The return of Zen Dog

September has been a crazy month as we have been trying to complete project activities and tie up loose ends before the closure of the centres for mid-term break in October. In our regular visits to the centres we have been working with the teachers to reflect on the changes that have taken place as a result of the project, in preparation for the evaluation workshop.
On top of that, here are some of the other things we have been doing since my last catch-up post:

Tuesday 9th September: mini-workshop with the teachers at one of the centres to encourage more effective team-working

Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th September: meetings with local area education chiefs to discuss evaluation workshop and final partnership review meeting

Monday 15th September: meeting with local ministry officials to discuss final details of capacity building project in local child care and development centres

Tuesday 16th September a.m: meeting with directors of two centres to work on developing an information leaflet for parents about Early Childhood developmental stages and appropriate teaching and support

Tuesday 16th September p.m: attended community meeting at local ministry office to discuss plans for a youth event for Thai and migrant children and young people later in the year

Wednesday 17th September: Part 2 of working with centre directors on the information leaflet for parents

Tuesday 23rd September: visits to the three additional centres that we have not been working with on a regular basis, but have attended our workshops and received books and resources

Wednesday 24th September: training session for World Education Master Trainers in basic Early Childhood Development principles and practice

Thursday 25th September: teacher observation visit for migrant learning centre teachers in collaboration with fellow VSO volunteer Alice

Saturday 27th September: Project evaluation workshop with teachers and directors

The end of the workshop turned into a photo-call reminiscent of a wedding, with photos of every conceivable combination of people. I'll just share  the final group photo!

In the middle of all that, I took it into my head to apply for a job I had seen advertised back in the UK, and I ended up having two interviews by Skype. I didn't get it in the end, and I am rather relieved - I think I have been saved from my own madness! It would have been crazy to leave here in such a hurry and try to launch myself straight into a new job without any breathing space in between. I'm coming to the conclusion that VSO probably have it right when they suggest volunteers should take time to adjust back to life at home before serious job hunting. Time to re-acquaint myself with Zen Dog: