I think the biggest difference between now and a year ago, is that I feel like I (mostly) know what I'm doing and how the culture works. I still make mistakes, but for the most part, these aren't because I don't know Fiji well enough yet (although my year 9 students are very quick to point that out when it does happen!). If you remember the cycle for volunteers, the first year is pretty tumultuous with lots of ups and downs in your service. While the second year is (ahem, usually) fairly stable in being positive. I still find that online people and problems back home cause the biggest hurdles for me, personally. It's very rarely a problem here that is causing my mental stress, with the biggest exception being grant-writing, which is a huge, but necessary headache.
I understand how the school works. I know the paperwork, I understand the culture, I know what I'm allowed to teach and for the most part, know which teaching methods work best. I also understand that they are young students and can be distracted by anything. For example, last week we had someone come and cut trees. I lost an entire class for that because my students could not concentrate, but I would hazard a guess that students in the states would have a problem with that too.
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| Teaching Year 13 FLE |
I feel less of a need to reinvent the wheel and more of a need to push just a little on barriers. For example, when I taught last year, I wanted to be unique, inspiring and have everything be based in music or the arts. This year, I teach using a mostly Fijian style and incorporate the arts where I can because I feel like this is more realistic for my fellow teachers. As a volunteer, I'm here for the students, but I'm mostly here for the teachers. I also have willingly taken on more responsibilities at school. Last year I was just trying to figure out what I was doing and when!
This year there's more of a focus on sustainability. It's not just about me, it's about passing the knowledge on and making sure the community wants it. If I have a great idea, but my community doesn't really care, it doesn't mean that I do this idea anyways, but try to find another idea that my community is interested in. It's been very real that I am leaving at the end of this year. I have to find ways to transfer knowledge.
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| Several of my "unofficial counterparts" at School |
In Peace Corps, we are each given a "fijian counterpart," or someone who does exactly what we do, but is a local. I have counterparts in the village and school, both official and unofficial. As a second year volunteer, I've really started to learn that the real work is with my unofficial counterparts. They are the people who have chosen to work with me and bought into the idea of sustainability. My given counterparts are often extremely busy, and while they help when they can, they don't always have time. This took a lot of acceptance on my part and explaining. I'm still working on this. I made the mistake of teaching all the classes last year and this year it has been difficult to incorporate sustainability into that model because sometimes they don't understand why I won't just teach classes.
I feel more integrated into my village. I'm comfortable doing traditional chores, while I'm still comfortable saying no and pushing the boundaries. I also have a lot more going on with projects both in the village and the school. My friends are more Fijians than fellow PCV's. I love to play with the kids and feels less like I am working all the time. It's become my relaxing zone, even if it means the kids want help with their homework on saturday and I just want to hide in my house all day. It just feels more like home.
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| Swimming in the River |
The other change is that my friends back in the states are constantly asking me what my next step is because Americans just tend to be like that. I can't really apply for a job this far in advance, but I have an idea on what I'm looking for in a job. Honestly, the current political system makes me unsure as to how that will happen with a federal hiring freeze, but I'm trying to be positive. I'm hoping to find a job with either the government or non-profit that has the ability to incorporate music therapy techniques with social justice, gender empowerment, youth empowerment and/or trauma. Preferably near North Carolina, Georgia, or the rest of the east coast because my parents are out there now. I know the right job will happen because Peace Corps happened at the right time. I would be interested in an overseas job if it met the requirements for Public Student Loan Forgiveness. Only time will tell!
Question for RPCV's how long did it take you to find work after you returned?
Do you have any questions about being a second year volunteer? Would you like to see a blog post on something specific? Please leave a reply below and I will answer!
