Groups of teenagers strolling the pedestrian mall or drinking coffee in the outdoor cafes is a very common sight in Bitola and they have the seemingly universal teenage trait of being (or at least trying to be) cool. In the last week, I had several opportunities to engage with Bitola teens and fortunately those cool exteriors seem to house some terrific youth.
The first opportunity was when I faciliated a talk on American families at the American Corner resource center. The audience was comprised of very bright high school sophomores who in fact summed up their free-time hobbies as "drinking coffee." And while American teens typically love a good cup of coffee, it usually comes between a soccer practice and a piano lesson and many (probably too many) other scheduled activities. Do teens in Macedonia want to go beyond coffee?
They claim to but I was left wondering when on Saturday, fellow volunteer Ashley and I held a first meeting for the Young Mens' Leadership Project (YMLP). YMLP, as the name implies, teaches 13-18 year old guys leadership skills through activities like a summer camp and a community service project. We had 16 guys sign up as interested in the camp but only 4 showed up for the informational meeting. Luckily those 4 are fantastic and my favorite part of the meeting was when we were doing a game about surviving a nuclear holocaust and what 3 people the boys would choose to survive. They picked a doctor to help with injuries and a scientist to help grow food--and a lawyer to manage even distribution of the supplies! They have a strong sense of equity, that's for sure.
Finally, yesterday was Day of the Trees, a holiday held 2-3 times per year so people can go plant trees and a busload of teens from the agricultural high school pitched in under the guidance of my national park coworkers. The way it works is there's a stick for punching a hole in the ground, then you insert a seedling and push the soil around it with your feet. I posted some photos of the process on Picasa. The kids made quick work of seeding an area that had been burned by a forest fire about a year ago. Sure, they probably went to drink coffee afterwards, but my faith was restored that these kids want to make a positive difference and can put down the espresso for a good cause.
Hello my fellow Peace Corp Volunteer. I hope this message finds you well. My name is Farfum Ladroma and I am an education volunteer in the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific. I am writing to you all today because I need your help! My students and I at GPS MATAMAKA (an outer-island Government Primary School in Vava’u) are pursuing a “POSTCARD PROJECT.” I am asking for other PCVs outside of Tonga to please send us a postcard from your host country. We are trying to collect as many postcards from around the world, especially in countries where Peace Corps is currently operating. This project will help enhance my student’s understanding of other cultures and share what Peace Corps volunteers do all across the globe. I will keep a running list of all the postcards received with their origin on my blog at: http://farfumandtonga.blogspot.com/. You may check if your postcard successfully makes it to Tonga. This will be a great cultural exchange for everyone involved and a lot of fun. Please help out if you can and tell everyone you know (even your friends and families back home)! I would greatly appreciate your participation. Thank you very much and malo ‘aupito mei Tonga.
ReplyDeletePlease send postcards to:
MATAMAKA GPS
c/o Peace Corps
P.O. Box 136
Neiafu, VAVA’U
KINGDOM OF TONGA
SOUTH PACIFIC
Best,
-Farfum (aka Feleti)
PS. Please give my regards to Joany. I studied French with her in Lyon and IOWA.