NO WATCH, NOOOOO PROBLEM!

I have taken my watch off and it doesn’t seem to make a difference. Back home, my watch is one of the most important things I own, it is necessary for my everyday life. However, I never even thought about how important this watch really was for my Toronto lifestyle until now. Back home, I always feel like there is something to and there is always somewhere to be; consequently, I am always rushing and running around.
Not in Nueva Guinea; here everything feels so sluggish. Not keeping close attention to the time doesn’t seem to make a difference. People just go with the motions very slowly and many times we have to ask each other,” What day is it today again?”
At work there are no set routines, although there is a general plan of our daily tasks. At first that used to drive crazy; I am used to working jobs in which there are specific things to do and that makes the time go by fast. For example, when I work at a day care or at a school, there are set activities that take up a determined amount of time and that are scheduled to be implemented at a specific time of day; in that way, I am always prepared for my job responsibilities. I enjoy planning my tasks but also knowing that there is a certain need for improvisation. In my job here I find myself improvising more often than not. So many times people change the plans and I am faced with situations in which I have to think fast and make the best of an unexpected event. For example, when I do a class, I have students walking in very late. At first I was bothered by this because I would have an activity planned and it would be constantly disrupted by new comers being lost and asking others for directions. I quickly learned that punctuality is not a priority here, so I now plan my lessons accordingly. I explained to the students that I will implement a 15 minute period of “preparation” in which we will wait for everyone to arrive and when that time is over I will proceed to begin the set activities and I will not stop the lesson for any person that comes in late.
I will be teaching two new courses during the month of August and right now I am developing their corresponding syllabuses. I have included a punctuality section in which I explain that it is important to be on time because it allows everyone to take advantage of the class time. However, I also include the 10 minute “preparation period” in order to accommodate those who are not able to arrive to class on time. I also specify that if there are any students who come in later than that 10 minute period they must catch up with other students after class and not during class. I think that this is the best way to deal with the situation, the students should understand that punctuality is important to me, but it is also important for me to understand that I cannot change the fact that the mentality here does not value punctuality as much as me. I hope that once I start my new classes this new strategy will succeed and we will take advantage of the class time.

CAMA CAMA CAMA CAMELLEON!

In terms of language, I think I have had to change some of the things I say. The Nicaraguan dialect is different from my own (Colombian) and at first I had to make an effort to understand what it was that people meant to say. Now I am used to the terminology and the different idioms and sometimes I even say those things myself. I also think that I have been adopting the Nicaraguan accent a little bit and I even enjoy that, it’s kind of fun! I also think that by making an effort in talking like the locals, I have gotten closer to them, we can relate better and I feel people getting comfortable when talking to me.
I also talk to a lot of older ladies (or maybe not necessarily older but are more mature than me because they are married and have children etc.) and I have learned to talk about that things that interests them and sometimes to say things they would say (and that I do not necessarily believe are true).
I also find myself making a big effort to not comment on religious issues; many people here are part of a church (usually braches of Christian churches) and they are very attached to their ideals. I question these ideals very often and I feel very strongly about certain topics. Some locals, especially men, seem to enjoy lecturing about their religious beliefs and tent to be very patriarchal in the way they speak. In this way many times I find myself painfully biting my tongue to not shout out “ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?” I want to be polite and I feel that if I were to vocalize my real beliefs and ideals I would probably offend someone, so I have been very conscious of this fact which has left me a bit frustrated at times. As a feminist I feel hurt by the open patriarchal ideals of most of the people here but in order to blend in, I keep my thought to myself. All I can do is to learn from it and thank whatever higher power there is for blessing me with a life in which I am valued as a person and not just as a woman whose purpose is to be a man´s, and I quote, friend and companion.


ONE OF THEM...ONE OF US!

In Canada I usually keep myself busy, if I’m not in class or studying, I’m working, if I have free time I am out doing something. I love the busy city life and for that reason I was extremely bored when I first got here, especially on weekends when I was not working. I began to look for ways to keep busy (like volunteering at other schools). Now I find that I don’t get as bored, I am fine with just sitting around and talking even when we are supposed to be working (which used to drive me NUTS at first. All I kept thinking was, we have stuff to do people!).

Today I saw the computer technician scrubbing a computer’s plastic casing where the cleaners clean the mops. Weirdly enough I didn’t find it weird until a while after when I thought back on it. Am I getting used to this place? I think I might be, I think that now I feel like I am part of Nueva Guinea. I am passed the whole initial alien experience in which I was constantly questioning everything around me. However, I am still me, although I have adapted I am not changing who I am; I still like the same things, love the same people, have the same dreams, but when I leave I will have a whole luggage of new knowledge which will allow me to see my life differently, appreciate what I have home even more (for sure).
I am preparing myself for the good old “comparing and contrasting” game that is to come once I return to Canada. I think that will be a big part of the “coming back home culture shock”; we shall see how it turns out.