Sonia Marsh - Gutsy Living

Life's too short to play it safe

Panic Mode The Morning of My Peace Corps Presentation

by 10 Comments

Peace Corps Presentation
Peace Corps Presentation

To say that I was in panic mode the morning of my Peace Corps presentation is an understatement; I couldn’t open any files on my computer. Fortunately my local Geek Squad came to the rescue at my local “Best Buy” store.

Crowd at presentation

I had not prepared or practiced my presentation, as I wanted to enjoy my holiday with my sons in San Clemente, but thanks to Julia Capizzi, the Orange County recruiter who set-up my event at Mimi’s Cafe in Irvine, California, my Peace Corps presentation was well attended, and a lot of fun.

I couldn’t believe how many friends, and people I’ve met online through my blog postings, wanted to attend and learn more about the Peace Corps, and my life as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho.

I had over 100 slides, and shared the application process, the ten-week training in Ha Koali, and our host family photos, followed by the swearing-in at the U.S. Ambassador of Lesotho’s home, and my life teaching the orphans and vulnerable children at my site.

There were many questions about the Peace Corps which Julia Capizzi answered, and I had several questions about my school, the children and my daily life.

Most of the attendees were 50+, so a good crowd to explain the benefits of serving as an older volunteer.

So many brought donations for my school, especially books and DVDs, which I had requested for the children in my community.

I am at LAX as I write this blog post, waiting for my flight back to Lesotho. My first flight is 16 hours long, and my second flight is 8 hours, plus a third one that’s only one-hour. So this is half way across the world from California.

Thanks to all who are interested in following my adventures, and next post will be about my village and the children.

 

 

How can I live such different lives, and be the same person inside?

by 1 Comment

If you follow me on Facebook, you’ll see that I’ve been traveling from Lesotho to Paris to California, and I keep asking myself, how can I live such different lives, and be the same person inside?

I cannot explain how it feels to move from my rural village in the mountains of Lesotho, to the metro and tourist-filled streets of Paris, and now the California beaches. It just doesn’t make sense that I can be the same person, and live in completely different environments.

I have one week left before I return to the orphans and vulnerable children in my African village, and I know what’s going to happen; I’ll be asking myself, “Was that really me in Paris on a boat ride on the river Seine? Was that really me swimming in the Pacific at San Clemente beach? Was this a dream? I cannot seem to answer the question:

How can I live such different lives, and be the same person inside?

If you’re in Orange County, California, next Tuesday, July 19th, I am going to share my experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho, southern Africa. If you’re curious to learn more about what it’s really like to move away from luxuries like electricity, toilets, showers and running water, please join me at Mimi’s Cafe in Irvine. The address and time are mentioned below.

I plan to delve into the reality of working as an English teacher in a tiny village, where the only traffic seems to be herds of cows, sheep, goats, and blanket-clad men on horses. The only sounds are roosters, pigs, donkeys that sound like elephants, fighting dogs, and the Basotho people who yell from one mountain to the next. My new life is 6,000 feet above sea level, in “The Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho,” Southern Africa.

During my presentation:

I plan to delve into the nitty-gritty of my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer and entertain you with my daily challenges:
  • Learning to live with zero privacy
  • My “failed” attempts at communicating in Sesotho which have barely progressed beyond formal greetings
  • My amazing public transportation adventures
The positives of my Peace Corps experiences and what I’ve accomplished so far:
  • Improving the English teaching program at my school
  • Forging friendships with teachers and my counterpart at school
  • Receiving numerous donations of clothes, shoes, books and school supplies from wonderful people through my blogging which have greatly benefited the orphans and vulnerable children at my school
  • Other recent accomplishments I shall mention during my presentation
What I plan to do after the Peace Corps, and how I hope to motivate more 55+ to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

I started my Peace Corps “PST” (pre-service training) in Lesotho in October 2015, and this will be my first visit home. I have shared many stories on my blog since I arrived, and as time goes by, I keep learning new things about my environment, and myself.

