

JB: In the States, these activities are part of the Curriculum for children who are blind. Young children can learn about day to day tasks simply by watching others and copying their movements; however, a child who is blind cannot learn in this way. He or she

...Continued from page 12

Page 10

needs to be involved hands-on in every step of the process in order to understand.

When I first arrived to the school, the director gave me a tour throughout the school. She mentioned wanting to create a kitchen in one of the rooms and the idea caught on from there!

PCRo: Do you see a change in the children's behavior since you first started working there? If so, what are some of the most obvious changes?

JB: The look of triumph on their face when they finally peel the potato that they'd been fighting with for 20 minutes; the pride that shows when they eat their pizza that they made for themselves; the delight when they tell me how they helped their mother cook dinner over the weekend by cutting up a carrot for her…. These new attitudes are priceless!

We knew that giving the children these important sk i l l s would empower them and therefore increase their confidence and self-esteem…. However, I never expected to see a difference to the degree that we've witnessed in the children at 'Moldova' school.

They suddenly have the desire to try things for themselves in other areas of their lives; they want to be involved in even more activities; they hold higher expectations for themselves and for their peers which, in turn, almost forces us adults to hold higher expectations! Their self-esteem and confidence have increased more than I could have imagined!

PCRo: What are some other things you would like to achieve while working at Scoala Moldova? Future

On the ocassion of our visit to Targu Frumos, we asked Jen to tell us a few words about her work as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer in Romania.

PCRO: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

JB: This is my fourth year in Romania, first as a PCV and now with PC Response. I worked in the States as a teacher for the blind and have transferred that knowledge to my work here in Romania. PCRo: How did you become interested in working with children with visual impairments?

JB: I kind of just fell into this field and ended up loving it; I read an article about Orientation and Mobility Specialists (who teach methods and techniques for a person without sight to travel safely and as independently as possible around their home, school/work, community, and to use public transportation) I became fascinated, found out where I could study this field, and it all happened from there! I received a Master's degree in Education for the Visually Impaired in 2007.

I absolutely adore working with these children; I know that what I teach them are practical skills that could change their lives for the better.

Continued on page 11...

Page 11: Peace Corps Romania Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012

JB: What lessons have I not learned during my time here in Romania should be the question! I believe that the main lesson I have learned is patience and what patience really means: to be patient with myself- using Romanian grammar correctly will not happen overnight; to be patient with change- it may not always occur quickly and it takes time for it to take hold permanently; finally, I have been reminded to have patience with the children in that they need repetition and practice in order to learn these necessary life skills.

PCRo: What plans do you have for the future, once you'll be completing your PC Service?

JB: I would love to find a way to continue my work here in Romania with schools for the blind; I am hoping to find another international organization, interested persons, or a local NGO that would like to get involved in this project and make a life-changing difference to children in all of the special schools for

projects?

I believe that what we have achieved has exceeded, far beyond, my original expectations. I am extremely impressed with my colleagues who have worked very hard in changing their teaching methods, incorporating new teaching activities, and advocating for these lessons in order to give these kids a chance at an independent life after graduating from 'Moldova' school.

Future hopes are to include Orientation and Mobility into instruction by providing teacher trainings as well as to continue to incorporate hygiene skills into the Independent Living Skills activities. We are also working on outreach to other schools for the blind so that their children too can benefit from these activities.

PCRo: What sorts of things did you learn in Romania that you think will prove valuable lessons in your career and life?

...Continued from page 10

Page 11

the blind in Romania. O u r h o p e i s t o s p r e a d t h e accomplishments from 'Moldova' school to the other seven schools for the blind throughout Romania. Some work in this area has already been done (I have completed teacher trainings at a school for the blind in Bucuresti and the other schools have attended a conference at 'Moldova' school on Independent Living Skills projects.) but there is plenty more to do. There are over 1000 children with visual impairments enrolled in schools across Romania who need these same skills, but are not yet being reached.

