slim off the porcelain cylinders as part of my chores. I always want
to put it off until the thought of the week's accumulated slim grosses
me out enough to motivate me to action. When I buckle down and do it,
it only takes ten minutes, leaving me to wonder why I would put off
such a little task. The six-month at site mark also was noted, as it
was time to exchange the cylinders for bright new ones. These little
tasks give me a chance to stop and evaluate progress and revel in how
quickly time passes. Stegner writes, "let two years pass – and they
literally pass, like birds flying by someone sitting at the window."
The individual days can seem slow and long, but the weeks and months
go by quickly.
As a health volunteer, my schedule has very little routine to it, but
rather goes in fits and spurts. A busy week, followed by a low-key
week, form cyclical patterns. Recognizing this pattern is key to
feeling productive, even if you aren't running around with meetings
and mile-long to-do lists. This is just such a down-week, hence
multiple entries in the same week. For someone with a tendency to
overdo it and take on too much, it's good to allow myself to rest and
prepare for the next project.
Last week, I completed a Cash For Work proposal through the Ministry
of Rural Development to finish the poultry barn and fish pond that we
started as part of the Junior Farmer Field and Life School. It took
three weeks of meeting with my colleagues and builders for these
projects, obtaining quotations for needed inputs and trying to get
accurate plans put down on paper. Like with most things, doing it
alone would have been more efficient, but I needed to rely on my
builders since building structures is not my expertise, as shown in my
estimate of how many bundles of grass are needed to make a roof (100,
200, 250, 500, 1000? This question alone took many conversations and
going around to 10 different poultry projects in the region to look at
other poultry house designs. Final answer: 500 bundles). I also
believe strongly in the capacity building nature of my job. When I
leave, I want my colleagues to be able to write and submit their own
proposals. So, I made sure I took someone with me to show them how to
collect quotes from the three hardware store in town and meet with
Regional Council office. Our work seems to have paid off and I was
told on Friday that our proposal was approved to receive $11,000 ND to
finish these construction projects. This was not an endeavor I was
particularly optimistic about but I'm learning to follow my
colleagues' leads when they tell me they want to do something.
Afterall, it's not about what I want to accomplish. There still
remains a lot of follow-up and the work must actually be done now, yet
it's looking more and more within reach with the help of this grant.
