Three projects for me

• I'm starting to plan a creative writing contest for the American Corner that I hope to run in the spring. There will be two age groups (8-11 and 12-15) and we will provide a theme or subject and allow a month for the kids to write. At the end of the month we'll have an awards ceremony where we will give out the prizes (obviously) and read some of the stories aloud. We're still working out the details, including what the theme will be. Any suggestions?
• The Dean of Dan's faculty has asked me to write a paper and present it at the conference of librarians they hold in the winter. I'm going to have a translator and everything! I'm supposed to talk about how books are advertised / marketed in the USA and then suggest how libraries in Serbia can advertise their own publications. It seems they've recently gotten into publishing but don't quite know what to do with the books once they're made. I'm excited to be the "Foreign Expert."
• I'll be working with the local US AID office to train librarians in creating and running storytimes and other programming for children. From what I understand, the libraries here don't offer any events for kids, although there is a specific library building for children's books. I have to create an outline of materials, program ideas, techniques, etc., then we'll make appointments to work with the librarians. Once they've been trained, they will set up their own event calendars. "If you teach a man to fish" and all that.

It's wonderful to have some things to work on after two months of lounging around (bonbons, anyone?), and it's especially wonderful to have projects that are so interesting to me.