(other things I do each week)
Floss.
Okay, I'm lazy.
Correspondence
Sunday mornings are blessedly quiet here and I make sure I never miss that time. I borrow the guitar and pull out my hymnal from my home congregation and follow my nose and the Spirit through scripture and song. Even just the silence and the morning breeze are a welcome correspondence with God. Weekends are also a time to catch up on letters, emails, blogs, news if the internet connection serves us.
Play
My legs tell me that I just need to break out in a run sometimes! So I channel this urge in various disguises:
running to catch a Frisbee
flying a kite
dancing
jumping rope at sundown
doing Tai Bo/aerobics at sun-up
declining a ride in the vehicle and walking back
Teach a little English class
As word of it has spread by mouth, there's lots of interest (it probably has nothing to do with the fact that we're the 2 single women on the expat team), but it's a handful that actually show up regularly. This has been fun to work with my English-speaking team-mate on a few creative lessons that we teach to whomever and whatever level comes. It's held in the late evening, midweek, after a full day's work. Nevertheless, as P and I lock up the office and trudge home together we often grin when we realize that we were energized by the little 'reunion'.
Le Souvenir
Voilà. Il et arrivé le moment pour ecrire un blog en français. Pardonez-moi de vous derranger, mes amis qui ne parlent pas le français. Peut-etre vous pencerez que 'Ooh la la! Elle parle bien le français!' mais, mes amis qui parlent le français peuvent voire bien mon vrai niveau de comprehension. ça va.
Aujourd'hui c'est le samedi, ça vous dire que un bon changement de routine. Chaque weekend, idealement j'ai le liberté pour faire tous le chose je voudrais faire pendant la semaine, mais je fais pas, à cause de le charge de travaille et le fatigue- chose comment lire, etudier, ecrire, jouer, cuisinir, lire, etc. Cependant, le moment de liberté arrive...et je relaxe, et je pert le motivation. Quelque choses ne changent pas, ne'st pas?
Je voudrais donner un grand remerci à mes colleagues et camarades ici aux Niger parce-que je sais bien que c'est pas facile pour ecouter a quelqu'un qui parle pas bien ton lingue. Il prend de patience et energie et temps. Néanmoins, personne m'a traité mal. Dans le moment de frustration, c'est le rire que nous aide. Comment un colleague gentil m'a dit, "ça c'est ton souvenir du Niger". Bien sure.
Aujourd'hui c'est le samedi, ça vous dire que un bon changement de routine. Chaque weekend, idealement j'ai le liberté pour faire tous le chose je voudrais faire pendant la semaine, mais je fais pas, à cause de le charge de travaille et le fatigue- chose comment lire, etudier, ecrire, jouer, cuisinir, lire, etc. Cependant, le moment de liberté arrive...et je relaxe, et je pert le motivation. Quelque choses ne changent pas, ne'st pas?
Je voudrais donner un grand remerci à mes colleagues et camarades ici aux Niger parce-que je sais bien que c'est pas facile pour ecouter a quelqu'un qui parle pas bien ton lingue. Il prend de patience et energie et temps. Néanmoins, personne m'a traité mal. Dans le moment de frustration, c'est le rire que nous aide. Comment un colleague gentil m'a dit, "ça c'est ton souvenir du Niger". Bien sure.
oh yeah. about the tired part (addendum to "Sick and Tired").
I know that I am normal because I got tired. On Wednesday I was exhausted to the point of tears.
Tired:
from not being understood
from not understanding
from not being informed
and tired from continuously trying to frame the right questions to get the information
This kind of vulnerability is like the exposure of one's neck and head on a freezing day- you can lose a lot of heat. Graciously a teammate "offered me her scarf" to conserve the energy and at my point of brief tears took me into her office, and let me warm up and spill my thoughts in my mother tongue.
On Friday it was to the point of laughter. At the end of 5 days of full-press French, a 2-hour meeting in French, then a 2-hour video conference translated into fast French, then I got home 9:30pm and heard the TV announcer chattering away in French as if that was acceptable (how dare she!)...and I blurted, " Can everybody just STOP SPEAKING FRENCH! It was a good laugh.
I know that I am normal because I got tired. On Wednesday I was exhausted to the point of tears.
