Epic Fails

Maya Lau notes how coping with failure is under appreciated quality, and how Peace Corps facilitates coming to terms with, and growing through failure.  Here’s a quick list of all the things that I’ve failed at in Malawi, making me a great job candidate:

 

Projects

 

·         FSEA (Future Scientists and Engineers of America)-like program at CDSS (afterschool program to inspire and introduce science and engineering skills: no interest)

·         Teach at  CDSS (high school) (previous experience with pcv teaching at school didn’t go so well)

·         Tutor at CDSS (students quickly lost ambition to seek out a tutor, language barrier)

·         Women’s empowerment club TGSS (private women’s high school) (administration uncooperative)

·         Gender and Development Camp 2012 (not approved by PC)

·         Permaculture trainings (insufficient training sites, resources)

·         Fruit tree budding and grafting training (after submitting a grant, I deemed it unsustainable)

·         Tree nurseries (lack of motivation)

·         International/sustainable markets for LUSO (still looking for partnerships)

·         Getting my soap group to take good business notes (cultural differences)

·         Borehole beautification (complicated village dynamics)

·         Home Based Care for HIV/AIDS patients training for Village AIDS Committee (insufficient leadership in community)

·         Hiking local mountain (forestry officers are either too old to hike a mountain, or too afraid of snakes)

·         Vegetable gardens (harder than it looks)

·         Artemesia cuttings (problems establishing roots in cuttings)

·         The Maru’s cichlid research program (replaced by voluntourists)

·         Local language (plateau-ed)

 

Other

·         Falling out of a matola (its fine, we weren’t moving yet)

·         Getting electrocuted by lightning (don’t sleep on the ground during a lightning storm!)