In-country training 怎样帮助Suzie Fairley适应最初在老挝的生活

或许你曾经去发展中国家旅游过、曾在国外生活过、曾经换过工作、或是曾经学过一种新语言，但是作为海外志愿者，你需要同时经历这一切，来看看vso提供的In-country training 怎样帮助Suzie Fairley适应最初在老挝的生活

Suzie Fairley, a  VSO volunteer Organisational Development Advisor working in Laos,  explains how VSO’s in-country training helped her cope with the steep learning curve at the start of her placement.
I can’t remember a time in my life when I had a steeper learning curve. I’ve travelled to developing countries before, I’ve lived overseas before, I’ve changed jobs before and I’ve learnt a new language before. But, only in my first four weeks overseas did I do all these things at the same time. Supporting me in this transition was my VSO ‘in-country training’. The exact nature of this training varies depending on the country you volunteer in (and the complexity of the language you need to learn!). For me, volunteering in Laos, it involved a week long induction on living and working in Laos (from the political and socio-cultural to the practical – like setting up a bank account!) This was been followed by three weeks of afternoon language learning (forty five hours in total).
Arriving in Vientiane, it was easy to make assumptions about the country; I was surprised that aspects of it are quite westernised and I didn’t get a sense of poverty immediately. Through my induction period I learned about the disproportion of wealth in the country – though the Laos economy is growing (and this is what was visible to me in central Vientiane), the incidence of rural poverty is still at 40%. Part of the reason for this is that although Laos opened up its doors to external markets in 1986 and is a nation with a wealth of natural resources; only in the last few years did it start to form a civil society… a network of non-profit organisations that raises awareness of those living in poverty and helps to support them.
I also learned about the political system in Laos (a one party communist system operating at village, district, provincial and central level). The government development plan has a focus on lifting Laos out of being ‘least developed’ status. Whether this is the case or not, it is evident that civil society will be essential in ensuring those in the rural areas are well represented. This context setting was important for me to learn. I’m volunteering with a civil society organisation in an organisational development role. Although I have done similar work in the UK – I can see how the challenges and priorities differ here in Laos.
Learning a new language (which is both tonal and uses a different alphabet),  had its challenges. I was lucky to share this experience with fellow volunteer Tottie, and our Lao teacher (Ajan ‘teacher’ Sawai). It made for a rewarding experience and I fell somewhere in between being amazed at how much I learned so quickly and disheartened by how much I had to learn! It was  frustrating that learning a new language seemed to have ‘opened up’ my memory of all previous languages learned (Spanish and German phrases desperately try and escaped me as I shopped at the market). But, it was been fun seeing patterns emerge between words and sometimes the simplicity made me smile (I will never forget that the Lao word for cat is ‘me-ow’). I think what I learned more than anything is how difficult it is to separate the language from the culture and the country. Here in Laos there are many more words to describe different family members than in English; an indication of the importance of family values here, perhaps… and a lesson in fruit and vegetables can take twice as long (as the lesson is as much in recognising all these foreign foods as it is in learning a word for them!)
At the time, the phrases and words I had were essential in ordering food in restaurants and shopping at the market; but there was also appreciation from my colleagues as I attempted some basic phrases with them like ‘pob gan wan pha hat’ (meet you on Thursday!) or ‘meu nii hon lii lii’ (it’s hot today!)
So, these first few weeks were a crucial stepping stone – I was able to enter my office with a bit more understanding and ability to communicate than when I arrived.  Although the training is now over, I now know the learning curve (though reducing in gradient) will not plateau during my one year stay in Laos!