Tired:
from not being understood
from not understanding
from not being informed
and tired from continuously trying to frame the right questions to get the information
This kind of vulnerability is like the exposure of one's neck and head on a freezing day- you can lose a lot of heat. Graciously a teammate "offered me her scarf" to conserve the energy and at my point of brief tears took me into her office, and let me warm up and spill my thoughts in my mother tongue.
On Friday it was to the point of laughter. At the end of 5 days of full-press French, a 2-hour meeting in French, then a 2-hour video conference translated into fast French, then I got home 9:30pm and heard the TV announcer chattering away in French as if that was acceptable (how dare she!)...and I blurted, " Can everybody just STOP SPEAKING FRENCH! It was a good laugh.
Global "Warming"
If this battered term could invoke images of a global-good-mood, that is how I would describe my world the day the news about our next president was wiggled to the farthest reaches of radio and satellite waves.
I think we've taken an important step and not a single person whom I have met since leaving my home country would disagree. I got hugs and cheers and text messages and laughter and claims of familial relations to the new leader! Experiencing this moment in history as an expatriate has been very enriching and has afforded conversations I would never otherwise have. Yahoo for this kind of warming!
I think we've taken an important step and not a single person whom I have met since leaving my home country would disagree. I got hugs and cheers and text messages and laughter and claims of familial relations to the new leader! Experiencing this moment in history as an expatriate has been very enriching and has afforded conversations I would never otherwise have. Yahoo for this kind of warming!
Sick and Tired
It's confirmed: I'm normal. Tuesday I got sick and Wednesday I got tired.
Retrospectively, it is good sometimes for a nurse to get sick so s/he knows how it feels, why a child cries with a fever, or gets fussy and doesn't eat. And why a person seeks caring attention when things aren't well. Every day I throw terms around like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fevers in the night and lack of appetite without a blink of an eye. Now I can enjoy a fresh reminder that it's not fun and that it's worth throwing those terms around with a hefty measure of compassion.
It's also a great booster for gratefulness- for health and the miracle of our bodies and the One who gave them to us.
Retrospectively, it is good sometimes for a nurse to get sick so s/he knows how it feels, why a child cries with a fever, or gets fussy and doesn't eat. And why a person seeks caring attention when things aren't well. Every day I throw terms around like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fevers in the night and lack of appetite without a blink of an eye. Now I can enjoy a fresh reminder that it's not fun and that it's worth throwing those terms around with a hefty measure of compassion.
It's also a great booster for gratefulness- for health and the miracle of our bodies and the One who gave them to us.
Hebdomadaire
(things I do about once a week)
Rehydrate. It's impossible to stay hydrated at an optimum level throughout the week because I spend long hours on dusty roads with no toileting options in sight, or more precisely, out of sight. And so I have to plan my liquid intake. It's hard to keep up with the liquid loss in between. So on weekends when I stay much more at the house, I drink and drink and drink and pee and pee and pee…
Sanitize my water bottles. Its not safe to be anywhere without my water bottles- one a Nalgene and the other what looks like a yellow gasoline container. This holds a good gallon and a half and I never leave for the bush without it full, plus my liter Nalgene. The locals stitch woven sack cloth around these containers for insulation (very effective). So each Saturday I wash them and let the Sun do it's mighty antimicrobial work and then I'm ready to go again for the week.
Spend a day in the office. Most days you'll find me working in the nutrition centers, currying supplies and information, observing the care given at each station (triage, registration, health promotion, height and weight, consultation, pharmacy, nutrition distribution…), managing employment details, connecting the rural centers to the Base, and being the transfer nurse for sick children referred for hospitalisation. A day in the office on the other hand, gives me a chance to make arrangements with administration, and catch up with all the things that require electricity or a computer or communication.
Have a meeting with my colleagues who supervise the health centers- two other nurses, a midwife, and a health promoter. It has previously been held at the end of the week, but I requested to change it to a morning time the day before because by week's end, the French in my brain is good for nothing and I can't contribute or follow.
French homework. Every weekend I make myself write sentences that expose the mistakes and confusion that I ran into in the course of the week, and then I search for a friend to help me climb over those linguistic roadblocks.