Julia Capizzi, the amazing Peace Corps recruiter in Orange County, asked me if I’d like to share my experiences when I return this July for a quick vacation to visit my family and friends. I said “Yes,” and am asking all of you who live close by to attend, and bring a friend(s) along.

The Peace Corps Presentation will take place from 5:30 p.m., until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 19th at Mimi’s Cafe in Irvine, CA.

Sonia Marsh

Peace Corps Presentation of my life as a Volunteer in Lesotho, Southern Africa

(December 2015-December 2017)

Mimi’s Cafe

4030 Barranca Pkwy,

Irvine 92604

5:30 p.m.-7 p.m.

(You are welcome to stay longer and ask me questions)

I would like to share a power point presentation so you can see what my daily life is like, my school, and more.

Please e-mail me, at Sonia@soniamarsh.com, or Julia Capizzi  at jcapizzi@peacecorps.gov if you’d like to attend, if you are bringing a friend(s). Please write ATTENDING in the subject of your email, as we need a head count.

I hope to see you very soon.

Join Me on July 19th For My Peace Corps Presentation

by 13 Comments

 

Sonia Marsh Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho

If you’re considering serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer, or you’re curious to learn more about what it’s really like to move away from luxuries like electricity, toilets, showers and running water, join me on July 19th, for my Peace Corps presentation, in Orange County, California.

I plan to delve into the reality of working as an English teacher in a tiny village, where the only traffic seems to be herds of cows, sheep, goats, and blanket-clad men on horses. The only sounds are roosters, pigs, donkeys that sound like elephants, fighting dogs, and the Basotho people who yell from one mountain to the next. My new life is 6,000 feet above sea level, in “The Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho,” Southern Africa.

During my presentation:

I plan to delve into the nitty-gritty of my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer and entertain you with my daily challenges:
  • Learning to live with zero privacy
  • My “failed” attempts at communicating in Sesotho which have barely progressed beyond formal greetings
  • My amazing public transportation adventures
The positives of my Peace Corps experiences and what I’ve accomplished so far:
  • Improving the English teaching program at my school
  • Forging friendships with teachers and my counterpart at school
  • Receiving numerous donations of clothes, shoes, books and school supplies from wonderful people through my blogging which have greatly benefited the orphans and vulnerable children at my school
  • Other recent accomplishments I shall mention during my presentation
What I plan to do after the Peace Corps, and how I hope to motivate more 55+ to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

I started my Peace Corps “PST” (pre-service training) in Lesotho in October 2015, and this will be my first visit home. I have shared many stories on my blog since I arrived, and as time goes by, I keep learning new things about my environment, and myself.

Julia Capizzi, the amazing Peace Corps recruiter in Orange County, asked me if I’d like to share my experiences when I return this July for a quick vacation to visit my family and friends. I said “Yes,” and am asking all of you who live close by to attend, and bring a friend(s) along.

The Peace Corps Presentation will take place from 5:30 p.m., until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 19th at Mimi’s Cafe in Irvine, CA.

 

Sonia Marsh

Peace Corps Presentation of my life as a Volunteer in Lesotho, Southern Africa

(December 2015-December 2017)

Mimi’s Cafe

4030 Barranca Pkwy,

Irvine 92604

5:30 p.m.-7 p.m.

(You are welcome to stay longer and ask me questions)

I would like to share a power point presentation so you can see what my daily life is like, my school, and more.

Please e-mail me, at Sonia@soniamarsh.com, or Julia Capizzi  at jcapizzi@peacecorps.gov if you’d like to attend, if you are bringing a friend(s). Please write ATTENDING in the subject of your email, as we need a head count.

I hope to see you very soon.

