A final faculty meeting

Monday night was our final faculty meeting. We had it at my house and I cooked some good ole' red beans and rice for my fellow colleagues. The food was good, the conversation was good, and the plans for the future are looking bright.

We discussed some of our frustrations and successes over the past year. Looking back, the frustrations were few and the successes tremendous. Deanna, our department coordinator commented on the difference in our department over the last 3 years. When Deanna first arrived at ISE, there had been no graduates of our department, there had not been a successful student teaching program in years, and the teaching staff was not stable. Today, we have a wonderful teaching staff, a fully functioning program, and nearly 25 students scheduled to graduate this summer. It's amazing to think that so much progress has happened in a short amount of time.

I believe that ISE, in particular, our department, have a great future ahead of them. I am happy that I don't feel needed here. I am glad to see that committed people are working with me and that those with a commitment are sticking around to see what happens next. It's an exciting time here at ISE, and just as the summer kicks off, I am thankful to have made it nearly one year in this country doing something so important.

Training of the new volunteers will begin at the beginning of July, making me an official 2nd year volunteer. It will be my turn to help with training the new volunteers. I'll get to see what I must have been like last year at this time! I'm looking forward to all that is to come. I can't believe I've been living in Africa for a year, it's gone by so quickly.....