Jennifer Brooks can be reached at for

further information on her work with schools for the blind.

[email protected]

Page 12: Peace Corps Romania Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012

You know you're probably going to get

into trouble when you come up with a

great idea for a gala open house for a

thousand parents and five hundred

children in April during the aptly named

“Something Else Week” -- a great idea

that you have loosely attributed to one

of your host country counterparts since

everything must be initiated from the

grass roots, as we had been told during

training. But you figure this is going to be

alright since the Altfel Week is totally

new for everyone, being something the

Ministry of Education came up with just

this year, and since everyone has to

come up with ideas the counterpart

seemed cool with it, it would look

good on paper, and all the Ministry

expects is that educators “do

something different”.

That was back in December. I talked

up the idea every chance I got but it

was pretty clear that my Romanian

language skills weren't up to the

challenge. As the time drew near for

the Altfel Week Open House it was

looking more and more like I might

be the only one doing it. The cookies

and cakes from the mothers and

bunicas, the student writing which I'd

tried to solicit from my five

counterparts, the student artwork

from the two art teachers, just wasn't

materializing.

I could recall a time back in 1968 when I

was a Head Start teacher one summer

in Ann Arbor, all of us cute and sweet

little co-eds who'd been recommended

by the University of Michigan Education

School, and one of my fellow teachers,

the cutest and sweetest and littlest, in

fact, suggested to an overweight,

always tired, old-before-her-time,

African American single mother of 10

small children that her offspring might

enjoy making chocolate chip cookies

with her some afternoon after she'd

come home from her double-shift as an

LPN and before she made them supper.

I lived in the African American

community and as the story of this

suggestion made the rounds in

churches and corner grocery stores it

was greeted with hoots of laughter and

rambunctious knee-slapping. I could

only imagine that my fellow teachers in

Romania, many of whom had taken on

extra jobs in order to make up the

income they'd lost when their wages

had been cut 25% because of the 2008

economic crisis, felt much the same

way about the gala Open House during

Altfel Week suggested by the too-

earnest Peace Corps volunteer.

Not that it mattered. I had 500 students

and they'd all been doing good work. I

had about two decent, displayable

pieces from each student, poems and

essays and short stories, 1,000 more or

less. I had asked the kids who finished

first to illustrate their writing while they

waited for their classmates to complete

the assignment. I had plenty of

illustrated writing. But where was I

going to display it?

I was shown a dark, cluttered storage

room, up a cluttered staircase in a back

building, a room that would need a lot

of work before it could become a

display space: cleaning, painting, even

lights. There was also my classroom but

it was a tiny, hot, top floor, corner room

Volunteer Voices

Page 12

Continued on page 13...

Let’s Put On a Show!!! An Article by Kathleen Stocking

Page 13: Peace Corps Romania Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012

deliberately doing the work in front of

everyone – on the front steps of the

school if it was sunny and inside in the

lobby if it was raining -- so that

parents might come out of curiosity, if

nothing else. “Che facette?” people

would ask. And I would say, “Oo La La!

Altfel Open House!! Trey Aprillie.” I

always liked saying “aprillie” because

it made me feel like Chaucer saying,

“Wan that aprillie . . . than longen

folke to goon on pilgrimages.” I was

longing to goon on a pilgrimage

myself, a long one. This whole Altfell

Open House thing was a big mistake.

It was going to be a horrible disaster. I

was going to do all this work, day after

day, and when April 3 arrived I was

going to be sitting there alone, in the

rain, with my crepe

I had generated the writing with my

usual tricks: turning cartwheels and

somersaults on the lawn, chasing my

tail and emitting high-pitched yips of

joy. Saying, “Bravo!” And, “Way to

go!” And, “Good job!” And, “I love

paper streamers.

Easter vacation. Was there going to be

anyone left?

The week before the event, I learned the

Small Project Assistance (SPA) grant to

host the Altfel Week Open House had

been approved. My very first thought

was that I should turn down the money.