 

How Do I Improve My Students’ English?

by 30 Comments

 

My 7th grade girls are trying harder than the boys
My 7th grade girls are trying harder than the boys

My counterpart and I gave grade 5 the composition part of their test. We selected a picture from a book with an African boy sitting under a tree, looking at the contents of a shoe box. The scenery depicts life in rural Lesotho with typical Basotho rondavels, chickens pecking at bits of corn and other kids playing in a wheelbarrow.

I am sad to say that most of the students got 0/20. Their English makes no sense, and one girl, who seemed to write really well, was simply copying the text from the book. I gave her a zero.

This is an example of what I’m facing, and I really need help deciding where to start, as far as teaching them how to pass English, and move on to high school. All their subjects are supposed to be taught in English, but they are not. The teachers speak to them in Sesotho.

Here is an example of one of the “better” compositions.

“The boy is play. The boy are ran. Is the play. This is the boy is play the house. The boy his play. The three is the boy and girl. Is The play the car. This is the boedy and the boy is play the car. Is the play the car and the trees. My hous is clon the haus in the haus. Channg the haus is the boy is in the haus. In the tree cateng the three is the boy. The were his thing. Boy is play the box. The boy is play the car is the boy. Meke the lane the haus in the were theng the car and the three.”

I gave him 4/20, because it was one of the better essays.

Do you have any advice as to where to start with these 5th graders who are 10-12-years-old?

I try to follow the Government’s 5th grade curriculum, and even when I teach the present tense, only two kids in my class of sixteen seem to understand.

The other day I gave a pre-test, and even though I gave them the answers to 3 questions, the majority only scored 1/15. They should at least have managed 3/15.

I have a feeling poor nutrition, and being hungry has a lot to do with the lack of concentration during class. Most of the children just eat breakfast and lunch at school which is pure starch, and don’t get any protein. I feel sorry for them as the food is always the same: soft porridge with lots of sugar, and no milk, and papa (maize meal) and boiled dry beans for lunch. I know that beans and starch make a complete protein, but they never get eggs, dairy, vegetables, fish or meat. Several years ago, the lunches were healthier, but due to the cuts in government funding, and relying on WFP (World Food Program,) they are not getting enough food for a growing child’s body and brain in my opinion. They always talk about “nama” meat, and how they like Christmas, when they get meat.

The children have not been exposed to books except for the three books assigned in grades 5, 6 and 7.  One of them is called, “The Crooked Path,” which I read, and found a little strange, but that’s due to cultural differences. They have to read the same three books and answer the same questions each year, however, at my school, seven children have to share one book, and they cannot take it home to read.

Since I also teach English in 7th grade, where the children range from 12-16, I found it interesting how different these children’s concerns and priorities are from those where my children grew up in California.

They were asked to write an essay about the season they like best. Here are some of their comments.

“I like summer because I eat breakfast.”

“The season I like best is winter because the people are pruning the trees and we get big fruits.”

“I like winter when we kill pig for meat.”

Others wrote a letter thanking their uncle for their birthday present. Once again, there were many mistakes, and I am concerned about the best approach to help them, as they will not graduate into high school is they do not pass 7th grade. Many of the older children have repeated 7th grade, three to four times, and are still failing.

Here are some of their letters:

“My uncle give me a present of a cake. I am happy for that.”

“My Uncle my birthday will be on 3rd October, 2016 You will give me the present for my birthday. Please give me the present like cake, sweets, tones and flowers to make beautiful present. I am happy as a lark to talk about my birthday.”

“When it’s my birthday party, I want to go to hotels and eat pizer and I want to make a sandwich. Sandwich is the power when our body. I want to eat some food everyday.”

There are about six children in 7th grade that are motivated, and five of them are girls. What surprises me is that three of the girls are orphans, and yet, they are able to study and are interested in learning, compared to so many of the remaining thirty students, who do not seem to care.

During the grammar part of the exam, I found some of their answers particularly interesting:

Question: “What do you call one who is married to your brother?”

Answers: “Good luck.” “Sorry.” “It someone who kill my brother.”

 

Question: What is the feminine of King?

