My job description as Peace Corps Volunteer Coordinator is quite flexible. I do a little bit of everything: logistical planning, part-time psychology, driving (not so easy in Latin America), visiting volunteers, offering my opinions when asked and, sometimes, when they are not necessarily wanted. I make lovely monthly activity calendars for the volunteers to take with them to their sites, I make photocopies, I scan documents and I look for resources requested by volunteers as well as for resources that may not know about. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a secretary or gofer. Volunteers often come to me with their troubles and, in that sense, I’m a shoulder to cry on or ear to listen. That is one of the things that I’m working on: listening better. Or rather, showing people that I am really listening and really do care, because I do indeed care and I do indeed listen. But I am a serious multitasker and I like to do 2 things at once, like listening while doing something else (say, like driving SAFELY). Efficiency may be important in today’s world but sometimes volunteers just need someone to listen to their problems.
Read the rest of this entry »
