Um, I Think I Need to Buy Slacks for that Job Interview You might expect life to get more restful, now that the crisis is over and the waiting commenced, and now that I’m no longer tailing the adventures of an epic study abroad tour. And, while I’ve indulged in a nap or two after my host grandmother has said, “sasa, tutapumzika,” (now we will rest), it’s also been incredibly busy. I wrote a Green World Campaign grant application to Disney, of all places (yes, driven my childhood memories, that made me incredibly happy), reviewed the first reports using the new monitoring system, and finished the paper Will and I were working on (officially submitted to the 2nd Annual Conference on Complementary Currencies in the Hague yesterday!). I also peeled mchicha, shelled peas, rolled chapatti, went to the fruits and vegi market and butcher twice. My host sister-in-law did my nails with henna (love it!), and we went to a large (if slightly algae-fied) swimming pool where I taught my second round of informal swimming lessons to a host sister. I took a life history interview of my host grandmother, as a gift to the family. And, due to necessity, I’ve become moderately conversational in Kiswahili (I swear I speak more Kiswahili in a day than English, and I know I hear more Kiswahili words than English ones). I also went to see the Great Gatsby (been waiting for it for months) in a mall theater I found on Google maps. In the midst of all of this, I thought, a lot: When is it safe to return to Mombasa? What do I do about my stuff there? What do I do about my apartment there? What do I do with myself here while I wait to return? Can I work effectively from a distance? Oh! I missed out on the group trip to see the Great Gatsby. Oh! I’m probably going to miss a host of going-away parties for the international teachers. Ugh! Reviewing these reports would be some much easier if I could see the monitoring forms in the office. Then, in the middle of the week, I got a message from a friend about a job opportunity in Zanzibar (don’t get too excited, it’s a business gig). One of her friends needs someone with basic organizational/administrative skills to help restructure the business procedures (at a scuba diving center!). Since these are the same skills I use to make changes in response to monitoring and evaluation findings and I’m close by, I’m a convenient answer to this need. I went to the big market in the morning to buy some business slacks (which probably was unnecessarily, since my new boss was in board shorts—sometimes I love the pace of life out here), had a host sister hem them for me, printed my resume at a cyber café (also unnecessary), and had a job interview at a waterfront restaurant. So, Tuesday I fly out on a complementary ticket to see the dive center sites and hammer out the details. It’s TEMPORARY consulting work to keep me busy while things are sorted out in Mombasa (and it actually pays!). It’s weird, though, because I’ve never worked in the business sector (never wanted to)…but, that’s how most people make a living, right? So, at least I know what to do with myself while I wait, although other questions remain and new questions arose which bounce around in my head. Last week and some change ago, I was sitting with one of Dr. Bass’s students discussing studying, working, and/or volunteering in Africa. She had a list of all the reasons why she wasn’t sure she could manage long-term. I had one of those moments when the words just spill out of you, and you experience a self-revelation in the process. I told her something like, “You, we all, are capable of adjusting to so much more than we think. Those things which hold you back are the limitations you place on yourself. Just do it, and you’ll find you can adapt to situations you never thought you could adapt to. So, don’t hold yourself back. It’s worth it.” I never would have believed I’d be capable of living in a unfamiliar city in an unfamiliar country, out of a borrowed duffle bag, with borrowed clothes. I never would have believed I’d be able to stay with strangers one a moment’s notice, not once, but twice. Never would have believed I’d go to a job interview with pants off which I only just remembered to take the tag. Never would have imagined being capable of having fun in the midst of this. We are capable of so much more than we know. So, although this job definitely wasn’t in the plan, and sometimes I have the urge to rename this blog because I can’t be sure I will get to go back to Kenya, if you let yourself adapt, life has a way of giving you wonderful things along with the things that send worried thoughts spinning in your head like a merry-go-round.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 03:53:55 +0000
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