Teaching and working in the clinic are going well and I feel my time is being spent in the best way. Considering this year is about lending a helping hand and giving back I feel these two jobs are what I am best suited for while in Zambia. Yet, as the days pass, it can be very easy to miss home and the regular daily routines of life in America. These feelings are not unordinary to experience and every one does at some point. This is why I focus on keeping busy.
Still, something I set aside time to concentrate on (usually while on my long walks) is metacognition. Say what? Yes, metacognition. There are multiple definitions of metacognition, but the most basic one I will go with is ‘thinking about thinking’. Metacognition can be useful in many scenarios such as relationships, work, school, being away from home and life in general. What I mean by ‘thinking about thinking’ is that it is important think about how you think about a certain thing. (I just said ‘think’ like 1,000 times, but stick with me. I’m getting to my point).
So, in my case, I must think about how I think about my time volunteering. Our thoughts are extremely powerful. In fact, our expectations and thoughts can become reality (self-fulfilling prophecy). If you sit and ponder all of the things you hate about your job then soon enough your actions will mimic those thoughts. Your attitude towards your job will suffer which will lead to a poor work ethic and a loss of interest. Now, this is not to say that your job actually might suck. In that case then go ahead and quit. However, it’s important to weigh the positives and negatives.
For me, I must think about how I think of my time here. This is why I try my best to focus on the great moments I have with my class or time helping a person overcome their illness. By doing this I create a positive outlook on my time and feel better overall. This is because our emotions are embodied and therefore affect both mind and body. This is also probably why optimists fair better than pessimists.
Then there is a little thing called Facebook. Facebook is great for many things; however it also can be tough because every post is someone having the time of their life (or pretending to). It’s sort of like alcohol. It’s all happy days while using it but then a depressant when you stop. Seeing posts of friends and family can reboot the homesick thoughts and is just another reason why using metacognition is beneficial. Knowing that what I am doing is just as important as what they are doing.
Personally, I am doing fine. Though, I write this because my blog pertains to my entire experience abroad and these feelings are a part of that. Yet, by doing what I do I am able to keep a solid mindset. The time is going to pass either way. We all might as well make the most of it.
So, in the end, it is the thought that counts. (And all this time you thought that phrase was some lame excuse your husband/wife used to get them out of buying you a gift). Ha!
I have been putting in many hours at the health clinic and am becoming very familiar with what medications to prescribe for each set of symptoms. I am able to handle some patients alone now which is nice. The hardest part, though, is when Violet and I disagree on how to treat a patient. Violet is a very nice lady and is great to work with. She helps translate most of what the patient says (though I am getting better at Bemba) and gives advice on what medication to use. However, she sometimes doesn’t see something that can be harmful.
For instance, a few days ago she advised a patient to create a ‘concoction’ of a few types of medicines and take them all at once. There were around 20 pills she advised the villager to take. I may be wrong, but this can’t be good. Can it? I spoke out against this idea, but ultimately it was up to the patient. I am unsure of what they decided to do, but considering most people trust in Violet rather than some white guy from America I am sure they created the concoction. So, that can be tough.
As for school, teaching is going well. The older students tend to be much more attentive which is nice. Some don’t follow along, but what do you expect from a bunch of high schoolers. They seem to enjoy having Zack and I as their biology and physics teachers. They also can’t believe that we are only 22 years old. This is probably because the classes’ age range is very large. My biology class’s age ranges from 16-25. What is even crazier is that Zack’s physics class ranges from 18-34. Our classes also hold around 35-40 students.
What is also hard to believe is that I used to practically poop my pants over a 5-10 presentation in college whereas now I teach for 40 minutes straight on Tuesday and Wednesday and 80 minutes on Thursday. However, the content I teach is much easier than the topics I had to present in college.
While teaching biology yesterday I was discussing the eukaryotic (human) cell. Our cells contain cytoplasm within their walls which is mainly made up of water. In my attempt at getting the students to tell me what cytoplasm is made up of I asked “what is the one liquid we must drink in order to survive?” As I was waiting for an answer I looked to the back of the class where Zack was sitting. He was mouthing the word ‘BEER’ to me. I ended up laughing in front of the entire class and they had no idea why. Quite funny. Unfortunately, friends, I have looked back at the research and they still say that water is the one liquid that must be consumed in order to survive. We can only hope that beer is next in line.
As for some other random things…
Sometimes rather than shaking hands people will touch wrists. I will go in for a shake and have to convert to touching my wrist against theirs. I actually am becoming a fan of this myself. Most people still shake hands, but with poor hygiene touching wrists is a nice alternative.
Additionally, a few days ago I was on one of my long walks when I came across a 16 year old boy. He asked me to come over to his house and meet his family. I did and had a fun time doing so. However, soon the topic of conversation turned to how marrying a white man from America would be so great. The boy spoke of how his sisters would love to do so and it seemed as if the family felt the same. I did not expect this. In short, I had to kindly decline the marriage offer. After this somewhat awkward exchange I was on my way. To all the ladies back home – the competition is strong! Ha!
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| The house I visited. |
Thanks for reading!
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