on the job: getting started

As I mentioned, David and I have moved — from the northeastern part of Romania to the central part.  We are living in a valley right south of the Carpathians.  This is where we’ll stay for our third year of Peace Corps service.

With a new site, comes new assignments.  While our main job is to be Peace Corps Volunteers (integrate into community life, pitch in where we can, keep PC goals in mind), we are all assigned primary assignments.  We have been assigned to the Bilbionet Program at the county library in Ramnicu Valcea.  Biblionet is a project that’s being implemented by the IREX Foundation as a part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries Initiatives.  Biblionet project brings technology into rural libraries but beyond that, the project trains librarians to use the technology from a practical and community standpoint.

So it’s easy to see where David fits in —  he’s taking his role of teacher to the next level and is teaching and training librarians to build websites, to create blogs, to use social media networks.  The interesting thing is that he’s training librarians with the hope that these librarians will then teach rural librarians and community members.

Me, on the other hand — I’m less techy and more artsy.  But there’s a spot for me too!  A facet of the Biblionet project is library advocacy and promoting the idea of a library as a community center for activity and information.  So that’s what I’m doing — from discussion groups with University students to English classes with young kids to community awareness campaigns on drugs and women’s issues.  There’s a lot going on for sure.  I’m also working as a music therapist at a Center for Inclusive Learning in a nearby village.

SO that’s the work update. . .