11.24.08
Thought 1.
Today I was just sitting out on my balcony getting some fresh crisp winter air in my lungs. The first time I did this today I realized im not unhappy here. It is a good feeling to have. I am happy here. I do feel a little unproductive but im content. I have been for a while now I guess. I drafted a plan of action to get myself better aligned and prepared to take on this next year, hitting the ground running. I call it my Peace Plan for the Winter. I feel pretty good about it. I did a little goal setting exercise to improve myself and then how im going to go about making any sort of impact here as a peace corps volunteer.
Peace Plan Winter 2008
There is two categories for my plan this winter. The first is actions that will better myself as a individual to make better use of free time. The second addresses my work for the Peace Corps.
Self Improvement Plan
Total time put towards self improvement 1,515 minutes or 25.25 hours a week
Music (45 minutes a day, 225 minutes a week)
· Practice playing the guitar no less then 30 minutes a day on week days
· Practice or have fun playing the harmonica 15 minutes a day on week days
Body (90 minutes a day 3 days a week, 270 minutes a week)
· Go to the gym 3 times a week
· Stretching for 30 minutes a day
· Hydrate
Mind (Totaling 15 hours)
· Listen to the economist audio edition every week to keep up on world end economic events. (easily accomplished during long bus rides to and from Chisinau) 7 hours
· Language Development
o Study with Rosetta Stone Language program Russian
§ 3 lessons a week or 5 hours in total.
o Go to my language tutor twice a week for 3 hours in total.
Miscellaneous ( 2 hour a week )
· Cooking proficiency 1 new dish a week
· Learn recipe 30 minutes
· Find ingredients 30 minutes
· Cooking of the dish Variable average 1 hour
Work Plan
(No less then 3 hours a days spent on any of the following ideas or a minimum 15 hours a week.)
Divided in 4 parts
Agriculture
· Develop a plan for promotion of soil testing before the use of chemical fertilizers, carrying out the promotion at agriculture supply stores to address the issues of over fertilization or improper fertilization. As a side advantage promote correct usage of fertilizers to receive maximum yields.
· Research the possibility of growing a type of Marigold as a type of cash crop to be sold to a Netherland Pharmaceutical company. Pilot test plot, and logistics work for what to do with the yields.
Community Organizational Development
· Youth Action Group
o Facilitating and Promotion of youth community development activities.
§ Student Disco (student initiated)
· Mayor’s office Website
o Design and instruct on how to develop site
· Networking NGO Site
o Project involving data basing Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and posting their needs so that international organizations, churches, or volunteers looking for places to lend their aid or resources can make an informed decision.
Business and Rural Development
· Working with the “COMMUNITAS” Association in the south of Moldova through their chairman of this organization to spread information on the steps needed to take in planning a business plan and finding financial resources to implement the plan.
Peace Corps
· Volunteer brainstorming sessions
o Organize interested volunteers for monthly brainstorming sessions, get volunteers working together and sharing experiences. Idea sharing and group think sessions will give volunteers feeling ineffective an environment where they can gain ideas they can use to become effective or strengthen current project ideas.
Thought 2.
So after finishing my list I went out to the balcony again just to kind of reflect on my goals. Its cold outside. Cold enough to freeze some puddles from a rain we got a few days back forming some nice little ice sheets. The little kids coming home from school begin to play on them running and sliding across them. I notice they are playing a little violently as they push and shove each other out of the way to get their turn to run and slide. More kids show up and they begin shoving harder and yelling at one another in Russian. I am far enough away not to catch any words but I can see they aren’t being all that kind. These kids are ages ranging from id say 7 until maybe 10. They are not just shoving but punching, with clinched fists aiming for the face. Soon enough all hell breaks loose. Kids begin choosing sides and they shoving matches and punching matches ensue. From here kids begin to grab clumps of dirty frozen leaves and throwing them at one another. Then one kids goes over breaks a smaller patch of ice, grabs this shard and throws it at another. After this escalation both sides being doing the same picking up anything from sticks to pieces of fragmented asphalt to chunks of ice and dirt. Throwing and fighting go on right out in my apartment complex courtyard area. Its violent. I thought about going down to stop them but its not my job, I don’t think I could even begin to solve this problem.
It saddened me. What can I do to alleviate this? The Answer is nothing. All I can do is observe and report. What are the causes of this problem? Is it the lack of work in this country or poor standard of living? Is this causing domestic violence at home teaching this kids to be this way? Is it the lack of supervision of these children? Is it just in human nature to be violent and mean to one another?
2 comments:
Dear Kyle Stremme,
I was looking for the nice electronic Winter Season cards, when I have seen your attractive story, describing your mission in Moldova like an adventure.
I am not very familiar with your mission, but it seems it is to promote a peaceful life in the country and in the town where you serve as a Peace Corps volunteer and it sounds like a very positive mission.
I am not sure how old you are and how long you are here with your mission, how well you know the country, the town and its population, this small world you plan to improve, to make it better, however, looking through your thoughts and draft plans as well as impressions, I would say you are not long time here, but you are eager to work hard for changing this life to a better one. Thanks a lot for this!
Your thoughts are positive but I feel a big gap between the 2 plans you have developed. On my view, there should not be any differentiation in between your-self improvement and improvement of the society surrounding you.
I suppose it would work easier and much more efficient incorporating one plan into another.
May I also kindly share with you my following views, such as:
Grow up in the society with the society - you simply cannot do it another way! Your mission is to improve the society, making it as peaceful as possible, is not it: it would mean everything you do, you should do in society with the society and for the society.
Try to improve the awareness of the society about the society, their good intentions, successful stories, successful people, and examples to follow.
Do not work with the web only, do not focus on the web only, disseminate with the support of the society newspapers or some leaflets developed together with the society about the society, with the good things to share with the local and neighboring population.
In the weekends be more active as usual; initiate some outdoor actions for all ages, as sport, exhibitions, competitions or whatever else could be of interest for a healthy peaceful life of the local population. Everything you do, you should do with the society for the society.
You should be known, you should be recognized, and you should be supported by the society itself.
I wish you good luck and hope to hear about you on TV, mass-media, web, and what is the most important from people's mouths.
Happy, Successful, Joyous, Peaceful and Prosperous New 2009 Year!
Wish your winter is a magical wonderland!
P.S. Please pardon me if my comments are a bit critical, and thanks in advance for this opportunity to share with you my view.
natalia.
thanks for your comment.
your did seem a bit presumptious in your comment but i will take it none the less. check out the peace corps website if you want to know our "mission".
if you have lived in moldova and understand the situation here or mine in fact you might not be so quick to throw your advice as you did.
im a little bitter. i apologize for coming of that way, but i will not go back and delete what i said. after reading what you said it made me angry. just being honest.
happy holidays
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