Answers: A girl wrote, “Mistress.” Another answer, “Wife.”

 

Question: What is the feminine of “Son”

Answer: “Sin”

 

My counterpart, and other teachers agree that the majority of the students do not seem to care about learning, despite any effort to make it more fun, and offer activities. One thing they all enjoy though, are the DVDs, I started showing recently since electricity arrived in our village.

I believe that educational DVDs, might be one way to get them motivated to learn. Many of them have never seen a TV or a video, and are able to sit for hours and focus on a DVD.

Please let me know if you have suggestions on where to start with the 5th and 7th grade children. I have a curriculum to follow, and as you can see, the children have not grasped the basics. I really want them to do well, and pass their exams.

 

Working as a Peace Corps Volunteer Can be Tricky

by 5 Comments

Kids watching Shrek video-back view

Working as a Peace Corps volunteer in a foreign culture can be tricky. On the one hand, you need to be respectful and not impose your ways on the people you work with, and on the other hand, you want to improve things. It can be a frustrating balancing act, and last week, I had a moment when I spoke out, because I knew what would happen if I kept my mouth shut.

My rural school in Lesotho was hooked up to electricity two weeks ago, and the Minister of Education donated four computers and a printer. My counterpart could not wait to learn how to use a computer, and to show educational videos to his students. He asked me to set up the computers, and to offer a workshop on how to use a computer to the seven teachers at my school.

I set up one computer, just to make sure we had Windows 7 and Office 2013 installed, and then noticed that the printer was missing a cable.

Our school already had one laptop, a projector and speakers, donated a couple of years ago, but they were sitting in my Principal, Sister B’s convent, collecting dust.

The day after I tested the computer in our staff room; the only room where we have electricity, Sister B returned the equipment to her convent for security reasons.

Our winter break starts in less than two weeks, and I knew that if I didn’t say something about getting burglar bars set up on the window in the staff room during the holidays, nothing would get done. Once again, the equipment would collect dust in the convent.

I’ve noticed how the teachers do not speak out during a staff meeting. Things never seem to get done, yet they often complain when we’re alone.

So this time I said what I thought needed to be said. “Sister, why don’t we get a quote for the burglar bars. I heard it doesn’t cost a lot, and that way, we can set up all the computers and the printer.”

“The school has no money,” she replied.

I’m so used to hearing that all the time, so I decided to try another approach.

With the help of a male teacher, we set up the laptop, speakers and projector, and got the system working. The teacher placed two large white sheets of paper on the wall, and the kids brought in rows of wooden benches. I found a Shrek Christmas preview DVD and “Pitch Perfect” about college kids and their acapella singing competition, which I borrowed from the Peace Corps resource center in Maseru.

As usual, I hate to admit this, but it’s the truth; three teachers did not show up at school on that day. So my counterpart suggested we show the movies, and I did not realize that for many of these children, this was their first time watching a movie. We crammed in three grades at a time, and the other children were trying to get in, but there was no room.

When the 6th and 7th graders finished their exams, they too wanted to see Shrek, and “Pitch Perfect.” Even the teachers sat inside the room, and Sister B. loved Shrek. The kids couldn’t believe a donkey could “talk.”

Kids watching Shrek video-2
Kids watching Shrek Christmas preview video 5 times in a row.

So my approach of showing the entire school two movies might have done the trick as most have never seen a film, and would tell their parents about it. Sister finally seemed ready to ask the parents to help raise money, and said she would call them to a meeting before school is out.

My counterpart and another teacher thanked me for telling Sister that we need burglar bars on the windows, and that if we don’t get this started, the computers will remain in the convent collecting dust for years to come.

REQUEST

If you have any used educational DVDs, phonics DVDs or any children’s or pre-teen DVDs that you no longer need, please e-mail me (Sonia@Soniamarsh.com) as I’ll be in California this July, and can bring them back in my suitcase, when I return to Lesotho.

 

Latest from the blog

Top Posts