surprise!

Welp, guess what I decided! If you're a member of my family, I'm sure my parents have already shared the terrible news: I'm staying a third year. I don't know that it's much of a surprise- I've been thinking about it since I started applying to the Peace Corps, honestly. I just wasn't sure in what capacity I'd want to stay. I could stay in my village, doing the same thing for another school year, I could work with an NGO in a larger city, I could transfer to another country and use my teaching experience in a new setting... so many options! And what I decided on is not at all what I initially expected, but I'm sooo excited about it.

I had been planning to work at the teacher's college, teaching sessions about how to include Life Skills in the classroom. But then I realized what I've been learning for two years: teachers stress me out. I have teacher friends, and a lot of them are lovely, welcoming, helpful people. Others, however, are extremely frustrating, and the functionnaire (government employee) complex of hating living in a village and not being friends with villagers can get very oppressive. It's a weird community, and while my job idea was theoretically good, the practical aspect of working entirely with functionnaires would have been... awful.

So then I thought about what I like about being here. I enjoy teaching, and I love my students. I've also been realizing how limiting it is not to speak local language very well. I want to be friends with little old ladies who don't speak french, but the language barrier keeps me from forming real friendships with them. I haven't needed to speak Moore to be a good teacher or to do side projects, so I haven't had the impetus to learn it well, but I want to.

Here's my plan. I'm going to move to a small village to teach in a newly opened school. The school is smaller, hopefully with smaller class sizes, and I'll be able to teach almost any subject they need me to teach- math, physics, chemistry, biology, or english (and they definitely need teachers- there are zero physics/chemistry teachers right now, and only one math/biology teacher.) The village speaks Moore, which I already know a little, and I'll spend the next five months studying it so I can integrate quickly. I want to live in a courtyard with a family, without electricity (who'd have thought, right? I love my fan!)

I'm really happy with this decision for a few other reasons as well. PC Burkina was going to get 33 new education volunteers this summer, but it's been cut down to 22 so there aren't going to be enough to fill the planned sites. I already have a lot of experience in teaching and I feel like I understand life here pretty well now, so I think I'll have a very effective third year and can make a significant impact in a small village. And lastly, as cheesy as this sounds, I know that I'll regret it if I leave now. I just... like it here. I don't want to leave yet. It's a perfect opportunity, and I'll never have another time in my life when it's this simple to spend another year in Africa. Instead of going home and bumming around for a year while I apply to graduate schools, I can do it here! More adventures! A gogo!


I'll get a month's paid (ha) leave in America, which I'll probably take over Christmas, so I'll be able to visit people then. I also promised my mother I'd get a phone with internet if I stayed a third year, so I should have regular access to email and facebook and Suzanne's blog (seriously, what else is there? Not even kidding.) Plus, this just gives all of you an extra year to come and visit me!! I promise you a real village experience.