As 2018 comes to an end, I have been reflecting on some of my favorite moments of my Peace Corps service during this calendar year. These are no particular order.
During “Thanksgiving” break, my friends and I sat around talking after our dinner until 2 or 3 in the morning. I told them that I am a huge fan of Mary Poppins and then we all proceeded to quote lines and scenes of the movie. To have others bask in favorite movie lines of a 50-year-old movie is priceless. (You can read about our Thanksgiving holiday more here.)
During METS Camp, one of the campers, named Shota, jumped up-and-down and yelled, “I love this so much” as we were working on a DNA experiment. To see a teenager exclaim with such excitement in front of his peers like a five-year-old makes the year-long planning process totally worth it. (If you want to learn more about METS Camp in general, read about it here.)
One of the team during METS Camp preparing their materials for the DNA experiment.
There was a lot of work to get Justin and I approved for another year of service. When it was all said and done, Justin and I were really happy that we could stay in Georgia and continuing serving our community. (Read more about it here or here.)
During DREAM Camp, I taught the campers about the difference between inclusion and tolerance. There was a lot of confusion between the difference between the two acts and why inclusion was more kind and important for humanity. I used odd metaphors to help them explain and it worked! The campers, in turn, used these metaphors and helped explain it to the other campers who could not understand it. I stood there like the happiest teacher knowing that I helped turn on the metaphorical light bulb in their minds to make more acts of kindness into the world. (If you want to learn more about DREAM camp in general, read about it here and here.)
Me on the left and Tasha, a camper, on the right. Tasha explained the definition of inclusion so well during a presentation at DREAM Camp that sparked a conversation and a lot of learning.
Celebrating a big birthday in Tbilisi with my sitemate Erin and my husband Justin. The three of us are born in the same month and year and all three of us are born within 14 days of each other. So naturally, we had a combined birthday celebration and it was amazing.
We had 14 people for dinner to celebrate our birthdays and it was absolutely delicious and wonderful. Getting a reservation for a large party, on the other hand, was a story in of itself.
Taking Georgian Dance classes with two of my sitemates. For some reason, I thought I had a picture of me, Erin, and Nicole taking dance classes, but apparently, I do not. For two months, the three of us learned the Rachuli and Adjaruli, which are two dances from the regions of Racha and Adjara, respectively.
At least once a month, my friends Kate and Rose (who I have mentioned many times before) would come to my site to hang out. Our favorite activity was going to a local establishment and drinking tea. Erin, my sitemate, would also regularly join us. It is possible that we started this late 2017, but I think it took off in 2018 as a regular habit.
Rose, Me, and Kate drinking out for tea 🙂 We would joke and call this type of hangout, “tea club.”
As Peace Corps Volunteers, we have to think on our feet all the time. We are improv actors on a stage that is our daily lives.
While I was reading this article about the first Mexican chef who earned a Michelin star, something in the article resonated with me about my Peace Corps service. Carlos Gaytán, the Mexican Chef, was quoted in the article saying, “You don’t always have all the ingredients to make a dish… You’ve got to use your imagination and be creative to fill in the gaps.” This could be said for probably any Peace Corps Volunteer in any post around the world. Sometimes, I might expect that a certain ingredient won’t be available (even though it is promised it would be).
Me teaching about the concepts of force by utilizing the Spaghetti Tower experiment. METS Camp in Telavi, June 2017.
For example, in one of our activities during METS Camp, we build something called a Spaghetti Tower. The kids are supposed to build a free-standing tower with 20 spaghetti noodles, a small piece of tape and yarn, and one marshmallow. The marshmallow is supposed to be on the top and completely supported by the tower made of the noodles. The team that builds the tallest free-standing tower wins the competition. The mini-competition teaches our campers about force and some basic concept of engineering.