But I hate to turn down money. I weighed

the pros and cons and ultimately it came

down to my Calvinist-banker-horse-

trader-rum-runner DNA. This is not the

visible DNA, the free spirit-poet-I know-

you'll-still-love-me-in-the-morning-

anything-for-a-windmill-Don-Quixote-

join-the-Peace-Corps DNA; this was the

hard-drive DNA that goes back before

Calvin to mastodons and before that to

some swamp where I crawled onto the

land. It was only a little money, $500 is a

little money, but it was money. I felt I

would have to go through with it.

For the next few days I spent hours

putting student writing, photos and

illustrations in plastic protector sleeves,

hours cutting crepe paper streamers,

and the three flights of stairs – 67 steps –

were a daunting prospect. I would have

had to have started with big yellow

arrows at the front gate – and a student

standing by each arrow – to even get the

parents up there. There was only one

choice. The Open House was going to

have to take place in the front yard of the

school where parents coming to pick up

their children wouldn't be able to miss it.

But how crazy and aggressive and way

too earnest and in-your-face was that?

Well, totally.

II thought the smartest thing I could do

would be to cancel the whole thing.

None of my counterparts were remotely

interested. The students had never done

anything like this before and now,

whenever I mentioned it in class, which

was pretty often, the kids would look

down at their desks and finally someone

would say, “I'm not going to be here that

week.” The student population of the

school, even the week before Atlfel

Week, had thinned out alarmingly.

Students were clearly leaving early for

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what you're doing.” And, “Wow! You're

all doing such incredible work!” I

learned long ago that all anyone needs

is a little encouragement and they'll do

great things. Children don't know they

can't write novels. I'm really a cheer-

leader not a teacher. But I did this all –

at least the cartwheels and somersaults

– metaphorically, not physically.

If this crazy Open House idea was ever

going to happen, I was going to have to

get physical and go up a ladder and

hang crepe paper. I was going to have to

rake the litter out of the grass in the

front yard. Once I was young and

worked every conceivable job, from

picking strawberries to cleaning barns

to h ef t i n g h e av y t rays w h i l e

waitressing, but I haven't picked

strawberries since I was 12, haven't

been up a ladder since I tore my ACL

tendon in Thailand five years ago,

haven't done any serious raking for

longer than that and have steered clear

of hefting and hauling for years. So, like

Madame DeFarge with her knitting

during the French Revolution, I just kept

sitting there doing what I could,

repeating in my mind little clichéd

phrases of self-encouragement: there is

no success without failure; stay calm and

carry on; there is work to be done in the

dark before the dawn; no guts, no glory;

you have to stand for something or fall for

everything.

But what did any of this stand for? I had a

little time to think, sitting there sorting

kids' writing for hours, getting it ready for

presentation, pretty much like working in

a Chinese laundry. I guess, in a nutshell, it

came down to democracy: all of this

stood for democracy. You can't have a

democracy without thoughts and

feelings and that's what the kids' writing

was all about. It hadn't happened

overnight. It had been a slow process.

First there was no writing at all. “But I

have no ideas, teacher.” Then there was

bad writing – take me out and shoot me

bad writing – produced by people whose

only exposure to writing was essays on

the furniture in the Royal Palace. Finally,

there were little glimmers, like the

daffodils in front of me trying to poke

their way through the frozen ground of

the schoolyard. And, at last, real thoughts

and real feelings, from every kid. If I

displayed their writing I was saying it was

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Page 14

important. I was saying they were

important. With that thought, I knew I

was going to string up their writing if it

was the last thing I ever did in my life.

The worst thing that could happen was

that I'd make an utter fool of myself and

that was nothing new. I was very good at

that. It was far and away my best talent.

