Ah. ok I feel like venting but I will try not to. Focus on the positive...such as people have invented email money transfers yay! So I can send money to my friends that way rather than through Western Union, which costs a ridiculous amount of money here and you can’t use your cards...I mean who carries cash?! So I have a solution :) EMT. Although by the time I get the money sent away the person I’m sending it to may starve.
Another positive things is that I won’t spend money since in order to withdraw it I would have to stand in line for an hour, as the entire village goes to the bank at months end. It’s crazy, and totally inefficient to have everyone’s pay day at the same time of the month.
Oh ! I met a man today who is working with the San to translate the bible into one of the languages, which is really awesome, it’s one of the click languages! He offered to bring me to a church meeting, of a group of expats at the house of the family who started the Kuru Organizations, turns out it was started by a Christian family.
Also my phone is not working right now as I locked myself out of it... oh Liz... and apparently no one works at Mascom, or at least they don’t answer their phones, and since there is no Mascom center in Shakawe I cannot do anything about it. Thus I need to get a new SIM card and a new number, sorry guys, but I may still be able to fix the old one..someday? So I have to buy a new SIM card, but the good news is that I have been told it would be better to have a Be Mobile card for the rural areas... so that is what I will get, blessing in disguise!
I am eating way too much candy and chocolate, stress eating...warning I will be coming back fat.
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You know it’s amazing what the human spirit can achieve. I can’t imagine what people are going through, in prisons, facing torture, abusive relationships where every day must pass so slowly and each day must be counted in hopeful anticipation of the day things may change. If I find sitting in an office, where I am free to speak and leave and be myself unbearable what must those individuals go thorough? How do they get strength to face the day? Either I am devoid of this positivity and hope or it is something that one gains through persevering in a situation. When you have no choice you just do it, or you break.
I wonder what my breaking point is?
**Note: this is my mid-day contemplative moment where I’ve given up on trying to look busy and decide to just stare at the sky and trees...which amazingly you can do for a very long time.
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On another note... yes I’ve updated this post three times today, I think that people’s life expectancies are lower in the developing world because of bugs. The amount of scaring they do must shorter life spans. I think I can feel my hair greying already.... Also I had a meeting with Galefele, who is my coordinator and I am going to D’kar for the assembly for the week! I also now have tons of work to do!! Seriously tons... the health program I am helping to redesign and implement we have to have ready to propose in ten days, meanwhile we’re going to this conference... so I will definitely be busy !! I’m talking outline, PMF, budget, risk register everything RBM and more.. ick. This is project management all over again! Too bad I hadn’t known about all of this a week ago, oh well onward we go !
Yay I love development?
Also ...
these are my current pet peeves.
ants
slow internet
expired chocolate..that I just bought
squeaky mice and splashy hippos
cats that trip me
answers that aren’t answers
people who ask me for the clothes I am clearly wearing, before even saying hello
my typos
mosquitos who go in ears
having a moody shower. it should not determine when it wants to work.
I don’t know why I listed those. Enjoy :)
Oh my goodness - you truly have a knack to write - you should keep these blogs and compile a bibliography your international travels :) Glad to hear you get to go to the assembly - sounds absolutely awesome. Network, network, network. So I will hold off sending the care package until the following week as I do not want it to get lost???? Sound like a plan. As you can tell - we even talk more this way than when you were in Scarborough - I found a way to check this at work - so keep it coming - luv ya.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're going to the conference and also that you will be(are)? so busy! That's the way you've always liked to live, so eat it up. All that lingo about project mgmt got lost on me. Glad to know you know!
ReplyDeleteSo I definitely won't send any choco or candy! Try running when it's cooler as a stress reliever. Try staying +ve in the midst of all the disappointments. As far as bugs go, I thot camping got all that out of you? Are you actually getting soft? BTW,,,,don't swim with the crocs!!