Pre Service Training

in my room this morning

This week, we each travel to our sites for a short visit.  I leave Monday morning on a 2 hour fast train to Chongqing and I'll return on Friday.  I'm a bit nervous, even though I know I shouldn't be.

We only have 2 weeks left of training; we are "Trainees," until the swearing in ceremony when we officially become "Volunteers." This preparation time is creatively known as Pre Service Training, "PST," and it is an intense cultural immersion with long hours in classes on language, culture, TEFL, health, safety, and security.  Then, we spend more hours with our host family.  We carry around our Calendar of Training Events, "COT," a 10 page document dense with acronyms, including, helpfully, an acronym key.  Every Friday, we submit our completed Trainee Assessment Plan, "TAP," a 11"x14" booklet that lists every training objective for each week.  We complete a self-assessment, and each trainer also completes their section evaluation us as well.

 me and Confucius before banquet

To say PST is intense, doesn't really capture the experience.  It's clear the Peace Corps wants the Trainees/Volunteers to be successful, and so the organization does everything imaginable to guarantee our success.  All through training, the PC expectations are clear, everything is precisely organized, nothing is left to chance, and all bases are covered.

And so, we had banquet practice.  "The banquet is a formal dinner, usually held at a restaurant, to express gratitude, farewell, or to welcome the guest of honor.  Most banquets volunteers go to have 8-10 guests." (page 1 of our 6 page banquet handout)  Apparently, we will attend many, many banquets, often on short notice, and often we'll be expected to make brief speeches and toasts.  The banquet has many rules about hierarchy, seating, conversation, toasts, and eating.

all meals at home and out are served "family style,"
the serving spoons are rare

better to not know what these are,
one is lung (whose?) in blood

practice toasts with tea and soda

Most of the banquet training packet covers alcohol, the drinking culture, and how to politely avoid it so that the banquet host doesn't "lose face" and we don't lose face.  The jr. high-like peer pressure is aimed at the men; it's easy for the women to decline drinking.

Given all of the different training I've had, I know I am very well prepared and supported for this site visit and my new job.