My mind went back to a day a few weeks

earlier when I had been in my Margaret

Thatcher mode with a new set of

students. They were all looking at me in a

slightly shell-shocked way after I'd given

my Sermon from the Mount demanding

that in my classroom they participate

fully, be kind to each other, not bad-

mouth gypsies or anyone else, express

their thoughts and feelings, and not be

tardy. “This is an American classroom,” I

said emphatically, “and we do things the

American way.” This was utter nonsense

since I had no more idea about what an

American classroom might be than they

did. “And,” I clarified, “I'm not doing

things the American way because I'm

trying to change you, I'm doing things

the American way because it's the only

way I know.” This had never occurred to

them and in fact, had never occurred to

me until I heard myself saying it.

Substitute “my way” for “the American

way” and you'll have something closer to

the truth. And, naturally, being an adult,

I was trying to change them which,

naturally, being kids, they knew. In

retrospect I think what I meant was that I

expected them to have feelings, to have

thoughts based on those feelings, and

that I just couldn't help myself from

expecting it.

They had done it. And the more they did

it the more they liked it. And the more

they liked it the better than got at it. And

here was the proof of the pudding. It

would be a kind of crime not to recognize

their efforts.

When I began to rake the yard, three

sturdy janitors showed up and did it for

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me. When I began to weed the flower

beds, they came out with the proper tools

and did this, too, a million times better

than I would have ever done it. Someone

showed up with flats of pansies and these

were planted in the freshly tilled ground.

When I asked for a ladder and began to

string up writing and crepe paper

streamers, my students appeared out of

nowhere and began to do that.

Things were starting to look beautiful and

clean and shiny and fresh. There were

lines and lines of writing hung up like little

baby clothes. We ran out of places to hang

writing and had to set up tables in the hall.

The place looked like a hillbilly yardsale:

More inside!! The kids, by the day of the

Open House, had simply taken over not

only all the physical work but the

selection of writing to display, the hanging

of the home-made banner, the welcome

sign on the white board, basically

everything. At one point I said to one of

the girls, “Thank you so much for doing all

of this. I never expected all of you to

come every day and help.” She said,

somewhat non-plussed, “This is what we

like to do.” And I thought, slyly to myself,

next year I'll entice them to write by

telling them we're going to display it

at an Open House with crepe paper

streamers. I had coffee, tea, sugar

and hot water but no cookies. But

cookies miraculously appeared,

too.

If it had rained, the whole thing

might have been the disaster I'd

been picturing in those first few

days as I sat there sorting student

writing. But the weather was

perfect: not too hot, not too cold,

sunny and glorious. Blue skies.

Parents came. Lots of them. One

of my counterparts, the one who

had a daughter in one of my

classes, had a husband who used

to be a journalist and he still had

contacts in the media and he called

them and reporters came from the

newspaper and the TV station. The

kids were thrilled. It was worth it.

So, yes, “Let's put on a show!!!” You

never know who will come.

Kathleen Stocking is a 1st year TEFL

Volunteer currently serving in

Romania.

Continued from page 14...

“Scoala Altfel”

“Scoala Altfel” is a new initiative by the Romanian M i n i s t r y o f Ed u c at i o n p ro m o t i n g n o n - fo r m a l education.

For one week, schools are g i v e n f r e e h a n d t o i n co r p o rate i nto t h e i r curr iculum a ser ies of activities that go beyond the national curriculum on education. The initiative is hoped to bring value to the entire school community and to harness competency, cohesion, teamwork and last but not least put a smile on students’ and teachers’ faces.

The program was developed as a tool for engaging both students and teachers in interest ing non - formal activities that can enhance the value of their talents, extracurricular interests and competencies in a variety of fields.

To promote best practices, the Ministry of Education has also launched a competition where it invites people to v o t e o n t h e 1 0 m o s t i n t e r e s t i n g a c t i v i t i e s organized between April 2-6, 2012. A list of all activities developed during the “Scoala Altfel” week can be found on the Ministry’s website:

www. scoalaaltfel.edu.ro

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In this issue of our Newsletter we asked Andy Matusick, Peace Corps Volunteer Leader to tell us about her experience as a volunteer in Romania.

