Last week, I was happy to have some of the boys at the Dar Chebab (Darija, or Moroccan Arabic, for "youth center") do an activity which is sometimes called the "human knot." They stood in a circle, and each boy raised his right hand, and took the right hand of someone else not standing next to him. Then they did the same thing with their left hands. Then I told them to untangle themselves without letting go, so that they would again be holding hands in a circle. They did pretty well at it. They didn't take that long to untangle themselves. They listened to each other well, and worked together to solve the puzzle. People do the exercise to develop and strengthen communication and problem solving skills and team-building skills. I had them do it in anticipation of future activities and projects on which I hope to have them work together.
Moving from the literal to the figurative, I'm also writing today because in the middle of this month, I was in a little bit of a funk. From mid-March to mid-May, I was fairly busy with various activities and projects.
When other PCVs left my town in mid-May after doing some activities here, I was a little down. While I thought that I felt a bit down because they had just left my town, I also felt a little challenged for other reasons, too.
When I'm busy, that's good, as I'm applying myself and being helpful to others. If too much time starts to pass without me working and helping people, I'm much more likely to ask myself why I am here. So I knew that I also felt a little down because I had been busy, and all of a sudden, I wasn't busy.
But I also felt down for a spell earlier this month because sometimes all of the routine challenges of being a PCV (in any Peace Corps country)--not living in the USA, living in a foreign country, constantly being surrounded by a foreign culture, not understanding a huge percentage of what is said to me, having difficulty expressing myself in Darija, not having close friends with whom I can spend time face-to-face--cumulatively just get to be a bit much, and that gets me down. As I write this, I have emerged from the funk (which, by the way, was nowhere near the low level of my rough spots in December through early March). I write this latter part of this blog entry today just so people don't think everything is smooth and unchallenging at this point. And, for other PCVs and PCTs, so that you know that other PCVs and PCTs also are experiencing challenging periods even when significantly into their service. Remember that you are not alone, and that you have the support of others.
Moving from the literal to the figurative, I'm also writing today because in the middle of this month, I was in a little bit of a funk. From mid-March to mid-May, I was fairly busy with various activities and projects.
When other PCVs left my town in mid-May after doing some activities here, I was a little down. While I thought that I felt a bit down because they had just left my town, I also felt a little challenged for other reasons, too.
When I'm busy, that's good, as I'm applying myself and being helpful to others. If too much time starts to pass without me working and helping people, I'm much more likely to ask myself why I am here. So I knew that I also felt a little down because I had been busy, and all of a sudden, I wasn't busy.
But I also felt down for a spell earlier this month because sometimes all of the routine challenges of being a PCV (in any Peace Corps country)--not living in the USA, living in a foreign country, constantly being surrounded by a foreign culture, not understanding a huge percentage of what is said to me, having difficulty expressing myself in Darija, not having close friends with whom I can spend time face-to-face--cumulatively just get to be a bit much, and that gets me down. As I write this, I have emerged from the funk (which, by the way, was nowhere near the low level of my rough spots in December through early March). I write this latter part of this blog entry today just so people don't think everything is smooth and unchallenging at this point. And, for other PCVs and PCTs, so that you know that other PCVs and PCTs also are experiencing challenging periods even when significantly into their service. Remember that you are not alone, and that you have the support of others.
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