What would you do if you hadn’t been paid for the last 3 months at your job? What about 5 months? I imagine that there would be extensive similarities between everyone’s responses, likely wavering somewhere between outrage and taking to the streets in a one-man riot. Not here. Since the very first day I arrived, I’ve seen the staff work diligently to care for the patients that fill the waiting area throughout the hours of the day. Granted, I was a little thrown by the fact that lunch lasts roughly two hours here but quickly learned that this was just a cultural norm that varied little from one workplace to another. In any case, the moment I learned that these amazing people continue to come to work day-in and day-out without having been paid for months makes me feel immensely selfish for complaining about my own project’s slow progress.
It’s ironic that just a few days ago I was fighting tears and feeling pretty near defeated in the prospects of getting anything more than my 120 hrs of “experience,” essentially tossing my project and paper out of a metaphorical window. But tonight I spent the evening with thirty special people that have helped to shed a new perspective on all of this. Yes, I came out here thinking I was going to “do public health stuff.” Tonight I realized more than ever that this is a soul-searching trip. One that hopefully ends with me coming to grips with the lessons the universe throws in my face and ultimately figuring out where in this giant mess I really belong.
JEALOUS!!!! <3
ReplyDelete