Last year, I informed our partner organization that I will buy the marshmallows in the capital, Tbilisi. We needed more marshmallows because we used all of ours already in the camp two months prior (pictures above and below). Our August camp needed their own, fresh marshmallows. In my time here, I was even shocked that they even sell them in Georgia. Naturally, “odd, American” things are only sold in the capital. He insisted that he could find it in our town. I trusted him and reminded him that the experiment won’t work unless we have the marshmallows. Anything other than marshmallows will be absolutely too heavy to be supported by thin spaghetti noodles.
The campers building the spaghetti tower in the June 2017 METS Camp in Telavi.
About ten minutes before arriving at camp last year, our organization partner said, “You were right. They do not sell marshmallows in our town. So I did not get them.” At that point, we were at least 6 hours away from the Tbilisi Mall or a Carrefour. The camp’s sessions were going to start the next morning. In other words, there was no solution in which I could get marshmallows in sight. You could imagine how I felt in the moment, given on how avoidable this situation was. He left me to improvise my lesson unprepared and unexpectedly. It was frustrating because he knew it was needed given that we used marshmallows in the June camp, two months prior.
I even told him that if he said anything last night I could have another Peace Corps Volunteer remedy the situation. After that, I changed the subject because there was no point in discussing further- what was done was done. So the next morning, the day of the experiment, I asked the hotel for an old loaf of Georgian bread. I tore the loaf of bread and made the made it into small balls for the experiment. It was a bit heavy for the spaghetti, but the noodles were able to carry the weight for a few moments. It changed the experiment and it was not as successful; however, the campers still learned the lessons of structural force. Thinking on our feet is simply our job as Peace Corps Volunteers. More importantly, thinking calmly is even more critical.
I’m in the center with the DREAM Camp t-shirt. I’m with a bunch of the campers on the last day of camp. Kobuleti, Georgia, August 2018.
Last week, I concluded my last DREAM Camp, in which we teach the kids about diversity. At this camp, I wanted me and the team to be overly prepared. In Georgia, the internet could go out for hours without notice. The electricity could even just stop when it is raining. Running water is also not a constant thing either. So, there are always extra things to prepare for in advance. I told the new Peace Corps Volunteers that it is important to download and print all the sessions in advance. These same problems could persist next year when they are running the camp.
Sure enough, when the camp came around, the Internet barely worked. We had internet for a few minutes sporadically throughout the week. If we have to depend utilizing the Google Drive during camp, we would have been toast and unorganized. We also had a movie night at the camp. Because we downloaded the movie in advance- with Georgian dub- we were also prepared. In Georgia, when conducting a large project, it is important to think 10 steps ahead. We might not have accessibility to a printer, Internet, or any other conveniences.
We also do not make our PowerPoints text heavy. Most of them are pictures. This way, if we can’t use the PowerPoint (due to an electricity outage), it won’t make that much of a difference. A lot of our sessions were discussion heavy. Therefore, as long we have a place to sit, we are all good to go. Sure enough, during camp, the internet was only available for a few hours a day- and not consistently.
At the end of the day, there is a silver lining to all this. When I return to America, the small things won’t throw me off. I will be able to think on my feet should “technical difficulties” arise. I won’t have a panicked facial expression in the middle of the conference room. I will be collected and be able to come up with solutions “on-the-fly.” Thus, I tip my hat to these experiences for teaching me to become more flexible than I signed up for.
Mini METS are our one-day STEM workshops conducted at various Peace Corps Volunteers’ sites.
When BJ, Amanda, and I created the METS Initiative in 2016, BJ had suggested that it should be more than just a camp. There should be another component of the initiative: Mini-METS. Amanda and I wholeheartedly agreed. Mini-METS are one-day “camps” that would be hosted in various Peace Corps Volunteers’ sites upon request. As you may know, METS is our STEM initiative. It is STEM spelled backward and it also means “Me too” in Georgian.
