It's site placement day today! Today, we get to find out where in this beautiful country our homes will be for the next two years. A week ago, we each got a packet detailing 2-3 options that the staff here had chosen for us, based on their observations of and conversations with us.
I think it's important to note here that Peace Corps never asks to go into a country. If Peace Corps is in a country, that country has invited Peace Corps to be there. This is not because they "need" Peace Corps to come in and "save" their country from anything—but because of the three goals of Peace Corps, which boil down to supporting a country with trained professionals, and cross-cultural exchange.
The welcoming attitude of the countries that invite us permeates down into all of the levels of society here. This was very evident when we were learning about our potential future sites. Ven is the Ugandan staff member who has been the liaison between schools who request a Volunteer and the Peace Corps office. She told us that she arrived at a potential site to inspect it, and couldn't find the head teacher anywhere. She learned that the site did not have electricity in the house they were providing for the volunteer (which is fine, it's not required that the homes we're provided have electricity, and several of the sites don't) but the head teacher was in the nearby town selling two cows, so that the school would be able to get the house wired for electricity. They wanted a Volunteer, and they wanted their Volunteer to feel as much at home as possible.
Ven also told us about another site, where the parish priest personally dug the future Volunteer's pit latrine. Both of these stories warm my heart because they show that we really are most welcome in this country.
Before this week, I'd never officially taught before. I'm not going to waltz in and change things about a site or a school—that would be terrible, I don't want to do that. I'm here because I have time and enthusiasm. I have the phonics and literacy skills I've learned in training, I'll have the support of the teachers at my site, and I have two years to try and help the students at my site learn—and love—to read. And I have all of my excitement and passion to put towards that goal. I may not see any impact from my effort, but I am going to do the best I can.
(P.S. I ended up with my first choice of site, I'll be in the East, teaching at a Catholic primary school! My home is inside the Catholic compound, and apparently I'll be living right next to the house where the priests live! It's an adventure and I couldn't be more excited!!)