Week 7:
Staying Busy, Staying Cool

August 26, 2018

“What can I help with?”

This week has been a full, hectic week of transition. The International Programs Manager left on Wednesday, and the other three students left on Thursday; so, in addition to village visits, the fellow and I spent most of our time adjusting to being the last two foreigners on campus. The first half of the week I spent most of my time helping the IPM with any projects she needed to be done before she left. This included social media and diabetes registers (as usual), as well as thank you notes, campus tour write-ups, brochures, photoshop work, and voucher cross-checking. A day or two after the IPM went back to the United States the fellow and I had a meeting with the organization director. He talked with us about some projects he needed us to work on, and we asked questions we had about the projects we had already been assigned by the IPM. Most of the projects overlapped, but it was really helpful solidifying next steps so we could make plans for the next week and a half that I am here.

9-5 Work Days Are Longer Than I Thought

The projects that I have been given over my time here have varied drastically, and although it can be a little stressful to never entirely know what takes priority, I think that working on so many things at once has given me exposure to what it means to work in an NGO. There are a lot of things that need to be done, and it is up to me to take responsibility and commit to completing my project regardless of what else is going on. Sometimes I have to ask for help, sometimes I have to work with other people, and sometimes I am grumpy and tired, and I don’t want to be working at all, but that’s all okay as long as I take on what I can and am patient with the rest. I have never had a 9-5 work day, and so I have never had to deal with the exhaustion that can come from days of staring at a computer screen or the frustration of teaching yourself something new with an impending deadline.

I also feel fulfilled while I’m working here. I know that in my own small way I am contributing to the same organization that is working to change gender and health inequity in some of the poorest, most marginalized communities in India, and so I don’t mind that my eyes get tired and that sometimes I feel incompetent and frustrated; it’s worth it to make a difference. I have also realized that if this is what my professional career is going to look like, then I need to start coming up with strategies to keep myself happy, healthy, energized, and focused during long days of technical work. I have learned so much from my time here, and most of it I never saw coming.

Stuff and Things

Weather on campus has been fluctuating between very, very rainy, and very, very hot (by my standards). When the sun is out the plants look even greener, and the whole world around me is brighter and happier, but I also break into a sweat every time I move – it’s a give and take kind of situation. I’ve been combating this by trying to stay in air-conditioned locations and washing my feet at night to cool off before bed. The campus has been quiet except for some Indian visitors who were here for a couple of days during the weekend. It’s been a good week, and I am excited and nervous for my last full week; I am looking forward to going home (and using a washing machine), but I am not looking forward to saying goodbye to the people I have traveled and worked with almost every day for the last 7 weeks.