So, just in case you were wondering…after two more unsuccessful bank trips, I finally discovered that they STILL don’t have American dollars at the bank and the money transfer will never go through because my bank has been banned from the clearing house. Funny? Yes. Incredibly frustrating? At times. Just another day in Africa? Of course…I would expect nothing less.
On a completely different note, I learned a few more lessons today. It seems I am always learning lessons out here…
Today, after another couple of days of women’s teaching, we finished up and prepared to head home. As we were packing up supplies and cleaning, one of my little friends, Elizabeth, came up to me and grabbed my hand. She has recently learned the English word “freckle” and has made a habit of spending several minutes every time she sees me counting the freckles on my arm.
Anyway, at one point I looked down to realize that Elizabeth had a rather mischievous look on her face. She then slowly began to pull my hand towards her mouth. At the appropriate time, I feigned shock and pulled my hand away, just as she was about to bite down on my hand. She laughed, I laughed, and a new game began in which she pretended to bite my hand and I pretended to be shocked and pull away. It was a fun, if somewhat traditional game of “I’m gonna eat your hand,” and I eventually bored of it. Seeking to spice things up a bit, I, all of a sudden, pulled her hand towards me and pretended to bite it. Oh, to see the look on that little girl’s face. She was absolutely HORRIFIED. Her eyes became round as saucers, and you could see the utter panic written in them. She jerked quickly away, and I saw tears well up in her huge eyes just before she ran quickly away.
I was kind of surprised at Elizabeth’s reaction to all the fun and games until I remembered this little tidbit…Dinka children are often told folktales of how the white people--the “kawajja”--eat the little black children. I should have remembered this, as another girl on our team once terrified a little girl by saying in Dinka “Give me your nose!” in response to the girl’s haughty demand for clothes, money, water, etc. However, I didn’t remember this, thus, terrorizing my little friend Elizabeth and making her think I was trying to eat her hand. Today, I learned that it’s not a good idea to pretend to eat little Dinka children.
Oh, and I also learned today that sometimes people who are not accustomed to riding in motor vehicles often easily become carsick. Just in case you were wondering, it is not usually wise to sit next to them, and if you do, it is rarely pleasant.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
A trip to the bank
Many times, people ask us “So what did you do today?” I love the days when I can give a good answer to that question, saying something to the extent of “Well, let me tell you about all the amazing and helpful things I did today!” Today was not one of those days. Today, I went to the bank.
You might be thinking to yourself, “Wow, we spend all kinds of money to get our people in these foreign countries and all they can manage to accomplish in one day is a trip to the bank. And is that REALLY helping anything?” On some days, I would agree with you. At times, I appear to be amazingly unproductive, but I came to realize today that there is frequently a reason behind my lack of productivity.
I went to the bank this morning with three things to accomplish: to make a withdrawal, to exchange some dollars to pounds, and to check on a money transfer. I left for the bank at 9 am and made the 10-minute bike ride into town.
The exchange went easily and without a hitch, as I knew it would because the exchange was the only part of the trip to the bank that was not my responsibility. I was simply doing it for a teammate while I was there. That is something I have learned since coming to Africa…if you want something to go smoothly, have someone else do it. If you do it, it will inevitably go horribly awry.
Anyway, I have learned something about waiting lines since coming to Africa also. Here, they are more akin to jumbles of mass chaos. Waiting lines are not based on who arrived first. Rather, waiting lines are based on perceived priority…which boils down to the “me first” concept. As I was shuffled from counter to counter in order to get my tasks accomplished, I continually ended up in the waiting line and kept getting instructed by everyone else in line that I should just go ahead and find my way to the end of the line. I was finally able to get everything settled only after everyone else had finished their business and I was the only customer left in the bank.
By the end of the trip to the bank, I was told that unfortunately, the money transfer had not yet gone through. As this has been a tricky process, I knew that was likely. I was then instructed to visit two other neighboring banks, because it’s possible the money ended up there. And for my third task, I was finally told that they didn’t have enough US dollars in the bank for me to make a withdrawal today. I should come back Monday. So, deciding that Monday is going to be another “bank day”, I headed home with one of my three tasks accomplished. After another short bike ride, I made it home shortly before noon—my entire morning gone.
