One of the highlights of the COS conference was the "Give & Take" activity. We were each assigned a person and then had to go around asking everyone what they would "take" from that person - things they admire or respect about that person- and also the thing that they'd like to "give" them as they head off into Life After Peace Corps.
I had the good fortune of going around to ask about Sarah J., the other Response Volunteer in Kankan. It was really lovely to hear all the things that people said about her - people were happy to talk about her, some felt compelled to tell little stories, and some of the "gifts" were really funny. (One guy just gave everyone baby goats, because they are adorable and everyone should have some baby goats in thier lives.) I was also really impressed at how many details people remembered, and how many people said similar things - if I had been making a wordcloud for her, COURAGE would have been right there in the middle in like 72 point font. (Everyone, absolutely everyone, was impressed at how Sarah has done so well as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer without the benefit a training group and without having done Peace Corps before.)
After we'd collected everyone's quotes and contributions we each got a nice piece of paper and they put out some crayons so that we could compile everything and make certificate-type things for our assigned person. I did my best to fit it all on one page and make it look nice and was again impressed at how much effort a lot of people were putting in, trying to make them meaningful, legible, and pretty.
I was beyond impressed when Lane G. handed me my "Give & Take" sheet. As a relative newcomer to Guinea who doesn't really know anyone outside of Kankan, I'd anticipated mostly generic, cheerful quips ("I'd take her smile and give her a puppy!") but the sheet was beautifully laid out and people had been very thoughtful - somehow, collectively, they all knew me much better than I'd expected.
Aside from being lovely to look at, it confirmed a few things, most significantly that, for better and for worse, I tend to be a know-it-all and also that I talk about Switzerland kind of a lot. Really, though, it's so good, and the whole thing was so heartwarming.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
I had the good fortune of going around to ask about Sarah J., the other Response Volunteer in Kankan. It was really lovely to hear all the things that people said about her - people were happy to talk about her, some felt compelled to tell little stories, and some of the "gifts" were really funny. (One guy just gave everyone baby goats, because they are adorable and everyone should have some baby goats in thier lives.) I was also really impressed at how many details people remembered, and how many people said similar things - if I had been making a wordcloud for her, COURAGE would have been right there in the middle in like 72 point font. (Everyone, absolutely everyone, was impressed at how Sarah has done so well as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer without the benefit a training group and without having done Peace Corps before.)
After we'd collected everyone's quotes and contributions we each got a nice piece of paper and they put out some crayons so that we could compile everything and make certificate-type things for our assigned person. I did my best to fit it all on one page and make it look nice and was again impressed at how much effort a lot of people were putting in, trying to make them meaningful, legible, and pretty.
I was beyond impressed when Lane G. handed me my "Give & Take" sheet. As a relative newcomer to Guinea who doesn't really know anyone outside of Kankan, I'd anticipated mostly generic, cheerful quips ("I'd take her smile and give her a puppy!") but the sheet was beautifully laid out and people had been very thoughtful - somehow, collectively, they all knew me much better than I'd expected.
Aside from being lovely to look at, it confirmed a few things, most significantly that, for better and for worse, I tend to be a know-it-all and also that I talk about Switzerland kind of a lot. Really, though, it's so good, and the whole thing was so heartwarming.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
