#inservicetraining

Monday, December 14th, 2015 to Friday, December 18th, 2015; Tuesday, August 23rd, 2016 to Friday, August 26th, 2016; Tuesday, April 25th, 2017 to Friday, April 28th, 2017

Pretty much all volunteers who stay for the entirety of their service will go through all of these trainings across the board in Peace Corps. Each is meant to help you process what to expect next at certain parts of your service in country. And each has their short name or acronym, if you will.

In-Service Training (IST) - A few months after you get to site (the location you will serve after training is over), having had time to settle into your new environment, get familiar with your counterparts and sitemates, you are asked to come together again in the capital to see all the people in your cohort again after having been away from them for about 4 months at this point. Everyone is excited to see eachother, to see old friends and catch up on how things have been for the most part. While this is a wonderful thing to happen, it is not the main reason you are here. This is a training and each day is utilized to the fullest extent. You are required to attend trainings/presentations in accordance to your sector (educations, community youth development, or health) and, also, Peace Corps required sessions that typically talk about safety, security, and health awareness sessions. This I would say is the more hard core trainings because you are in sessions from 9:00am to about 5:00-6:00pm. There are, also, language sessions available if you want to practice your language. While it will be the longest of trainings, it is the most beneficial because it will help you for giving you ideas to what you can do and what to expect for the remainder of your first year of service.

Mid-Service Training (MST) - At this point, you’ve put in the work of your first year, the new volunteers just got to their sites and are where you were last year making you feel like a veteran. It is your half way point, you’re feeling pretty settled into your service but it’s been months since you’ve last see the people you consider friends in your cohort. Your different at this point and so is everyone else, so when it is time to come together again there is a total shift in everyone’s attitude. At this training, while it is great to catch up with everyone and see their transitions, you will be getting a few days of training to see where you are. A training that will gauge where you are in your service and, at times, encourage you to strive on even through the difficult times. While there are some technical sessions, most sessions are centered around your psychological awareness of where you are. It lets you see that there are others going through the same things as you and what you can do moving forward. Not all volunteers will see this, but that is what I picked up from it.

Close of Service Conference (COS) - (Note: I have yet to attend this conference but will speak on what past PCVs and staff have told me.) This conference is the last chance you will have to see your whole cohort and catch up on old times before your finish up the last few months of service. You will find out what date you will be dispersed back into the States, what to expect before heading home, etc. It is like the meeting you have before graduation or something of the sort.

At his Language In-Service Training this weekend, Chris’ cohort worked on vocabulary related to emotions by translating what we think is a recent press release from a Moldovan NGO and discussing how certain emotions affect their daily lives. As a #HealthEducation volunteer who deeply values mental health and emotional intelligence, I thought this was a great activity! 

Here’s the text they studied, my amateur translation of it, and the questions they discussed:

“Fiecare om are anumite frici, temeri, care îl împiedică să-și depășească condiția, să devină cea mai bună versiune a sa, să se dezvolte, să renunțe la ceva ce nu-i aduce împlinire pentru ceva incert, dar care poate fi șansa viețții sale. Eliberarea de frică ne face mai putenici. Atât timp cât ne lăsăm dominați de fricile noastre, suntem mai inihibați, mai răi, mai intoleranți, iar acest lucru nu ne permite să fim liberi.

Every person has their fears and dreads which impede their ability to surpass their condition, to become the best version of themselves, to develop, to give up that which doesn’t bring them fulfillment of things uncertain, but instead give up that which can be the chance of their live. Breaking free from fear makes us stronger. As long as we are controlled by our fears, we are more inhibited, worse off, more intolerant, and this doesn’t allow us to be free.

”Fricile sunt unele din elementele ce unesc comunitatea LGBT cu resteul societății. Fricile sunt similare la toți, diferă cauzele.

Fears are something that unite the LGBT community with the rest of society. Fears are something we all experience, even though the causes differ.

”Campania socială ”Fără frică” este organizată de Centrul de Informații GENDERDOC-M.

The “Without Fear” campaign is organized by the GENDERDOC-M Information Center.

Scopul campaniei este de a stabili un dialog între comunitatea LGBT și restul societății; de a crește numărul persoanelor care susțin activ comunitatea LGBT și ca rezultat, sporirea nivelului de respect și de acceptare a persoanelor LGBT; de a schimba accentul în comunicarea despre persoanele LGBT, de la aspectele legate de sexualitate, la cele legate de umanism și drepturile omului.”

The goal of the campaign is to establish a dialogue between the LGBT community and the rest of society; to increase the number of people who actively support the LGBT community and, as a result, increase the level of respect and acceptance of LGBT people; to change the narrative about LGBT people from one focused on sexual behaviors to one focused on humanity and human rights.

Întrebări Discussion Questions:

Dvs. aveți frici? Do you have fears?

Cum depășiți fricile dvs.? How do you overcome your fears?

Cine vă ajută? Who helps you (overcome your fears/when you are afraid)?