Get up, get out and get something

Here is something that is relatively true across the board for most peace corps volunteers :

boredom.

I remember my recruiter asking me the question " What will you do when there is nothing to do?" I said " What do you mean? There is always something to do." She said " Well, when I was in Niger, there was a harvest time, planting time, and a down season. Since I was in agriculture, for an entire season I had nothing to do. So I just read books." I was shocked by this. I was like " You mean you just read books! that's it? Nothing else?". She responded "Nothing else. I barely had electricity, so I didn't spend much time on my computer. I mostly read books, wrote letters, and visited people."

I thought for a moment, clueless at this point what country I'd be sent to and thinking that perhaps I too will have the bare minimum creature comforts so I should probably prepare myself for the same: bring lots and lots of books.



Fast forward to today: I didn't bring lots of books. I brought my kindle, my computer and my ipod. Covered basically. And it's so appropriate because now I am experiencing the 'down' season. The time when there seems like there is nothing to do.

I know how boredom affects me. Initially I just sleep it away. Then I become an uberdaydreamer. Then I get irritable and cranky. So I took these 3/4 different energies and concentrated them into 2 pairs of balls and decided to go do something better with my time.

I'm still doing conversation clubs, despite the fact that it has dwindled down significantly. I don't care though. The one person that wants to learn English is cause enough for me to make sure I bring my butt to my school two days a week for a hour or so. Some people feel this is not enough to have a conversation club, but for me, I'll do anything. I don't care if it was a faithful ant that showed up wanting to learn English. I'm coming!  I'm breaking out my handy whiteboard markers and that ant and I will learn something. YOU GONNA LEARN TODAY! ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIIIIIGHHHTTT. (taken from comedian Kevin Hart. Google at your own discretion.)

I'm still doing Sex and The City conversation clubs. Straight up enjoyable if I do say so myself. Think what you want, but there is a lot of enlightenment that can be gained from television series.

I started teaching 2 little girls English whose father owns the bakery around the corner from me. Initially I had it in mind to teach the women who work there since they see me often. I was scared. Scared isn't a good word-try the word shy. Yea, shy is better. I was shy about asking them if they wanted to learn English.

Well now that shyness is out of the way, the owner insisted that the workers don't really have time. Instead I can teach his two daughters who he will bring to the bakery and we will sit in the back and bake. I mean...we will sit in the back and practice all the pronouns, verbs, past tense, future, and the more polite way to say hello.

All I'm saying is that it's  really easy to do nothing and twice as easier to become bored. If you ever want to see the hands of a clock move like molasses, lay around all day. I personally want to be on politicians time where a year in the normal mans world is a week on the politics watch. Trust me, you don't want to let yourself become bored in your host country. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

-