Hang out with locals. Weekends are a mix of refreshing personal space and also a chance to find local friends to experience the local culture. Last week I took a neighbourhood walking tour with our weekend cook; I spent a Saturday morning with my favourite family at the post while they did their normal Saturday things- washing the dishes, cleaning out a storage building, washing babies, rinsing the rice, etc. All of this takes place in the open air, under the big tree outside their sleeping quarters. Such company with the shade and the breeze blended with kids and three languages and laughter was a rehydration solution for my soul.
Rehydrate. It's impossible to stay hydrated at an optimum level throughout the week because I spend long hours on dusty roads with no toileting options in sight, or more precisely, out of sight. And so I have to plan my liquid intake. It's hard to keep up with the liquid loss in between. So on weekends when I stay much more at the house, I drink and drink and drink and pee and pee and pee…
Sanitize my water bottles. Its not safe to be anywhere without my water bottles- one a Nalgene and the other what looks like a yellow gasoline container. This holds a good gallon and a half and I never leave for the bush without it full, plus my liter Nalgene. The locals stitch woven sack cloth around these containers for insulation (very effective). So each Saturday I wash them and let the Sun do it's mighty antimicrobial work and then I'm ready to go again for the week.
Spend a day in the office. Most days you'll find me working in the nutrition centers, currying supplies and information, observing the care given at each station (triage, registration, health promotion, height and weight, consultation, pharmacy, nutrition distribution…), managing employment details, connecting the rural centers to the Base, and being the transfer nurse for sick children referred for hospitalisation. A day in the office on the other hand, gives me a chance to make arrangements with administration, and catch up with all the things that require electricity or a computer or communication.
Have a meeting with my colleagues who supervise the health centers- two other nurses, a midwife, and a health promoter. It has previously been held at the end of the week, but I requested to change it to a morning time the day before because by week's end, the French in my brain is good for nothing and I can't contribute or follow.
French homework. Every weekend I make myself write sentences that expose the mistakes and confusion that I ran into in the course of the week, and then I search for a friend to help me climb over those linguistic roadblocks.
Hang out with locals. Weekends are a mix of refreshing personal space and also a chance to find local friends to experience the local culture. Last week I took a neighbourhood walking tour with our weekend cook; I spent a Saturday morning with my favourite family at the post while they did their normal Saturday things- washing the dishes, cleaning out a storage building, washing babies, rinsing the rice, etc. All of this takes place in the open air, under the big tree outside their sleeping quarters. Such company with the shade and the breeze blended with kids and three languages and laughter was a rehydration solution for my soul.
Favorite Things
Like my hero Maria VonTrapp, sometimes I simply remember my favorite things…
I love breezes blowing across my face
Open air markets
Waking up slowly
Night skies and constellations that I know my family will see in about 6 hours
Morning light
Health
A meal extended to me
Cool sand on bare feet
Real but improbable situations
Good jokes shared
The existence of hundreds of languages in the world
Common ground
(Really ridiculous and impractical) animal sounds (i.e. guinea fowl and doves and donkeys)
Hand greetings (this is a immensely important, generously warm, and positively jovial part of Nigerién culture)
A candle flame
Dancing
People who love me
…and then I don't feel so bad. That being said, while favourite things are comforting, the depth and joy of life are not based only on if my favourite things "happen along" my path. In fact it is all these "favourite things" which remind and convince me of God's presence in our current living. And so also the existence of Faith and Hope and Love.
I love breezes blowing across my face
Open air markets
Waking up slowly
Night skies and constellations that I know my family will see in about 6 hours
Morning light
Health
A meal extended to me
Cool sand on bare feet
Real but improbable situations
Good jokes shared
The existence of hundreds of languages in the world
Common ground
(Really ridiculous and impractical) animal sounds (i.e. guinea fowl and doves and donkeys)
Hand greetings (this is a immensely important, generously warm, and positively jovial part of Nigerién culture)
A candle flame
Dancing
People who love me
…and then I don't feel so bad. That being said, while favourite things are comforting, the depth and joy of life are not based only on if my favourite things "happen along" my path. In fact it is all these "favourite things" which remind and convince me of God's presence in our current living. And so also the existence of Faith and Hope and Love.
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