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DD may have solved the "fallon" mystery. She is speculating that fallon is either the name of a locally grown vegetable in Cameroon or maybe it's a local nick-name or a slang term, in that area, that means "any leafy green vegetable". She will be able to find out soon as one week from today she will be leaving Washington DC and getting on a plane for Africa. It is interesting that she leaves on a Monday night, but does not arrive until Wednesday morning, but is only on an airports
Wow, has it been hectic with last minute details. But, I am trying to keep the usual routine going to keep hubby centered, calm and safe. You can tell that he will really miss our daughter but one of the joys (and sadnesses) of dementia is that he will quickly forgot about how much she was a part of life these past two years.
Once she's finally figured out what Fallon is; she'll have to remake the dish with that instead of cabbage and see what difference it makes.
Imagine it's all a whir getting the last moment issues settled -- best of luck to you and your daughter getting it all done (isn't it great the condo is already sold!!!) -- know you'll both knock it out of the park!
Arrgg!! (for daughter) Last minute assignment -Monday, August 29
Quote:
Originally Posted by germaine2626
Monday, August 29- Update on fallon
DD may have solved the "fallon" mystery. She is speculating that fallon is either the name of a locally grown vegetable in Cameroon or maybe it's a local nick-name or a slang term, in that area, that means "any leafy green vegetable". She will be able to find out soon as one week from today she will be leaving Washington DC and getting on a plane for Africa. It is interesting that she leaves on a Monday night, but does not arrive until Wednesday morning, but is only on an airports
Wow, has it been hectic with last minute details. But, I am trying to keep the usual routine going to keep hubby centered, calm and safe. You can tell that he will really miss our daughter but one of the joys (and sadnesses) of dementia is that he will quickly forgot about how much she was a part of life these past two years.
Arrgg!! (for daughter) Last minute assignment-Monday, August 29
DD just showed me the last assignment that was just sent to everyone this morning. Yikes! Part One is to formulate a "plan of action" working on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention specifically designed for Cameroonian female teens and young women backed with current research, Cameroonian documents & websites (of course, all would be in French), credible international sites and other documentation. The written proposal is supposed to be finished here and, according to the assignment, each volunteer will need to be prepared to present it orally when they arrive in country.
And, there are three other questions, on other topics, that all have to be finished, too. And she leaves for "staging" in only 3 1/2 days.
Wow, I wonder if this is something that is designed to show which volunteers can deal with extreme pressure and which may crack under that pressure.
Well, it is what it is. DD is doing a lot of last minute errands today, such as getting her teeth cleaned, hair cut, etc. and will start on those projects tonight. Luckily, she has finished almost all of her pre-packing organizing, buying needed supplies & getting them ready, etc. but I am guessing that this last assignment is going to take hours and hours to finish.
Most people don't realize that you actually are not sworn into the Peace Corps until you have three months of training in that country and met all of the in-country requirements, such as language fluency in the native/regional/village language. That is why you are gone for 27 months for a two year service commitment in the Peace Corps.
For the people who were thinking that the Peace Corps is a just a glorified, paid vacation in a foreign country, I hope that they are reconsidering that thinking.
Last edited by germaine2626; 08-29-2016 at 12:12 PM..
my estimation of Peace Corps goes down with each expectation of volunteer almost free labor
But I wish your daughter safety and success. Also that this experience adds to her life and aides her future.
She sounds like a good girl
That's bit of an unfair statement. The Peace Corp pays it's volunteers based on the earnings of the country they are serving in. In the case of Cameroon, the stipend is $ 3,900 USD per year which is almost 1/3 more than the earnings of the average citizen. It sounds like a pittance to us in the US, but is actually reasonable based on the cost of living in Cameroon.
I know the OPs daughter has student loans that will cause some financial stress, but just like any other employer the Peace Corp pay structure doesn't take personal financial circumstances into consideration when determining the pay for a position.
I wish her the best of luck in her new adventure and look forward to following her journey!