PCRo: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

AM: Well, I’m 26 years old and I come from a medium sized family with 3 brothers. I grew up in a small city named Corning located in a really nice region of New York. If you’ve heard of Ithaca, NY I’m close to there. I stayed in the area for Univers i ty attending SUNY Cortland where I studied History and a bit of Psychology. I’m a fan of both subjects. Other than that I grew up loving baseball, extreme sports and my most recent passion is travel.

PCRo: You’ve been a PCV in Romania for 3 years now. What led you to pursue this unique experience?

AM: I think it was early in my college years when I first heard about Peace Corps from a recruiter and when I arrived home that evening I did some more research. I’ve always wanted to travel and see the world but I saw Peace Corps as an opportunity to do more than just see. Learning the culture, speaking the local language, developing relationships and integrating into a community that I

would eventually call my second home were the things I imagined

Volunteer Interview Peace Corps Volunteer Leader: Andrew Matusick

when I first considered doing Peace Corps. These were my reasons for filling out the online application.

PCRo:Many volunteers worry that they may not have the correct skills to add value. Was this one of your concerns?

AM: Yes, this was absolutely one of my concerns both before leaving for Romania and then again when I was leaving for site. I had no previous TEFL experience and I didn’t really study English at college. At the same time I kept no secrets from Peace Corps. They new about my previous teaching experience, they saw my resume, they met me and they still chose to send me here. Reminding myself that Peace Corps believed that I had the correct skills to add value to a post helped me believe the same.

PCRo: You started as a TEFL volunteer and then applied for a PCVL position. What made you want to extend your service?

AM: I had been at site for about a year and a half when I decided to extend as a PCVL. At the time I knew I was ready for something else but I didn’t yet want to leave Romania. My language was finally coming around and I was speaking daily in Romanian with people at my school who I had been speaking to in English just a few months earlier. The PCVL position was a chance to try out something new for a short period of time but continue to be

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involved with Peace Corps and the volunteer community. After working as a TEFL volunteer I had begun learning about NGO’s and development work. I thought that it would be a great experience to work first hand with an NGO to learn more about how these organizations function and gain some valuable professional skills in the process. It really did seem like the best option for me at the time and I feel very fortunate that I was given the opportunity to work as a PCVL.

PCRo: As a PCVL what are your main activities in Romania?

AM: As a PCVL my main activities in Romania are split. I have my activities with the Peace Corps office and then I have my activities with the NGO that I chose to work with, Asociatia MaiMultVerde.

Some of my Peace Corps activities include summarizing feedback forms, helping out with activities or sessions at trainings, making the annual report, finding and sending useful information/resources to volunteers and chatting with volunteers to see how things are

going at their sites and in their lives. I really enjoy hearing about what’s going on with volunteers because every situation is unique and each volunteer has an interesting story to tell. I was fortunate to have the chance to visit several volunteers in the fall and see what life is like at their sites. The site visits were probably one of my favorite parts about the position.

At MaiMultVerde I coordinate volunteers. I chose to work for MaiMultVerde because they have a lot of volunteer activities and I knew that I would get the chance to meet a lot of interesting people who believe that they can make a difference in their community. MaiMultVerde does a lot of tree-planting activities and I have been responsible for coordinating volunteers and our team of volunteer coordinators in those activities. I also help to organize secondary activities for some of our most active volunteers. The position at MaiMultVerde is really putting my Romanian language skills to the test. I have met some great people at the organization and have developed some lasting friendships with the

volunteers that I’ve worked with there.

PCRo: Take us through a typical day of work at Mai Mult Verde.

AM: A typical day of work at MMV is usually me in front of my computer sending out informat ion to volunteers and responding to emails. My colleagues at MMV are always there to help me with something that I don’t understand, look over my emails before sending them if I need and let me know if there is something that I need to be doing. If there is any down time at the office I am usually researching e n v i r o n m e n t a l i s s u e s a n d environmental NGO’s in both Romania and the US so I can get a better idea of what is going on in the field.

