Summer Days Are Here Again

"Experience is the teacher of all things." ~Julius Caesar

my roof with a view

Wow, another month flies by. Hello June. Last week I was back in Tsevie, where it all began... the site where new volunteers spend their first two months in country, training to become official PCVs. I was there this time as a trainer, planning and preparing to meet and greet the new group arriving to Togo in a few weeks. It felt weird to be in Tsevie again. All my memories from a year ago came rushing back. It feels like it was just yesterday I was coming to Togo as a wide-eyed newbie full of questions. Now it’s almost been a year and I’ll be helping new volunteers adjust to their first couple of months in Togo.

As an EGE volunteer in training, I remember going into my first ever classroom in Tsevie feeling so nervous and afraid that I was going to completely screw up teaching English to these students whose main languages were Ewe and French. Now it seems so silly to be that anxious; things have really improved with time. It's our last week of classes before “compos” next week (the end-of-trimester exams written by the government). I can’t believe I am almost finished with my first year of teaching. It went by so fast. I've grown very close to my students; I will miss not seeing them every day this summer.

My summertime plans include days spent mentoring at a summer camp, training new volunteers, hopefully a little time for travel/exploring, and also working on a new program starting up this summer in Kpalime. In January I was approached by my Peace Corps APCD and personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Lome about bringing a State Department English immersion program to our school and community. Since its inception in 2004, approximately 95,000 students in more than 85 countries have participated in this English Access Microscolarship Program. Access gives participants English skills that may lead to better jobs and educational prospects. Students also gain the ability to compete for and participate in future exchanges and study in the United States. The program helps students to learn English and encourages them to continue their education. 

There will be 45 students in this two-year program, from four different schools in Kpalime. The program will begin this summer with a month of intensive immersion classes. The students will have eight hours of English class every day Mon-Fri for four weeks. After this month, they will have class every two weeks on Saturday mornings for two hours. This will repeat, with another intensive month next summer and class every two weeks on Saturdays for a second year. The program will finish in July 2015. The same 45 students will stay with the program for the whole two years. There will be 23 girls and 22 boys. I am really looking forward to this opportunity to collaborate with the three amazing Togolese teachers in Kpalime who have been chosen to be the instructors. 

The Access Program will also provide an opportunity for the new volunteers arriving in Togo to get some experience teaching before they leave for their posts at the end of the summer. They will be spending part of their training time here in Kpalime, practicing their teaching skills.  I think this will be a good learning experience for the students as well, to communicate and interact with young American teachers while learning about American culture... just a whole lot of learning going on for everyone involved! Happy Summer!