NOVEMBER

[19/11/10]

Work as a PC volunteer is what you make of it.  You do what your community asks of you, and depending on that schedule it can take time time for them to formulate their question.  Today I wait for my coworker to arrive to we can work on a proposal together.  It's now noon.  She'll probably arrive and we'll go to the market and pick food for lunch.  Then we'll return back to the office and fetch firewood to cook over a fire pit.  If there's time before the rains come we'll sit (after the dishes have been cleaned) and work on our project.  If not, "tomorrow is also a day."  Life is just that here.  People are never in a rush to get things done and in fact seem to have no concept of time.  Everyday is dedicated whole-heartily towards friends and family first.  Sometimes when I'm contemplating the day I later realize that I rushed through greeting someone or avoided another altogether because I had a destination that seemed more important.  I forget about the journey and how some of my best memories here were formed when I remember to slow down and enjoy the company.  

Today I am thinking about the daily grind of the American work ethic.  How each day is one step closer to the weekend and the next holiday.  All the songs about working for the weekend and incentives like "happy hour" and end of the year bonuses to make the lifestyle seem worthwhile.  I remember the daily migration of cars driven by life-less people running on 5 hours of sleep--into the city--out of the city, turning days into weeks and soon it is Christmas.  

Today I am thinking about my family, Thanksgiving, and all those seemingly silly traditions that you take for granted until you don't have them anymore.  My Mom is either psychic or can read me like a book.  She knows what I miss about home because they raised me in it.  She stopped me in my sorrow one night in October and challenged me to create my own traditions.  So here goes: I resolve to stop and fully listen to the people.  Not just what they say, but what they don't ask for also.  To find the goodness in each and every person.  I exchanged my high-speed Americanisms for total immersion into the culture.  And whatever pace my workday may be, I've found that there is always a problem to be solved.  With that I have become a project generating machine, and with every five ideas I come up with hopefully one will be sustainable enough to benefit my community.  

I think back to Thanksgiving and the gathering of all that is good and bountiful on our plates and in our hearts.  I am grateful for my friends and my family, here and abroad, and the kind people who remind me daily to slow down, enjoy the greetings and the journey.  It's now 1pm and my coworker is still missing.  She's probably working in her shamba, I think I'll join her.