I think the thing I have been learning most in the last few months is the importance of patience, waiting, doing things deliberately, and being content with small successes. Back in the states, I would have considered a trip to the bank a simple errand, one that would be finished in a matter of minutes at a drive-thru…at least less than an hour if I had to walk in. Now, a completely successful trip to the bank is a major feat…a fabulous accomplishment…something to be written down in the record books. Things take longer, and things do not go as we anticipate, but we quickly learn to adapt and roll with it, or we go crazy instead. So, I will be heading back to the banks on Monday. We’ll see how it goes then.
I met a friend at the bank. Maker (our friend who we met first in Virginia last February!) was finally finishing his business at the bank after his third day in a row of coming to get things arranged. He was frustrated and ready to be done, so as he packed up his things and left, he handed me some money and said, “Go get yourself some sodas. If this is your first day here, you’re going to need them!” And then he left, smiling confidently, his task finally accomplished. So maybe irritation makes us more generous when we do finally see those small successes. I will have to remember that if and when I finally succeed with my current tasks.
You might be thinking to yourself, “Wow, we spend all kinds of money to get our people in these foreign countries and all they can manage to accomplish in one day is a trip to the bank. And is that REALLY helping anything?” On some days, I would agree with you. At times, I appear to be amazingly unproductive, but I came to realize today that there is frequently a reason behind my lack of productivity.
I went to the bank this morning with three things to accomplish: to make a withdrawal, to exchange some dollars to pounds, and to check on a money transfer. I left for the bank at 9 am and made the 10-minute bike ride into town.
The exchange went easily and without a hitch, as I knew it would because the exchange was the only part of the trip to the bank that was not my responsibility. I was simply doing it for a teammate while I was there. That is something I have learned since coming to Africa…if you want something to go smoothly, have someone else do it. If you do it, it will inevitably go horribly awry.
Anyway, I have learned something about waiting lines since coming to Africa also. Here, they are more akin to jumbles of mass chaos. Waiting lines are not based on who arrived first. Rather, waiting lines are based on perceived priority…which boils down to the “me first” concept. As I was shuffled from counter to counter in order to get my tasks accomplished, I continually ended up in the waiting line and kept getting instructed by everyone else in line that I should just go ahead and find my way to the end of the line. I was finally able to get everything settled only after everyone else had finished their business and I was the only customer left in the bank.
By the end of the trip to the bank, I was told that unfortunately, the money transfer had not yet gone through. As this has been a tricky process, I knew that was likely. I was then instructed to visit two other neighboring banks, because it’s possible the money ended up there. And for my third task, I was finally told that they didn’t have enough US dollars in the bank for me to make a withdrawal today. I should come back Monday. So, deciding that Monday is going to be another “bank day”, I headed home with one of my three tasks accomplished. After another short bike ride, I made it home shortly before noon—my entire morning gone.
I think the thing I have been learning most in the last few months is the importance of patience, waiting, doing things deliberately, and being content with small successes. Back in the states, I would have considered a trip to the bank a simple errand, one that would be finished in a matter of minutes at a drive-thru…at least less than an hour if I had to walk in. Now, a completely successful trip to the bank is a major feat…a fabulous accomplishment…something to be written down in the record books. Things take longer, and things do not go as we anticipate, but we quickly learn to adapt and roll with it, or we go crazy instead. So, I will be heading back to the banks on Monday. We’ll see how it goes then.
I met a friend at the bank. Maker (our friend who we met first in Virginia last February!) was finally finishing his business at the bank after his third day in a row of coming to get things arranged. He was frustrated and ready to be done, so as he packed up his things and left, he handed me some money and said, “Go get yourself some sodas. If this is your first day here, you’re going to need them!” And then he left, smiling confidently, his task finally accomplished. So maybe irritation makes us more generous when we do finally see those small successes. I will have to remember that if and when I finally succeed with my current tasks.
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