Todd, the Foreign Diplomat

So what is new in the life of this lowly Peace Corps Volunteer?

 

For starters, I am working on my community surveys and school authority interviews. The Peace Corps has all the new volunteers complete a mountain of interviews, surveys, and assessments so that we can better know what our community needs of us. I think many volunteers use these interviews and surveys to really determine what their secondary projects will be in the following two years. In my case I am almost certain that my job will primarily consist of one thing. Teaching English. Seemingly everyone I encounter wants to learn English or has kids who “want” to learn English. This is to be expected. I am a white guy in Ecuador that speaks English. Therefore my projects will mainly be comprised of me speaking in my native tongue. But these surveys are not as fun as they sound (and they sound boring). Many people have no idea why I am asking them questions and it takes awhile to calm fears that I, as a PCV, am not a part of the CIA like Ecuadorian government officials have hinted. I have to complete all of my surveys and interviews and then compile the data I received. I will then “analyze” the data and put my findings into a presentation that I will give at a conference in Quito in August. That all sounds very fancy and important but really I could probably just stand in front of my boss and say “I will teach English” and accomplish the same goal as a complex presentation would.

I do, however, have exciting news. I was recently invited to take part in a summer camp program from the US Embassy. The Embassy is trying to promote English learning through fun summer camps for high school aged Ecuadorians. The embassy held a three day training session for those interested. Seven Peace Corps volunteers and I went to Quito this week and received training on how to plan an English intensive summer camp. We worked with about twenty other Ecuadorian volunteers that will host the summer camp with us next month. We spent most of the session planning our camp. The activity that I came up with for the summer camp was an outdoor survival course with the students. I am excited to see how well all my planning turns out. The Embassy was very supportive of our plans and really let us have the reigns as we planned our camp. I could not have been more impressed with the training staff from the Embassy. They were great facilitators and I can see why they are so valued at the State Department. These “big-wigs” were not only professional but approachable. The “Senior English Fellow” from the Embassy actually came outside after training and played Ultimate Frisbee with us. 

"Embassy of the United States"

During  Peace Corps training I had encountered the Embassy a few times and was relatively impressed with them. However, after attending this most recent training and seeing how dedicated they were to helping Ecuador by supplying both trained individuals and the money to make it all possible, I am a believer in humanitarian aid on the part of the United States. I feel that this exemplifies American values and we need to show the world that we are not all greedy and self-absorbed. One of the three goals of Peace Corps is to share American culture and values with host country nationals. I feel that through this training and these camps we are doing just that. I don’t know that a goofy white guy like me is the best example of America but it will have to suffice for Ecuador. 

 At the end of the training they gave out English curriculum to each Ecuadorian volunteer and invited them to make copies for their co-workers. This sounded so strange to hear an American Diplomat say that they should reproduce the information but then I realized that this is about reaching as many people as possible rather than working within copyright laws. I think that these English camps will really have an impact on the youths that are able to attend. Even the Ecuadorian volunteers were ecstatic to work with the embassy. They all wanted to learn as much as possible and were so happy to receive the training and the teaching materials. I guess the thing that I would like to get across to the astute readers of this here blog is that the USA has reputation everywhere in the world.  We, in Ecuador, are working towards making that a good reputation.

Trained!

To close this post I would like to reminisce about the time when I met the American ambassador to Ecuador. We were told to stand when he entered the room and only sit after he instructed us to do so. We were also only to address him as “Mr. Ambassador”. I am now a proud “trained informal diplomat” of the United States of America. I would not go so far as to ask you to stand when I enter the room nor would I ask you to address me as “Mr. Trained Informal Diplomat”, that title is simply too long. I supposed you could just address me as something more humble like, “Mr. Diplomat”. Yes, I think that will suffice.