While a typical day at MMV is at my computer communicating with MMV’s rather large volunteer community, there are a lot of atypical days at MMV. The atypical days are the days when I get to meet new people, spend the day outside and take part in some good old-fashioned manual labor that I missed so much when I was teaching.

PCRo: So what makes Romania different from the other countries you have visited?

AM: This is a really difficult question to answer because before coming to Romania I hadn’t really visited other countries. Now that I’ve been traveling a bit over the past 3 years I can probably make a comparison but not without bias.

In my first vacation as a PCV I joined a few other volunteers on a New Years Eve trip to Belgrade. On our way back into Romania the border guard saw by looking at our passports that we were from the United States and

...Continued from page 16

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he greeted us in English. We smiled back at him and responded in Romanian. That was the point when I first felt that Romania was my home and I was glad to be back home. Maybe it was the smile on his face or the unique exchange that made me feel so good about being back in Romania. It made me realize that what sets Romania apart for me is the outright friendliness and hospitality. I have met people in other places that have been friendly and a good conversation or a fun night out together will come of it. Only in Romania I’ve met people who after a short conversation are willing to help you with anything you need. This quality was a bit shocking at first but because of it I have developed some incredib le friendships. PCRo: What sorts of things did you learn here in Romania that you think will prove valuable lessons in your career and life?

AM: There are so many things that I can take from this experience that will prove valuable in career and life. Peace Corps is designed to allow the volunteers to work at

their own pace in a way.

In the TEFL program you must do your teaching hours but aside from that it’s up to you and your community what you do. The program gives the volunteer a lot of opportunity to make their service truly unique. At the same time it requires the volunteer to take a lot of initiative. You don’t have the CD looking over your shoulder all the time making sure that you’re doing specific projects involving a certain amount of beneficiaries. The experience has forced me to become the kind of person that takes the initiative and strive to make positive change. I think that this quality, learned in Peace Corps, will be one that proves valuable both in life and in my career.

I hope to leave Romania more like a Romanian. The hospitality that I have seen and experienced in Romania is something that I hope I’d like to share wherever I end up. It is very important to me to walk away from this experience having picked up at least this quality from the many Romanians that have helped me along the way.

PCRo: What plans do you have for the future, once you’l l be completing your PC Service?

AM: I don’t really have any set plans quite yet but eventually I would like to get back into teaching. Being a PCVL has given me some great insight to the world of NGO’s and development work but I miss being in the classroom and I think that’s really saying something. That doesn’t mean that skills and knowledge that I have gained as a PCVL won’t prove useful in a career as a teacher, if in fact that is where I end up. I see a lot of ways in which the things that I do now in Bucharest will be helpful in a future teaching career, both on a resume and in practice.

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F o u n d e d i n 2 0 0 7 , is a non-profit,

n o n - p o l i t i c a l , n o n -governmental association committed to protecting the environment.

www.maimultverde.ro

MaiMultVerde

Mission

Strategic Goal

To build a new culture of volunteer work for the environment in Romania.

To create an active community of volunteers that will make sustainable changes for the environment in Romania.

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Page 19: Peace Corps Romania Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2012

Peace Corps Romania Quarterly Newsletter

is published by:

US Peace Corps Phone: [40] 21. 312. 12. 89Fax: [40] 21. 312. 30. 04

Website: www.peacecorps.ro

Editor: Diana TodaDesign&Layout: Diana Toda

Front Cover Photo: Manuela Lapadat

Contributors:Sheila Crowley

Justin SettyMelissa Royer

Kathleen StockingAndrew Matusick

Jennifer Brooks

Editorial Policy

Articles published in the newsletter represent only a snapshot of Peace

Corps Romania’s volunteer activities. For further information about Peace

Corps Romania please contact the editor or visit Peace Corps Romania’s

website at www.peacecorps.ro

Editorial Submission

We welcome letters, unsolicited articles or photographs. Queries

should be sent to the editor at

[email protected]