Even though Georgia has made efforts to increase science education, it is still not a popular major to study in university. Not only that, many of its scientific facilities are outdated. This is one of the reasons why the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) invests in Georgia. In fact, MCC is the one that awarded San Diego State University the $30 million grant to partner with Georgia to have an American Accredited University in Tbilisi. As you may recall from my previous blog post about METS, Georgian San Diego State Universities acted as our counselors in our camps.
As this article in the Daily Aztec mentions, the money from the grant “will be allocated toward renovating labs and improving the quality of higher education.” Also, the article mentioned that “MCC wanted an American accredited U.S. degree to be offered in Georgia because Georgia needed higher education to meet the standards of emerging democracies.” This is one of the many reasons why the whole METS initiative started. This is why we feel that we need to continue our work in METS beyond just our summer camps.
Rose (left), me (center), and Atka (right) hosting our Mini-METS on Saturday, October 28, 2017
This past Saturday, on October 28th, 2017, Atka, Rose, and I hosted the second Mini-METS in a local town in the Imereti Region at our friend Ryan’s site. The first one was conducted in the spring by BJ and Amanda. On Saturday, we had nearly twenty youth show up to the event. We conducted three activities for Mini-METS: 1) rockets 2) math tricks and lastly 3) lungs. With each presentation, we discussed the theory first and then did the experiment. It is important for students to understand the science behind the experiment. I don’t want them walking away thinking it was “magic.”
Atka explaining the chemical composition for our rocket experiment
So for the rockets, Atka explained what were reactants and catalysts. She taught them how all the materials interact with each other to create a mini “rocket.” Curious to what our rockets actually were? Simple. They were Alka Seltzer tablets, water, and a film tube canister. No, seriously that is it. You put half an Alka Seltzer tablet in a small film canister with warm water. Close the lid. Place the canister upside down and wait for it to launch!
What was surprising was some kids left immediately after this experiment. It was a bit shocking because this experiment is a huge hit and every student loved it! They were all jumping in glee and we had to do some crowd control. It is just difficult to compete for their attention- on the weekend- especially when they have Facebook waiting for them at home.
Then, I did a math presentation. I know, it sounds like a snooze. What kid would want to learn math on a Saturday? Ryan was hesitant to have this when I told him that it was part of our agenda. I can’t blame him. I thought it was going to be boring when I introduced it at the Kobuleti camp. However, it was such a hit. The kids in Kobuleti were literally jumping out of their seats to participate.
So, I tested my luck for the second time to do it at Mini-METS. Guess what? Another hit. I taught them how to divide big numbers by five – in seconds and in our heads! Spoiler alert: you double it and then divide it by then. I decided to do a simple math trick because many of the students in the audience were in the sixth grade.
Lastly, Rose did our lung presentation. She explained how lungs work and what can cause inflammation. One way to stop inflammation of the lungs is smoking. Thus, it was basically a mini-anti-smoking campaign. How best to illustrate how bad smoking is? Do an experiment where you can literally see the damage after a few minutes.
Rose (center) is explaining how to properly use our lung model above.
Our lung model is basically built from plastic bottles, balloons, and cotton. The device is the one actually smoking the cigarettes. Even after even a few cigarettes, the cotton inside the plastic bottle changes color to a more yellowish-brown. Thus, this indicates that lung damage from smoking is almost immediate. It is a great way to show kids immediately how smoking damages the lungs. I want to say this experiment is completely harm-free, but I cannot. We did incur a bit of second-hand smoke during this process.
The students “building” their lungs for the experiment.
A lot of the kids enjoyed this too. I’m not sure how many of them will not pick up the habit of smoking though. Smoking in Georgia is a big problem. The majority of males in this country smoke. It is not very “lady-like” for women to smoke, therefore, the problem is mostly with men. Regardless, we hope that we were able to impart some knowledge on these youth.
Overall, Mini-METS was a success. It is really fun seeing kids get excited about science and math. It made it worth it to wake up early that Saturday morning!