I have no qualms with a volunteer being given appropriately based living money. It was the expectations that are being put on the volunteer e.g $1000 new computer, last minute extensive assignments, etc
They are simply asking a lot from a volunteer and I am less impressed. I think it is fair to expect better planning from a 50+ year old organization
Arrgg!! (for daughter) Last minute assignment-Monday, August 29
DD just showed me the last assignment that was just sent to everyone this morning. Yikes! Part One is to formulate a "plan of action" working on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention specifically designed for Cameroonian female teens and young women backed with current research, Cameroonian documents & websites (of course, all would be in French), credible international sites and other documentation. The written proposal is supposed to be finished here and, according to the assignment, each volunteer will need to be prepared to present it orally when they arrive in country.
It seems presumptuous (okay, arrogant) of the Peace Corps to have Americans formulating any kind of a plan for a population of people a world away without first being on the ground with that population to understand their needs, their culture, the barriers they face, etc. etc. Wouldn't the PC volunteers need to embed themselves first before understanding the best way to tackle this within the community? Maybe that community has already tried certain things themselves?
The more you tell us about the Peace Corps the more arrogant it sounds.
Arrgg!! (for daughter) Last minute assignment-Monday, August 29
DD just showed me the last assignment that was just sent to everyone this morning. Yikes! Part One is to formulate a "plan of action" working on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention specifically designed for Cameroonian female teens and young women backed with current research, Cameroonian documents & websites (of course, all would be in French), credible international sites and other documentation. The written proposal is supposed to be finished here and, according to the assignment, each volunteer will need to be prepared to present it orally when they arrive in country.
And, there are three other questions, on other topics, that all have to be finished, too. And she leaves for "staging" in only 3 1/2 days.
Wow, I wonder if this is something that is designed to show which volunteers can deal with extreme pressure and which may crack under that pressure.
Well, it is what it is. DD is doing a lot of last minute errands today, such as getting her teeth cleaned, hair cut, etc. and will start on those projects tonight. Luckily, she has finished almost all of her pre-packing organizing, buying needed supplies & getting them ready, etc. but I am guessing that this last assignment is going to take hours and hours to finish.
Most people don't realize that you actually are not sworn into the Peace Corps until you have three months of training in that country and met all of the in-country requirements, such as language fluency in the native/regional/village language. That is why you are gone for 27 months for a two year service commitment in the Peace Corps.
For the people who were thinking that the Peace Corps is a just a glorified, paid vacation in a foreign country, I hope that they are reconsidering that thinking.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wasel
It seems presumptuous (okay, arrogant) of the Peace Corps to have Americans formulating any kind of a plan for a population of people a world away without first being on the ground with that population to understand their needs, their culture, the barriers they face, etc. etc. Wouldn't the PC volunteers need to embed themselves first before understanding the best way to tackle this within the community? Maybe that community has already tried certain things themselves?
The more you tell us about the Peace Corps the more arrogant it sounds.
While I still feel that it is not appropriate to have such as lengthy, detailed assignment just before the volunteers leave for the country, it probably is a more to get everyone looking up appropriate research & documentation and doing critical thinking so that the volunteers can "start out running" (ie. being productive) the first day in country. Training is six days per week, 9 to 10 hours a day. Then the volunteers are expected to be "actively involved" with their host families at their home stay .
BTW, it was clear that these assignments came directly from the African administrative counterparts to the American Peace Corps trainers (oops, I should have mentioned that earlier). Perhaps, they did not realize how busy someone leaving their country for 27 months would be or just wanted everyone to be in "full blown work mode" from even before the step on the airplane.
Last edited by germaine2626; 08-30-2016 at 11:08 AM..
Rats! Hubby is sick again. He seemed to be a little more "out of it" these last few days, plus had a few bouts of incontinence (and did not realize it) but was not running a fever or showing any other symptoms.
Today was a Brainstretchers/adult day care center day and my entire day/schedule was completely packed with errands & commitments. The nurse, from adult day care, called just after lunch and thought that DH might be ill and that he should go to the doctor. Rats! he was not running a fever but the doctor suspected a urinary track infection (or something similar). It took me hours just to settle him down and get him "back to" semi-reality. But, there went all of those things that were scheduled for today.
Last edited by germaine2626; 08-30-2016 at 05:39 PM..
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Arrgg!! (for daughter) Last minute assignment -Monday, August 29
And she leaves for "staging" in only 3 1/2 days.
