Year Three: A New Peace Corps Adventure

Xqaq' ij! I'm back from my month-long Special Leave in the States and am fully becoming integrated into life as a Peace Corps Volunteer Leader (PCVL). I've been tasked with heading up some important projects and events, as well as have been given new responsibilities dealing with Volunteer Safety and Security. I am spending a great deal of my time at Peace Corps Guatemala HQ on curriculum and project development, and am gaining so many new skills!

This upcoming week, I'll be giving a presentation on Very Young Adolescence in Guatemala and how to approach this critical time in the school and within the educational community. I'm working directly with my Project Manager and am very excited to get back to my favorite part of my Peace Corps work: facilitating workshops ;)

I spent the past few days researching and putting together a lesson plan and powerpoint I hope will be informative and engaging. It's an hour long and right after a Guatemalan Ministry of Education official's presentation, so hopefully we'll be able to follow that act!
                               

A view from the hotel near Peace Corps Guatemala HQ where I do 50% of my work

I also discovered that my project with my NGO has changed, and I'll be helping manage a larger community garden that may also contain a chicken coop (!). While I have no experience raising chickens, I am certain community members will be able to guide me through the process!

The month before I left, I was able to meet with some of the local women who also run the project, and had the chance to manage the delivery of box gardens and other materials, as well as complete a survey of the project. I also updated the budget and prepared for the arrival of 5 interns. Now that the project has changed a bit, I'm excited to see what more we can develop over this year :)

These photos were taken in the village where my NGO project is centered.
 (L) Woman carrying materials for her home "box garden" on her head;  (R) View across the street from the garden;
(C) Boy resting after collecting and stacking cinder blocks for building.

I'm really excited that I have one more year in Peace Corps, especially as it is giving me an opportunity to gain new practical skills and experiences that will undoubtedly help me in my future career.

And speaking of future career...I am still waiting until 2017 to begin the Foreign Service process again, but this waiting period is also opening me up to other career considerations. I've seriously begun thinking a little bit more on what skills I possess and how I might possibly apply them to other careers, in case the Foreign Service really doesn't work out for me.

I've come to the conclusion that even though I'm an INTJ (and I do take these personality descriptions with a grain of salt), I do enjoy personally assisting and connecting with folks and coaching them through solving their problems. I suppose this is why the Consular cone was such a draw for me - especially considering the American Citizen Services aspect of the position.

I've been looking through the  Peace Corps Jobs listserv and doing a bit of soul searching, and I see myself headed in a "social work" direction - whether it be within the State Department or part of some other entity. I'm really leaning toward perhaps working with recent immigrants in helping them find housing, social services and/or legal representation.

I'm really good at problem solving and can think outside the box when it comes to helping people get what they need, but it's still too early for me to decide if this is my path.

I'm ruminating on my future, and I'm thankful I have this time to consider my options. I consider the Final Suitability denial a small blessing in disguise. Folks always told me Foreign Service should be my "Plan B". Secretly, it was my "Plan A", but now I'm starting to see what they mean ;)