Training of the Trainers

It seems that autumn begins the same way each year in Macedonia.  September’s first week was a continuation of the torrid conditions typical of this year’s summer.  But yesterday the winds came from the North, and now Prilep is much cooler (24 degrees Celcius), and the weather is overcast and cloudy.  Since most places lack air conditioning in Macedonia, cooler weather means better conditions to concentrate on work.

During the last week of August, I also had the opportunity to enjoy a brief respite from the heat through Training of the Trainers, or ToT.  The training took place in Skopje, and we were lodged in a hotel which had access to refreshing air conditioning.  The point of the training was to prepare the staff for Pre-Service Training for the incoming group.  Gathered for the week of training were technical trainers (for Community Development and TEFL), cross-cultural trainers (under a different term this year, but I failed to remember their acronym), and the Language and Cultural Facilitators. 

Becoming a trainer for PST was an opportunity that I never thought I would have, but I feel honored to be selected as one the CD trainers for this year.  PCVs may show interest in training during PST, but ultimately it is up to the PC staff to choose who will be a Technical or Cultural trainer for the new group.  At first, the CD trainers consisted of a PCV working in a municipality and another PCV who did amazing work with corporate sponsorship this year.  But the latter PCV decided to decline her position after realizing that she would be very occupied through the end of 2015.  I also feel that being called from the bench allowed our tradition from Prilep to live on, since our town has sent a trainer for PST for four years in a row!

Overall, ToT was mostly a teambuilding exercise, acclimating us to each other and to the goals of orienting the new group.  The last two days allowed us to work on component work, where we prepared the lesson plans and distributed tasks for each topic during PST.  Even though my group’s PST passed two years ago, there were many parts of the PST curriculum that remained the same (at least for CD).  Reading through the lesson plans, I recalled certain group activities and workshops that will be implemented this year.  I am also amazed that PST introduces topics like Appreciative Inquiry, Project Design and Management, Organizational Capacity, and so forth in such a structured manner.  I recall now learning these topics during our PST, but it was not until working at site that I informally implemented and became familiar with these themes.

Since ToT, I have been focused on reviewing the lesson plans and updating or making notes to things that need change or that we can improve.  What I am most worried about is preparing the practicums so that the trainees gain a valuable experience working with an organization or municipality during PST, though Eli (the lead CD trainer) and Peace Corps staff are working hard to ensure their quality.  Another reason why I look forward to PST starting is that I will be able to capitalize on the travel to Tetovo (where the first week of PST will occur again, and where the dual-culture group will have their site) to work with AIESEC Tetovo. 

With fewer than two weeks left until the new group arrives, it amazes me how quickly time flies.  It was exactly a year ago that my brother was leaving Skopje after our vacation through the region, and two years ago my father hosted a farewell party for me at his place.